THE INVER 281 



RIVER INVER 



From the mouth of Loch Laxford, south, past Handa Island 

 with its countless birds, across the wide Edderachylis Bay, 

 and round Rhu Stoer to Loch Inver is about 24 miles. The 

 Inchard and Laxford are comparatively close together, flowing 

 north-west, the Inver and the Kirkaig are also close together, 

 but at some distance from the others. 



Edderachylis Bay terminates in a curious ramification called 

 Loch Cairnbawn, which narrows to something like half a mile 

 at Kylesku Ferry and then bifurcates into two deep sea lochs, 

 Loch Glendhu and Loch Glencoul. A stream enters the head 

 of each, where fish run up at the " back-end " to spawn. These 

 streams are perhaps hardly worth special description, but 

 Kylesku is worth mention because it is not generally known 

 that bull-trout and sea-trout are here caught in the strong salt 

 water currents which run through the narrows and round a few 

 small islands. When I say bull-trout I mean S. trutta eriox, 

 the migratory variety of the sea-trout so common in the Tweed 

 and the Coquet. This fishing seems to be best in June and 

 July. 



The river Inver flows out of Loch Assynt and has a some- 

 what rapid course of six miles to the sea at Loch Inver. A 

 considerable tributary, the Alt-an-Tiaghaich joins it about a 

 mile below the loch outlet. It is a river of no great size but of 

 very varied character, broad and shingly not far from the 

 mouth, where the remains of old cruives may still be seen, 

 stony ^and rather rough in other places, again deep and 

 rocky and yet again wide and open. It is divided into 

 upper and lower beats between the Long Pool and the Deer 

 Pool, the latter being the first of the upper section as one 

 ascends. 



I am not aware that a line is ever thrown on the water 

 in May, as fish do not generally enter till pretty late in 

 June, but like other rivers of the neighbourhood it is much 

 dependent upon plenty of rain to enable fish to run. To 

 improve the conditions, the outlet of Loch Assynt has been 

 dammed up so as to create artificial floods, a fish -pass 

 being also erected. Seasons have occurred when fish 

 entered freely as early as May, but this is quite excep- 



