March 18, 1893] 
THE EISHING GAZETTE 
185 
knows thoroughly how to cater to sportsmen, 
writes : “ I shall be very glad to have my adver¬ 
tisement renewed. 11 has every year more than 
paid me, although I have no fishing here.” 
Mr. McKenzie, we understand, wishes for, and is 
just the man to have, a large good going hotel, 
with shooting and fishing attached, at some place 
where there is a longer season than at Oban. 
The Peterheadean fisher folk have all been in a 
state of wonder concerning a cod weighing ufilb., 
which was taken into port this W’eek. It is 
reported to be the largest fish of the kind ever 
landed at Peterhead. _ 
Mr. Archibald Harper’s capture of three 
otters within a week, on the Thurso, has given 
much satisfaction to the anglers on that river. 
The largest of the three weighed 331b., and was a 
male, but such a weight, even for a dog otter, is 
quite unusual. _ 
South of Scotland and Solway district rivers 
are now yielding a few more fish, but in none of 
them has the salmon angling yet come to be 
of much account this season. Sanguine hopes, 
however, are entertained that it Avill soon improve. 
Our Tay correspondent reports : “ That fairly 
good sport is still being had on the loch, but 
r.hat the angling along most of the river is prov¬ 
ing not nearly so encouraging as anglers could 
wish. The March Brown has of late been coming 
up for a short time these fine genial days. Trout, 
however, have not been showing briskly on the 
feed, but they will come up much better once 
more if the snow water is run out of the river.” 
Quite a week ago salmon had got up the Spey 
as far as the Tulchan Lodge water whereon, by 
the keeper, a good fish or two were about that 
time secured. This section is next to the Countess 
of Seafield’s Castle Grant water, over a part of 
which Mr. Macdonald, of the Grant Arms, 
Grantown, has secured the salmon angling. April 
and May are decidedly the best months for such 
well-up-the-river fisheries. Mr. Macdonald says 
the weather for the past week has been too 
boisterous to think of fishing, and the river also has 
been very high, being swollen with snow water. 
A FEW nice fish have lately been got on 
the Oykel, Carron, and Shin. 
Colin Gunn of Brora writes: “ The river was 
in grand trim last week and good sport was the 
rule. Between them the two rods had forty-one 
salmon. For the respective days Mr. Hall had 
four, two, two, three, and four; and Mr. Gunnis 
had five, five, eight, four, one, and three. The 
genial Professor is now getting his gibbles ready. 
The takes indicated above prove that my prog¬ 
nostications of last week were well grounded. 
Both rods had a grand time. The weather was 
cold, with gusty winds, but the water was in fine 
trim, and fish apparently plentiful on both sides 
of the river. Mr. Gunnis, Gordonbush, that most 
enthusiastic and brilliant angler, made the ex¬ 
cellent score of twenty-six fine salmon, and re¬ 
port says that but for the want of his famous 
netter—who had gone into the village on business 
—he would have scored another two fi sh. Not th at 
Mr. R., the veteran hauling netsman, to whom he 
entrusted his duty, made any mistakes, but the 
fish though seemingly perfectly done up on 
seeing their old and mortal enemy on the bank, 
took as it were a new lease of life, and in terror 
broke away! Mr. Hall, Sciberscross, also had 
good sport, killing fifteen nice fish. The absence of 
heavy fish this season is noticeable ; out of the 
forty-five salmon killed by Mr. Gunnis none have 
scaled over 101b. 
A COUPLE of fine salmon, weights 341b. and 211b., 
were caught on the Test, by Colonel Bruce, last 
week. 
A NEW story of the A^erne school will be com¬ 
menced in Boys for March 25, entitled “ Under 
the Bea to the North Pole,” by Pierre Mael, fully 
illustrated by Alfred Paris. The idea is cleverly 
wmrked out, and is thoroughly consonant with the 
latest scientific discoveries. 
MULLET FISHING 
AND OTHER SPORT ON THE BLACK- 
AVATER RIVER. 
(Continued from page 146.) 
By Alfred Jardine. 
Next morning, Wednesday, we were uji early, 
and away. There was just enough water to float 
the “ Curlew ” over the sand-bar at the mouth of 
Mersea channel, and w'e crossed the Blackwater 
to fish the deeps off Bradwell Quay, where we 
caught a few codling and mullet. Sport not 
being satisfactory, we set sail for “The Main,” 
and at Swire-Hole got some fair-sized fish ; but, 
seeing “ gaggles ” of brent-geese settling on the 
water near Buxey Sands, we “ sailed them ” in 
the hope of killing some with our big gun ; they 
were very wild and took flight—the weather had 
not been sufficiently cold, nor lasted long enough, 
neither were geese hungry enough to feed— 
while we got within shot, but numerous flights of 
plovers and red-shanks were on Pewit-spit, and 
of these we bagged a lot. 
A solitary cormorant was perched on Buxey 
Beacon, watching, no doubt, for small-fish or 
sand-eels in the shallow water. We sailed within 
fifty yards ; I got a shot as it took wing ; the bird 
dropped at theedgeof thesands. Our lad launched 
the gunning-punt, and “ gathered it.” We then 
made a long tack for the Colne river, called to see 
some old friends (oyster farmers) at Brightling- 
sea, saved the flood-tide for Tollsbury Creek, 
where we landed on the sea-wall, and got a couple 
of black geese at evening flight. 
At Tollsbury is a “ decoy ”—there are three 
others (nearer Maldon) at Goldhanger—where 
thousands of duck, widgeon, &c., are captured 
and sent to Leadenhall Market. The pools, or 
ponds, on which the decoys are constructed hold 
roach and rudd, but during the winter wild-fowl 
season, no persons, except those employed, are 
allowed to go in the vicinity of them for fear of 
disturbing the birds in flight, and preventing 
them “ pitching ” in the decoy ponds. 
I am informed fair sport may be had fishing 
near Goldhanger in the summer and autumn; 
and my friend, Mr. George McLeod, tells me 
that, at the overflow below Barrett’s Mill, near 
the Priory, Maldon, he has had much fine sport, 
fishing in the brackish water with gentles for 
dace, which are of large size and plentiful; he 
has also caught mullet there with fly. 
Referring again to the Holland river, it rises 
some distance above New Hall, flows on by Little 
Bentley, thence near Tendring, where a rivulet 
from AVeeley joins it. At Thorpe-le-Soken the 
overplus water from a lake abounding with carp 
drops in, and this is probably the reason why 
stray carp, some of good size, have from time to 
time been caught in the river about here; then 
it winds through the marshes to Great Holland, 
absorbs a “ fleet ” near Little Holland, and falls 
into the sea at Frinton. My impression is that 
anglers who make Clacton their headquarters, fish 
the wrong part of the river, and that between 
Little Bentley and Thorpe they would catch 
plenty of fine roach and rudd, with occasional 
carp and tench. 
Thorpe-le-Soken railway station is the handiest 
for the best fishing. I believe the water between 
Great Holland and Frinton is nearly fished out. 
In addition to fishing and fowling, there are 
other attractions for those who, when sport is 
indifferent, find pleasure in archasological 
pursuits. 
Mersea Island was a Roman settlement, de¬ 
fended by a strong earthen sea-wall or dyke; a 
station excellently well placed to protect the 
rivers Colne and Blackwater from incursions of 
the Saxon sea-kings, and the Danes, who made a 
descent here in the year 994, and entrenched 
themselves in a “ stronghold ” at Colchester, 
which town and other places adjacent are rich in 
Roman and Norman antiquities. 
AVhen sinking a grave in 1730 the sexton dis¬ 
covered a Roman mosaic pavement, since found 
to extend beneath East Mersea Church ; but what 
interested me more than ancient pavements was 
the fact that the island, within comparatively 
recent times, had been a smuggling entrepot, 
where cargoes of French bra.ndy, bales of silk, 
lace, and other contraband commodities, were 
successfully “ run,” landed, and conveyed inland. 
The creeks were well adapted for the “ jolly 
free-traders ” to sail quietly into under 
cover of night with their “ smacks ” or 
“ luggers,” built ostensibly for fishing pur¬ 
poses. Smugglers were acquainted with every 
nook and corner of the marshes ; the farm¬ 
houses and barns were constructed with “ secret 
hides ” and places of concealment; one old 
mansion, quite near the coast, and surrounded by 
lofty walls, I retain a vivid remembrance of. It 
was full of trap-doors, passages built between the 
walls, and narrow staircases descending to 
vaults or up into the garrets; hiding-places, 
or exits for escape in event of pursuit by 
“ revenue coastguards,” as the custom-house 
officers were termed in the good old times, fifty 
years ago. 
On one of our wild-fowling excursions, T. 
R-and I stayed at this old house, and in the 
middle of the night I was awakened by a man 
moving about my room; he had ascended a 
secret staircase and came through a door con¬ 
cealed behind the “ hangings ” of a four-post 
bedstead I was sleeping on; there was no more 
rest for me that night, so I arose with the first 
gleams of daylight, and went out with my gun 
to try for a hare, which, as a rule, are plentiful 
on the marshes, and of a large size. 
There has been a controversy lately in sporting 
journals as to whether hares will take to the 
water voluntarily. 
I have seen hares bred on the sea marshlands 
do this; they appear to like the sweet herbage 
that grows on the “ saltings ” of the coast, and 
islands in the estuary, which are always sur¬ 
rounded with water; and I have seen them 
deliberately swim, with head and ears erect, over 
to the mainland or rice versa; in fact, when 
punting on Tollsbury Creek, I once captured a 
hare swimming in mid-stream. 
After breakfast we hoisted sail for Gunfleeb 
Sands and Harwich, having a trawl-net down 
most of the way, and caught fish of various 
sorts, including soles and lobsters ; these last two 
kinds T. R-and I took home with us to 
London, the others the men found a ready market 
for. 
The sport and pleasure that can be obtained 
from a three or four days’ fishing and fowling 
expedition is various and satisfactory; the sea- 
breezes are health-giving and extremely ex¬ 
hilarating, producing appetites unknown to those 
in “ cities pent” ; the way in which “the cobwebs 
of the brain ” are blown away, is something to be 
thankful for, and men return to every-day life, 
like “giants refreshed.” In describing a sub¬ 
sequent cruise in the North Sea, I will mention 
the fishing-tackle, “ artillery,” and “ stores,’^ 
we put on board the ‘' Curlew,” for six days’ 
fishing and shooting—from Monday morning to 
Saturday afternoon. 
I may just mention that during the same six 
days, three of the Mussetts, with two of the 
Mays (their cousins), “ punt-gunning ” on the 
Blackwater, shot five tons of wild-fowl, which 
they forwarded to their salesman at Leadenhall- 
market. My friend and I saw the birds—geese, 
duck, widgeon, teal, dunbirds, &c., &c.—a splen¬ 
did lot, in the primest plumage and condition. 
In the numerous wide creeks and channels 
intersecting the mud flats, thousands of ducks 
and other sea-fowl used to congregate, and in 
past winters brought a rich harvest to the men, 
who, at night, “ punted ” after them with their 
large guns, and killed them, literally, by scores at 
a shot. AVhen fowl were in the estuary, on the 
flood-tide, they would come out of the creeks and 
“ pitch ” in countless numbers on “ The Main,” 
or open water. I have seen many acres of sea, so 
closely packed with geese and duck (they seldom, 
or never, mix together), that when they took wing 
it was like a cloud “ lifting,” and I have known 
sixty duck killed and “ gathered” after one dis¬ 
charge of a big punt-gun. But I mention what 
happened previous to 1876 ; until then, wild-fowl 
were “ sailed.” Of recent years, stedin launches 
have pursued and shot birds by day and night, on 
the open waters and up the channels, so harrying 
them that the fowls have become wild, and it is 
now difficult to approach near enough to get a 
shot, except in the keenest of winters, when con¬ 
tinued cold and hunger make the birds less timid 
while a boat sails towards them. 
(To he continued.) 
