RESULTS OF SALMON MARKING 91 
That such fish may drop down stream after making 
a comparatively short ascent and meeting floods, as 
stated, is believed by netsmen, since after cold winter 
floods they not infrequently catch coloured fish in 
the lower reaches and estuaries ; but it also happens 
that occasionally such fish are found to be affected 
by disease, and to be therefore in a weakened con- 
dition. The early running Tay fish ascend to Loch 
Tay about fifty miles, and there yield regular sport 
till May, when they begin to ascend still farther. 
The early Ness fish run quickly through the six 
miles of the river, and in the same way yield sport 
in Loch Ness, from which at an early date they also 
ascend the Oich to Loch Oich and the Inverness- 
shire Garry. These upper waters are well stocked 
with fish on the opening day of the rod fishing, 
February 11, and continue to be so. The same may 
be said of rivers farther north, the Thurso and 
Loch More at its head, or the Naver with Loch 
Naver at its head. In all such localities there seems 
no indication that the fish, once well up the rivers, 
descend again. On the contrary, the indications all 
seem to point to the conclusion that these fish remain 
in fresh waters during the whole of the ensuing 
fishing season. 
In the Spey 150 clean fish were marked during 
the close time of 1896-97, and of this number 
67 were recaptured after the opening of the 
fishing season. The lower reaches of the Spey are 
very rapid, and the winter in question was excep- 
tionally severe, so that one would expect ascent to 
be slow and that not a few would descend these 
