310 THE SALMON RIVERS OF SCOTLAND 



here generally lay the heaviest fish. From the end of this long still 

 water there was about a mile or so of rough water, in which you 

 occasionally got sea-trout, and I have caught grilse. You then came 

 to the pools into which the tide ran up near the Garynahine Inn 

 and bridge. There occasionally, particularly in the latter end of 

 the season, you got fish; and if you watched the turn of the tide 

 well, and caught the pools as the fish were coming in, and before the 

 tide had made too much, you might get a good many sea-trout. I 

 once got 87, but they were small. From this description it will be 

 seen that the Blackwater was a very nice little river. It was no 

 Highland or Irish stream, but it had plenty of fish ; and it had one 

 thing about it I never saw equalled it was the best rising river I 

 ever threw line on." 



It must be explained that with the river in his own hand, 

 " Sixty-One " did not over-fish it. He was a great believer in 

 resting the water thoroughly, so he picked his days, and did not 

 show himself in the intervals. Then, again, he used a light rod and 

 very fine tackle. He refers to his flies in one place as " not more 

 than midges." In this he not only also prevented disturbance of 

 the water, but secured the maximum of sport when he did get into 

 a fish. He was, as we have shown, a very keen sportsman, but he 

 was also a very observant and thoughtful one. " Heaven defend me 

 from one of your very keen fishermen, who rushes at a river in all 

 weathers," he writes ; " I have as great a horror of him as ever Old 

 Noll had of Sir Harry Vane." 



The Blackwater is, however, not a spring river as the Grimersta. 

 On rare occasions, I believe, spring fish enter it, but they need not 

 be sought there regularly. Very probably the Grimersta draws 

 them off, simply because of its extra water volume. 



THE KIVEE LAXAY 



may be considered as ranking third in the Lewis. It is on the 

 opposite side of the island, and has a course of about four miles from 

 Loch Trialaval to Loch Valtos, from which it flows by a short course 

 of about a mile into the sea, about half-way up Loch Erisort, some 

 ten miles south of Stornoway, as the crow flies. 



There are two or three good casts between the sea and Loch 

 Valtos, but the fish do not generally rise freely here. Between 

 Trialaval and Valtos there are only about two good pools, generally, 

 I think, called the Rock Pool and the Eeedy Pool. The specialty 



