354 THE SALMON RIVERS OF SCOTLAND 



this, in spite of the fact that men who fish other districts have 

 no doubt that their particular salmon are the finest in the 

 world. I recollect venturing some remark about the fine 

 appearance of some Ness fish to an Inverness fishmonger. He 

 was positively ashamed of my ignorance, and informed me 

 that it was well known that Ness fish are the handsomest in 

 Scotland. I was buying one of the ugliest kelts I ever saw in a 

 shop at the time. It interested me because it had been taken 

 from the Ness in July. 



The Awe used to be pretty heavily netted and this netting 

 dated from an early period. In recent years and probably for 

 a very long time it was customary to commence netting about 

 the middle of March and to work up to the Inverawe summer- 

 house. The bottom was kept very smooth and several nets 

 were used so completely that, except in floods, it was believed 

 no fish were allowed to ascend save in the weekly close time. 

 Fortunately, the netting could never be taken so far up the 

 river as to make the weekly close time inoperative, and a fair 

 stock of fish always persisted in the district. 



This netting in the river was first reduced in 1906 by one net 

 only being worked for twelve hours out of the twenty-four, 

 viz. from 10 a.m. till 10 p.m., and at the same time a weekly 

 close time of 40 hours being arranged for from 6 p.m. on 

 Saturday to 10 a.m. on Monday. A further modification 

 took place at the commencement of season 1908. Two gentle- 

 men, Major Macdonald and Mr. Plevins, associated themselves 

 in an endeavour to materially improve the Awe angling. They, 

 with Lord Breadalbane, rented the nets, and entirely removed 

 them from the river, and they also removed a net in Loch 

 Etive. They also took a lease of the water on the left bank, 

 which used to be fished from Taynuilt Hotel, including the 

 water at the mouth, arid sublet seven rods (from 1909 the 

 number became six). 



In the upper part of Loch Etive Lord Breadalbane and Mr. 

 Ian Nelson, of Glen Etive, took off other nets, and now only 

 two stations are fished in this sea-loch, one belonging to Inver- 

 awe and the other to Ardchattan. Both are a short distance 

 up the loch from the mouth of the Awe, and both are now 

 worked by several boats. Unhappily the Angling Association 

 has now come to an end. 



