THE TWEED 17 



single week of favourable weather. There was a wonderful 



week in November 1903, for instance, when 



Upper Floors produced . .65 



Lower Floors ,, . ... 78 



Ednam ... 20 



Hendersyde . . .63 



Birgham . . .65 



291 in one week 



The total for Lower Floors is, I think, the highest week's score 

 for the river. The average weight of the 78 fish was 19 Ib. 



The late John Malcolm of Poltalloch had some great fishing 

 on Makerston Water. A good four days' catch is reported in 

 the Fur, Feather, and Fin Series (Salmon, p. 135). It 

 occurred in October 1873. John Malcolm had 14, 12, and 

 15 fish on three consecutive days, and on the fourth day 

 his neighbour, Mr. Dennison (of Ness fame), fished his 

 rod, and had 16, i.e. 57 fish in four days. With regard to 

 Makerston totals for the season, I am able to give the catches 

 of Mr. Cockburn, who fished in 1882, 1883, 1884, and 1885. 

 These were, salmon and grilse taken together, 157, 209, 131, and 

 214. In 1891, Mr. Justice Madden had 91 fish in three 

 weeks. 



Floors Water has the distinction of having yielded one of 

 the heaviest rod-caught Tweed fish. It weighed 57 Ib., and 

 was caught on 27th October, 1886. Through the kindness of 

 Sir Richard Waldie Griffith, who has one of the three full-size 

 photographs of it in his smoking-room, I am able to give the 

 measurements. 



Length. . . . . .53 inches 



Girth at back fin . . . . 28J 



Girth behind head . . .26 



Breadth of tail . . . . 14 



Length of head . . . . 13 



The fish was a male, as all those extra big salmon are, and is 

 reported to have been firm in the flesh, of a very good colour 

 on the back, and a little red on the belly. Another photograph 

 hangs in Kelso, and the third, I understand, hangs in Floors 

 Castle, where the fish was carried and weighed at the end of 

 the day, by its captor, Mr. Pryor. 



From an examination of the scales of another 60 Ib. fish, 



