210 THE SALMON RIVERS OF SOTLAND 



of the river at Bonar Bridge, a serious fall occurs in a deep rocky 

 defile, surrounded by woods of birch and pine. The chief fishing in 

 the Carron is in the 11 miles below the fall, and the rights are held 

 by Invercarron and Downie, Gledfield, Braelangwell, Amat, and 

 Glencalvie. The greater part of the water is let for salmon angling, 

 and accommodation of a most comfortable sort may be secured at 

 the Ardgay Hotel, beside Bonar Bridge Station. A good road goes 

 up each side of the river. Invercarron water fishes best in February, 

 March, and April. By May and June fish are generally congregated 

 in considerable numbers below the falls. 



The Carron is a great river for platforms and casting places 

 perched upon its banks. Wherever the water in any rocky defile 

 is inspected one finds a comfortable path with a wooden platform 

 erected here and there on iron supports, so as to insure a cast in the 

 most likely spot. At other places isolated rocks have gangways out 

 to them, while below the Amat Falls there are hundreds of yards of 

 wooden paths supported from rocky walls, large platforms high above 

 the water, and long flights of steps here and there to get up or 

 down. A great deal has, therefore, been done to make fishing easy 

 in difficult situations. 



The water is somewhat peaty, yet fish do not seem to get coloured 

 rapidly. The colour is one to encourage the fly fisher. It looks 

 black in the deep rocky pools, but in the fine streamy waters 

 belonging to Braelangwell some ideal fly pools exist, although the 

 river is never of great size when in fishing order. 



Owing no doubt to the very steep nature of the land at the 

 source, the Carron is subject to rapid fluctuations of level. To one 

 fishing the lower reaches a rise of a foot or two may come as an 

 unexplained surprise. Similarly, the water may in a night fall 

 away to nothing. On the one hand it has been raining hard, or on 

 the other has been freezing or otherwise drying up at the sources. 

 This condition in any district can only be brought under control by 

 damming up head waters in an artificial loch. This course has 

 already been suggested for the Carron, and I understand that a very 

 suitable site seems available, subject to the proper examination of 

 the subsoil. Some good grazing ground for deer might possibly have 

 to be sacrificed, and the question touches more than one interest. It 

 is certain, however, that there must be plenty of waste water which 

 could be stored up. 



The falls are perhaps the most serious in the whole Kyle district. 

 Fish do ascend them when the water is low, but the ascent is 



