LOCH AWE 145 



III.— AN OLD PRACTITIONER 



The gillies at Dalmally are firstrate fishermen, 

 and have a most fervid love for their own special 

 river, the Orchy, considering it to be much superior 

 to the larger river Awe. Undoubtedly the Orchy 

 is a very delightful river to fish when in ply, but 

 your chance of sport in it is much more dependent 

 upon the state of the water. After a spate, in the 

 spring, it fishes excellently for several days. On 

 the other hand, the Awe will keep in good con- 

 dition for two or three weeks after a flood, and 

 ought to be the best salmon river on the west 

 coast. I say ought to be advisedly ; for unfortu- 

 nately the nets are worked much too hard at the 

 mouth of the river, and the Taynuilt Hotel over- 

 fishes the water to an absurd extent, 



I agree, I think, with the Dalmally gillies in 

 their preference for the Orchy as a fishing stream ; 

 it is so delightfully moorland, and contains such a 

 pretty series of charming little salmon pools. The 

 Awe is wide, and stately, and rapid, but more 

 difficult to fish. In the upper part, where it flows 

 through the Pass of Brander, a man is hampered 



