THE HARRIS 321 



There are two or three good casts between the sea and Loch 

 Valtos, but the fish do not generally rise freely here. Between 

 Trialaval and Valtos there are only about two good pools, 

 generally, I think, called the Rock Pool and the Reedy Pool. 

 The specialty of the Laxay is that, like the Grimersta, it has a 

 spring run of fish ; again probably attributable to the fact 

 that Loch Trialaval holds a lot of water. It is neither a long 

 nor a broad loch, but its ramifications are extraordinary, and 

 it communicates with quite a number of other lochs to the 

 north and west. It was because of the great amount of water 

 which at times descended from this loch that " Sixty-One " 

 had his dam carried away repeatedly, and found the greatest 

 difficulty here in applying the system of impounding water, 

 which he had so successfully carried on at the head of the 

 Blackwater. 



Loch Valtos generally yields the best results, and the fish 

 are heavier than in the Blackwater. The streams also often 

 hold great numbers of sea-trout, but in dry weather they 

 become very shallow and useless. 



Other streams of the Lews, but noted more for sea-trout than 

 for salmon, are the Creed, which falls into Stornoway Harbour ; 

 the Laxdale and the Gress, north of Stornoway, on the east 

 coast ; the Morsgail, which flows into Little Loch Roag, on 

 the west ; and the Barvas, away up on the flat and bare north- 

 west of the island. William Black's Laird of Barvas will still 

 be remembered as well, surely, as John, who was " a tevil of a 

 good piper." 



HARRIS 



The streams of Harris the High Island are, for the most 

 part, sea-trout streams, and a very great many of the small 

 lochs communicating with the chief streams yield good sea- 

 trout fishing in early autumn. To other lochs sea-trout are 

 unable to climb, but in South Harris which is that part of 

 the island south of the Tarbert owing to the arrangement 

 entered into by the proprietor, Lord Dunmore, and an associa- 

 tion called The Hebridean Sporting Association, Limited, a 

 good number of the obstacles have been modified, a new fishing 

 lodge built at Finsbay, and roads and paths constructed by 



