146 
THE EISHING GAZETTE 
[March 4, 1893 
river, i e, the Crouch, where we placed a wall-net. 
After noon we “sailed” some of the flocks of 
duck and knots of widgeon that were about the 
Kwire and Buxey sands (the latter are covered at 
half-tide), then took up our nets, with a dozen 
mullet that had enmeshed themselves, and made 
sail, with a fair wind, for our moorings, so as to 
be in time for the evening flight-shooting and a 
dance with the merry maids of Mersea. 
T. and I having received an invitation, after 
dining we put on “ war-paint,” ascended to the 
ball-room, and mixed with the mazy throng. 
They were decidedly mazy, and had Terpsichore 
been present, that goddess would have thought 
the saltatory exhibitions of Dutch-reels, double- 
shuffles, and country dances particularly edifying. 
The White Hart Inn had no licence for music 
and dancing, nor for keeping open after the regu¬ 
lar hour, ten o’clock, but that did not much mat¬ 
ter, for the only policeman on the island was 
there with his sweetheart, and the revels were 
prolonged until midnight. The musicians, a 
fiddler and a concertina player, stood on two 
chairs—the orchestra—and, in the final “ gallop- 
ade,” the policeman and his fiancee collided with 
the fiddler, who fell and broke his leg. I have 
forgotten to say he had a wooden one. This 
catastrophe put an end to the festivities. So 
T. and I had a grog, by way of a “ night-cap,” 
and a pipe to steady our nerves, then to bed; my¬ 
self to dream of merry maids and mullet fishing. 
(To he continued.) 
§cotcJ) 'glofcs. 
By Mac. 
History repeats itself: the men of Esk and 
Diddle are even yet as “ stout and true ” to what 
they take up as they were in the days of Bannock¬ 
burn. Feeling is still at fever heat among the 
braif anglers of Oanonbie and the muckle toun o’ 
the Langholm, over the “ monstrous ” rules, as 
they are called, which have been adopted by the 
Esk and Diddle Fisheries Association, and report 
says it has been darkly hinted that if no conces¬ 
sions to the 130 protesters be forthcoming soon, 
there will most likely be “ bonnets on the green ! ” 
At the Scotch Fishery Board meetings, the 
bickering, for which the board have become 
famous, still go on at a clinking pace. Mr. Peter 
Esslemont, the chairman, after last meeting, com¬ 
plained by letter to Sir George Trevelyan, 
Secretary for Scotland, that the press had been 
supplied by members with a report of the pro¬ 
ceedings. That report, it would appear, was 
furnished by a clique opposed to the chairman, 
and from being a biassed account of the proceed¬ 
ings, was, as such, calculated to mislead the 
public. The opinion of the best naturalists, as 
also of disinterested persons well qualified to 
judge, was that the motion with reference to a 
most important matter, which came up at last 
meeting, and was carried by the chairman and 
those who supported him against Mr. James 
Johnstone’s hectoring and faction, redounded 
entirely to the credit of the board. The Daily 
Mail now states that, at the meeting of the board 
held this week, a letter was read from Sir George 
stating that his attention had been called to the 
infringement of a well understood rule in Govern¬ 
ment boards as regards the press, and hoping that 
mentioning it would be sufficient to obviate a re¬ 
currence of what was complained of. 
Our Deeside correspondent writes: “Another 
blizzard, and anglers are again frozen off the 
water. This is the heaviest snowfall experienced 
on Deeside this season. When the lion days of 
March have given place to the proverbial lamb¬ 
like weather, there will be another timely flood 
to increase the stock in the upper reaches. The 
sudden climatic changes have been very trying. 
Most anglers, and especially those from the sunny 
south, are suffering from severe colds and influ¬ 
enza, while not a few are entirely hors de combat. 
That popular veteran sportsman, Mr. E. Drum¬ 
mond, down with influenza, left a fortnight ago. 
He was followed a few days later by his friend, 
Mr. Cholmondeley. On the Inchmarlo and Kines- 
kie waters Dr. Wright and Mr. Barbour landed 
eight-and-twenty salmon in the course of nine 
days, and on the Cairnton water Mr. Farley and 
party (two rods) landed thirty-one in four days’ 
angling. This looks like business. The heaviest 
fish yet grassed on the Dee fell to the rod of Mr. 
J. T. Hay, and turned the scale at 2Jlb. This, no 
doubt, will soon be topped. The average weight 
of the first hundred fish entered on our record for 
the present season on the Dee yields 9jlb. Some 
few years back the average spring fish seldom 
turned the scale at 71b., and such as a 14-pounder 
was a rarity worth going a couple of miles to see. 
The little water of Lower Dess, something under 
half a mile in extent, had yielded twenty-four 
fish up to the end of last week. For its size this 
is the best fished section of the Dee. Anglers in 
ordering flies for the Dee should specify long¬ 
shanks fine wire, and stick to the measurements 
as per imperial rule. Scales are all very good 
in the trade as between a fly-tyer and the whole¬ 
sale house, but the safest plan for anglers is to 
discard all scales and give the sizes he wants in 
inches and the divisions thereof. Then there can 
be no mistake. The taking flies during the past 
week have been the ordinary standards, dressed 
on two-inch irons, with even larger patterns 
towards night. An angler had an exciting though 
cooling adventure the other day. He was fishing 
from a ledge of rock. He hooked a fish, and in 
turning towards the bank, slipped and fell head¬ 
long into the pool. He reappeared several yards 
down the stream. Being a strong swimmer he 
reached the bank; and to this knowledge of the 
art he owes his life, as he was heavily handi¬ 
capped with big waders. He then fished out his 
salmon rod with the aid of his minnow rod, and 
found the fish still on. All dripping as he was 
with the ice-cold water, he gamely ran and landed 
a beauty of 81b., and then made tracks for home. 
The angling season on* the Ythan opened on 
Saturday last.” _ 
Our Spey correspondent writes: “ By the 
appointment of Mr. R. W. Duff, M.P. for Banff¬ 
shire, to the Governor-Generalship of New South 
Wales, the valued services have been lost of one 
who, there was every reason to believe, was to 
have taken up the ‘ cudgels ’ on behalf of the 
public anglers on Speyside, who can now only 
fish for trout by permission of the proprietor or 
lessee. It is to be hoped that Mr. Duff will use 
his influence with some brother member to move 
in the matter. Whoever comes forward as a 
candidate for the vacant seat, will, without a 
doubt, be asked to pledge himself to do all in 
his power to secure for the public the right 
to fish for trout in the Spey. Talk about 
angling prospects; while writing we are experi¬ 
encing the severest snowstorm of the present 
winter, and just when sport was becoming more 
encouraging. Snow is lying all along the valley 
of the Spey to the depth of a foot and over, and 
the outlook as stormy as ever. Not very en¬ 
couraging, is it ? I hear the line to Aberdeen has 
become blocked by a train getting embedded in a 
cutting with five feet of snow in it; telegraph 
communication also broken down. Fierce as the 
storm is, it is not severe enough to keep the more 
ardent sportsmen oft' the water as long as the 
latter is not tinged with ‘ grue.’ I would not be 
surprised were I to have to record in my river 
report ‘ a land ’ during the storm.” 
A. H. SAYS :—“ Fair success attended the 
anglers till Friday, when hard frost for several 
nights brought the river to a very low level. 
Snow is falling heavily to-day (Feb. 27), and the 
best pools are frozen over, so that whatever 
happens there will be little done for the next few 
days. One rod had five fish on Monday, the 
others had five between them. Tuesday, four 
fish; Wednesday, five; Thursday, two, and 
Saturday, three. One of the gillies ‘ wiped his 
master’s eye ’ twice in one day. By way of com¬ 
pliment the gentleman said, ‘ Donald.’ ‘ Aye, 
sir.’ ‘ I have discovered how to catch fish.’ 
‘ I’m real glod to hear that, sir, how is’t dune ? ’ 
‘By giving the rod to you, of course.’ Donald 
made a large smile and said, ‘ You can fish as 
weel as me ony day.’ And this was quite true. 
Although the river fell low and the water very 
tine, fish would not be lured except by very large 
flies. A spate is now needed to stock the lower 
beats afresh with new run fish. The last lot that 
came up have gone on to the higher beats and 
Dochmore.” 
Our Inverness-shire correspondent writes: 
“ Since last report very little has been done on 
Loch Ness owing to contrary winds and calms. 
One boat from Chisholm’s Private Hotel, Fort 
Augustus, had on an average one fish per day of 
151b. weight, three of which were got yesterday 
(Monday) weighing 251b., 01b., and 81b. Mr. 
Davis landed one on Saturday weighing 231b., 
and got one 81b., and lost two yesterday. On 
Tuesday Mr. Annan, of Bridge of Allan, hooked 
a fish, and after an exciting two hours’ play 
landed him about two miles from where he was 
hooked. The fish several times ran out within a 
few yards of his line, and once or twice it was 
not known who was to give in. On landing him 
it was found he was hooked in the pectoral fin, 
and weighed 341b.—no wonder he played strong. 
On Oich and Garry waters sport is not up to 
previous years, they having got only about thirty 
fish since the opening. The Inchnacardoch nets 
have been taken off Loch Ness. Netting on 
River Ness has met with little success.” 
In the Ross-shire Journal of last week appeared 
a long and interesting notice of a hatchery, on 
the most approved principles, which has just 
been erected in the sporting forest of Gilder- 
morrie, to the north-east of Ben Wyvis, Ross- 
shire, by Mr. Fred Shoolbred, the proprietor. In 
this notice it is stated that on the estate are 
several lochs, in addition to the large one at 
Gildermorrie proper, and these Mr. Shoolbred 
has had stocked with Loch Leven trout, which 
are doing well. When the lochs were thus re¬ 
plenished, Mr. Shoolbred also resolved on testing 
a nice point in salmon culture. As is known, 
the River Alness is one of our best salmon rivers, 
and salmon from this river can be got in Gilder¬ 
morrie Loch (Loch Moire), out of which it flows. 
Sti’ange to say, however, the fish do not proceed 
further than the loch, and do not ascend the 
Gildermorrie river, which falls into the loch at 
the upper end. While this is so, it is supposed 
that at one time they did ascend the river, and 
the reason for their not now passing the loch 
cannot be very well ascertained. Mr. Shoolbred, 
however, has resolved to experiment, and has had 
erected at Gildermorrie a salmon hatchery, from 
which the river is to be stocked with salmon fry, 
whereby, according to the theory that salmon 
return from the sea to the place of their nativity, 
Gildermorrie river will be in a few years well 
stocked with salmon. If they do not return, the 
temperature of the water at such an elevation, or 
some other adverse circumstance, must be the 
cause, and questions of doubt and importance in 
pisciculture may be explained. . . . Through the 
courtesy of the Forth and Dee Fishery Boards the 
ova were obtained from the rivers Dee and Teith. 
In the two north-east of Scotland fishery cases 
—the Dee salmon fishery case, and the Spey trout 
fishing case—judgment, as our readers are aware, 
was recently pronounced in the Court of Session, 
Edinburgh. It is believed that the latter case 
will take end with the judgment which Lord 
Kyllachy pronounced, in consequence of want of 
funds to take it to the Inner House. But with 
regard to the former—which is between the 
maker of “ Ogston’s soap,” Mr. Alex. Milne 
Ogston, of Ardoe, manufacturer, Aberdeen; and 
Mr. David Stewart, of Banchory House and 
Nether Banchory, Lord Provost of Aberdeen—a 
reclaiming note was submitted to the Judges of 
the First Division of the Court of Session on 
Tuesday last, as to the boundaries of the salmon 
fisheries opposite the estates of the parties. Lord 
Wellwood in the Outer House granted declarator 
in favour of the pursuer. The defender reclaimed, 
and on Tuesday his note was sent to the roll for 
discussion. 
“ Little,” writes our Tay correspondent, “ has 
been done on the river of late, in consequence, 
partly, of the nets proving too effectual to allow 
many fresh-in fish from the firth to swim forward 
and get into the angling catches, and partly from 
the state of the river having drawn away up to 
the loch most of the fish that had run in before 
the netting commenced. It is believed that there 
is not now a good head of fish even in those 
i-eaches of the river which the netting does not 
damage. But on the loch matters have stood 
differently, and some splendid sport has been got 
by the rods from the various centres. Besides, 
