REMINISCENCES.
Having exhausted, so far as we can imagine, the practical part of our
little treatise, we proceed--in accordance with an idea which we had in
our minds at starting--to give a few personal recollections, and to name
one or two lochs where we have enjoyed good sport, and where it is still
to be had for the trouble of going. Reminiscences are, as a rule, not
specially interesting to the general reader, hence we shall not make
them too lengthy; for we wish, above all things, that our readers shall
close this volume without experiencing a shadow of weariness. One thing,
however, we would like to say to our younger angling friends--Have as
many personal adventures to look back to as you possibly can. The
adventures themselves can be best sought after when the blood flows
fast; for the time will come when the rod and the tackle will perforce
have to be laid aside, and memory will then, unaided, afford you many a
pleasant retrospect, and you will--even companionless--fight your
battles over again. You remember the story of the illustrious Prince
Talleyrand: when a young man acknowledged to him that he could not play
whist, Talleyrand said to him--"Young man, what a sad old age you are
preparing for yourself!" We don't mean to go this length as regards
fishing; but we safely say that a man who lives to old age without
having been a keen angler, has not only deprived himself of great
enjoyments during his active life, but has neglected to lay up a
provision for the time when the memory of them would have made life's
closing seasons sweeter.
Our first acquaintance with LOCH ARD was very pleasant--not, perhaps, so
much from any great expectation of sport, because at that time (many
years ago now) we were young at the pastime, but more from the feeling
of treading the ground made classical by the great Magician of the
North, as the scene of the most stirring incidents in 'Rob Roy.'
Attached to a big tree in front of the hotel at Aberfoyle there hangs a
coulter, which tradition assigns as the veritable article which Bailie
Nicol Jarvie made red-hot and used as a weapon of offence and defence
when he was in a dilemma in what was, at that time, a very inaccessible
part of the Highlands. Since then many a Glasgow magistrate has visited
the spot--the inspection of the line of the noble waterworks undertaking
which supplies the city being a sufficient excuse for the annual advent
of the civic rulers. A railway station (Bucklyvie) is within eight miles
of Aberfoyle, and Aberfoyle is within three miles of Loch Ard, and by
the time this book is in the hand of the reader there will most likely
be a railway station at Aberfoyle itself. Shade of Bailie Nicol Jarvie!
what would you say if you were now to be allowed to haunt the old spot?
to hear a locomotive screech where formerly you thought yourself so far
"frae the Sautmarket o' Glesca"? We don't like the idea ourselves, and
doubt very much if it will pay. However, it is the fishing alone which
concerns us meantime, and we can at once assure our angling friends that
the sport is good--not but what one has to fish hard for a basket; but
the same remark applies to all our near-at-hand lochs. On an ordinary
good day a dozen to eighteen trout may be captured, and sometimes the
baskets are heavier; but eighteen fish, weighing 9 lb. to 12 lb., is a
very fair day's work. The trout average fairly a half pound, and
pounders are by no means scarce: a two-pounder is come across
occasionally, but he is the exception. The fish are very pretty, and for
their size give excellent sport. Fine tackle is here absolutely
essential to success, and as a matter of sport should always be used in
fishing for common yellow trout. The loch, for its size, is much fished;
and we fear that when the railway facilities are completed, there will
require to be a considerable amount of restocking to keep it up to the
old mark. The scenery is unsurpassed--wood, water, and mountain, making
a picture of wondrous beauty. To the north of the loch, Ben Lomond rears
its mighty summit; and in the spring-time (for Loch Ard is an early
loch), before the summer sun has melted the winter's snow, the effect is
grand in the extreme. April, May, and June, are supposed to be the best
months for angling; but we see no reason why, if the weather be
favourable, these months should be singled out. The hotel accommodation
at Aberfoyle is excellent. In the early months you must engage a boat
beforehand: boatmen first-rate. Many a happy day we have spent on Loch
Ard--sometimes successful and sometimes much the reverse; but in any
case there is a witchery about the place that makes one enjoy himself in
spite of all cares. Mind and body recruit their jaded energies, and get
braced up to meet the stern realities of life.
In strong contradistinction, in this respect, to Loch Ard, is LOCH
LEVEN. In the latter, if the angler is not catching fish, there is
little of the beautiful to commend itself to the senses. The island on
which the castle stands is pretty, and as a historic ruin is well worthy
of a visit, but otherwise the scenery is very tame, and the surroundings
not entrancing. But since we have drifted into speaking of Loch Leven,
we may as well tell of the sport which is to be had there,--and this, as
is well known, is exceptionally good. The quality of the fish is
wonderful; and after reading the statistics of a year's fishing--last
season something like 18,000 fish, weighing as many pounds, were
killed--one is puzzled to know how it is kept up. The loch itself is a
great natural feeding-pond, miles and miles of it being of an almost
uniform depth, and a boat may drift almost anywhere, the angler feeling
at the same time certain that fish are in his immediate vicinity. Trout
of two and three pounds are quite common; and it is a rare occasion that
a day's average does not come up to the pound for each fish. They are
very fine eating, and cut red as a grilse. The company which rents the
loch pay £800 to £1000 for the fishing, and they in turn keep a fleet of
large boats--twenty we think--and let them out to anglers at the rate of
2s. 6d. an hour. Any number may fish from one boat. There are two
boatmen in each boat,--one of whom is paid by the company, the other by
the angler; and we are sorry to say that these men, with a few
exceptions, are very much spoiled. There is a class of anglers(?) who
frequent Loch Leven, whose whole aim seems to be, not sport so far as
their own personal efforts are concerned, but the killing of as many
fish as possible. If such a one has engaged a boat, he arms each boatman
with a rod, and, of course, fishes himself, thus having three rods
going at once. As we said before, the loch can be drifted without any
attention from the men, after they have pulled up to the wind, and this
enables them to get casting all the time that their employer is doing
likewise. Not content with this, a couple of minnows are generally
trolled astern when changing ground. We don't say that a man has not a
right to do as he likes if he pays for his boat; but we _do_ ask, Is
this sport? And why should boatmen be spoiled in this way to such an
extent that we have known them sulk a whole day because a spare rod was
not allowed to be put up for their special benefit? But, of course, the
men are just as they have been made, and true anglers, who fish for a
day's sport, and not for the mere sake of slaughter, have the remedy in
their own hands. Don't let anything deter you from fishing Loch Leven.
It may be expensive; but if you get a good, or even a fair day, you will
not regret the expense. Get a friend to join you, and the expense is not
so heavy after all; and if your friend and yourself fish perseveringly
all day, you will usually be rewarded with a very fine show of fish.
There is no harm in letting your men fish when you are taking your
lunch, _but don't allow a third rod to be put up_. The boatmen are, as a
rule, only fifth-rate fishers, though, of course, a few of them handle a
rod well. Our recollections of Loch Leven are pleasant in some ways, in
others they are not; but don't fail to give it a trial, if only for the
pleasure of handling a big fish on fine gut. The manager of the Loch
Leven fishings, Captain Hall, fills a very difficult post with much
acceptance to all concerned.
But to leave the Lowlands and go into the far North, we take you to LOCH
ASSYNT, in Sutherlandshire, and to a little loch near it,--LOCH AWE by
name. The journey to Assynt is long and weary: train to Lairg, and then
between thirty and forty miles driving, is a good long scamper for
fishing, but it is worth it. The inn at Inchnadamph is good, but when we
were there in 1877 the boat accommodation was poor enough: perhaps they
have improved upon that since. The first day after our arrival we had to
go to Loch Awe, as the boats on the large loch (Assynt) were taken up.
Such a morning of rain and wind! We were wet through our waterproofs
during the four-mile drive, but luckily the weather moderated, and we
had an excellent day's fishing. With two in the boat, we took 57 lb.
weight of beautiful fish,--not large, but very game, and spotted
intensely red. It must have been a good day, for many an angler tried
his luck after our success, but never came near that mark, at least when
we were there. Loch Assynt is more attractive, however, inasmuch as the
chances of big fish are not remote. Trout of a pound weight, and over,
are not uncommon, while the chance of a grilse adds excitement to the
sport. Then _ferox_, as we have said in a previous chapter, are,
comparatively speaking, not scarce, if one cares to go in for trolling
for them. But, in any case, the angler is always sure of a basket of
lovely yellow trout. On the hills behind the inn there is a small loch,
called the MULACH-CORRIE, in which it is said that the gillaroo trout
are to be found. Whether they are the real trout of that species or not,
we cannot say, but certainly they are beautiful fish,--pink in the
scales, and running to large sizes. We saw a basket taken by a friend,
and it was a treat to look at. The fish were all taken with the fly,
but we were told afterwards that worm is even deadlier than fly, and
that one should never go there without a supply of "wrigglers." The hill
between the inn and the Mulach-Corrie is a perfect paradise for
fern-gatherers. It is said that about two dozen different kinds can be
gathered; and we believe it, for even our untutored eyes discerned
sixteen varieties! Our visit to Inchnadamph must be placed among the
red-letter periods of our fishing life, and to be looked back to with
much enjoyment.
LOCH MORAR, in Inverness-shire, is another delightful spot, and somewhat
out of the usual track. The fishing is most excellent, and yellow trout
of all sizes are very abundant. Sea-trout and salmon find their way
frequently into the angler's basket; and half-way up the loch, which is
a long one, at a bay into which the Meoble river flows, numbers of
sea-fish are to be found. The best way is to fly-fish up to that bay one
day, and seek shelter at night in some shepherd's cottage, thus being at
hand to prosecute salmon and sea-trout fishing the next day, or days, if
you find the sport good. It is right to take a supply of provisions and
liquor with you, for the accommodation is humble. We write this from
hearsay, as when we were there in mid-July salmon and sea-trout were not
in the loch in large numbers; but still we caught some of the latter,
and hooked, though, unfortunately, did not kill, any of the former. We
should think that the beginning of August would be the best time for
this loch as regards sea-fish; but the trout-fishing in July is
unsurpassable. During our sojourn in 1876 at Arisaig, the nearest
village to the loch, which is six miles off, and necessitating a drive
over what was then a road sadly in need of General Wade's good offices,
we had the services of a boatman, Angus by name, and his two boys, who
could not speak a word of English,--Angus managing one boat, and his
boys the other. We had the satisfaction--for indeed it was good fun--to
be out with the boys one day; and the management of the boat had to be
done by signals. It was wonderful how readily the boys got into the way
of it, and how well we got on together. The memory of the hospitality
which we enjoyed at Arisaig Inn will not be forgotten by any of our
party; and we hope that the then occupier, Mr Routledge, will be there
when we go back again. An inn was in course of being built at the
loch-side in 1876, but we do not know how it has succeeded. The easiest
way to Arisaig is by steamer, which usually goes once a-week; but the
angler should, if possible, go to Banavie or Fort-William,--the latter
for choice, as Banavie Hotel is famous for long bills (and we can
testify that its notoriety in this respect is deserved),--and then drive
to Arisaig. It is about thirty-eight miles from Fort-William to Arisaig,
but the drive is something to be remembered during a lifetime. After
having traversed this road, you will say, "There's no place like home"
for grand and beautiful scenery. We must see Loch Morar again if we
possibly can, before we bequeath our tackle to the next generation.
The time would fail us to tell of many other lochs, more or less famous
for the good sport they afford; but the angler, if at all of an
enterprising nature, need have little hesitation in taking up Mr Lyall's
excellent 'Sportsman's Guide,' and making a selection on his own
account. The information is very correct so far as we have tried it,
sometimes--perhaps most anglers are inclined that way--erring a little
to the _couleur de rose_ side of things, but quite trustworthy in being
followed as a suggester for a fortnight's fishing. We have gained much
pleasure in exploring some of our more remote lochs, of the existence of
which we might never have been aware but for its information. We cannot,
however, close this long, but we hope not wearisome, chapter without
singing the praises of our Queen of Scottish Lakes, LOCH LOMOND. The
scenery of this beautiful spot is well known in some ways, but no amount
of travelling in a steamer will reveal its beauties. To the tourist we
would say, take a small boat at Luss and engage a man to row you among
the islands which lie between Luss and Balmaha. With this hint to the
tourist, we leave him, and turn the angler's attention to the
sport--very precarious at most times, but excellent at others--to be had
on Loch Lomond. Luss is the angling centre, and there are capital boats
and men to be had by writing beforehand to the hotel-keeper, Mr M'Nab,
who deserves much credit for the attention he pays to the wants of
anglers.
The yellow-trout fishing is good, but, strange to say, this class of
sport is not much sought after. In April and May as good trout-fishing
is to be had as on some other lochs that enjoy a greater reputation. But
if the weather has been at all favourable to the fish running, the month
of June sees the sea-trout fishing fairly commenced. It is a hard loch
to fish; and if you are lucky enough to get two or three sea-trout in a
day, consider yourself fortunate. They are a good average--2 lb. to 3
lb. being quite common--but they spread themselves so much over a large
portion of water that one may fish a whole day and not come across them.
This, however, is the exception, as in an ordinary fair fishing day in
June, July, August, and September, and even October if the weather is
mild, they are almost certain to be seen, if not caught. Some days
really good sport is to be had--indeed, one is surprised at the show of
fish; but fish or no fish, the charm of Loch Lomond is everlasting. The
angler finds his way back over and over again, till, as in our own
experience, the islands of Lonaig, Moan, Cruin, Fad, and last and least,
Darroch, the great landing-spot, are as familiar to him as his daily
business haunts. Then the chances of a salmon are good--indeed, this
year (1881) a great many have been killed; but somehow or another the
sea-trout fishing has not been so good, and though a salmon is always a
salmon, we would rather see a good show of sea-trout at any time. Like
our neighbours, we have had good and bad days on Loch Lomond; but
disappointment has never soured us--indeed, the fascination seems to get
stronger. And it is so very convenient for a day's fishing--down in the
morning and home at night, with a good long day between. The charge for
boatman is 5s. to 6s. and lunch; and though this seems high, it must not
be forgotten that the distances are great. A boat costs 2s. per day. The
men are good all over, some of them really first-rate. Many and many a
story we could tell of happy fishing days, and of days most enjoyably
spent when fishing was no go; but mostly every angler can do the same,
and we don't wish to become too tiresome. Perhaps if we get the chance
we may extend this chapter on some future occasion, and add some
experiences of as yet untried places.