CHAPTER XII 

 THE RIVER NAIRN 



ANGLING SEASON: llth February to 31st October. 

 NETTING SEASON: llth February to 26th August. 



District Fishery Board sits in Nairn. 



This little alder-skirted river rises from Loch Duntelchaig 

 to the west of Glenmazeran Forest, in Inverness-shire, and 

 after finding its way down to the lower ground between this 

 point and Loch Ness, not more than about 2 miles from the 

 upper reaches of the Farigaig, arid presently, about the same 

 distance from Loch Ruthven of trouting fame, it settles down 

 to a course almost directly north-east to the sea at Nairn. 

 It is a beautiful river, fringed with trees rather too much 

 fringed with trees for the angler throughout almost its whole 

 length. It is, moreover, a river of much splendid spawning 

 ground, for the bed of the stream is gravel at almost all points, 

 and frequently the current is uniform and the water not very 

 deep. 



The stock of fish is, unfortunately, not what it might be. 

 The estuary is no doubt only an imaginary arc of a circle 400 

 yards radius from the mouth of the river, and many fixed 

 nets are fished outside though their number may in future 

 be slightly diminished ; but I believe the real trouble is the 

 number of weirs which are thrown across the river, and which 

 form especially one or two of those in the lower waters 

 obstructions to the natural ascent of salmon to the spawning 

 grounds above ; while the mouth of the river at Nairn Harbour, 

 where fish naturally congregate before making, or attempting 

 to make, the ascent, is rather seriously polluted at the very 

 time fish chiefly seek to run. 



The town of Nairn, with its adjoining golf links, is visited by 



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