400 THE SALMON RIVERS OF SCOTLAND 



a great waste of water results. The concentration of flow is 

 lost, and consequently the attractive powers of the river -mouth 

 to fish in the sea are greatly diminished. 



The estuary is defined as " A portion of a Circle of 350 yards 

 radius drawn from a centre placed mid-channel of the River 

 where it joins the sea at low-water of Equinoctial Spring Tides, 

 and continued by Tangents to the Circle drawn at right angles 

 with the Shore." With a changing river-mouth and bag nets 

 fished in the vicinity, it is necessary, in order that the benefit 

 of such an estuary be secured to the river, that remeasurement 

 be resorted to after each change of position. Bag nets cannot 

 be said to be crowded at the mouth of the Stinchar, but one is 

 fished on each side of the estuary and others at intervals along 

 the coast. 



From what has been said as to the nature of the river-mouth 

 in summer it will readily be understood that fish are only able 

 to enter when the water-flow is sufficient. As a matter of fact 

 the Stinchar is almost invariably pretty late in being stocked 

 with fish, but when the grilse and sea-trout are able to run the 

 fishing begins. It has happened that a spring fish has been 

 caught early in the season when kelt-fishing for the purpose of 

 marking was going on, and it may well be that when water is 

 high and the season unusually mild, a few of those fish may 

 enter indeed it is reported that clean spring fish are sometimes 

 seen but the capture of the fish in question was a complete 

 surprise. The best fish come into the river quite late, after 

 the netting has ceased, but I believe the greatest number 

 of fish are generally caught in August if there is sufficient 

 water. 



The weights are often surprisingly heavy. The heaviest 

 during a series of eight years are : 1900, 25 Ib. ; 1901, 29 Ib. ; 

 1902, 311 ib. ; 1903, 35 Ib. ; 1904, 28J Ib. ; 1905, 20 Ib. ; 1906, 

 28 Ib. ; 1907, 39 Ib. ; 1908, 29 Ib. The record rod-caught fish 

 is, I believe, 42 Ib. In one day it has happened that a single 

 rod has taken three fish weighing 33 Ib., 30 Ib., and 28 Ib. In 

 1897 a sea- net took a fish of 62 Ib., so large fellows are in the 

 district. The rod catch for the season has sometimes been 

 put down at as low as 40 or 50 fish, but in 1908, which was a 

 distinctly bad year, the total, so far as I have been able to 

 ascertain, was quite 140. The six fishings between the mouth 



