2»8 THE SALMON RIVERS OF SCOTLAND 



the interference of the proprietors of the salmon fishing rights if thev 

 were classed salmon. 



The question of laddering these falls has often been mooted, 

 and apart from legal or other objections by the owners, whose 

 consent would have to be obtained, there are several matters to 

 be taken into consideration. At present, fish seldom attempt 

 the ascent till the end of April, and then only when the river is so 

 small that it is not in running order, and the fish that try the falls 

 are those coUected in the nearest pools. When the river is in 

 running order, the rush of water at the foot of the falls is so strong 

 that salmon wait farther back, or take the Garry instead. Thus a 

 ladder that would allow fish to ascend in all states of the water 

 would be an expensive matter, but nevertheless an undertaking 

 -well worth carrying out, for if fish were above the falls in April 

 they would be pretty sure to give good angling, while the vast extent 

 of breeding grounds that would be opened up could not fail in due 

 course to largely increase the stock of fish. 



In old days, baskets were hung on each side of the falls to catch 

 the fish as tfiey fell back after making their leap to ascend. The 

 FaskaUy basket was not nearly so successful as the Bonskeid one, 

 which accounted for many fish, until removed in accordance with 

 the 1868 Act, which rendered them illegal, and a good thing too ! 



Now and then a salmon jumps on to the top of the rock from 

 which the Bonskeid basket formerly hung, just eight feet seven 

 inches above the water when it is in its best state for making the 

 attempt. 



The basket trick showed that May and June were the most 

 productive months, while fish were seldom got before the end 

 of April or after July. 



In this Fall Pool also, up till 1868, snatching was openly 

 practised and looked upon as orthodox, and that good sportsman, 

 the late Mr. Archibald Butter of FaskaUy, would never own or 

 acknowledge that the law had any right to interfere with a custom 

 of such ancient date. 



It has been alleged that if fish were given a free passage up 

 the falls it would reduce the angling values of the waters below, but 

 this is unlikely, as it is more to the interest of the rods to have the 

 catches occupied by newly-run fish than by those which have been 

 long in the river. 



Of course, if what fish there were passed up and no others came 

 forward to take their places, then undoubtedly the angling values 

 would suffer, but this is in the highest degree improbable. 



Below the falls, on the left bank, Bonskeid holds the rights 

 down to the Garry junction, a distance of some two hundred yards, 

 which, short as it is, often yields a good many fish. 



FaskaUy owns the side opposite, as well as both banks of the 

 Tummel for several miles, and this portion as far as Cluny Bridge, 

 half a mile above Pitlochry, is usually let as " The FaskaUy Water " 

 — as fine a bit of angling as is to be found in Scotland, for the 



