of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



35 



upwards of 21,000 lbs. weight of trout were taken last year, and where the 

 Association which leases the loch, after paying the proprietor £1000 a year 

 for the fishing, has paid a dividend of 25 per cent, to its shareholders. 



SALMON ANGLING IN 1888. 



The salmon angling in Loch Tay was fairly good in 1888. The 

 total number of salmon killed was 378, and the total weight was 

 7006 lbs.; giving an average weight of 18 lbs. 8 oz. per fish. The 

 heaviest fish caught weighed 37 lbs. ; the lightest 12 lbs. 



The folio vving are the results of the salmon fishings in Loch Tay for the 

 last six years : — 



Year. 



1883 

 1884 

 1885 

 1886 

 1887 

 1888 



No. of Fish. 



461 

 240 

 398 

 379 

 227 

 378 



Weight in lbs. 



9679 

 4710 

 8167 

 7652 

 4385 

 7006 



Average Weight. 



19 lbs. 



19 „ 



20 „ 

 20 „ 

 19 „ 

 18 „ 



11 oz. 

 10 „ 



8 „ 

 3 „ 

 5 „ 

 8 „ 



Both on the Tay and the Earn the rod-fishing season of 1888 was 

 a bad one. After the nets were off, the rivers were too low, until a 

 freshet in the end of September brought up a good many fish, when some 

 fair angling was had on the Stobhall water at Isla Mouth and elsewhere; 45 

 lbs. was the weight of the heaviest fish caught by the rod during the season. 



On the Aberdeenshire Dee, usually so productive a river, the angling 

 was disappointing, though in autumn there was some fair fishing on 

 several of the beats. One salmon of 36 lbs. was captured. 



On the Forth the angling was likewise poor ; the rain coming too late. 

 The largest salmon was captured by Sergeant Tait. It weighed 37 lbs. 



On the Spey the angling season was fairly good. The largest fish 

 (40 lbs.) was caught by Lord Leconfield on the Gordon Castle water. 



The fishing on the Nith was very poor; but some fine salmon were 

 landed from the Annan late in the season. A" fish of 44J lbs. was taken 

 in the nets in August ; and in November one of 46 lbs., and another of 

 41 lbs., were captured by the rod. 



In the little River Urr, which falls into the Scotch side of the Solway 

 Firth not far from Dalbeattie, an unusually large salmon was captured in 

 a somewhat singular manner. The keeper of Mr Thomas Gladstone was 

 dragging a pool with an artifical minnow, with the view of recovering a lost 

 cast of flies, when the bait was seized, and, after a fight of 3 hours, a male 

 salmon weighing 43 lbs. and measuring 4 feet 2 inches in length was 

 landed. 



But, unquestionably, the greatest angling performance in 1888 was at 

 the wonderfully productive fishing at the Grimersta, in the Island of 

 Lewis, a fishing which will be found fully described in my Fourth 

 Report to the Board. Last year, Mr A. M. Naylor, in 19 days 

 fishing in the month of August, killed, to his own rod, with fly, 214 

 salmon weighing 1307 lbs., besides 304 sea-trout weighing 161 lbs. His 

 best days were as follows : — 



August 23, 31 Salmon weighing 183 lbs. 



„ 28, . 54 „ „ 314 „ 



„ 31, ... 45 „ „ 269 „ 



