98 THE SALMON RIVERS OF SCOTLAND 



high water mark by the action of sea and wind, while at the back of 

 these sand hills the land is flat for fully half a mile inland. Half 

 way between Montrose and the North Esk the southern boundary of 

 the district occurs, the northern boundary being nine or ten miles 

 up the coast at Gourdon. There are fully 120 nets fished in this 

 stretch of coast, and they are chiefly concentrated in St. Cyrus Bay 

 and the stretch just north of the river mouth. The nets are much 

 outrigged one on end of the other, so that one may see two or it 

 may be three fly nets set on poles sunk in the shelving sandy beach, 

 one beyond the other, and, outside of these, one or it may be two 

 bag nets, i.e. five or six nets in a line end to end. These nets and 

 bag nets, it may be explained, are precisely alike in principle, but 

 the former are adapted for fishing smooth and shallow beaches 

 between high and low water mark, while the bag nets are floated 

 to moorings in deeper water. It has been estimated by one arguing 

 in favour of the positions of those nets that the ranges of netting 

 are not closer to each other than 500 yards. 



The shore frontage where these nets are set is of great value, 

 although in recent times there has been a slight depreciation. In 

 1884 the rental for nets outside the North Esk estuary was 4795. 

 In 1894 it was 3636, and in succeeding years after that 3954, 

 3872, 3827, 3776, 3636, and in 1900 3753. The rental for 

 the whole district now stands at about 6400. The average 

 number of boxes of salmon sent from Eockhall Fishery in forty-six 

 years is 195. 



The estuary is drawn as an arc of a circle of 400 yards radius 

 from the centre of the river at low tide equinoctial spring tides, and 

 owing to the sandy nature of the shore this estuary is liable to 

 variation through the shifting of the river mouth. A large lagoon 

 exists behind the dunes just north of the present river mouth, and 

 having a separate entrance to the sea practically a mile away from 

 the present river mouth. This was at one time the course of the 

 river, and some curious stories are told of how it ceased to be the 

 mouth. It is sufficient here to say, however, that the North Esk 

 now runs straight into the sea from what is called the North Water 

 Bridge. I have no doubt the straight mouth is much better in the 

 general interests of the river than the old mouth. 



Four miles and a half up from the mouth Marykirk Bridge occurs, 

 and a short distance below this a dam dyke, called Craigo Dyke, 

 exists. Net and coble fishing has for a great many years been 

 steadily carried on up to this bridge. Three or four years ago an 



