THE CONON 191 



haunted Falls of Rogie, which, though not an absolute bar to the 

 ascent of fish, are yet a very great hindrance, which could easily 

 be lessened by slight judicious blasting without in any way spoiling 

 the beauty or the appearance of the falls. Below this, the pools 

 of the Blackwater often show most excellent spring angling. Both 

 banks, down to the junction with the Conon, a distance of about 

 lour miles, belong to Sir Arthur Mackenzie of Coul, and are let to 

 Major Stirling of Monar. From the junction, Sir Arthur owns the 

 left bank of the Conon up to Loch Luichart, while below the junction 

 the Coul property goes down to Moy Bridge, where it is jomed by 

 the Brahan Castle water of Colonel Stewart Mackenzie. On the 

 right bank from below the falls the Little Scatwell estate has a 

 short piece of the river extending to the Meig junction. Below 

 the Meig mouth, Scatwell comes in on this bank and goes down to 

 nearly opposite the Blackwater junction, where Mr. Stirling of 

 Fairburn joins on, and goes down to the Orrin junction, the re- 

 mainder of the river to the tideway belonging on both sides to 

 Brahan Castle. 



From Moy Bridge to the sea is the best of the spring angling, 

 in which distance are many fine pools, notably the Kettle. The 

 Brahan Castle water, which is sometimes let, shows once more how 

 wise it is to make fine anghng, regardless of a small prospective 

 loss by the non-working of the nets ; for in every instance where 

 this experiment has been tried, it has always resulted in the angling 

 being let for a far larger sum than the nets had previously brought 

 in. Up to about 1888 the Brahan water was let for netting to 

 Messrs. Powrie and Pitcaithly, of Perth, who, by netting hard at 

 the cruives and a little below them, and at the river mouth, so 

 depleted the Conon of fish that it was a rare event to see a clean 

 one above the cruives before the boxes were opened and the nets 

 taken off. 



In 1890, Mr. Stirling of Fairburn, in conjunction with all the 

 other lower proprietors, leased the Brahan cruives and net fishings, 

 and, by keeping the boxes open and not working the nets, the 

 river was speedily restocked. From that time neither cruives 

 nor nets have been worked, and the river now holds a high rank 

 as a good one for the angler, while it is also a beautiful river to fish, 

 as the scenery is picturesque in the extreme. No waders are re- 

 quired, the few pools that cannot be commanded from the bank 

 being boated. 



The main run of salmon is in March and April ; grilse begin to 

 show about the middle of May. There are, however, always a 

 fair sprinkling of clean fish in the river on the opening day, and it 

 has several times been suggested that the rod season should com- 

 mence on the 1st instead of on the nth of February. It has also 

 been further urged that the use of the gaff should be prohibited 

 until the ist of May, and also that the Sea Birds Protection Act 

 should be repealed so far as the common gull is concerned, as they 

 destroy every year vast quantities of par and smolts in the tidal 



