THE ALNESS 215 



miles from Loch Morie is 620 feet, it will be readily understood 

 that the gradient in many parts is rather steep. I understand 

 that the river is considered by some to be the swiftest in 

 Scotland. A considerable part of the course is deeply cut 

 down in a deep glen, and the scenery is often beautiful. 



From a salmon fishery point of view the upper river may be 

 discarded, as salmon do not reach Loch Morie. The lower river 

 fishings are divided chiefly between Ardross and Novar, 

 Dalmore and Teaninich. A netting station of some importance 

 exists at the mouth, the nets being drawn on a great gravel 

 beach and on artificially constructed cairns, which give good 

 facilities. Each side of the mouth and the lowest pool of the 

 river were previously drawn by net and coble. When the 

 grilse made their appearance about the middle of June the 

 netting was brought into full swing, and July was recognised as 

 the best month of the year. More recently the netting has not 

 been carried on at all, partly owing to the erection of a very 

 long Admiralty Pier, and partly through the nets coming 

 under The Moray Firth Salmon Fisheries Co., who decided 

 that in view of their netting elsewhere in the estuary, they 

 could keep the Alness nets off. 



When the season is wet and the river in good running 

 order, salmon and sea-trout have an opportunity of ascending 

 freely. Below the railway viaduct, but some little distance 

 up the river, a dam dyke occurs by which water is carried to 

 Dalmore distillery. There is a simple form of fish-pass, and 

 the intake of the lade is guarded against the descent of smolts 

 by a heck of stout woven wire, giving diagonal apertures half 

 an inch across. So far as I know, this is the only smolt heck 

 of the kind in Scotland, and it is interesting to learn locally 

 that it gives no inconvenience if cleaned every day. The 

 water of this lade is not returned to the river, but is carried 

 from the distillery to the sea. On the other side of the river 

 also a distillery exists Teaninich and from this also water 

 is carried through a meadow to the sea without return to the 

 river. 



The rod fishing yields about 30 or 40 salmon and about 200 

 sea -trout. 



