70 THE SALMON RIVERS OF SCOTLAND 



In 1913, 71 fish were taken from this water, three-fourths of 

 them from one pool, which is 15 better than the best previous 

 record for both Delvine and Glendelvine. 



With regard to the Taymount autumn fishing, Mr. Charles 

 Murray, who has been associated with this water for so long, 

 has kindly informed me that his best year showed a total of 

 275 fish. This is only the fishing of alternate days after the 

 nets are off. The best score in spring was obtained in 1908, 

 the total being 74. On two occasions 20 fish have been caught 

 by one rod in a day. Mr. Murray himself took, on the lower 

 beat on a day when the upper beat was unfortunately not 

 being fished, 16 salmon and 4 grilse weighing 355 Ib. On 

 the other great day, curiously enough, the numbers of grilse 

 and salmon were exactly reversed. Rev. the Hon. Robert 

 Liddle took 16 grilse and 4 salmon. " On both days the 

 fish were rising hard all day and would have taken anything," 

 Mr. Murray writes. Perhaps other people might have landed 

 fewer, however. Figuratively, I take off my hat to any one 

 who can kill a 48 Ib. fish in fifteen minutes as Mr. Murray has 

 done. The heaviest fish taken out of the Taymount Water was 

 a 54-pounder killed by Lord Ruthven several years ago, but 

 fish between 40 and 50 Ib. are taken in this section of the river 

 every year. 



Some heavier fish, as already stated, have been taken in 

 the tidal reaches during this period. This supports the 

 impression which has been pretty strongly borne in upon me 

 during recent years, that a few quite exceptionally heavy 

 salmon, males, which do not enter fresh waters during the 

 fishing season, or apparently to any great extent even at the 

 spawning time, come cruising into the estuarial waters at " the 

 back end," and at long intervals are happened upon by some 

 chance. As already stated, a 61| Ib. fish was caught in the 

 tidal water in 1907, and an 84-pounder was captured by one 

 Willie Walker, a native of Newburgh, in a sparling net some 

 miles above the Tay Bridge, on the north side of the estuary, 

 in the winter of 1869. The Bishop of Bristol once played a fish 

 here for ten hours and eventually lost him. From the free 

 water below Moncreiffe Island a 51 Ib. fish was taken on the 

 rod in 1905, this being the second for the river that season, the 

 first having been caught further up the river. A large number 



