THE STINCHAR 399 



RIVER STINCHAR 



ANGLING SEASON: 25th February to 14th November. 

 NETTING SEASON : 25th February to 9th September. 



District Fishery Board meets in Stranraer. 



The river Stinchar, like the main section of the Girvan, flows 

 in a south-westerly direction. It rises very close to the source 

 of the Girvan, but at once flows west, whereas the Girvan, as 

 already explained, goes north and west to Kirkmichael, and 

 only then assumes the course parallel to the main flow of the 

 Stinchar. The extreme length of the river is about 27 miles, 

 from its moorland source to the sea at Ballantrae. 



The region of Carrick, through which the Stinchar passes, 

 is more hilly than is the case with the Ayrshire rivers farther 

 north. Moreover, the whole course IB free from the coal-pits 

 and other sources of pollution which so seriously affect the 

 neighbouring rivers. Throughout its course this beautiful 

 little river has a most agreeable gravelly bed ; pools and 

 streams often alternate most pleasantly ; from time to time, 

 and more especially in the lower reaches, it is pretty closely 

 wooded, but there is a fine running character in the stream 

 which adds greatly to the enjoyment of angling. 



There are dam -dykes at Daljarroch and Pinclantie, 9 and 12 

 miles upstream respectively, but when the river is in running 

 order, these do not offer much difficulty to ascending fish. 



The gravel in the lowest reaches is liable to a good deal of 

 shifting by the action of floods, and at the mouth of the river 

 a great quantity has accumulated. This, owing to the opposing 

 actions of sea and river, is piled up now here now there, and 

 very commonly a considerable lagoon exists behind an extensive 

 beach of gravel. Occasionally, during dry summer weather, 

 the volume of water in the river is insufficient to maintain its 

 combat with the waves, and the mouth practically closes 

 altogether, the fresh water percolating through the substance 

 of the gravel bank . On a larger scale this unfortunate condition 

 has in the past existed both at the mouth of the Spey and at 

 the mouth of the Deveron. In each case now, however, a 

 direct mouth for the fresh water has been cut to the sea. It is 

 clear that whenever a lagoon forms behind a bank of gravel, 



