112 THE SALMON RIVERS OF SCOTLAND 



with a quick ' Cut when he runs you out/ Armed with a long- 

 handled gaff, he would next dash for the bridge, stoop over the 

 parapet at the far side, and catch the line on the gaff hook. When 

 you had cut the line and informed him of the fact, he would haul in 

 quickly, jump over. the parapet at the side, and then run down the 

 bank and handline the fish if still on." I should think this ex- 

 pedient is not possible at every bridge, and that Potarch is certainly 

 too high for it. 



Ballogie runs below the bridge on the right bank and is succeeded 

 by Commonty and Blackball, the former with about 2 miles and the 

 latter with about 5 miles, faced by Woodend, Cairnton, Inchmarlo, 

 and Kineskie. Banchory Bridge then completes another section of 

 the river. 



With regard to the Blackball Water, I am enabled, thanks to the 

 kindness of the proprietor, Mr. Hay, to give the totals for the last 

 12 years. They are as follows : 



1897 - - 332 fish 



1898 - - 186 



1899 - - 228 



1900 - - 336 



1901 - - 358 



1902 - - 328 , 



1768 



1903 - - 423 fish 



1904 - - 423 



1905 - - 304 



1906 - - 380 



1907 - - 454 



1908 - - 444 



2428 



The totals I have added for the first and for the second period of 

 6 years show a pretty substantial increase for the latter. The water 

 opposite is all held by Sir Thomas Burnett, and will be referred to 

 presently. 



The Crathes Water, below Banchory on the left bank, consists of 

 eight pools, and is divided into the Upper or House Water, and the 

 Lower Water. With the former, go The Old Kiln, Floating Bank, 

 Birkenband, and Kashentrosh. The Lower Water has the Mill Pool, 

 the Bridge Pool, Kelpie, and the Greenbanks. The spring fishing of 

 the whole should yield 50 to 60 fish, though in mild open winters 

 fish are somewhat apt to run past. The autumn fishing of late 

 years has been rather disappointing. Sir Thomas Burnett kindly 

 shows me by his records that the average for the last 7 years is only 

 22. From Crathes and Kinneskie Waters, in the early nineties, 

 Captain Ashton, who was then tenant, killed over 200 fish one 

 autumn. I do not know, however, what the conditions were, and it 

 may well be that fish were prevented running in summer, or that 

 the pools of this water afforded better holds for fish than at present. 



