00 
THE FISHING GAZETTE 
[February 11, 1893 
thoroughly intelligent manner, the several matters 
relating to the salmon and sea fisheries that im¬ 
peratively call for their attention. 
With a good running water and under other 
conditions seemingly favourable, the Tweed 
salmon season opened fully the other day. The 
F loors Castle Water, the Duke of Roxburghe’s 
celebrated fishery—the cream of the Tweed for 
salmon angling—has been let to Mr. Perkins. 
Tiie salmon disease was observed months ago 
in Tweed, but to all concerned it is matter of 
gratification that up to date this winter it has 
proved not nearly so terrible in its ravaores as 
usual. 
Dumfries anglers are going ahead as only 
stout ^ Borderers can. The Dumfries Angling 
Association has been converted into a Limited 
Liability Company, and, with more funds, splendid 
work is likely to be done by it. The Association 
has leased the Lotus Loch, which will soon be 
stocked with Loch Leven trout, which, no doubt, 
will do well in it, since nearly all its previous 
predacious tenants—hundreds of pike—have 
been slaughtered to enable them the better to 
make headway. _ 
Very great numbers of fish have lately been 
pushing over the fords of the Ness holding on 
their way up that river to get to Loch Ness, 
whence (having plenty water with breezes down 
the loch) they will not be long in reaching the 
river Oich and the much more celebrated salmon 
angling Loch Oich, which, no doubt, they will all 
stay in for some time before ascending that grand 
sporting river the Garry, which is by far the best 
spring salmon river to the rod in Inverness-shire. 
‘•G. M. M.,” our Deeside correspondent, writes : 
—'• In view of the railway rates agitation, it may 
be mentioned that there is no difference as far as 
concerns the carriage of game and salmon which 
are forwarded per mail train. For any South of 
England station, except Jersey and the Channel 
Islands, and some stations in Wales, the rates for 
forwarding salmon are the same as formerly. A 
salmon of say 61b , plus case 21b., equals 81h., under 
!>lb. costs, per parcel post. Is. 3d.; 101b., Is. J^d.; 
111b., Is. 6d. This is the maximum. For small 
fish the parcel post offers the best and most 
economical facilities. Sir Herbert Lewis has 
taken a lease of the Coramonty Water for the 
first two months, in addition to the Borrowstone 
fishings. Lord D’Arcy Osborne has again taken 
the Cambus O’May. He did fairly well there 
last spring, but had nothing like the score run up 
by the late Duke of Marlborough in the spring 
of ’91. The fine sporting estate of Thornton 
Castle, Kincardineshire, has been sold by Mr. 
Crombieto Dr. Thornton, Dundee, for £30,000. 
Ihe castle has been lately altered and enlarged. 
It dates from the 16th century. The shootings 
(partridge) are the best in the county, and the 
troiit-fishing excellent. The North Esk is drawn 
upon for salmon angling when wanted. Floods 
at the most opportune moment, fully three 
weeks of fine drawing waters, a fine head 
of spring fish in the various pools—what 
better auspices could be desired ? And these are 
the favourable conditions under which the season 
of 93 opens on the Dee to-day. During the 
past three weeks, but more especially the first 
two of them, spaYvning has been vigorously going 
on. John Harper, Dess, and Old William Black- 
laws coincide in saying that they never remember 
seeing so many fish on the redds at this season of 
the year. Every day since the floods began to 
subside the water bailiffs have been busy bringing 
to the bank dead fish—all spent, and mostly 
fungoid. Several hundreds have been disposed 
of during the past fortnight. Professor Cosar 
Ewart, Edinburgh University, has again been 
retained by the Aberdeenshire County Council 
to give another course of fishery lectures amono' 
the fisherfolk in East Aberdeenshire. A rathe^r 
serious attack was made on two water bailiffs by 
five poachers, whom they came upon at Benzie’s 
pool, on the Don, on F’riday night. The poachers 
got clear off, and the police are now on their track. 
I his is another instance of the want of caution on 
the part of the bailiffs. How could two rustics 
more probably ex-ploughmen than anything else’ 
think to tackle five experienced desperadoes like 
salmon poachers, caught red-handed, and with 
the consequences of subsequent proceedings in 
bold relief before them. They seem to have 
courted the rough handling they got. Gudgeon 
by the thousand have arrived in Deeside for the 
opening day. The news is sickening in the 
extreme.” 
“A. H.” says: “The extensive repairs to 
Strathmore Lodge, on the Thurso, have been 
pushed on rapidly since the good weather set in. 
It is fully expected that all will be finished by 
April 1, when the anglers will occupy the lodge, 
transferring their quarters thence from Brawl 
Castle, to be handy for Loch More. The Thurso 
has been falling steadily for the last fortnight; it 
13 now very low indeed, for the time of year,’ so 
that only the deep pools are worth fishing; a 
little rain spate would do a lot of good. The line 
was tightened in a fresh-run fish on Wednesday, 
the 1st inst., when the river was tried for the first 
time this year. One angler only has been out, 
and he was again successful on Saturday, killing 
a new-run fish of 91b. There has been a fair run 
of fish, and, owing to the favourable temperature 
of the water, a good many of them have pushed 
up to the higher beats. The reluctance of kelts 
to take the fly is remarkable.” 
^ McBouxcer writes: “ Perhaps a selection of 
Gaelic proverbs bearing upon fish and fishing 
may not be uninteresting to readers of the 
Fishing Gazette, a number of whom annually 
visit the Highlands. As might be expected 
of a people who are ardent sportsmen on land 
and water, the Highlanders have founded hun¬ 
dreds of their ‘ wise sayings ’ on matters re¬ 
lating to sport, and fishing comes in for its 
own share. ‘ Am fear a theid a gnath mach 
le lion gheibh e iasg naireigin.’ ‘ He who goes 
out regularly with his net ivlll get a fish some¬ 
time.’ The meaning of this is obvious, and the 
moral applies, of course, to rods as well as to nets. 
Against this we have ‘A t-iasg a chriomas gach 
boiteag theid a ghlac naireigin,’ The fish which 
nibbles every bait will he caught some'iine. The 
truth of this is often—too often—exemplified, not 
only in the subaqueous affairs of the finny in¬ 
habitants of the deep, but in all mundane affairs, 
as many a man has found out to his cost when it 
was too late. ‘ N-uair bhios na sgadain mu 
thuath, bith Ruadhraidh mu dheas,’ When 
herring are in the North, Rory (or Roderick) is in 
the South. The pawky humour of this proverb 
combined with its appositeness is very rich. Who 
Rory was, when he flourished, or where he lived 
we do not know, but he is the representative of a 
numerous class of luckless individuals of the 
present day. Poor Rory, the herring fisher, 
striving to steer southward against adverse 
vvinds, perhaps, while the herring at the same 
time are moving northward in shoals, depicts the 
industrious, ambitious man who, through want of 
foresight or ignorance misses the mark in the 
battle of life.Although the close time for 
rods on the Naver expired on the 11th ult , nothing 
has yet been done, but a start in salmon angling 
is expected to be made this week. At the open¬ 
ing of the season the river was ice-bound, but for 
the past ten days or so the weather all over the 
North of Scotland has been all that could ne 
wished, and more than could be expected so early 
in the season, being bright, dry, and exceedingly 
mild. The blasting operations carried on last 
year on the Upper Fall of the River Cassley, with 
the view of enabling fish to reach the splendid 
spawning-ground beyond have so far proved 
fruitless, for, so far as can be ascertained, not a 
single fish has been able to surmount the Fall. 
Blasting will be resumed this coming summer 
under the superintendence of the well-known 
pisciralturist, Mr. MacNicol, of Uighfield, Tain, 
who is confident that the scheme can be success¬ 
fully accomplished. Should that be so the salmon 
angling on the Cassley will undergo an immense 
improvement.” 
S.YYS our Spey correspondent:—“Since writing 
my river report the weather has remained open 
and the river kept in splendid volume for fish 
ascending. This favourable state of matters has 
naturally very much enhanced the prospects for 
the opening day (IJth), and although the pro¬ 
longed severe winter must have very materially 
interfered with the run of clean fish to the upper 
pools, the prospects on the lower reaches are 
really encouraging. In consequence of the late 
protracted period of frost, such a large number 
of late spawners have not been seen for very 
many years. There is, however, a compensation 
even in this, from the fact that a great portion of 
the season’s spawn which would otherwise have 
been injured or destroyed altogether by the frost 
and ice, has thus been preserved. As to the 
nuisance which will accrue from the presence of 
kelts later into the season than usual, anglers 
will just have to ‘grin and bear.’ If the report 
that Lord Elgin is likely to be appointed to the 
Governorship of New South Wales turn out to bo 
well founded, an excellent beat on the Spey will, 
in all probability, fall to be sub-let. His lordship 
at present leases from Lady Seafield the beautiful 
seat of Easter Elchies with the shooting and fish- 
ing. The Observer, in referring to the report, 
says, ‘ It is an open secret that Lord Elgin has 
been purposely kept out of office in the present 
administration, in order that he might be given a 
good colonial appointment. It may be remem¬ 
bered that Lord Elgin, as the nephew of Lady 
Augu.sta Stanley, has been intimate with Royalty 
all tiis life, and is a persona grata with Her 
Majesty.’ ” ^ 
(JuR Fort Augustus correspondent writes : 
“ The waters of Garry, Oich, and Loch Ness are 
still in good flood; and as there is all appearance 
of a continuance of wet weather, the prospects are 
still good, as far as the condition of the water is 
concerned. Even should we have no more rain 
for ten days the rivers will be in fishing trim for 
a fortnight at the least. The Lovat Arms have a 
few rods let, and I hear that there are two gentle¬ 
men going to stay at Invermoriston Hotel. Quite 
a number of fish were seen lately at the head of 
Loch Ness, and as they are stiff of running river 
Oich in water of as low temperature as it is at 
present, the prospects for Loch Ness anglers are 
still very good.” _ 
Within the last two months, trawlers from the 
Port of Aberdeen have brought in eight specimens 
of the small red fish known as the Norwegian 
haddock {Sebastes viviparous). Four were got one 
day in December, 1892, one about a month ago, 
and three this week. They were all caught to 
the east of,Aberdeen, about 120 miles off, between 
the coast and the Great Fisher Bank. According 
to Mr. George Sim, A.L.S., naturalist, who 
secured the specimens in question, the Norwegian 
haddock has not previously been found off the 
Scottish coasts. 
Referring to Tay, Loch Tay, &c,, our corres¬ 
pondent says: “ There has been nothing groat 
done since my last note, just good average fishing 
pretty much all over. The river has been in 
splendid order for the last few days, and it looks 
as if it would continue so for some time. The 
nets, however, will be on, on Saturday the llth, 
and after that, sport on the lower reaches will be 
much spoiled. One fish of 3Ilb., and several 
running about 301b. have been caught since 
February came in. Loch Tay on the whole has 
done fairly—just about the usual thing. In the 
waters about Perth, owing to the fine weather, 
several good takes of whitling have been secured, 
with a few yellow trout amongst them, not at all 
in bad condition—in fact in really wonderful con¬ 
dition for the time of the year.” 
Almost continually for more than a fortnight 
fish have been ascending the North Esk, Don, 
Deveron, and Spey. These rivers together liave 
at least two hundred miles of splendid angling 
water, yet, sad to tell, most likely perhaps not a 
score of the thousands of fish that have already 
entered them will get forward to the angling 
waters to be caught by the rod. Dykes and 
cruives, entirely insurmountable when the water 
is intensely cold, as it always is in spring up to a 
certain time, keep back all the fish, no matter 
how numerous, in the reaches of North Esk, Don, 
and Deveron within a few miles of the sea, where, 
on the opening day of the fishing, a great slaugh- 
ter I can call it nothing else—annually takes 
place. ’Ibis is most unfair to the proprietors of 
the rod fishings, who are entirely cut out of 
