82 THE SALMON RIVERS OF SCOTLAND 



or some seven hours later than it does now, and this meant sleeping 

 another night on the road. 



With the exception of three mUes on the right bank below 

 Westerdale and about five on the left bank, the whole of the Thurso 

 belongs to Sir J. G. ToUemache Sinclair, and though on these odd 

 miles that are not his the respective owners have the right of 

 using a net coble, it has been decided by law that this method of 

 fishing does not also carry with it the right of angling with a 

 rod. 



The river is an early one, opening on the nth of January and 

 closing on the 14th of September. The nets immediately round 

 the mouth are rented by the syndicate, and are not worked. From 

 the 1st of April to the middle of May is the cream of the angling ; 

 but at times continuous high winds so stir up the loch as to make it 

 muddy, and when once in this state it remains dirty for a consider- 

 able time. GrUse begin to run about the end of May, and of these 

 more can be taken with a trout fly than with anything larger. 

 To fish the river with comfort three rods are required — one of 

 eighteen feet for the spring, one of sixteen feet for the river from 

 the end of April, and one of fourteen feet for the loch. The short, 

 heavy double taper line invented by Mr. Greg is an excellent one, 

 for it will send out a big fly in the teeth of a high %vind, or send a 

 small one lightly and truly to the end of an extra long cast of fine 

 salmon gut. Both in the slack pools of the river and in the loch, 

 fish are apt to take just as the fly is being hfted, and there are more 

 rods broken here than on any other dozen rivers in Scotland. 

 There is a story of a novice guest who, as one of the old hands 

 ruthlessly put it, " could not throw a fly jis far as a good Yankee could 

 spit." He arrived with half a dozen rods, and three days later 

 he wired his tackle-maker, " Send me a dozen salmon rods by 

 return ! " There is no compulsion to carry a net. The gaff is 

 used, it being understood that kelts are to be hand-lined, hfted 

 from the water, and returned uninjured. As to the Thurso flies, 

 there are no such things as standard patterns ; ranging from irons 

 4l in. long to the very smallest, any bright-coloured combination 

 of mohair, tinsel, hackles, and feathers will kill. The more yellow 

 the better, as the water often is peat-stained, and then that colour 

 shows more conspicuously than any other. Here is the dressing 

 of two old flies that lie before me as I write, and each has seen 

 service. The first is an excellently well-tied one of Mr. Enys 

 — a nameless creature, which might well be christened the Enys, 

 for that gentleman holds the honour of being father of the river. 



Iron three inches long. 



Tail. Red ibis, or dyed swan ; one-third of body gold twist, 

 two toucan feathers, and a red but at the top of this ; the remainder 

 of body equal lengths of yellow and blue mohair with broad silver 

 tinsel ; a claret hackle with blue over it, and a gallina over that ; 

 all three at shoulder. 



Wing. Long strips of brown turkey feather with red and blue 



