CHAPTER XL VI 



THE BALGAY, SHIELDAIG, AND TORRIDON 



As these three streams fall into the salt water of Loch Torridon, 

 they \viU be best dealt with in one chapter. 



The Balgay flows out of Loch Damph, five miles long, and 

 forms the march between Mr. C. J. Murray's Forest of Glenshieldaig 

 and the Earl of Lovelace's Forest of Ben Damph. It is but 

 a little more than a mile in length, in which there is a sharp 

 fall, greatly hindering, but not entirely preventing, the ascent of 

 fish. Here, many years ago, was one of those pots or traps into 

 which salmon fell back as the}' tried to leap the faU, and at that 

 time fish were in such plenty that six to eight were often taken in 

 a day. The stream is fished by the two proprietors on alternate 

 days, both of them sparing no pains to make the fishing better, for 

 as they preserve strictly, promiscuous applications for leave are 

 useless. Now and again it yields a good bag of sea trout with a 

 very occasional salmon. 



The Shieldaig runs through the glen of the same name, and falls 

 into Loch Shieldaig, a branch of Loch Torridon, which must not 

 be confused with Shieldaig Ijong farther north and close to Gairloch. 

 It is purely a spate river, which under present circumstances gives 

 no sport worth mentioning. 



The Torridon falls into the head of the salt water loch of the same 

 name, drains thirty-eight square miles, and is the largest of the three 

 streams. Its waters are very clear, with a good many quick-running 

 shallows, the whole of it belonging to the Trustees of the late Mr. 

 Duncan Darroch of Torridon, who preserved it strictly. This gentle- 

 man had a lengthy experience of ^^^est Coast angling, and, always 

 taking a lively interest in the subject, as far back as 1884 he drew 

 up a memorandum on the matter at the request of the Fishery Board. 

 A clearer, more sensible, or convincing indictment against the in- 

 creasing number of the bag-nets and their non-observance of the 

 weekly close time could not have been penned, and I regret want 

 of space prevents me from quoting Mr. Darroch's letter in extenso. 



It is to be hoped that the coming Royal Commission, to be 

 appointed for the consideration of the working of the existing 

 salmon fishery laws, will at any rate recommend the advisability 

 of allowing appeals against many of the existing estuary lines, 

 for Loch Torridon is by no means the only sufferer. With regard 

 to the non-observance of the weekly close time, I have often thought 



