THE VALLEY OF THE KEN 65 



deal fished, and possibly poached, but it still holds 

 a fair number of trout, although they do not rise 

 very freely. They are, moreover, of an excellent 

 quality, well-conditioned and strong, of a bright 

 silvery colour, and heavier on an average than the 

 fish to be met with above the village. There are 

 many pike, too, in the lower reaches, which find 

 their way up from Loch Ken (that hot-bed of pike), 

 and where they are to be found, the trout, although 

 more scarce, generally appear to be of a superior 

 quality. 



May it not be that these vast quantities of 

 pike which frequent Loch Ken do incalculable 

 mischief to the salmon fishing of the river? For 

 the pike are very large : the heaviest ever known 

 to have been captured in British waters was taken 

 out of this loch. It weighed seventy-two pounds, 

 and was caught with rod and fly by George Murray, 

 a gamekeeper, and the head of it is still preserved 

 at Kenmure Castle. It seems to me that the parr, 

 bred in the upper waters of the Ken, must run a 

 greatly added risk on their way down to the sea, 

 in having to pass through a loch inhabited by 

 such fresh-water sharks. Surely, if a drastic war 

 was waged against these scourges, the number of 



