Wher^ to Fish for Salmon. 37 



At times, when fish are running up fresh from 

 the sea, it is wonderful what freaks they are up to ; 

 throwing themselves upwards or sideways, turning 

 somersaults, making tremendous rushes and yet not 

 sporting a bit. One evening on the Lochy I was 

 returning from the upper part of No. 6 beat to have 

 one more cast over the Sloggan, when just above 

 the fox hunter's cottage the river became suddenly 

 alive with running fish jumping and rushing about 

 in all directions. I waded in and threw over 

 hundreds I may say ; not a fish would come at the 

 fly, but they would, in their jumps, hit the line often 

 enough. After a change or two of flies I gave it up 

 disgusted and went on my way to the Sloggan. 

 The first cast there with the same fly I had 

 endeavoured to "tice" the running fish with, I 

 hooked and landed a bright fresh-run Salmon of ten 

 pounds. 



Many of the smaller rivers on the west coast are 

 what is termed late rivers, that is, the fish do not 

 begin to run up them till July. Others are both 

 early and late, that is, you have fresh-run fish in 

 April and May, and again in July, August, and even 

 in September. It is difficult to account for this in 

 these small and short rivers ; for instance, the Luing 

 in Ross-shire has a course of about two miles or 



away, and the cormorant possibly may have attacked the 

 fish and injured his brain. 



