CONWAY AND BETTWS-Y-COED 151 



up quickly, down quickly and the chief run 

 of fish being late in the season ; if there is not 

 plenty of rain then rod fishing cannot be good. 



At present the pollution of the Conway be- 

 tween Bettws-y-Coed and the sea is not suffici- 

 ently bad to turn the fish back probably or " up," 

 though in low water it will and does do that. 

 But it is more than sufficient to so sicken the 

 fish that in their passage up to the Lledr they 

 feel so uncomfortable that they will not look at, 

 much less take, the most tempting " Blue Doc- 

 tor" they have had too much "Black Dose" 

 already. It is only when they get into the much 

 purer water of the Lledr that they feel inclined 

 for a little "Jock Scott" or "Lledr Fancy," or 

 even one of Mr. Brandreth's tempting prawns. 



I suppose that the landowners and other in- 

 habitants of the Conway Valley look on the 

 matter in this way : " It would not pay to pro- 

 tect the Conway and its tributaries in order to 

 attract a few score salmon anglers. Ours is a 

 tourist district, and the rivers and their waterfalls 

 are just as beautiful whether there are salmon in 

 the pools or not." 



There is a good deal of truth in this on the 

 surface, but it is only necessary to think for a 

 moment of the hundreds of thousands of pounds 

 which are attracted every season to Scottish, 

 Irish, and Scandinavian "scenery" districts be- 

 cause they are also good fishing districts to see 



