io8 THE SALMOX RIVERS OF SCOTLAND 



the water on the left bank and opposite to that of Huntly Lodge 

 is let to the hotel, and runs down for some distance below Quithel 

 and overlaps the Carlogie water at the Long Haugh ; the Lhree 

 Stones, the Red Rock, Lummels, and Belhvood, with Omthel, 

 being the best pools. 



Now that the Ballater Hotel has lost the Invercauld fishing, 

 I think the " Huntly Arms " at Aboyne can fairly claim to have 

 the best hotel water in Scotland. The charge is from twenty to 

 forty pounds a month, and for this a friend of mine has had 

 eighty fish to his own rod in a month, a result due both to fine 

 fishing and the right sort of water. My own best month at the 

 hotel resulted in thirty-one fish, with which I was quite satisfied ; 

 but even should sport be disappointing, the mere fact of having 

 an ample beat all to oneself each day ensures content, while, if 

 all goes well, the angler will think he has had a very cheap month 

 of sport. The hotel usually also has the Upper Dess water, which 

 joins on the left bank a little below Quithel, and passing Pitslug, 

 goes do\\Ti to the top of the Mill Pool at Lower Dess, both reaches 

 belonging to JIajor D. F. Davidson., The last-named water is 

 but a bare mile of the left bank, but of the best quality, the Mill 

 Pot and Jock Rae being very prolific in fish. In 1891 the late 

 Mr. Pickop landed from these two pools, from nth of February 

 to 20th of April, just 100 fish ; and Major Davidson tells me that 

 on the i6th of February 1899 ^'^ ^ook four fish from the Mill Pot 

 after five o'clock p.m., having previously fished this pool and the 

 others several times without seeing a sign of a fish. " \\'hy they 

 responded at that late hour after refusing all day beats me, as it 

 was a nasty cold evening," thus writes the Major, and his question 

 is a regular poser. 



Returning up stream at the end of Quithel, the Carlogie water 

 joins and runs down on the right bank for some four miles, past 

 and opposite to Upper and Lower Dess, until it joins on to the Ballogie 

 beat. At the end of Dess, the Kincardine angling belonging to 

 ]\Irs. Pickering comes in on the left bank and goes down to 

 below the Ferry at Kincardine-O'Neil. Carlogie is essentially a 

 high-water beat, and with everything right it is a very good bit of 

 fishing from nth of February to the end of April. In company 

 with Mr. Charles Baily I fished this water in 1S91, from the nth 

 of February to the 6th of March. We worked hard and got but 

 nineteen fish. My game book says, " Frost, snow, gales, and low 

 water nearly all the time " ; and doubtlessly with better weather 

 our take would have been more than doubled. 



In addition to the pools opposite the Dess reaches, there are 

 two fine ones — the Clay Pool and the Whin Bush — common to this 

 and the Kincardine bank opposite : stiff wading from the Carlogie 

 side, but " drawing-room work " from the other bank. 



Below Kincardine comes Borrowstone, also belonging to ]Mrs. 

 Pickering, who usually personally fishes both these reaches in the 

 autumn, but sometimes lets them in the spring. This runs opposite 



