8o THE SALMON RIVERS OF SCOTLAND 



and oddly enough a precisely similar day on the i8th of February, 

 1893 ; the only two occasions on which such a record has been 

 made. 



In 1892, 25th April, Mr, Ashley Dodd had a fish of 35 lb., and was 

 then just beaten by Mr. Greg a few days later, who had one of 36 lb. 

 from the Linn on the 5th of May. 



In 1S94 a most extraordinary state of affairs prevailed, for from 

 the 17th of April tiU the 14th of May not a fish was got on the loch. 



In 1899, Mr. J, R. Walker, on the 20th of April, had a fish of 

 35| lb. from Loch Beg. This season— the worst but one since 1852— 

 gave a good many big fish, and from a hke experience of other small 

 yielding years, it would seem as if the fewer there were the bigger 

 they ran. In 1899, out of the total of 206, twenty were over 20 lb. 

 Since 1869 only fifteen fish of 30 lb. or over are recorded ; but the 

 yearly weight is nevertheless increasing. In 1863 the 1510 fish 

 averaged but a fraction over 9 lb., and amongst the lot there were 

 only eight of 20 lb. or over. The present average may be taken at 

 iij lb., while many more fish of 20 lb. and over are got each season. 



The best takes of single days on the different river beats are 

 as follows. No. I being nearest the sea : — 



No. I. Seven fish. Mr. F. En3'S. 

 Eight fish. Mr. Banbury. 

 Seven fish. Colonel Rocke. 

 Seven fish. Sir R. Musgrave. 

 Eight fish. Mr. F. Enys. 

 Nine fish. Sir Sanforcl Graham. 



6. Ten fish. Mr. Carew. 



7. Eight fish. Mr. R. D. Walker. 



8. Sixteen fish. Mr. Adams. 



9. Ten fish. Lord Kilcoursie. Loch Beg. 

 ID. Twenty-one fish. Mr. Bailey. 



10. Nineteen fish. iMr. Wormald. 

 10. Nineteen fish. ?ilr. Jleiklam. 



In 1888, j\Ir. Dunbar died, and Sir Tollemache Sinclair took the 

 river into his own hands ; but in 1891 he let it again to a syndicate 

 of six gentlemen, who have held it since. They are ;Messrs. F. Enys, 

 Herbert Greg, R. D. Walker, J. G. Walker, G. Ashley Dodd, and A. 

 W. Merry. They open Braal Castle on ist February, and after 

 fishing the ri\'er from there until nearly the end of March, they 

 move up to Strathmore Lodge to fish the upper beats and Loch 

 ]\Iorc. It is, however, one tiling to open Braal on the ist of 

 February, and another matter to get there, for the Caithness 

 snowstorms are very severe, as may be seen by the annexed illustra- 

 tion of the Londoi, express, drawn by three engines, charging a 

 snow block at Altnabreac Station on the 8th of March 1895. Up 

 to the present the syndicate has not enjoyed any extraordinarily 

 good season, their second one of 1892 being the best, when they 

 had 822 fish. The last three years have been unusually poor, and 



^. 



