THE YTHAN 



171 



dead in a little backwater, where it had been left by a flood in 

 January 1895. It was a cock fish, and, had it been fresh from the 

 sea, would have weighed but little short of 60 lb. 



The October fish are the heaviest, and, strange to relate, during 

 the month of November there is always a large run of heavy fish, 

 a fact which, in 1891, induced the District Board to petition the 

 Secretary for Scotland to extend the rod season for a further fort- 

 night, or at least ten days ; under the circumstances this seemed a 

 reasonable request, which, had it been granted, could have done 

 the river no harm, for, in the opinion of many of those who hve 

 on its banks, there are each season more spawners in the water 

 than suffice to fill the spawning beds, as is evidenced by the great 

 numbers of cock fish found each season which are either wounded or 

 dead from fighting. Perhaps had this extra ten days been granted 

 to the rods, it might have been followed by a petition for a further 

 ten days of nettmg, which it would have been difficult to refuse. 



In 1889 the Fishery Board Report states that the sea nets took 

 5620 salmon and grilse against thirty-seven got by the whole of the 

 river rods ; this, however, was a season of great drought, which 

 accounts for the enormous disproportion. In i8go there were 5227 

 salmon and grilse netted as against seventy taken by the rods ; and in 

 1891, 6528 were captured, and 300 fell to the rods, and this latter 

 year may be taken as a fair average for both nets and rods. In 

 1892 and ever since, the lessees of the nets have refused to give 

 any information to the Fishery Board of the numbers of fish 

 caught by the coast nets of the Ythan district. 



The takes of the years already given amount to a total of 

 '^7375 salmon and grilse as against 407 to the rods, or forty-two 

 fish to the netters for one to the anglers ; it may, however, be taken 

 for granted that the net fishings have not fallen off, or the lessees 

 would have been complaining, and therefore the chances are that 

 the sea catches have even exceeded the figures given, in which case 

 the lessees may well feel somewhat bashful about making such 

 returns of their gains as would perhaps lead to a rise in their rentals. 



In face of the opinion held by many of the dwellers on Ythan 

 side — i.e. that there are already too many fish on the spawning 

 grounds — the District Fishery Board have just put up a hatchery 

 by the river side on the estate of Auchterellon, which will take 

 200,000 ova, though the benefits will probably be wholly absorbed 

 by the sea nets. Here, then, is yet another of the many instances 

 of coast nets unduly depriving a river of a fair and proportionate 

 stock of spring fish ; and here, as in other places, the bag- and stake- 

 nets should be set wider apart from either side of Ythan mouth, or 

 the weekly close time should be lengthened ; and if that were done, 

 then the spring angling belonging to the upper proprietors of the 

 river would speedily become a valuable and realisable asset, as 

 indeed it should be. 



At present, rumours are prevalent that a fresh Royal Commission 

 is about to be appointed to revise the existing Salmon Fishery 



