THE DOON, GIRVAN, AND STINCHAR 253 



Blair, R.N., Sir James Fergusson of Kilkerran, Sir Reginald 

 Cathcart of Killochan Castle, Mr. John Shaw Kennedy, Mr. Hugh 

 Wallace of Cloncaird Castle, and Mr. J. C. Kennedy. 



The Killochan water is perhaps as good as any on the river, 

 and typical of the other reaches. It extends on both banks for 

 three miles, part of it being let to a club of anglers at Girvan, who 

 permit the use of all lures. On this water there are nine pretty 

 casts, which, sad to say, hold very few fish. When they are 

 caught, salmon average lo lb., sea trout 2 lb., and whitling | lb. 



The Fishery Board Report of 1896 says that : " In the Girvan 

 district but little interest seems to be taken in the salmon fishings. 

 A Board has been formed, but it holds no meetings, employs no 

 staiS, and raises no funds. The fishings in this district merit more 

 attention than they are at present receiving." 



The angling is practically confined to the last six weeks of the 

 season, the upper parts of the river being best for salmon and grilse 

 and the lower ones for sea trout. One gentleman who knows the 

 river well writes me : " The Girvan can scarcely be classed as a 

 salmon river worth mentioning. It rises and falls very quickly, 

 and the rod fishing is of little use till after the nets are taken off 

 on the loth of September ; then the leaves very soon begin to fall, 

 and are most troublesome." Another says : " I get a deal of 

 amusement out of the Girvan, but very few fish." 



The river opens on the 25th of February, closes for nets on the 

 loth of September, and for rods on the 31st of October. 



Wading stockings are necessary on some of the pools, and a 

 rod of fourteen to sixteen feet will cover the water. Flies, the same 

 as the Doon. 



The Stinchar, the most southern and perhaps the prettiest of 

 the Ayrshire streams, drains one hundred and thirty-three square 

 miles of the lands lying between the watershed of the Girvan and 

 the marches of the shires of Wigtown and Kirkcudbright. Rising 

 in some of the upland moors of Barr parish, after a run of thirty 

 miles it falls into the sea at Ballantrae, close to Bargany Castle, 

 the residence of Major the Hon. North de Coigy Dalrymple Hamilton, 

 who employs a watcher to look after his fishings and to see that 

 the weekly close times are observed. There are no pollutions to 

 speak of, and but very few mill dams, while those that exist do 

 not seriously hinder the passage of fish, and altogether the Stinchar 

 is an ideal small salmon river, with plenty of pools and streams and 

 good spawning ground. , 



Sad to relate, bag-nets are permitted withm three hundred and 

 fifty yards of the mouth, and the sweep-net is freely used in the 

 river ; thus the severe and systematic netting of so small a stream 

 prevents anything like a fair proportion of fish reaching the upper 

 waters until after the nets come off on the loth of September, for 

 before that the coast nets get the bulk of the fish, and the nets in 

 the river then capture most of those that have escaped the nets in 

 the sea The residents on the banks complain loudly that this 



