of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



279 



in the summer and autumn months. The salmon are small, averaging 

 about 8 lbs. But they are very numerous and rise freely to the fly. 

 Several years ago I spent some days at the Grimersta Lodge, and the 

 average number of fish brought in per day by the 5 rods who were fish- 

 ing was from 25 to 30. But I was told that as many as 12 and 15 salmon 

 had, not unfrequently, been brought in by one of the party in a single 

 day, and that, in the brackish water at the junction of the Grimersta 

 with Loch Eoag, 100 sea-trout, most of them small, were once captured in 

 a day by the late Dr Key. The author of Twenty Years' Reminiscences 

 in the Letvs, mentions that he, on one occasion, took 87 sea-trout in the 

 mouth of the Blackwater, which shows in what great shoals these fish 

 come up Loch Roag from the sea to seek the fresh water. The same 

 gentleman gives the following reason for the excellence of the fishing in 

 the Grimersta Lochs : — 



I attribute the superiority of the salmon casts in the Grimersta Lochs to 

 those of any of the other lochs in the Lews, to their being supplied with a very 

 large body of water, as they form the outlet of the extensive and fine Loch 

 Langavat, that receives all the waters of that side of Harris that runs into Glen 

 Langan ; and the Grimersta has this advantage that there is spring fishing in it, 

 provided the weather is not too cold and there is no snow on the hills or in the 

 water. 



From a return kindly furnished me by Mr Mackay, Chamberlain of the 

 Lews, I find that 1873, the best season on the Grimersta between 1871 

 and 1884, both inclusive, yielded 1000 salmon and 1073 sea-trout, and 

 that 1883, the next best, yielded 865 salmon and 1339 sea-trout. The 

 yield of the whole 14 years amounted to 7643 salmon and 13,509 sea- 

 trout; or an annual average of 545 salmon and 964 sea-trout, fairly 

 caught by rod and fly. 



The Morsgail. 



The next river I inspected was the Morsgail, a beautiful salmon 

 stream, that flows into Little Loch Roag, the head of which seemed to 

 me very well suited for mussel or oyster culture. It was in splendid 

 fishing ply when I saw it, owing to the recent rains. It rises in Loch 

 Morsgail, and has a course of a little over a mile before it joins the sea. 

 Both the river and loch abound in salmon, grilse, and sea-trout in the 

 summer and autumn. The lower part of the river might be much im- 

 proved by pooling in some places. But the upper part has a succession 

 of beautiful natural pools, especially one long wide pool beneath a 

 perpendicular rocky bank, and another below a smaller rock a little 

 further down the stream. Loch Morsgail is a circular lake about 2 

 miles in circumference. I have the returns of the Morsgail fishings from 

 1879 to 1884, both inclusive, from which I find that 272 salmon and 

 4289 sea-trout were killed in the 6 years, or an annual average of 45 

 salmon and 714 sea-trout. The two best years were 1882 and 1883. In 

 the former, 9 salmon and no fewer than 1 375 sea-trout were captured ; 

 and in the latter 94 salmon and 926 sea-trout. It is somewhat curious 

 that the former year, while by far the worst for salmon, should have been, 

 at the same time, by far the best for sea-trout. 



There is a small fishing and shooting at a place called Scaliscro, about 

 half way down the east side of Little Loch Roag, near which there are 

 said to be some fairly good small streams and lochs which yielded, in 

 1881, 5 salmon and 80 sea-trout ; in 1882, 9 salmon and 13 sea-trout; in 

 1883, 63 sea-trout; and in 1884, 49 sea-trout. 



