420 THE SALMON RIVERS OF SCOTLAND 



The three top yairs fish the ebb to catch fish dropping back 

 with the tide when the water is low in high water they do not 

 catch many since the fish then ascend to the Doachs and 

 become prizes for the shoulder net. The lowest yairs are 

 arranged to fish the flood-tide. The seventh yair, which is 

 smaller than the others, is usually put in the water just at the 

 end of the season. 



With regard to the catch of rods in the Dee no one seems to 

 know what the total amounts to. The first runs generally 

 occur at the beginning of March, and during this and the 

 succeeding month a fair number of fish seem to ascend. The 

 late Mr. Anderson, who rented the Doachs for many years, 

 told me on one occasion that 12th February was the earliest 

 he had taken salmon. May is rather a blank as a rule, and in 

 June the grilse come. The greatest number of fish seem 

 generally to ascend in July, and if this month is not a dry one, 

 the upper waters have some chance of being stocked. In a dry 

 summer salmon angling is, however, of little value. In the 

 autumn some heavy fish are got. The heaviest known to me 

 was a 46-pounder taken in 1904. More commonly 30 Ib. to 

 35 Ib. is the greatest weight secured. 



The assessed salmon fishing rental of the District is generally 

 1,556. I have no doubt this might easily be doubled if the 

 river was regulated according to accepted ideas. A certain 

 amount of netting might no doubt remain in the Estuary, but 

 if a thorough improvement were desired by, say, some Angling 

 Association, or some combination of proprietors willing to 

 compensate those who removed their nets, the Doachs, the 

 shoulder net, and the yairs would be taken out of the water. 

 Without a drastic effort of this kind the stock of salmon in 

 this fine river will not improve. 



