70 
THE EISIIING GAZETTE 
[Eebruart 1, 1893 
110 income from letting their waters. This is 
precisely, in every particular, how it stands in 
spring. Nor in summer, when, with water enough, 
a fair head of fish manage to clear the obstruc¬ 
tions, IS there any chance of their getting forward 
t> the twenty miles of lovely angling water abo^e, 
for netting, by the net and coble system, is 
pushed continuously at several points further 
inland than the first of them to leave the sea on 
on Saturday night can reach by six o’clock on 
^Monday morning, when the weekly slap expires. 
Consequently, at these netting stations, are 
caught, during the week, all the fish that, having 
passed the dykes, are continuing their journey up 
river to reach the best summer angling stretches. 
In spring, thei’efore, as well as throughout the 
whole summer, it will be plain to evei-y one how 
matters stand with respect to the North Esk. 
'I’he proprietors of the lowermost six miles of 
river farm the whole fishery, and draw all the 
money for the whole of the fish that are caught, 
thus leaving not one plack of income, nor even a 
vestige of sport, to the proprietors of the many 
miles of ideal angling water further inland, where, 
annually, almost the whole of the stock of breeders 
spawn and are protected. 
I submit—and it is but right, being injustice 
to no one, and justice to all concerned—that 
every salmon that enters a river before the 
(iommencement of the netting season, ought to 
have no artificial barriers to check its run, 
whether for long or short, to the angling waters. 
All the fish that enter rivers before the netting 
ccmmences ought, in justice to those entitled to 
them, to be allowed to go forward in obedience to 
their instincts, having nothing artificial to hinder 
them from obeying these instincts as fast and as 
far as they incline. Were they but given such 
facilities, a vast proportion of them, instead of 
being as now netted, would be past all the 
netting stations on a great many of our salmon 
»ivers before the netting season commences, and 
into the angling waters where, throughout most 
of the spring season they would afford sport, and 
such of them as did not fall to the rod, would 
remain to increase the productiveness of the 
fisheries all round and to all concerned. It is 
worse than a burlesque—it is simply a disgrace— 
lhat in nearly all our rivers vast numbers of fish 
which incline and otherwise would go forward to 
the angling waters before the netting commences, 
are kept back by obstructions, only to fall a prey 
to those who are not justly entitled to them. 
There ought, wherever artificial obstructions 
exist, to be no netting allowed in the pools to 
which the fish fall back—at any rate not until 
such time in spring as the fish that go up in the 
close season become able to, and nearly all have 
cleared out of such pools. Then, further, in all 
small rivers whether obstructed or not, there 
ought to be no netting above the tideway. 
Previously I have remarked that in the case of 
every river that is netted for many miles inland, 
even be it an unobstructed river, very few of the 
fish, in spring especially, when the water is 
intensely cold, and when accordingly they make 
but slow progress, get beyond the furthest inland 
netting stations before the weekly slap termi¬ 
nates. The result of this everyone must know ; 
hence it follows that by reason of an unvaried 
weekly close time which at present exists, none, 
or at best but a mere dribble, of the early runnng 
fish escape, to make their way to the middle 
distance and yet further inland angling waters, 
the spawning gKounds of which in the breeding 
se ison are consequently not occupied in a patch 
of their capacity for their natural purposes, 
namely, the reproduction and keep-up of the 
stock. Every interest, therefore, suffers, and 
though the netsmen cannot or will not see it, it is 
indisputable that it is bound to suffer so long 
as matters stand on the present footing. I know 
one river—not a large one certainly—which is 
netted for many miles inland the whole netting 
season throughout. For spring angling it would 
be first rate, and for summer angling a very 
sparting stream indeed, were it not that it is 
m )st cruelly used. On it are several dyke ob¬ 
structions, one of which early in the spring keeps 
back below it all the fish until the water reaches 
a temperature high enough to enable them to 
pass beyond. Just a short way behind the dyke 
in question, thousands of “springers ’’ are netted 
every year, and when too many are got at one 
time, which is often the case, the netsmen of 
the lessee are instructed, should the market price 
not be good at the time, to retain only a few to 
put forward to the market, and to return the 
rest to the water until such time as more satis¬ 
factory prices are going, when again they are 
taken out of precisely the same hole or pool, from 
which, in the interval, they have had no possible 
chance of escape. 
The upper waters of this river are in conse¬ 
quence utterly destitute of early spawning fish, 
hence the productiveness of the stream is sadly 
crippled ; and, besides, the owners of rod fisheries 
get no rod fishing at all. 
Again, throughout the summer, when the fish 
run much more quickly forward, and easily— 
when the water is ample for the purpose—get 
beyond all the dykes, the netsmen on Monday 
morning commence netting at several “ shots ” 
further up the river than any of the weekly slap- 
run fish—even the first of them to leave the sea 
on Saturday night—have yet managed to get. 
Thus it can be seen that the present system of a 
weekly close time which is not varied is most 
hurtful to the river’s productiveness, besides 
wholly cutting out of sport, or the value of sport, 
all those justly entitled to it. It is beyond ques¬ 
tion that it would benefit immensely all con¬ 
cerned if the whole of the spawning beds, the 
entire length of our salmon rivers throughout, 
were occupied as fully as a well conceived varied 
close time would admit of, by the fish of the various 
seasonal migrations, which natually settle them¬ 
selves in pretty well defined reaches of river at 
different distances from the sea. 
Next week, when my observations on this 
subject will be continued, I intend to say some¬ 
thing about Dee, Don, Deveron, and Spey. 
^coicl) ^ofcs. 
By Mac. 
Throughout the whole week, and up to Wed¬ 
nesday night (when this note was written), the 
weather over the most of Scotland had continued 
to keep remarkably fine. One or two days a good 
deal of rain fell in several districts. Frost also 
prevailed over considerable areas once or twice 
during the week, but was not very severe, nor of 
long continuance at any time. There has 
nowhere been any great fail of snow during the 
past fortnight, but frequent showers have coated 
some of the higher altitudes, the most of which, 
however, have now but trifling accumulations 
upon them, except in the corries. Speaking in a 
wide sense, both weather and water have been 
extremely favourable for the running of the fish 
out of the sea into the early salmon rivers. This, 
we hear, has been the feature of the week; great 
numbers of salmon having ascended the Tay, the 
North Esk, the Dee, the Don, the Ness, the Helms¬ 
dale, &c. Of fish not yet spawned, singular to say, 
there was an immense run up the Tay last week. 
Crowds of fish went up to the insurmountable 
barriers on the Don and North Esk; and hanged 
shame it is that they have not been able to get 
farther along, to eventually afford sport to 
anglers. Thousands are at present moving slowly 
up in the Dee, between the sea and Kincardine 
O’Neil. Reports of the spring run setting in 
stronger are coming to hand from the far north 
rivers—Thurso, Forss, Naver, and Borgie. We 
hear of no run of any account from the Tweed, 
but, doubtless, by another week, our Tweedside 
corre.spondent will waken up and let us know 
what is doing. _ 
Still another salmon hatchery has been set up 
in Scotland, this one at Gildermorie, in the 
Highlands of Ross-shire. Proprietors of fisheries 
and others in the Lowlands, who have an interest 
in the salmon, must needs look to their laurels. 
They are far behind-hand with their Highland 
confrrres, who are much better supplied with 
salmon hatcheries, and are still “ enterprising ’’ 
in this line with greater keenness. 
The salmon season opens for rod and net, on 
by far the greatest batch of Scotch rivers, on 
S.ituidiy next, Feb. 11. The netting ojiening 
day cn the Earn, which is the first river in 
Scotiani to opjn for netting, is to-morrow, 
Feb.fi. No other river is netted until the 11th. 
For angling and netting, a few rivers open on 
the 16th; and the last large or latest batch on 
the 25th. Tweed’s rod season commenced on 
Wednesday last, and its net season will com¬ 
mence on the Ifith. The rivers that already are 
open for angling are: Tay, Tweed, Thurso, 
Borgie, Halladale, Hope, Naver, Strathy, and 
Earn ; but as far as salmon angling goes, three 
at least of these are practically not worth looking 
at early in the season. 
The “ protesters,” who for the most part are 
local anglers, and who also, it is alleged, nearly 
all held season tickets previously, have now sent 
in their petition to the Esk and Liddle Fisheries 
Association, bringing under the association'.s 
notice the alleged hardships that will be entailed 
upon them by the operation of the New Angling 
Regulations, passed for the protection of the 
angling on the Esk and its tributaries, and 
praying the association for the relaxation of the 
rigour of these regulations. 
It must either be to advertise the hotel or 
increase the sale of garvies, that the following 
grand capture has been made public, through the 
medium of different papers. Here it is : “ Mr. 
■-, fishing on the Hotel water, killed in two 
hours a splendid trout of 11b. with garvie.” (!) 
I HEAR from our Deveron corre.'pondent that, 
as the opening of the fishing approaches, some 
anxiety is being felt in interested quarters as to 
the season’s prospects. Despite adverse influences 
the spawning season must, on the whole, be 
characterised as excellent. The fish went early 
to the redds, and it was noticeable there were 
fewer late fish than usual. This favourable cir¬ 
cumstance is, however, to some extent balanced 
by the exceedingly frosty weather of the past 
month. For days on end the water in many 
quarters was frozen all over. At one place, 
about thirteen miles from the mouth of the river, 
a shooting party crossed the ice where there had 
not any one crossed for very many years. It is 
believed that owing to this fish, were in some 
cases scared from the beds, and it is questioned 
if the surviving spawn will this year be quite as 
large as usual. There have, of course, been a few 
foul fish taken and destroyed, but the number is 
much fewer than in many former years. The 
various fishing stations will likely be conducted 
this season as last. For a few years past pro¬ 
prietors of upper portions of the water have 
made overtures to the Duke of Fife, who is 
owner of a large reach at the mouth of the river, 
to induce his grace to take out the cruive dykes, 
in order to allow fish to get more readily to the 
middle and upper sections of the river. Up to 
the present time these overtures have been 
abortive, but the question may be reopened in a 
practicable manner soon. Under present condi¬ 
tions, fish do not get to the upper reaches until 
the nets have been withdrawn, and not then 
unless there is a spate. Mr. Joseph Bissef-, 
Macduff, continues as lessee of the salmon net 
fishings on the river and coast. For the past 
few years Mr. Bisset has successfully conducted 
artificial spawning operations at the salmon 
hatchery erected within the Duff House Policies. 
The hatchery is conducted upon the most ap¬ 
proved principles, and millions of young lives 
have been successfully propagated in it. This 
year Mr. Bisset will as usual stock the hatchery 
with eggs, when doubtless results will be as 
successful as they hitherto have been. Early in 
the close season keepers were aware that poaching 
was carried on to some extent; but latterly it is 
understood the evil caused by these lawless 
uepredators has been rather smaller than usual. 
A correspondent writes me: “Mr. George 
Birnie, harbour-master, Peterhead, Aberdeen¬ 
shire, has at present in his possession, alive, a 
rare specimen of a fish, which was got some 
weeks ago by some fishermen on their hooks, and 
handed to ]\Ir. Birnie. He has since kept it in 
a large basin of water in a healthy condition. It 
is an excellent specimen of the blind fish or borer, 
but is not of a particularly lively disposition. It 
is about 20 inches in length, black in colour, but 
only about the tliickness of a pencil. When coiled 
together it resembles a piece of velvet. It is stated 
that this serpent-like creature has been known to 
kill cod fish. Mr. Birnie’s prize has been seen by 
several naturalists from a distance.” 
