304 THE SALMON RIVERS OF SCOTLAND 



a June afternoon. The fisherman was a naval officer, who, 

 like myself, was stopping at Achnashellach Lodge. He kept 

 us waiting till about nine o'clock for dinner, and rode in on a 

 bicycle carrying 4 fish. As he dismounted he remarked that 

 there were three others he could not carry. He said he had 

 fished for salmon twice before. Michie, the old stalker, held 

 up his hands in amazement, and said he had never seen as 

 many as 7 salmon brought from Loch Coulin. 



The lochs are most beautifully situated, and Loch Clare, 

 where Sir Wm. Ogilvie Dalgleish has a lodge, has the reputation 

 of being the most beautiful loch in Ross-shire. It lies, as it 

 were, in the bosom of the hills encircled by belts of grand old 

 Scotch fir, and varied by lovely little islands. It is a typical 

 glacial basin, the islands being composed of the old moraines. 

 The late Lord Elphinstone caught 140 salmon here one summer, 

 and the late Sir Arthur Bignold, of Loch Rosque, also made 

 some good scores. Like most really good places, it is a strict 

 preserve, and one does not hear much as to results. 



The land around the two lochs is divided between Sir Kenneth 

 Mackenzie and Sir Wm. Ogilvie Dalgleish, but the fishing 

 rights belong exclusively to the former, who rents the fishing 

 to his neighbour. 



THE CARRON OF WEST ROSS-SHIRE 



ANGLING SEASON: February llth to October 31st. 

 NETTING SEASON: February llth to August 26th. 



In a region where most of the rivers are small, the Carton, 

 although in itself not large, has to be regarded as a river of 

 considerable importance. It is the largest river in the whole 

 stretch of coast opposite the Isle of Skye, or between the Ewe 

 from Loch Maree and the Shiel in Moidart. It is, moreover, 

 a river of fine natural features, and of good spawning ground. 

 It should have a much better stock of fish than it appears to 



The river rises from Loch Scaven (Sgamhain), 491 feet 

 above sea-level, past which the railway line from Dingwall to 

 the Kyle of Loch Alsh runs, and flows south-west for 14 miles 

 to the sea at the head of Loch Carron, being followed very 

 closely by the railway throughout its course. It is divided 



