44 THE SALMON RIVERS OF SCOTLAND 



to satisfy the demands of the Forth District Board, who rightly 

 condemned the old passes which existed at the gauge house of 

 the Commissioners situated at the loch outlet. A natural 

 river outlet has always been maintained here, and has been 

 modified in various ways to facilitate the ascent of fish, but a 

 large stone building with numerous sluices was erected at the 

 commencement of the Glasgow Commissioners' operations, 

 above what is still called " the new cut," an artificial channel 

 parallel to the natural outlet. 



The sluices here, like those at Loch Katrine, are unfortunately 

 made to open by being lowered, so that surface water is alone 

 allowed to escape. This makes the arrangement of a pass a 

 matter of some difficulty, since the level at which water enters 

 is a varying one. The new pass now constructed is adapted 

 so that water may enter from one or other of two sluices, there 

 being two branches to the upper section of the pass. Those 

 two branches are built along the side of the " new cut," and 

 unite at a level section, from which the water is then carried 

 in the opposite direction, at a gradient of one in twenty, towards 

 the foot of the gauge house. The total length of the pass is 

 194 feet, and the breadth 7 feet. 



It appears to be certain that fish are ascending the new pass 

 much more freely than the old one, and that they have been 

 noticed passing through the sluices into the loch, although 

 this operation is accomplished with some difficulty to gravid 

 fish. The future history of the salmon fishing of Loch 

 Vennacher will be the surest guide to the success of this pass 

 from a sporting point of view. The distribution of fish over 

 the upper spawning grounds is perhaps the most valuable 

 result. 



In early days, before Glasgow commandeered the water, 

 Loch Vennacher often yielded good spring fishing, as Loch 

 Lubnaig also did, although the latter was perhaps not so much 

 fished. I believe that some thirty or forty years ago as many 

 as 60 salmon have been taken from the two lochs in a season, 

 and it was frequently observed that according as the water- 

 flow favoured one or other channel, so one loch or the other 

 yielded better results. Referring to the Loch Vennacher 

 outlet, the official report of an inspector says : 1 " The best 

 1 Eleventh Report Fishery Board for Scotland, Part ii., p. 5. 



