26o HIGHLAND SPORT 



the highest situate nets of all were reached ; by this means 

 those up-river nets would each have to undergo a close time 

 nearly equal in duration to the nets at the mouth. 



As these high-up nets are at present worked, there is 

 practically no close time for them whatever, for fish entering 

 the river at six o'clock on Saturday evening are still below 

 the top nets at six o'clock on Monday morning. Surely the 

 fish are entitled to have the same chance of avoiding these 

 upper nets as they have of escaping those at the river mouth, 

 while certainly it may fairly be presumed the originators of 

 the Close Time Laws contemplated as much. 



Take, for instance, a most favourable case for the salmon, 

 and let us suppose a "company" of them to arrive off Dundee 

 shortly after six o'clock on Saturday evening ; also we will 

 imagine a nice "fresh" coming down the Tay. Now from 

 Dundee to the top nets at the Linn of Campsie is fully thirty 

 miles, a far greater distance than heavy spring fish will journey 

 in thirty-six hours, so thus, though they escape the estuary 

 nets together with the lower ones of the river, they will not 

 have passed the limit point of the upper nets before they 

 are at work again at six o'clock on Monday morning, and 

 then, if things are well managed, nearly the whole of our 

 "company" will be hauled ashore. Hence I maintain and 

 think it has been clearly shown these upper nets have practic- 

 ally no close time at all, which is so well known to their owners 

 that many of those placed high up on a river are only worked 

 on Mondays and Tuesdays, as being the only days when there 

 is any chance of getting fish. 



A close time of twenty-four hours would, however, be far 

 better than one of twelve, and that granted, then let all nets 

 begin at the same time ; it is quite certain that though such 

 an alteration in the present laws might at first cause the netters 

 some small temporary loss, this would speedily be regained and 

 eventually handsomely recouped, for as soon as the laws of 

 nature had had time to develop themselves on the increased 



