86 THE SALMON RIVERS OF SCOTLAND 



LOCH TAY. 



As everyone knows, Loch Tay has ever been famous as a place for 

 spring fishing where the fish run heavy. The usual weights of fish are 

 or were from 18 to 22 lb., and fish from 30 to 35 Ib. have frequently 

 been taken. A 39 lb. fish was got in 1900 at Killin. The fish are 

 caught by trolling and the line is sunk deep, for the loch is deep. 

 The same class of fish are taken in Loch Ness, which, in recent 

 years, has become a serious rival of time-honoured Loch Tay. 



In length the loch is fully 14 j miles ; the mean breadth being 

 0'70 mile. The superficial area is 10*19 square miles, the maximum 

 depth 508 feet, and the mean depth 1 99'076 feet. 1 



The loch lies in a north-east and south-west direction, and is 

 therefore an example of a valley running along the main axes of 

 the country's formation. It is of extremely simple conformation, 

 the bottom sloping gradually without any pronounced irregularities. 

 The slope is rather steeper at the south-west or Killin end than at 

 the outflow end. " The 50-feet basin approaches to within less than 

 400 feet from the south-west end and less than 800 feet from the 

 north-east end, and is 14j miles in length." The 100-feet basin is 

 very nearly 14 miles in length, while the 200 feet basin is about 

 11 miles in length. The deepest part of the loch is about 5J miles 

 from the north-east end of the loch, being between Skiag and 

 Cragganruar, and here there is a small basin 500 feet in depth. 



The officers of the Ordnance Survey found the level above the 

 sea to be 347'9 feet on 12th August, 1899. The staff of the 

 Bathymetrical Survey determined the level, by levelling from bench 

 marks, as being 349*1 feet in 1902. In great part the loch has been 

 hollowed out by ice erosion, although geologists appear to agree that 

 it is not entirely so, since a well-marked fault slants across the 

 north-eastern end and, continuing along the southern side of the 

 loch, is traced through Loch Earn and on to the shores of Loch 

 Vennacher. 



A section of water at each end of the loch is preserved by Lord 

 Breadalbane, who owns the right of fishing, but by staying at any 

 of the neighbouring hotels angling can be obtained. Kenmore 

 Hotel has six boats and about 8 miles of water. Killin Hotel has 

 also six boats and 8 miles of water. Those two hotels are situated, 



1 Bathymetrical Survey of Fresh Water Lochs of Scotland, under the direction of 

 Sir John Murray and Laurence Pullar. Scottish Geographical Magazine, vol. xix. , 

 No. 11. 



