THE SPEY 165 



descript feather, with lengthy fibres, often turning " fluffy " towards 

 the body end. These are got from a cross between the Hanibro 

 cock and the old Scottish mottled hen. Of course there is a breed 

 at Arndilly, Wester Elchies, Gordon Castle, and a few other places 

 on the Spey, but these are difficult feathers to get good elsewhere. 

 Although these birds are good layers, their sharp breasts make them 

 bad for the table ; also they are not hardy birds, and thrive better 

 in England than in the north, and do specially well at Goodwood. 

 The hackle and the tinsel are wound on the reverse way — that is, if 

 the hackle goes from right to left, the tinsel is turned from left to right. 

 These flies, thoughnot much to look at when comparedwith a Durham 

 Ranger or any other " gaudie," are 5'et full of life and show in the 

 water, and with them I have killed fish in every river in which I 

 have tried them, and they are many. There are literally hundreds 

 of variations in these flies ; the best known, however, are the Purple 

 (the " Purpy," as they call it). Green and Black Kings, Gold and 

 Silver Heron, Black Dog, Gold and Silver Riach, Gold Green, Silver 

 Green, Lord IMarch, the Dallas, Lady Caroline, Lady Florence, and 

 Miss Elinor — the three last names indicating clearly enough that 

 lady anglers are numerous on the river, more so, I think, than any 

 other, for from Tulchan to the sea there is hardly a fishery on which 

 fair and skilful exponents of the Spey cast are not to be met with. 



Geordie Shanks at Aberlour ties all the Gordon Castle flies, and 

 there is no better exponent of the art, and several pleasant mornings 

 have I passed with him in getting hints while chatting and looking 

 over Lord March's fly-book — the biggest and the fullest I have 

 ever seen. At Aberlour also there lives one Stewart, who is Ai 

 at making a Spey rod — an implement which, to the uninitiated, is 

 both unpleasant to look at and to handle. 



The Spey opens for net and rod on the nth of February, and 

 closes for the former on the 26th of August, and for the latter on 

 the 15th of October. 



For many years splendid Spey was much damaged by the 

 discharge into its waters of the poisonous refuse of the many 

 distilleries that had sprung up on its banks. This refuse — known 

 as " burnt ale " — was proved to be deadly to fry, par, and smolts, 

 while all the salmon were made sick that were lying in the pools 

 nearest to the point at which it made its way into the river. Often 

 have I been fishing below the Aberlour Burn (on which there is a 

 large distillery), with the water in fine order, when suddenly by 

 a discharge of " burnt ale " it has been turned into a muddy yellow 

 colour, accompanied by masses of horrid-looking froth floating 

 on the surface and varying in size from a saucer to the top of a 

 smaU tea-table. On these occasions all chance vanished of catching 

 a fish in the half-mile immediately below. So great did this 

 nuisance become, and so obstinate were the distillers in persisting 

 in emptying this poison into the river, that the proprietors at length 

 appealed to the law for protection. The Countess Dowager of 

 Seafield led the van, and after a lengthy trial before Lord Kyllachj' 



