270 Part III.— Ninth Annual Report 



1. Loch Leven, Kinross-shire. 



Loch Leven, which belongs to Sir G. Graham-Montgomery, Bart., has 

 been long famous for the peculiar delicacy in the colour and flavour of its 

 trout. In the Old Statistical Account of Scotland, they are referred to 

 as follows : — " The high flavour and bright red colour of the trout seem 

 evidently to arise from the food which Nature has provided for them in 



the loch What appears to contribute most to the redness and 



rich taste of the Loch Leven trout is the vast quantity of a small shell- 

 fish, red in its colour, which abounds all over the bottom of the loch, 

 especially among the aquatic weeds; the trout when caught have often 

 their stomachs full of them." * 



Reference is also made to the Loch Leven trout in the; New Statistical 

 Account, f 



Though Loch Leven has thus long been noted for the superiority of its 

 trout, it is only within the last thirty-five years or so that it has^become 

 such a famous resort for anglers. Previous to 1856 fishing with rod and 

 line appears to have been so disappointing in its results that few K anglers 

 cared to give the loch a second trial. From some cause that does not 

 appear to have been satisfactorily explained the fish were observed about 

 or shortly after the time stated to rise to the bait more freely than in 

 previous years, and consequently angling became more successful and 

 encouraging, and the result was that Loch Leven ere long formed a 

 rendezvous for anglers from all parts of the country. J 



The management of the Loch Leven Fishery was for a'long time in the 

 hands of a tacksman, but some years ago it was undertaken by~a limited 

 liability company, called the Loch Leven Angling Association, who pay 

 a rental of £1000 a year. 



As an example of the large number of fish taken during the season it 

 may be stated that in 1888 over 23,500 trout, weighing 21,000 lbs. — 

 being on an average nearly 1 lb. each — were captured. Perch also abound 

 in the loch, and are frequently fished ; pike are not uncommon, but as 

 they are destructive to the other fish, their number is being rapidly 

 reduced. Charr (Salmo alpinus, Linne) used also to be frequent, but I 

 can find no record of any of them being caught in recent years. 



The following extract from the Old Statistical Account of Scotland may 

 be of interest as showing the present greatly increased value of the Loch 

 Leven Fishery, compared with what it was last century : ' The fish of 

 Loch Leven only a few years ago sold here at Id. each, great and small, 

 for the trout, and the perch at a Id. per dozen, and about 25 years ago 

 at half that price ; the fishing was then let at 200 merks Scotch. The 

 trout are now raised to 4d. per lb., the perch to 2d. per dozen, and the 

 pike for 2d. per lb.; the present rent of the fishing is £80 sterling, and for 

 next year it is fixed at £100.§ In 1845 the rent had been increased to 

 £204 per annum and " 2 boats and 4 boatmen were employed during part 

 of the fishing season." || There are now (1891) 22 boats on the loch for 

 the use of anglers, and the rent, as stated above, is £1000 per annum. 



During the first half of the present century extensive operations were 

 carried out for the partial draining of the loch; these were completed 

 about 1845 at a cost of £40,000. By these operations the level of the 

 loch was lowered 4J feet and its area, which previously extended to 4,638 



* Vol. vi. pp. 166, 168 (1793). 



+ Vol. ix. (Kinross), p. 7 (1845). 



X "Sportsman's Guide," September 1890, "p. 235. 



§ Old Stat. Ace. of Scot., vol. vi. (Kinross), p pp.' 166-168 (1793). 



|| New Stat. Ace. of Scot., vol. ix. (Kinross), p. 6 (1845). 



