430 THE RIVERS OF THE SOLWAY FIRTH. 



ago were pretty abundant, have been prevented from 

 ascending the river by a high embankment erected for 

 the purpose of raising the water to a sufficient level 

 for a cotton mill-wheel at Gatehouse, a village near 

 its mouth. A few miles up among the hills, there are 

 abundance of very small yellow trout, generally caught 

 by worm-bait. 



" The grey turkey wing is a favourite fly on the Dee, 

 and I have succeeded on the upper parts of the river 

 with rather a gaudy Irish fly. 



''The URR is about equal to the Fleet in size, 

 and sea- trout ascend it in considerable numbers; but 

 in dry seasons, the quantity of water is so small as 

 to admit of their being easily taken by poachers, 

 whom the proprietors take little pains to keep down. 

 In the northern and mountainous parts of the Stew- 

 arty, very fine trout are to be met with in Lochs 

 frequented by pike; but they are, generally speak- 

 ing, not numerous, and where there are no pike, the 

 trout are very small. Loch Dee, Loch Trool, Loch 

 Erroch, Lochinvar, and Loch Kinder are the best; but 

 none of these at all equal the lochs in the north of 

 Scotland. I have caught yellow trout in Lochs Dee 

 and Trool, from four to five pounds weight, and in the 

 former, pike above twenty pounds; but the ordinary 

 weight is much less. 



" In Wigtonshire, the LUCE and BLADENOCH are the 

 only angling streams, and neither is entitled to the cha- 

 racter of a good one, whether for salmon or yellow trout. 

 The Luce is a very late river for salmon, which are sel- 

 dom to be met with before August, and even then not 

 in considerable numbers, though pretty large, some- 

 times from fifteen to twenty pounds weight. It is 

 generally, however, well stocked with sea-trout, weighing 



