96 



Ap2)cndices to Thirty-fifth Annual Report 



Each end of the dyke was dry, but a considerable flow of water was passing 

 over the sill towards the left bank. This water and the flow from the Pass 

 formed two separate streams separated by a rough triangular island below 

 the dyke. The best lead up for lish is, naturally, where the best waterflow 

 is, and therefore the choice of the site of the Pass has not been particularly 

 advantageous. About 2|- inches of water was descending on each side of 

 the Pass, outside the high copings which form the sides of the Pass, and 

 only 4J inches were flowing across the sill of the Pass itself, thus bearing 

 out what I stated last year as to the way the vital point of the gap, in 

 Byelaw G of the Salmon Act of 1868, has been disregarded. 



The three pools of the Pass itself were separated by three breaks or 

 bafiie plates of a satisfactory kind. 



The low dyke above Dunblane, which is peculiar in that it serves no 

 purpose whatever, except as an obstruction to the ascent of fish, still remains. 

 The mill for which the dyke was erected was never built. The District 

 Board would be well advised to have the dyke breached in the centre to 

 the level of the river bed. 



A short distance above the railway viaduct another low dyke supplies 

 water to a wool mill. I have also referred to this dyke on a previous date. 

 It has an angle at which an easy pass for fish could readily be erected. 

 An absurd little set of stone steps, set near the angle of the dyke, cannot be 

 dignified by the name of a salmon pass. The dyke has an abrupt down- 

 ward curve, and must be a complete obstruction to ascending fish except in 

 high river. 



Awe District. 



The old wool mill which used to exist at Connel is now transformed 

 into a hall and residences. The iron dyke which served to supply the mill 

 with water from the Lusragan Burn has been opened up, so that sea trout 

 have now an uninterrupted run to the Black Lochs. 



LocHY District. 



In this district I went to see the netting which has been carried on for 

 many years at the head of Loch Eil. Two nets were formerly worked, the 

 fishing being done by a tenant of Lord Morton. I found only one net in 

 use, but, as I suspected from information I had received, it was set as a 

 fixed engine. The whole of Loch Eil is within the estuary of the Lochy 

 District. The net was about 80 yards long, and had been run out with a 

 " hook," and anchored. Two men were in attendance on shore. I had the 

 net drawn, and warned the men against fishing inside the limits of an 

 estuary with a fixed net. I found six salmon had already been taken. 



I afterward informed the clerks of the District Fishery Board in Fort- 

 William, who agreed to have the operations of the tenant watched. 



Shiel District. 



It is noteworthy that most of the salmon killed on the rod at the head 

 of Loch Shiel are taken in the month of May, while the river Shiel, 

 througli which all such fish have to ascend, is not supposed to yield any 

 sport to the rod till the end of May. As Loch Shiel is only some 



II or 12 feet above the sea level, it will be understood that the gradient of 

 the river is easy, and that early fish are able to run through it in March and 

 April without difficulty. Indeed, at the same season they run through 

 rivers of the West Coast which are much steeper and rougher in character, 

 such as the Awe and the Ewe. 



In order to induce fish to lie longer in the river, a series of croys have 

 recently been constructed. These I examined. 



