Ixxx 



Fourth Annual Beport of the 



the anglers on the Tay have also had a good time of it. But we 

 are unable to give the returns. 

 Rental of Tay. The rental of the Tay from 1828 to 1882, both years inclusive, 

 has been already given in Mr Young's Eeport of 1883 to the Board 

 on the Salmon Eivers on the East Coast of Scotland. The rentals 

 for the subsequent fishing seasons are as follows : — 



1883. 1884. 1885. 



£17,773 2 0 £19,655 14 5 £20,437 0 2 



Loch Tay. In the Same Eeport a tabular account is given of the salmon fishing 

 in Loch Tay from 1870 to 1882, both yearvS inclusive. The following 

 table brings it down to the end of the fishing season of 1885 : — 



Loch Leven. 



Usk and 

 Shannon. 



Disposal of 

 clean Salmon 

 taken from 

 poachers 

 during the 

 Annual Close 

 Time. 



Year. 



Number of 

 Salmon. 



Aggregate 

 Weight in lb 



5. 



Average 

 Weight in lbs. 

 and oz. 



Monetary Eeturn. 



1883 

 1884 

 1885 





491 

 240 

 398 



9679 

 4710 

 8617 





19 11 

 19 10 



29 8 



£710 0 0 

 641 0 0 

 484 0 0 



On Loch Leven — certainly the most remarkable treating loch in 

 the United Kingdom, wdiether we consider the number of fish 

 annually killed by the rod, or their size and quality — the fishing 

 season of 1885 has been a very good one, 16,558 trout, weighing 

 14,434J lbs., having been taken by the rod. The best month was 

 June, when 5540 trout, weighing 4412 lbs., were captured. The 

 heaviest single trout of the season weighed 3 lbs. 14 oz.; and the 

 heaviest fishing in a single boat was 49 trout, weighing 53 lbs. If 

 we take the seasons of 1883, 1884, and 1885 together, we find that 

 46,354 trout, weighing 40,714 lbs., or upwards of 18 tons, have 

 been taken by the rod from this singularly productive loch.* 



In England the most productive river for rods has been, as usual, 

 the Usk, 1759 fish, weighing 19,233 lbs., or an average of 10 94 lbs. 

 each, having been captured by anglers. In Ireland the season on 

 the Shannon was a good one, a number of fish between 30 lbs. and 

 44J lbs. having been landed by the rod. One gentleman has 

 favoured us with the returns of his spring fishing on three-quarters 

 of a mile of water near Limerick, from which it appears that he 

 caught 28 lish weighing 663 lbs., or an average weight of fully 21^ 

 lbs. — certainly a remarkable average. 



A difficulty of a peculiar kind with regard to the annual close 

 time was recently brought under the notice of the Board. It is 

 thus stated, in a letter to Mr Young, dated 23rd Jan. 1886, by the 

 Clerks to the District Boards of the rivers Dee and Don : — ' We 

 ' desire to bring under your notice a difficulty in regard to the 



* statutory close time, which we have frequently met with, and 



* with which we had to deal so lately as yesterday. The river 

 ' watchers occasionally come upon gangs of poachers, with salmon 

 ' in their possession, during the winter months ; and while they 



* The remarkable and sustained productiveness of Loch Leven is undoubtedly due, 

 to some extent at least, to artificial fish culture, as, between 1875 and 1884, no fewer 

 than 396,000 artificially hatched trout-fry were put into it ; and in cue of these year? 

 (1882) 3000 two-year old trout were placed in the lake. 



