THE TAY 71 



of fish usually come pretty near to the record. In other words, 

 the Tay yields a very considerable number of fish over 40 Ib. 

 each year. The 70 Ib. fish which Frank Buckland stuffed and 

 had in his museum was caught at Newburgh, below Moncreiffe 

 Island. 



Important fishings, such for instance as Murthly and 

 Ballathie, are not infrequently let to tenants who are unable 

 to be on the water a great deal, or are not disposed to fish the 

 water very regularly. It follows, of course, that the total 

 catch is commonly less than would be the case were the water 

 fully fished, and that to give the annual catches would yield 

 no indication of the real sporting value. 



Murthly is in the rather exceptional position, for the Tay, 

 of having both banks for such distance as will give a boat a 

 whole day's fishing. On this water, therefore, Murthly may 

 fish every legal day. Below this water Murthly fishes from 

 one bank, and therefore on alternate days. Mr. Steuart 

 Fotheringham kindly informs me that the average for the 

 water during the last twenty-six years is 128 fish. The average 

 weight of fish is 16 Ib., although salmon of 46 Ib. and 44 Ib. 

 have been taken. The best season in the period referred to 

 yielded 229 fish with an average of 17 Ib. The experience at 

 Murthly, as at other lower Tay fishings, is that of late years 

 the spring results have improved and the autumn results have 

 declined. It happened, however, that the autumn of 1908 was 

 a season of remarkably poor fishing weather, dull, muggy, 

 hazy, windless ; the sort of autumn when gnats play over 

 every white stone, and cobwebs float across one's face. Fish 

 flop about in the oily-looking pools, and sometimes splash so 

 close to one that the silent fisher is startled, and presently 

 realises that the salmon either ignores his presence or regards 

 him with contempt. Let him fish never so wisely, his flies 

 and his minnows are allowed to pass through pool after pool, 

 or are merely played with, nipped at, or what is worse, carried 

 down and fastened on to the bottom after deferred hopes have 

 been at last raised by a brief run. 



At Murthly the usual method of fishing employed is casting 

 from a boat, but some of the pools may be fished from the 

 bank or by wading. 



With regard to the catch on Delvine and Glendelvine waters 



