28G 
THE EISHING GAZETTE 
[April 22, 1893 
§cotcl) ilofes. 
Br Mac. 
T tiEAR from the Lcchy Spean that: “ There is 
very little being done at present. The water is 
t(w clear and low. Mr. Halands has, as yet, only 
killed four fish of a good size, but, with plenty of 
rain, there ought to be fine sport got.” 
Our North Esk correspondent writes: “The 
ISorth and South Esks are very small just now, 
with scarcely a single fish taking them. There 
are very few on the coast. I have not heard of a 
grilse being got yet. Some very fine baskets of 
finnock and yellow trout have been got this 
week. Two anglers out last Thursday on the low 
end of the Morphy water did well, one having 
two dozen finnock and some fine yellow trout, and 
the other had sixteen finnock and eighteen yellow 
trout, averaging |lb. Messrs. Tongue and Bran- 
field have had some good sport last week on the 
Panmure Arms water. On Tuesday they had 
71b. of trout, from ^Ib. upwards, and on Thursday 
they had another catch of about the same weight.' 
Our Deveron correspondent writes : “ Since the 
middle of March very little has been done either 
by net or rod-fishing. For a month the best of 
weather, so far as agriculture is concerned, has 
been enjoyed, and for the past fortnight the water 
has been exceedingly clear, and is daily becoming 
lower. Net and rod-fishing is therefore retarded 
to some extent. Another difficulty to the progress 
of the fishing, peculiar to the Deveron, is the 
exceedingly erratic nature of the channel in which 
it enters the sea. Heavy and continuous swells 
from the north have so affected the bar of shingle 
adjacent to the mouth of the river that, at its 
entrance to the sea, it has not been for two days 
the same. To-day the water may be running in 
a swift, gurgling stream, while to-morrow the 
channel may be spread over several hundred feet, 
entering the sea by various outlets. The condi¬ 
tions of the season have occasioned the existence 
of disease. Foul fish have not been induced to go 
.seawards. A good fall of rain would alter 
matters for the better. No grilse have yet been 
landed from the river. When it is notified very 
early in the season that a grilse has been landed, 
the best_ authorities are inclined to question 
whether it is not a late-spawned small salmon ' 
Mr. Archibald Harper writes from the Thurso 
as follows : “ It is now quite certain that the 
strongest run of spring salmon came up the 
Thurso this year in January. Since the blue-black 
has run out of the river and gone to the sea to 
get purified, the fish in Lochmore have given 
much better sport to the anglers. Six, eight, and 
ten fish were got in a day last week to six rods; 
poor sport for April on the Thurso, still it is 
better than the previous week. There is now 
every reason to believe that this is to be the 
worst April on record. It is so by a long chalk 
up to date. The rods will not more than average 
ten fish each up to the 15th curt., while February 
and March yielded better than last year. April 
is the best month on the Thurso. May beats it 
only once in a dozen years or so. If it should 
fail to beat it this year the spring angling will be 
very poor indeed. Since the fine weather set 
in four weeks ago sport has been on the decline, 
much sunshine and too little water being the 
cause. \ ear by year, the fish on entering the 
river^ show a stronger inclination to push up to 
the higher beats and Lochmore quicker than was 
their habit previous to the last ten years or so. 
This year shows a good example: in February 
very few January run fish were found in the 
river, but when Lochmore was tried sure enough 
they were there. What is the reason of this 
departure .■* ” 
paired by poachers and others using nets and 
other illegal means of fishing. Tne objects of 
this association are : (1) To preserve and improve 
all fishings open to the public in the district 
surrounding Huntly, and (2) to prevent illegal 
and unfair fishing, encourage fair and sportsman¬ 
like angling, and increase the stock of fish in the 
rivers. As a means of preventing illegal fishing 
the association have arranged to place one or 
more watchers on the rivers, and the Duke of 
Richmond and Gordon has generously undertaken 
to prosecute, at his own expense, all persons who 
may be found fishing illegally, on evidence being 
furnished him by the association. The associa¬ 
tion have also arranged with the superintendent 
of the salmon fisheries on the River Deveron for 
the co-operation and assistance of his watchers 
with those of the association over the free water. 
To carry on effeccually the work of the associa¬ 
tion it is, of course, necessary to have funds, the 
association being entirely supported by voluntary 
contributions, and I trust you may kindly see 
your way to further the objects of the association 
either by becoming a honorary member or by a 
contribution towards its funds.” The object is 
most deserving of support, and, though it is not 
once in ten years that I fish at Huntly, I yet 
shall be very pleased to subscribe balf a sovereign 
as an encouragement to many more to show their 
generous aid. _ 
McBouncer writeth: —“In my roamings 
through all parts of the Scottish Highlands 
during the last_ quarter of a century a number 
of amusing gillie incidents have come under my 
notice, and as I have jotted a good many of them 
in my note-books, I may send you a sprinkling 
from time to time in the hope that they may 
prove a pleasing variation in the readable 
columns of ‘ Scotch Notes.’ No doubt many 
sporting readers of the Fishing Gazette must have 
noticed that Highland gillies, especially gillies of 
the old school, who had an imperfect knowledge 
of English, and who are now rapidly disappear¬ 
ing, had an inveterate craze for using long words 
when speaking English. Beurla mhor (tall Eng¬ 
lish), or to have a stock of lang-nebbit words, as 
the Lowland Scotch say, was considered abso¬ 
lutely necessary in order to shine in conversa- 
is a failing common to all illiterate 
-tiig'hlandinen to use lon^ words—if they sound 
well—without any regard as to their significa¬ 
tions. An Inverness-shire gillie got hold of the 
phrase “most abominable,” and, judging from 
the sound thereof, concluded that it meant 
something excellent. Lord H. B-came north 
«_> --- V. x-ivji uii 
as usual at the shooting season. After the 
formalities of handshaking, &c., with Callum (for 
that was the gillie’s name), his Lordship asked. 
And how is your wife, Callum ? ’ to which 
the gilhe smilingly rephed, ‘ Oo! she’s most 
apommynaple, my Lord; just most apommynaple 
efer since you saw her! ’ A Perthshire gillie 
who had the proud distinction of having attended 
on Royalty was bragging about the talk he had 
had with the Prince of Wales. A sceptical 
nei^hoour hinted his doubts by remarking that 
one would require to have a lot of big, big words 
before he could talk to a prince, “ Hooch, aye! ” 
says Donald, “ nae doot aboot that; such as Con- 
stantinawjile and words like that.” 
G. M. M., Deeside, writes: “ For some days 
back the distant hills have been covered with 
snow, the whole wearing a very wintry appear¬ 
ance. On the Invercauld waters at Ballater, and 
on the Forest of Glen-Tana waters of the Dee, 
sport has been fairly good. Few fish are coming 
from the sea. On the Aberdeen Harbour Board’s 
best river station, only five salmon were got 
between Friday and Saturday last. Fifty fish 
would not have been extraordinary at this season 
during the same time. Not for twenty years 
back has the river been so low in the middle of 
April. The ‘ Red Eagle ’ has been doing heavy 
execution among the kelts and the few odd clean 
fish which are being got on the mid-reaches. 
Don’t you know the ‘Red Eagle’? It is the 
latest classical name for the prawn. With the 
fine clear waters, night—between the ‘gleamin’ 
and the mirk ’—or twilight angling has been 
more than usually successful. A small run of 
very small fish came away last week. Charlie Gill 
had one on the Woodend water weighing only 
4|lb. This is the smallest salmon he has ever 
caught. A good few kelt grilse which, in an 
ordinary season would have migrated seawards 
long ago, are still in the water. In their well- 
mended condition they are not easily spotted by 
the tyro. May this not be the cause of much of 
the cross-swearing which is being indulged in 
over these ‘beasties,’ as to whether they are fresh 
run or not ? The Aberdeen Salmon Company 
have a pisciculturist of no mean order in their 
able manager, Mr. Walker. Right in the heart 
of the Granite City almost—at any rate in the 
heart of the noise of its commercial centre—in 
Fish-street (appropriate appelation, by-the-bye), 
has he again reared over 100,000 salmon, which 
in another week will be fully prepared to do for 
themselves on some shingly bank of the Dee and 
Don. Year after year, for the pure love of the 
science, Mr. AValker has hatched out thousands 
of eggs (after a modest and unpretentious 
manner) which would otherwise have been lost. 
The sight on Saturday afternoon was charming. 
The ‘ devil ’ from the Brora was all there; but 
my guide, philosopher, and friend for the nonce, 
had another name for it—more expressive but 
less Parliamentary.” 
A SUTHERLANDSHIRE angling friend writes me : 
“ The weather is now altered on this northern 
seaboard. Saturday forenoon a good deal of rain 
fell, although not sufficient to raise the rivers 
any extent. Since then it has proved very cold, 
the thermometer standing at 30 degrees in the 
evening, and some snowflakes falling from the 
N.E. Wednesday last, Donald McNicol, the 
keeper, had, I hear, four fish off the Forss from 
61b. to lO^lb., and rose several others. Nets along 
the coast doing nothing or next to nothing. Two 
dozen nice trout were got off Loch Calam one 
day last week, this being the first take for the 
year that I have heard of in the district. Tongue 
Hotel has been let to a new man, who will enter 
at the coming term. Many thanks for the very 
nice patterns of flies you have sent me; they are 
all new to me except one. I rather think some of 
them may prove very good Naver killers. Last 
year we found the Silver Doctor, Black Doctor, 
Silver Grey, and Jock Scott were what the grilse 
fancied most. The Black Doctor did especially 
well on dull days. I have been getting my fish 
this spring mostly with a strange fly—largely 
red—which I call Red Sandy. I gave one last 
year to a gentleman who was going to fish in Ice¬ 
land, and he told me afterwards that the fish went 
clean mad for it, and that he killed thirteen with 
it one day. I hope before the spring angling 
season runs out to yet have some good fishing. If 
only we could get plenty of rain soon this would 
be made sure.” 
The following circular has been issued by 
W. A. Mellis, Esq,, of Battlehill, Huntly, Aber¬ 
deenshire, president of the Huntly Free Fishings 
I rotectiqn Association: “ I beg to bring under 
your notice the above association, and the objects 
for which it was formed. As you are doubtless 
aware, through the kindness of the proprietor, 
His Grace the Duke of Richmond and Gordon, 
there are long stretches of the Rivers Deveron 
and Bogie and their tributaries which are free to 
anglers to fish for both salmon and trout, with 
the rod. But this boon, which has been for so 
long a means of health and recreation, not only to 
the inhabitants of Huntly but to visitors from a 
distance, has of recent years been greatly im- 
Mr. Angus Morrison, hotel-keeper, Melvich, 
writes : “ I am still going on with the stocking 
of my lochs in connection with this hotel and the 
one at Reay. I put 2000 Fontanalis into one 
loch last week, and in another fortnight I will 
have 23,000 Lochlevens ready. I was with Nicol 
NcNicol on Saturday all over his fishculturist 
establishment at Sandside. What a lot of work 
he does, and with what singular success. Alike 
in hatching out as in rearing salmon and trout of 
different varieties, he has proved himself compe¬ 
tent as anyone I have ever seen or heard of. So 
far, this year promises well for fronting. To 
judge from the trout I have already seen, 1 
should say the loch trout this year will be 
forward in condition unusually early.” 
Gp to the beginning of this week angling was 
still backward on Loch Ness, the River Oich, 
Loch Oich, and the Garry, in consequence of a 
continuance of the unusually dry weather. On 
all these waters the salmon fishing has been 
a partial failure this season up to date. 
On the Aberdeenshire coast,” says a corre¬ 
spondent, “ towards the end of last week the 
fishing got a good deal better, although it did 
not come up to expectation. The fish were of 
better quality and there was considerable 
improvement in the size, weights from 251b. to 
•>2lb. not being scarce. This week very little has 
