THE POLLY 279 



Kirkaig. Grilse sometimes run in very fair numbers, and in other 

 years are scarcely to be found. From the return with which I have 

 been favoured, the variation is in the last ten years from to 42. 

 The number of salmon is never large, but is much more steady than 

 is the grilse record. Ten, twelve, or fourteen in the season repre- 

 sents what may be expected. The fish do not usually run large, 

 and a wet summer is all in favour of the angler. The fishing goes 

 with Inverpolly Lodge. 



Sea-trout are much more numerous than salmon and grilse. 

 Eecent annual totals are 92, 122, 47, 188, 101, 163, 123, 56, 129 

 and 114, the last being for 1908. 



Loch Shinaskaig has been sluiced at its outlet so as to impound 

 water ; a most valuable provision when dealing with small streams. 

 Major Blunt, in a letter written at the end of season 1906, says, 

 touching the effect of this operation, " We had a lot of fish up the 

 river thanks to artificial spates in spite of a dry season at the 

 time fish were on the coast." Writing as to the previous season, 

 Major Blunt said : " The little Polly, with its sluice on Loch Shinas- 

 kaig, was the only place any could come up. The fish remained 

 about 5 weeks splashing about in shoals then went south." 



Other operations, in the way of improving the fishing, have also 

 been carried out here. A pass round the lowest fall has just been 

 made, and previous to this, about two-thirds of the bag nets on the 

 Coigach coast have been removed. 



Another stream and loch holding grilse, and more especially sea- 

 trout, is also in the Inverpolly ground, viz. the stream flowing out of 

 Loch Owskaig to the sea at Garvey Bay. Here in July and August, 

 given sufficient water in the streams, some good sport is to be had. 

 It is reported 1 that as many as 128 sea-trout have been taken in a 

 day, some of them scaling up to 4 Ib. in weight. 



THE KANAIED. 



In the Ehidorrach Forest, where the Eappoch Water rises from 

 its many head streams and flows away east to Glen Einig and the 

 Oykell, the Kanaird also rises in a flattish glen, called the Strath- 

 nan- Lon, which is sandwiched in between two of the Eappach 

 streams. Several small shallow lochans occur in its course at first, 

 the general direction of which is N.W. to Loch-a-Chroisg. From 

 this loch, which is about 627 feet above sea-level, the little Kanaird 

 flows about 7J miles to the sea. 



1 Augustus Grimble, Salmon Rivers of Scotland, p. 119. 



