326 
THE PISHING GAZETTE 
[Mat G, 1893 
June. Probably, taking the lochs of Inverness- 
shire, Ross-shire, Cromarty, Sutherland, and 
Caithness all round, the best time is between the 
end of May and the middle of July. 
In burns—those of early, well sheltered dis¬ 
tricts where the soil is rich excepted—and in hill 
brooks, the trouting, though unquestionably the 
trout take well enough, has not yet become 
satisfactory to those who desire the fish in prime 
condition. But on all rivers in Scotland, the 
trout of which are large and have plenty of 
fly food, the angling meantime is as good as it 
will be. This remark applies to the lower and 
middle sections of all the important rivers from 
the Tay along the east coast northward, but 
until the middle of May the sport with fly will 
improve on the upper waters of unquestionably 
the most crack streams in Scotland—the Don, the 
Deveron, and the Findhorn. My advice to 
anglers who want, and can manage to get, angling 
on these rivers is not to delay much longer before 
taking it. The weather has become quite genial, 
and latterly a good deal softer, with rain at 
intervals breaking out here and there all over the 
country. The trout consequently, and for the 
additional reason that the natural fly is up in 
abundance, are splendidly on the feed, and with 
flakey skies to favour it, their taking well has not 
been a matter of question but a matter of fact 
this week and the end of last. 
By Mac. 
Mr. Archibald Harper writes from the 
Thurso;—“ The kelts are beginning to suffer from 
the continuance of the drought, and the extremely 
low water. A month ago their season for leaving 
the river was past, and now in their efforts to get 
away, a good many force themselves into shallow 
water where they have no shade to protect them, 
and in a few days they are dead. Some clean 
fish succumb in like manner—apparently to a 
sort of fever. Smolts are congregating in large 
shoals in anticipation of getting off to the sea; 
they’ll go bang away on the first opportunity. 
Anglers are doing very little, but Loch More is 
never fished blank.” 
A TROUT of 81b. was caught on Loch Ness last 
week by an angler from the Lovat Arms Hotel, 
Fort Augustus, Loch Ness side. 
McBouncer writeth:—“ Sir Charles Ross, the 
popular young baronet of Balnagown, Ross-shire, 
was married on Wednesday at St. Mary’s, Bryan- 
ston-square, to Winnifred, youngest daughter of 
Mr. A. A. Berens, 68, Great Cumberland-place. 
The ceremony was performed by the bride’s uncle. 
Rev. H. Everilt, rector of Dorchester, and the 
Marquis of Tullibardine, the Duke of Athole’s 
eldest son, acted as best man. Sir Charles 
attained his majority on the 4th of April, when 
he entered into possession of one of the finest 
estates in the north. Even before attaining his 
majority. Sir Charles evinced great interest in 
the welfare of ploughmen and crofters. The very 
next day after the management of the estate 
devolved upon him, he interviewed the Strath- 
carron crofters, and submitted for their considera¬ 
tion an elaborate scheme for the amelioration of 
their condition, and which, if adopted, would in 
his opinion be tbe nearest possible approach to 
Home Rule in a private capacity. This scheme 
cannot be reproduced here, but its main points 
are that the land should be under the full control 
of a committee appointed by the crofters them¬ 
selves ; that the committee appoint a convenor, 
secretary, and treasurer, and that meetings be 
held at least four times a year, also that all 
negotiations between the crofters and the estate 
be made through the committee, who would be 
held responsible for the rent, the estate to have 
nothing to do with individual crofters. They 
have got a couple of months to think over it 
before deciding. I fear the scheme won’t work. 
Crofters are so jealous and envious of one 
another, and besides, all townships cannot very 
well produce office-bearers such as indicated. 
Sir Charles has also promised that when leases 
of large sheep farms expire, the crofters will, on 
certain conditions, get the land, both arable and 
pasture. In connection with the marriage, I 
may mention that several congratulatory tele¬ 
grams in Gaelic were sent to Sir Charles and 
Lady Ross from Ardgay, Ross-shire. The senders 
were probably chuckling over the idea of bam¬ 
boozling the recipients with Gaelic telegrams, 
but fancy their astonishment when a few hours 
later the following acknowledgment, wired 
from London was received, viz., ‘ Mile taing 
dhuibh air son bhur cavimhneas agus cairdeas 
aig an am so.—Sir Charles agus Lady Ross,’ 
which means, ‘ A thousand thanks to you for 
your kindness and good wishes on this occasion. 
—Sir Charles and Lady Ross.’ It is questionable 
if such unique messages ever before traversed 
the wires between London and Ross-shire.” 
Mr. Duncan Dow, Loch Tummel Hotel, 
Strathtummel, by Pitlochry, N.B., writes me :— 
“ The fine trout of Loch Tummel have been look¬ 
ing up these last three days, and with really 
genial weather—no frost overnight and more 
rain—there is no doubt they would give grand 
sport now as the right time of the year has ar¬ 
rived. Takes got on Tuesday, Wednesday, and 
Thursday were :—Mr. Anderson, Dundee, one 
trout, 31b.; Mr. Guild, two'trout, 31b. and 3 Alb.; 
Mr. Hardie, two trout, 2flb. and Iflb.; Mr. 
Gregor McGregor, two trout, 2]lb. and 2Tjlb.; Mr. 
Hood, Kirkcaldy, three trout, Iflb., 21b., and 
2flb., and two pike, one a beauty in splendid con¬ 
dition weighing 251b., and measuring 3ft. Gin. in 
length, and Sin. by 4Hn. depth and thickness.” 
Our North Esk correspondent writes:—‘‘The 
first grilse for this year, on the coast around here, 
was got at the Woodstone fishing last week; it 
was a very fine specimen, and weighed 22lb. I 
have heard of only this one yet. At the sea 
coast fishing stations salmon did better last week, 
but both North Esk and South Esk are still very 
small, and not a single fish taking them. Some 
fair catches of finnock and yellow trout, and a 
few new-run sea-trout were got, but with the 
small clear water and so many smolts swarming 
about it was hardly possible to do well, and 
scarcely had the flies touched the water ere the 
smouts had them. Kelts are very numerous still, 
and there is yet no appearance of more water to 
take them away. They are getting very clear 
and weakly, and not a few of them are succumb¬ 
ing. The salmon that got over the dykes with 
the push of water that came in March are now 
dying with disease from the water being abnor¬ 
mally filthy and heated; but if there should 
come a good rise of water to clear away kelts, 
smolts, and diseased fish, there would be fresh 
blood come in from the sea and spin past the 
dykes now to give, very likely, some good sport in 
the upper waters.” _ 
I HEiR from Upper Spey that the water up to 
end of last week still continued very low, making 
anglers wish more than ever for a spate to clear 
the bottom, swill down the weakly kelt, bring 
forward more good fish, and generally better 
matters. Last week there was some improvement 
in the sport, when on the Grant Arms Hotel 
section of the Castle Grant fishery, Mr. Macdougall 
had one fish of 101b., and Mr. Stewart two, of 61b. 
and 6^1b. On the adjoining beats of Tulchan and 
Revack the rods had amongst them twelve fish for 
the two best angling days of the week. 
Mr. Young, Lairg, writes:—‘‘.The following 
is a short summary of sport obtained by Lairg 
Hotel anglers during season 1892. The season 
opened April 20ch, when Messrs. Castle and Knock 
killed fourteen trout, 7|lb., on Loch Shin, and 
ended September 9th. Loch Shin yielded 1,959 
trout, weighing 926.ilb.; seventeen saltno ferox, 
weighing 68f lb. (heaviest fisb "^Ib.), and two grilse, 
of S^lb. and 51b. Loch Beannoch’s total was 270 
trout, weighing 216iilb. Loch Namfuar-leachd, 
fished on nine days, gave 107 trout, 541b.; and 
Loch Cracail, on a like number of days, ninety- 
five trout, 4541 b. A few of the best baskets made 
on Loch Shin were in May, twenty-one trout 81b., 
by Mr. Douglas. In June, fifty-eight trout, 281b., 
by Messrs. Douglas and Thompson ; and nineteen 
trout, 101b., by Mr. Jameson. In .luly, thirteen 
trout, 101b., and one ferox, 41b., by Mr. Copeland ; 
twenty-four trout, 1241b., by Mr. Hunt; and thirty 
trout, 1241 b., by Mr. Fallar. In August, Captain 
Johnstone, fourty-four trout, 201b.; fourteen trout. 
81b.; and twenty-five trout, 121b.; Mr. Capelcure, 
twenty-one trout, 141b., and twenty-five trout, 
111b. In September, Mr. Loxley, seventeen trout, 
741 b. Loch Beannoch’s best baskets were eighteen 
trout, lOlb.; twelve trout, 101b.; twenty trout, 
iGlb.; eight trout, 101b.; and ten trout, S-^lb.” 
G. M. M., Deeside, writes :—‘‘ Mr. Barry and 
party on the Forest of Glen-Tana reaches of the 
Dee creeled some two hundred fish for the month 
of April, eighty of which went to Mr. Barry’s 
own rod. The Invercauld Hotel Ballater fishery 
maintains its exceptionally bright reputation as 
the finest hotel fishery in the kingdom. Kelts 
have disappeared having gone down to the sea 
like a rumble of bricks with last week’s fill. A 
considerable number of dead fish have been left 
in the pools, and in the small clear waters these 
are painfully visible. “ Mauchers ” (dead fish 
snatchers) are making a good thing of it by hawk¬ 
ing these about the country. They get sixpence 
and sevenpence the pound, and sometimes a little 
more when they come across a pretty fresh 
‘‘ corpse ” ! A good few of the fish lately landed 
have been potted for some considerable time. 
Apropos of potted salmon. A sportsman, the 
other day, who had been due on the water some 
weeks prior to his arrival, and had fired the blood 
of his gillie by the delay, landed a 91b. fish which 
greatly displeased him, on the score of its red- 
potted colour. Expressing his disappointment, 
he was bluntly informed of his gillie’s grievance 
at the same time as the cause was tersely, if not 
politely, explained by the following reply : ‘Well, 
sir, if you are nae pleased wi’ him, you should 
have been here to catch him sooner.’ The smolt 
season is on in the tidal reaches of the Dee, Don, 
Ythan, &c., and angling has been suspended for 
the better part of the month of May. The salmon 
tacksmen, in and about Aberdeen, headed by 
Mr. Geo. Davidson, of Wellwood, are making 
strenuous efforts to influence the Government 
against the proposal to grant licences to net 
salmon on unappropriated Crown lands.” 
Our Spey correspondent writes :— ‘‘ While 
walking along the bank of the river last night 
about 9 p.m., I was astonished to find that for 
all the rain that had fallen during the previous 
forty-eight hours the water was lower than on the 
previous Sunday, although some three inches 
higher than before the rain fell. The rainfall was 
not what is looked for to freshen the water or 
improve matters generally. It was pretty much 
mixed at times with snow and hail, which lay 
white on the hills, and with a temperature at 
40 degrees Fah., was not very comforting. Since 
writing you last week almost all the diseased 
fish have cleared out, while on the lower reaches 
scarcely a kelt is to be met with. The smolt is 
now very much en evidence, and for some time to 
come will be closely guarded by the watchers, 
who were reinforced to-day. With reference to 
the extraordinary catch of sea-trout on the Lossie 
mentioned in my river report last week, I wrote 
a friend on the matter, and he writes me that;— 
‘ It is a fact that Mr. West, artist, caught 61 sea- 
trout weighing 421b. The trout averaged from 
41 b. to 11b. each. I saw the catch, and can vouch 
for the truth of it. This is the biggest haul ever 
taken by a rod here. The fly used was a very 
small one.’ ” 
Our Deveron correspondent u'rites:—‘‘An im¬ 
portant transference of landed property, involving 
the transference also of a high class fishing in the 
Deveron, has just taken place by the purchase 
from his Grace the Duke of Fife by Lieut.- 
Colonel Foster-Forbes, of Rotliiemay, of the estate 
of Corskellie, a property in all respects a most 
desirable one, situated in the centre of Banffshire. 
It lies on the right bank of the Deveron, being 
immediately opposite the mansion house and 
estate of Rnthiemay. The salmon fishings on 
both sides of the river thus now belong to Colonel 
Forbes. This section of the river, as a rule, has 
yielded exceedingly well, there being included in 
the number of favourable pots: the Meeting.s 
pool, the Isla pool, Bankers pool, Deys pool. Bog 
pool, and the Haig Burn stream. The continued 
drought, which has promoted interruption, and has 
lasted for nearly five weeks, is now causing some 
anxiety to anglers. For a fortnight the Deveron 
has been of exceedingly small volume—its water 
clear as glass. Some success is being had at the 
