THE UGIE 131 



bold, or at Inverugie, or at the section of the river where the old 

 cruives used to be fished, or where the Ugie Board now have their 

 hatchery. 



Much of the water is rather sluggish, as is inevitable from the 

 flat nature of the country, but at other parts, as the stream is turned 

 about this way and that, an interesting succession of streams and 

 pools exist, charming to the trout fisher, if not always so to the salmon 

 angler. Speaking of trout, I may add that the North Water is, I 

 believe, the best, although the opposite has been stated. Mr. Murray 

 of Eavenscraig says : 1 "At one time I was under the belief that 

 trout of fabulous size inhabited the pools ; but, since then, I have 

 fished it up and down with real minnow, and have neither hooked 

 nor seen any much above 2 Ib. . . . 



" As the result of many years' fishing, I have never killed them 

 above 4 Ib. (and that on one occasion only), 3 Ib. being quite an 

 exceptional weight. 



" Worm-fishing is not allowed on a great part of the river. 



" The takeable size is fixed at 9 inches ; but I think this might be 

 reduced somewhat, seeing that the best trout are under that length, 

 and those above it are not so good. Most of the native anglers 

 affect to despise brown-trout fishing. . . . 



" The Ugie can hardly be called a salmon river. . . . What can 

 be said of a river containing miles of good fishing water, vigorously 

 fished every day by twenty anglers (most of them experts) during 

 the whole month of October, and yielding only a grand total of 11 

 salmon ! Yet this was the case on the Ugie last season (1907). 



" I am glad to admit that it was a particularly bad season ; but I 

 do not think the average catch is more than 35 salmon. I do not 

 include grilse, of which a few are taken. The Ugie salmon are 

 exceptionally heavy for such a small river. I believe the average is 

 equal to that of the Don or Dee ; 18 Ib. to 25 Ib. being quite 

 common fish." 



I may say, with regard to the number of fish taken by rod in 

 1907, that the Twenty-sixth Keport of the Fishery Board for Scot- 

 land gives the number of salmon and grilse as 21. Without doubt, 

 however, the chief sport in the Ugie is the sea-trout and finnock 

 fishing in the lower reaches Scott's Pool, which is a long tidal pool 

 and forms the first resting-place for all the migratory fish on enter- 

 ing, the Cruive Pot, Pot Sunkan, and the Craig Pot are the favourites. 

 This angling is carried on during July, August, and September, and 



1 The Scottish Field, January 1908, p. 12. 



