THE CROWE, ELCHAIG, AND LUING 197 



Luing, but, sad to relate, poachers are numerous, who get large 

 quantities of fish both from the shores of the loch, from the mouths 

 of the rivers, and even from the rivers themselves, unless very 

 closely watched. They are a bold set of men, rendered more so 

 by the impunity with which they carry on their operations, and 

 were it not for their evil doings, the two rivers would be nearly 

 as plentifully stocked as they used to be forty years ago. 



The Elchaig is the more southern of the two streams, and has 

 about seven miles of good angling, although three miles from the 

 mouth there are some falls up which fish easily pass by a ladder. 

 It is entirely a spate river, which comes down with great fury 

 when there is heavy rain. At such periods the falls of the Glomach 

 tributary offer a grand sight, as they are quite the highest in 

 Scotland, being close on three hundred and fifty feet. This river 

 averages each season from twenty to thirty fish of 10 lb., and from 

 150 to 300 sea trout of i lb. each. Waders are not required, and 

 the same flies as kill on the Shiel will kill here. 



The Luing has a run of about twelve miles, and rising in the 

 small loch of Luie, near Loch Calvie — with which, however, it has 

 no connecting stream— it falls into the head of Loch Luing, close 

 to the mouth of the Elchaig, Two miles from the salt water there 

 is a heavy fall of upwards of twenty feet sheer, past which very 

 few fish ascend, although some attempts have been made to enable 

 them to do so. Above these falls there are six miles of good spawning 

 ground and pretty angling, with fully double the number of pools 

 in the distance as there are between the falls and the sea. The 

 fish of this river are handsomer than those of the Elchaig ; for they 

 are short, thick, fat fellows with small heads, while those of the 

 sister stream are longer and thinner — a deficiency which anglers 

 will most likely consider as more than compensated for by their 

 being much freer risers. The average take of fish and sea trout 

 is much the same as that of the Elchaig ; also similar flies can be 

 used. Both rivers open on the nth of February, with the usual 

 close times for that day. 



AH these four streams afford fresh instances of rivers being 

 opened by law long before they are opened by nature ; for there 

 are no clean fish in any of them until April. 



One side of the Luing and one side of the Elchaig go with 

 Killflan and Glomach Forest, and the other with Attadale Forest, 

 or rather Ben Dronaig, One side of the Luing also goes with 

 Killilan and the other with Dorisduan and Inverinate. Mr. John 

 Hargreaves, who had Killilan a few years ago, writes me as follows 

 about the angling of these two streams : " When the September 

 rains did at last come, we had some good sport ; friends and 

 myself killing twenty-five salmon with one hundred sea trout in 

 the month. I had one good day, killing two fine stags, right and 

 left ; and then taking a rod, I fished down the Elchaig and kflled 

 three salmon, gaffing for myself and carrying them home on my 

 back, as I had no man with me. If there is water, each of these 



