THE BLACK WATER. LOCH GARVE. 389 



BLACKWATER, another stream of some magnitude. In 

 the upper part of its course, the Rasay is termed the 

 Garve river. Its sources are in Strath Vaich, on the 

 confines of Loch Broom, at Lochs Tolimuir and Garra- 

 gan. On descending Strath Garve, it swells out into a 

 lake of about a mile-and-a-half in length, containing 

 pike and trout of superior size and quality, but extremely 

 shy. Of these, I seldom have captured above three or 

 four in the course of a day, averaging from four-and- 

 a-half to one-and-a-half pounds. The last occasion on 

 which I fished it happened about the middle of August, 

 1844. Having provided myself with a few parrs, I 

 affixed the tail of one of them to the appropriate tackle, 

 and took my first cast in the stream, not far from the 

 head of the loch. Almost immediately, I hooked a 

 fish, which, from its strength, I concluded was a salmon 

 or grilse, great numbers of these, owing to a previous 

 flood, having passed up over the falls of Rogie into the 

 higher waters. It proved, however, to be a yellow 

 trout of four-and-a-half pounds weight. I shortly 

 afterwards killed another, of about a pound, had my 

 tackle severed by a large pike, and, descending to the 

 loch, succeeded in capturing three more trout, of the 

 respective weights of three, two, and one-and-a-half 

 pounds. I also secured two pike, and was again de- 

 spoiled of my hooks by a fish of this description. 

 The trout of Loch Garve are remarkable for the few- 

 ness of their spots or maculse, and the green copper lustre 

 that pervades the upper portion of their flanks. They 

 are also deep in the shape, and cut redder than salmon. 

 Below Loch Garve is a smaller sheet of water, through 

 which the Rasay passes. It contains pike, and a few 

 trout. The first-mentioned fish also infest the stream 

 in great numbers. Immediately above Tarvie Wood 



