FISHING ON SALT-WATER LOCHS. 437 



trolling the ground they are known to haunt. The larger 

 ones, however, refuse to come so near the surface, and only 

 fish varying from six to fifteen pounds are taken by the 

 troll. With a reel and line of oiled cord, a black salmon 

 makes a run almost as exciting as a white one of the same 

 weight. 



Seithe swim in greater or smaller " skulls " ; so, in going 

 over a fleet of them, they are pulled into the boat as fast as 

 the rods can be taken up. Of course the continuance of the 

 " rises " depends on the size of shoal. The same sort of night 

 being as good for the hand-line as the " cuddie-fishing," we 

 generally preferred the former ; but the last time we tried 

 seithe nearly one hundred were brought into the boat, a dozen 

 lythe, two rock-cod, and a mackerel. 



Without giving an opinion on the vexed question of " trawl- 

 ing," let me say that I have listened to both sides of the 

 argument ably stated by keen partisans. There is no doubt 

 that all fish have decreased in the western sea-lochs since 

 trawling has been legalised. Many proprietors of salmon and 

 sea-trout streams which run into these lochs attribute also the 

 falling off of their fisheries to the same cause. This last 

 charge does not appear so clearly made out, as salmon and 

 sea-trout never spawn in the sea, and there is reason enough 

 for a decrease in these fish from the immense addition of net- 

 work for salmon all round our coasts. The same may be said 

 of the herring-fishery, as the great accession lately of drift- 

 nets alone would account for a lessening in the herring-shoals, 

 without taking note of the mischief done by the trawl. 



Before trawl-nets were sanctioned by law, I have seen 

 herring-fishers in the Kyles of Bute filling their boats to the 

 gunwale by this means. Their companions, who were drying 

 their nets on the shore, only laughed when I asked if they 

 would like a free berth in the jail of Inverary. Of course, 

 when the restriction was taken off the trawl-net, no fair fishing 

 had a chance against it. 



