THE EISHING GAZETTE 
107 
February 18, 1893] 
CONTE NTS. 
N.B.—All rights reserved in articles published in this 
paper. 
Tlie Spring Salmon Rivers of Scotland ... 
. 107 
Scotch Notes 
.. 
. 108 
Famous Fishermen - 
-James Orant. 
. 110 
Waltoniana. 
. 
. Ill 
Correspondence ... 
. 
. Ill 
luchnad.imph 
. 112 
The Otter . 
. 113 
The Worcestershire 
Avon . 
. Ill 
From the “Noctes Amhrosianm ” . 
... .. 114 
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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18th, 1893. 
THE SPRING SALMON RIVERS OP 
SCOTLAND. 
AS THEY ARE. 
{Contimeed from page 89.) 
By W. Murdoch. 
The Don is onlyafair specimen of the inactivity, 
and toleration of abuses, characteristic of the 
Scotch Fishery Board, in respect of salmon fish¬ 
ery matters. This river, besides being one of 
the largest, is naturally one of the earliest and 
most productive spring salmon streams in the 
whole of Scotland. To the nets every year on 
the opening day of the season, it yields many 
hundreds of fish, and before the spring season 
ends, the opening day’s catch is supplemented 
by many thousands more. The entire length of 
the river is little under seventy miles, of which 
a continuous stretch of over forty miles has ample 
volume, and unquestionably is the perfect ideal 
of water for salmon angling. The fish of the 
spring months are not of large size, their average 
weight taken for the season throughout being 
only 101b. or thereby. In December, should the 
weather be mild, they commence to leave the sea, 
and always, with conditions favouring it, the run 
is to be found going on until the spring season has 
entirely ended. Most years it is strongest in 
January, February and March. The netting 
commences on Feb. 11, by which time there has 
every year an immense head of fish gone into the 
river. In consequence, one who knows nothing 
about the actual state of matters, would naturally 
conclude that the Don in at least some parts of its 
length ought to give first-rate salmon angling in 
the early days of the season. Yes; but the fact 
remains that it gives no salmon angling at all 
early in the season, or any time in spring, or yet 
even in summer. Practically, all its spring and 
summer salmon and all its grilse and sea trout that 
seek to make the inland passage fall to the nets. 
Owners of mills who are also owners of netting 
and the proprietors of the cruives, have between 
them the entire monopoly of the river-run fish 
during the whole of the season for nets. Besides 
the cruives there are five or six dykes, all of 
which are hindrances to the ascent of fish while 
seeking to obey their natural instinct to reach 
more inland stretches of the river. Two of the 
dykes in question completely bar further progress 
in the spring months when the water is low in 
temperature (no matter in what volume it may 
be). If by any chance a few fish get over at the 
pass on the lowermost of these two dykes (which 
they never do until February), it is only to find 
themselves held back by the uppermost, which, 
although they may try, they never are able to 
surmount before Feb. 11, when the season opens 
and the netters are upon them. In spring 
there very often is ample volume of water run¬ 
ning over the fish passes on the dykes in ques¬ 
tion, yet, as must be known to those who are 
conversant with the facts of the salmon’s move¬ 
ments as effected by temperature, the fish which 
are close up to them in the pools below either find 
themselves unable to pass over or else disincline 
to make the attempt. About the month of May, 
if any should got forward to these dykes (and it 
ought to be stated that precious few do), they, 
when the water is sufficient in volume, are able to, 
and readily do, take the passes and make way 
farther inland. But the netting is so severe, 
both by net and coble and at the cruives, that 
between it and minor obstructions the fish that 
get into the river during the weekly slap are not, 
even in the warmer weather and water of May 
and summer, when they swim much faster, able 
to accomplish the distance between the sea and 
the uppermost and worst obstructions before the 
netters commence operations at six o’clock on 
Monday morning. Then in summer there is often 
a complete dearth of water, so much so that there 
ia no lead up to the passes, nor any water running 
over them, for the reason that the mill owners 
divert the most of the supply for motive power 
to their mills, and run it down their mill races 
away from the proper channel of the river. 
In consequence of what has been said, it will 
be apparent even to those not possessing local 
knowledge, that fish have no chance whatever of 
escape from the engines, fixed and moveable, that 
are employed for their capture—in spring, chiefly 
owing to the dykes proving complete obstructions 
to their further ascent, not by any means for the 
reason that in the passes on them there is not 
usually sufficient water, but by reason of the 
water being so cold that they will not take the 
passes ; and in summer for the reason that even 
though they may get forward to near the passes 
(which, however, they seldom do in any great 
number), the mill owners have, except when there 
is a spate, practically all the water abstracted 
out of the regular channel of the river to supply 
their mills, leaving the passes almost completely 
dry, at any rate without so much water in them 
as would enable a fish to jiass up. Thus, even if 
they had a lead up (which, however, they have 
nob more than one day in the month on an 
average, in consequence of the mill owners being 
allowed to do with the supply as they like), they 
would nob therefore be able to get over the 
passes. 
It stands so with the Don, sad to tell—a terrible, 
a deplorable, an unjust state of matters; a 
magnificent spring salmon river, one of the 
largest in Scotland, practically salmonless in its 
forty to fifty miles of splendid angling water, the 
proprietors of which have no sport at all, and no 
income whatever from sport with salmon, until 
the autumn season when the nets go off, and the 
fish that then ascend have, “ like helpless brutes,” 
to be lifted over the obstructions by the water 
bailiffs, to let them get up river to breed. But 
seemingly all this, to judge from their entire 
apathy—their having done nothing worthy of 
being called anything—gives the Scotch Fishery 
Board not one iota of concern. 
But for the artificial obstructions that arc 
permitted to remain in the Don, the mass of the 
fish that ascend that river during the close season 
would certainly be forward to and well spread over 
the angling waters of the proprietors farther 
inland before the netting season commences. It 
would be but simple justice to all concerned that 
a free run should be permitted. Never, surely, 
was it contemplated that the fish that leave the 
sea before the open time for rods and nets com- 
niences should be arrested in their progress 
inland by artificial barriers, only to fall a prey to 
the netters of the owners of those barriers. 
Rather I should say it was intended that all 
those fish which, obeying their natural instincts, 
are to be found pushing forward should be left to 
afford compensation, either in sport or sport’s 
value, to the proprietors of the angling waters for 
the assessment they pay to the Fishery Boards, 
not to mention the private assistance they render 
the board’s watchers in protecting the fish during 
the breeding season. 
If, in the case of the Don, the cruive owners 
and the several mill proprietors whose monstrous 
dykes span the river, catch between them the 
whole of the fish that come up from the sea 
between February 11 and August 26, and pocket 
the entire net proceeds arising therefrom, matters 
in the case of the Deveron are even worse in 
respect that one proprietor, namely. His Grace 
the Duke of Fife, practically farms the whole 
fishery, and secures to himself from a lessee the 
rent that is held to be market value, for the 
capture of almost to a fish the whole stock that 
leave the sea during the netting season. His 
Grace has cruives on the river several miles 
inland, which so utterly rack the fishing that 
they have been most appropriately named the 
Rack dyke. Not one fish gets past those dykes 
in spring before the netting commences, although 
hundreds by that time have gone forward to 
them. In consequence, when the netting at the 
several stations between these obstructions and 
the sea commences, the whole of the fish that 
have entered the river during the annual close 
time are swept out by the netters of the Duke’s 
lessee. No such dyke as this, since it proves 
such an effectual trap, ought to be allowed to 
remain. It prevents the salmon that ascend in 
the close time from reaching the waters of the 
sporting tenants farther inland, whose right I 
should say to all the fish that run during the 
close season is indisputable. Forty miles of 
splendid angling water are thus practically with¬ 
out clean salmon during the spring months; and 
even during summer, when the fish take the 
obstruction with readiness, very few grilse get 
past during the weekly slap, because it is only 
the first of them to leave tbe sea on Saturday 
night that get so far inland before the netting 
commences on Monday morning. Should this be 
tolerated ? 
This season already—although it is scarcely a 
week run—hundreds of fish have been netted in 
Don and hundreds also in Deveron, but not one, 
it is safe to say, has yet succeeded in passing the 
terrible obstructions to which I have directed 
attention ; and being cognisant of the facts here¬ 
tofore, I infer therefrom that neither in the fifty 
miles of splendid angling-water of the Don nor 
in the forty miles of naturally as grand sporti ng 
water of the Deveron will half-a-dozen clean fish 
be caught by the rod until many months have 
passed by—if indeed before the autumn comes 
round. Is this as it should be ? Is it justice to 
all concerned ? I trow not. 
On Saturday last, the rivers Garry, Oich, and 
Ness, and lochs of the same name, opened both 
for rod and net. The water was rather too high, 
and sport was consequently not so good as was 
expected. On the famous Garry only one fish 
was got on Saturday, and two on Monday. On 
the Oich, Capt. Ind’s water, a twenty-two 
pounder was got on the opening day, and two 
smaller ones on Monday. On Loch Ness, Mr. 
Chisholm landed a fine fish of 301b., and a fifteen- 
pounder on Saturday, and one of 111b. on 
Monday. Mr. Davis had two on the 11th, and 
Mr. Annan two on the same day. Mr. Douglas 
had one of 8|lb. on Monday. Mr. Dennistoun’a 
nets had twelve fish averaging 151b., while Mr. 
Fraser’s nets had over 7cwt. of fish. 
