201 
THE FISHING GAZETTE 
there is no doing without the gold-ribbed hare s 
car there. Floated upright and cocked on a glass 
of water, and looked at from underneath, it is 
marvellous what a resemblance this pattern bears 
to the Blue Dun, though how he does it is almost 
as great a marvel as that anyone should have 
discovered that he can do it. 
In one of Currell’s patterns a blue-dyed gut 
body is recommended, made of used gut. I 
should prefer dyed, flat, tawsy ends of gut for 
this purpose or fine horsehair, wound in each 
case as far as possible on the bare shank of the 
The India-rubber Olive, described by Mr. 
Halford and Mr. Hall, is also a good Hampshire 
pattern. . . • .u 
On the whole there is little variety in tbe 
winging of the fly. It is almost universally 
starling, natural or dyed. But I find among 
my notes of dressings besides those already 
mentioned—Inside waterhen (Jackson 1, inside 
teal (Ilofland’s Carshalton Cocktail), thrush, 
hen blackbird, and coot (Halcyon), fieldfare 
(Fosterb red-wing (Foster’s Hare’s Ear), blue 
duck (Bowlker), and bunting and mallard 
The range of hackk-dressed patterns is still 
smaller. The wings and legs are represented by 
moorhen (inside), starling (inside), dotterel, snipe 
(inside), young grouse (inside), and lapwings 
apron. , , t n- 
The bodies of winged and hackled flies are 
much more various. Besides those already 
named : lead-coloured silk, with or without yellow 
rib; light blue fur; black silk (Webster, the 
Angler and the Loop-rod); squirrel’s blue fur; 
dark hare’s ear, mixed with a little yellowish 
mohair, and ribbed with yellow silk; moles fur 
and a little yellow mohair ; fine blue fur of hare 
(Pulman); ash-coloured silk, lead-coloured mo¬ 
hair; fur from fox next skin, mixed with black 
rabbit’s scut and a little pale straw-mohair, or 
worsted; dark wool of black lamb, weather¬ 
beaten, and mixed with a little bright yellow 
martin’s fur; blue and orange silk ribbed alter¬ 
nately ; heron’s herl from breast or wing, ribbed 
with straw-coloured silk; down from black grey¬ 
hound’s neck, mixed with violet blue worsted 
(Teesdale Angler); watermouse fur warped with 
ash-coloured silk; mouse fur warped on same; 
blue rabbit’s fur, daik hare’s ear, water rat’s fur, 
and yellow mohair in equal parts; hare’s ear 
mixed with olive mohair; leveret’s fur dyed olive 
and ribbed with fine gold wire. It seems clear that 
our forebears went further and took more trouble 
over their patterns than we do over ours. 
The legs and whisks do not show much variety, 
being mainly blue dun hackles wnth or without 
olive stains. A rusty blue or honey dun is often 
useful. So is a grizzle, and some of the shades 
of badger are not to be despised. The Whirling 
Blue Duns are dressed much as the Blues, but 
with a red or ginger hackle, and for to-day I’ll 
give them the go-by. 
Well—here we are at your gate. Good-bye. 
Drop in to-morrow and I’ll show you what lye 
done in the way of imitating these little folk in 
the box—and if you can induce some kind 
Samaritan of the Fly Fishers to give us twain 
a day on the Wandle when she opens, maybe we 
will give my dressing a trial. Ta-ta. 
THE 
SPRING SALMON RIVERS OF 
SCOTLAND. 
AS THEY ARE. 
(Continued from page 183.) 
Bt W. Mukdoch. 
Sai.e of Co.arse Fish durixo the Fekce 
Months. —The Leeds and District Amalgamated 
Society cf Anglers are to be congratulated on the 
action they have taken with regard to the sale of 
coarse fish during the close season by fishmongers 
in the low parts of Leeds. This game has gone 
on quite long enough, and on Thursday several 
members by pre-arrangement made a raid on 
several of these shops. It is no exaggeration to 
say that they there found tons of pike, perch, 
bream, roach, and tench. Of course the dealers 
explained the matter in their old sweet way, viz , 
“ the Continent.” T'hat plea, however, will not 
hold w’ater, as the Act distinctly state.a, “ that any 
person buying, selling, or exposing for sale, or 
has in his possession for sale, any fresh-water fish 
that is not in season, is liable,” &c. One man, 
how’ever, was < andid, and stated openly that the 
fish came from Newark. This piece of informa¬ 
tion should prove interesting to theTrent District 
Conservancy.—‘‘H.tLCVON,” in weekly edition of 
the J^eeds Mercury. 
Scarcely any time during the year is the I orss 
without fish native to it seeking to ascend it. 
But this was not always so with this river. Atten 
the Thurso the Forss is the first salmon stream, 
going west along the northern seaboard. It is a 
small purely moor-fed stream in its upper lengths, 
but water from springs in the marshes, through 
which it flows, and from other sources, adds to 
its volume lower down, hence it is rendered not 
altogether dependent for its supply on rainfall to 
keep it in trim for angling. It has,several grand 
fronting lochs in its basin, of which Loch Scye is 
perhaps the most noted. It does not, however, 
notwithstanding its springs, marshes and loch 
reservoirs, stand well up in volume during tracts 
of drought. It is apt, like the Thurso, to become 
too much coloured by the stirring up of the peat 
during rougli 'W6JittiGr iu tli6 shallow lochs, which, 
it traverses. Like many other northern rivers 
which have few strong sustainingsprings,it also is 
much nipped by frost, its volume going down to 
a very low size when long spells of dry 
weather prevail in the early months of the 
ycai’- . . 
This is a wonderful river in some respects 
To see it one would not give twopence for it, as 
the saying goes, yet from having been treated 
in a manner, the wonderful success of which has 
been placed beyond a doubt, it has been made to 
yield marvellous takes to the nets. Once on a 
time, and that not long’ ago, it was an utterly 
ruined stream, not proving worth anything for 
angling, and scarcely recouping the netter his 
working expenses. But eventually a gentlemp 
with plenty of means took up his residence on its 
banks, and securing the netting and angling 
rights, he, by finding the money, and bis keeper 
directing its expenditure to best profit, soon 
turned the worthless Forss into a stream which 
has proved a wonder to many for its prolific sport 
and commercial value, considering its character 
and previous dearth of salmon. The gentleman 
who supplied the wherewithal for the restoration 
of the Forss was a Mr. Blenkhorn, and the plan 
adopted was to limit the netting and to ex¬ 
tensively hatch and experiment with salmon in a 
hatchery and rearing burns connected therewith. 
Nicol and James McNicol were the parties who 
directed the hatchery construction and manage¬ 
ment, and also conducted all the experiments in 
fish culture. The end of a few years’ labours by 
these two able fish culturists saw the Forss 
plentifully supplied with salmon as early in the 
year as the beginning of March, whereas, 
previously, through the stock having become 
almost extinct by reason of excessive netting, it 
was May before almost a single early fish sought 
to enter the river or when the grilse cominenced 
to drop in about. There are now fish coming to 
the Forss as early as January, and with plenty 
water running they ascend quite freely during 
that month. Now this is proof of what can be 
done by the proper and capable management of a 
fishery’, which is not the present time grab-all 
policy of tbe netter, but a generous treatment for 
the future weal which eventually proves the pay¬ 
ing treatment. 
Few fish ascend above a mile or two of the 
Forss early in the season inconsequence of a fall, 
which is no barrier to ascent once the tempera¬ 
ture rises several degrees more. Until April all 
the angling is confined to the stretch seaward from 
this fall, which is known as the Ditch, and which 
is absolutely dead water, as dead as that of any 
ditch. Yet, it all fishes, and not only fishes, but 
fishes well when conditions are auspicious. With 
a good breeze blowing up or down and plenty of 
fish in the water the angler on a March or April 
day can count with certainty on a fine take. Scores 
as high as nine, ten, eleven, and twelve fish have 
been got in the Ditch by one rod in a day. The 
netting has proved an immensely pay ing business 
latterly, and it has been found that what the 
McNicols did has increased vastly the length 
of the season’s run of the different sorts of fish— 
spring salmon, grilse, and early autumn salmon 
It is much to be regretted that latterly what 
was done to make the Forss so famous, and paying 
besides, has been largely undone by a netter. who 
got hold of the netting rights on Mr. Blenkhorn 
relinquishing his lease, which the state ot is 
health compelled him to do. f)nly four years or 
so ago this netter started, but by him the netting 
has been pushed so fiercely, that already, both to 
it and the rods, the season’s take of fish has 
greatly diminished. There is hope, however, that 
very soon matters will once again be set in the 
ric^ht direction, as the new tenant of Westfield, it 
is'thought, will, it addition to having the angling, 
also stipulate for the netting rights to be con¬ 
veyed to him, and then, without doubt, both the 
river and the sea-fishing will be managed in a way 
to increase the head of fish and make the 
SO fliS UU illVi -- 
angling better and the netting more p^aying--a 
thing which is easily done, but which the 
prejudiced or blind netsman, who is purely a 
netsman, will not, or cannot see. tt n j i • 
On. the way from the Forss to the Halladale is 
Sandside of Reay, where Nicol McNicol, manager 
and head keeper to Mr. Pilkingtoii, has for years 
carried on fish cultural operations with singular 
success. Here there is a fine hatchery, with 
rearing-ponds and artificial lakes, in 
trout of various kinds, hatched and bred by Mr, 
McNicol, have done exceedingly well. 
The Halladale, when in volume, looks a first- 
rate type of a salmon angling river. It pas a 
course of about eighteen miles, from the uplands 
near Forsinard, down the narrow strath, or 
valley, of its own name to the sea at Bighouse. 
It may be said of this river that it is largely 
fished out. It has too sudden a gradient, and 
is too little dependent on springs for its volume, 
that, alike for rapidity of filling and falling, it is 
remarkable. One day it may be bank high, and 
the next day too low for fishing. Summer spates, 
however heavy, will not keep it in good angling 
ply for twenty-four hours. In the spring, how¬ 
ever, it may maintain a fishing volume lor a 
longer period, through snow melting, or the 
moorland mosses oozing out a supply once they 
are thoroughly saturated. It is said that the 
reason for the Halladale being so completely 
given over to the netsmen is that it would never 
repay the proprietor to nurse it for anglers, on 
account of its altogeter not to be depended on 
flow of water. There is reason in this arrange¬ 
ment, but it might be modified to the extent ot 
giving an extra day weekly for the fish to have a 
free run, because, with more fish in the river, 
there would always be better angling when the 
water was found suitable. Further, more fish 
would be left to breed, and so in time make the 
fishery more paying—more yielding in fish, ti 
the rods as well as to the nets. In open weather 
the Halladale, if running in good volume, has 
the commencement of its run of spring fish early 
in March. - r 
The Haver is the next early salmon river ot tfie 
north coast. It is the largest and by far the most 
important salmon fishery of the district. Once 
it was better for spring salmon angling than it is 
now, and in those days it had a marvellous repu¬ 
tation for sport in summer, especially with grilse. 
By-and-by, however, the increased and improved 
netting at its mouth and along the northern sea¬ 
board more and more sapped its resources, till 
at last it was found necessary, if sport was to bt 
maintained and the fishery kept from becoming 
a losing concern financially, to consider the eiieci 
of the netting at the mouth and on either sidt 
thereof for several miles. This was done, anc 
with the result that within the area indicated 
all netting was discontinued to allow the fish ire< 
access to the river. Since then there has beei 
considerable improvement in the angling, whici 
it is gratifying to state is still making headway 
There is a small run of winter fish up the Naver 
and when the season opens in February, there i 
usually a fair head of such fish got by the rod-- 
As a rule, not many of the small spring fash ar 
caught during the first week or two, but i 
March, should the weather have proved lavoui 
able for encouraging ascent, and the water kej 
in good running volume, there is usually, unde 
auspicious conditions, very good salmon anghn 
from the lower up to the middle distance bea. 
before the month has long run. A little latei 
on the beats nearer Loch Naver improv' 
March and April are unquestionably the be.- 
spring salmon angling months for the Nave 
