102 THE SALMOX RIVERS OF SCOTLAND 



there were no nets plying in the river above the raihvay bridge at 

 Aberdeen. In 1882 the good work was yielding a rich harvest, for 

 in that season upwards of five thousand salmon and grilse were 

 taken by the rods, and the collective value of the anghng rents 

 produced three times the amount of the former netting rents, while 

 now their present value may be taken as exceeding £8000, an 

 enormous increase from the ;i'iooo that they were worth in 1S71. 

 From that time the Dee has never looked back. It has had its 

 bad years and good ones, hke aU other rivers, with the difference 

 that a bad angling season on the Dee means a nearly absolute 

 dearth of sport on any other river. Bj' degi"ees, however, the 

 increase of the coast nets has begun to teU, and if the Dee is to 

 maintain its angling reputation, the Association must now turn 

 their attention in that direction. 



The extent of the Dee District coast is eighteen miles, on 

 which in 1882 there were 102 bag- and stake-nets ; in 1894 these 

 had been increased to nearly 200, and in all probability at the 

 present moment there are still more. In 1836 there were but four 

 stake- and two bag-nets on the mile of sandy shore between the 

 mouths of the Don and the Dee. In 1SS2 these had grown to eleven 

 bag-nets and six stake-nets, and at the present their numbers have 

 been again increased by the system of " outrigging." 



The whole of the hundred miles of coast, from Fife Xess on the south 

 to Peterhead on the north, is just one mass of nets, which are rapidly 

 depopulating the Tay, the two Esks, Dee, Don, Ythan, and Ugie. 



My opinion is that, were it not for the well-managed hatchery 

 at Durris, the falhng off on the Dee would be even more marked. 

 From this hatchery ova from the Spey and Deveron have been 

 hatched, and the fry turned into the river, with the view of bringing 

 about an increase in the weight of spring fish ; and though at present 

 the experiment does not appear to be attended with success, it must 

 not be forgotten that any improvement in this direction can only- 

 come very gradually. Ova from the Tay would perhaps have 

 yielded better results, as the fish of that river are heavier than those 

 of the Spey or the Deveron, and run equally early. 



The Dee is protected by a staff of about twentj'-two bailiffs, 

 and the united Boards of Dee and Don also maintain a steam 

 launch to protect the coast ; and since this boat has been put on, 

 the poaching, once so prevalent at the mouths of these rivers, has 

 almost entirely ceased — a result well worthy of special note by the 

 proprietors of the ^^'est Highland rivers. Poaching on the Dee 

 itself is, however, far from being extinguished, for the annual pro- 

 secutions are numerous, and very rarely unsuccessful. 



Most of the old Dee anglers regard April — which the natives 

 call " Ap-rile " — as the best month of the season, but though there 

 are then more fish, j-et they appear less inchned to lay hold than 

 those of February and ^larch ; indeed, if the weather 'is mild and 

 springlike from the opening day, good scores may quickly be made 

 as long as that state of affairs prevails, ^^■hich is usually to about 



