354 THE SALMON RIVERS OF SCOTLAND 



was not likely to yield much result. But all the spring fish of the 

 district passed through them into the large loch from which each 

 river flows, and ascended to the river above. The Garry fish leave 

 Loch Ness, and, passing up the river Oich, enter the cold waters of 

 Loch Oich, fed from the Garry. Here, while the cold conditions of 

 spring continue, they remain. In the case of the Orchy, tish in the 

 same way leave Loch Awe and enter the colder waters of the Orchy, 

 but they ascend the easy waters of the lower Orchy only to be met by 

 the falls. These falls are capable of ascent given suitable conditions 

 of water-flow; but it happens here, as in the Garry, fish will not 

 attempt to make the ascent till the wintry thermal conditions have 

 passed out of the water. Scottish salmon will not jump rough and 

 steep barriers till the water has become comparatively warm ; and if 

 it is considered desirable to take them above such places, it is im- 

 perative that they should swim easily either in a pass of gentle 

 gradient, or in the river bed after the barrier has been removed, if 

 this is possible without creating other difficulties above. 



I refer to this question of temperature and the ascent of fish when 

 dealing with other districts, such as the Ness, Lochy, and Tay, and 

 it seems unnecessary to deal with the matter further here; but I 

 may add that in referring to the Orchy as being colder than the 

 Awe in the spring, I am speaking from actual thermometric readings 

 as shown on a chart of curves representing weekly means for both 

 rivers in the winter of 1901-1902, and already published. 1 



Salmon are not expected in the lower Orchy in any numbers till 

 April, although a few are usually captured in March. Up to the 

 present, I believe, the earliest date is 3rd March, and this was 

 regarded as exceptionally early. In 1908 the first fish was taken on 

 10th April. Fish pass through the Awe in March, and, when the 

 nets were regularly at work at the mouth of that river, salmon were 

 then taken in some numbers. The spring fish of this district are 

 usually of the big class, and in the pool below the lower fall in the 

 Orchy one may see, at times, a fair number weighing apparently 

 between 20 Ib. and 26 Ib. On one occasion I counted 21 fish 

 swimming slowly about the pool below the iron footbridge. Fishing 

 generally begins with April, and is best in the lower Orchy about 

 the middle of that month. Kelts are very seldom seen, being pre- 

 sumably already out of the river. The average weight of Orchy fish 

 is about 14 Ib. Lord Breadalbane institutes an earlier closing date 



i Twenty-first Annual Report Fishery Board for Scotland, Part ii., Appendix v., 

 p. 71. 



