^^^ THE SALMON RIVERS OF SCOTLAXD 



the many happy days I have spent on Tayside I have lost no oppor- 

 tunity of trjdng to get some explanation of the reason of the four 

 Dig years and then their total cessation, but up to the present no 

 one has been able to account for the phenomena, or why they do 

 not repeat themselves. Many of the most experienced residents 

 on Tayside attribute the falling off to several causes : (i) The 

 introduction of the hang-nets, which took more fish from the 

 estuary than had ever before been captured by the ordinary 

 method of netting.i (2) The appearance in 1882 of disease in 

 Loch Tay, by which large numbers of fish were killed. (3) A 

 succession of mild winters continuing into February caused an 

 absence of snow on the Lyon hills, making the river water warmer 

 than the loch, thus diverting the run of fish from the loch to the 

 Lyon, for there is no doubt this river holds more fish when its waters 

 are of a higher temperature than those of the loch ; nevertheless, 

 the Lyon never yields any extraordinarily good takes to the rods 

 in the spring, as surely it would do if the bulk of the Loch Tay 

 fish ran up it. (4) That of late years the loch has not been so hard 

 fished as it was prior to 1880. 



Although these four reasons may help to explain the falling off 

 on Loch Tay, it can hardly be asserted they entirely account for 

 it. The season of 1900 was the worst on record, only eighty-nine 

 fish having been caught in the whole loch, with a mean weight of 

 i8| lb., the two heaviest, of 39 lb. and 35 lb., falling respectively 

 to Mr. Paterson, fishing from Bridge of Lochay Hotel, and Mr. 

 Holder, from Kenmore. This very poor total is attributed to the 

 severe cold and low water of the early season, which stopped fish 

 from running up, keeping them in the lower reaches about Stanley, 

 where more were captured than for the last five-and-twenty springs. 



Thus the angling of Loch Tay is the cause of a large sum of 

 money being spent along its shores in the winter months. From 

 the 15th of January to the 15th of April there is seldom a boat 

 unoccupied, and taking these twelve weeks at £1^ a boat per 

 week, including the hotel bill and luncheons, etc., and assuming 

 there are just twenty boats, the total comes to £3600, not to 

 mention the money spent on travelling, and on rods, tackle, etc. 



THE TAY 



For the first mile and a half after leaving the loch the Tay flows 

 in a fine broad stream through the grounds of Taymouth, or Balloch 

 Castle, as it is still called by the natives. History relates that 

 when the Campbells wished to build a residence at the east end of 

 Loch Tay Acharn was the first place selected, and they began to 

 work at a hill for a foundation. An old woman who had a few 

 goats dwelt at the place, and she knew that when the castle should 

 be built she would not be allowed to remain or to keep her goats 



1 These hang-nets have been declared illegal by decision of the House of 

 Lords, June 1900. 



