Part 18

Lord Lovat is the owner of this river, and he is very willing to grant permission to gentlemen to fish on sending in their cards.

THE RIVER ESK.

The North and South Esk are rivers of Forfar, falling into the sea near Montrose. The North Esk is the best of the two, and affords excellent angling for salmon and sea-trout in August and September. These rivers may be visited by rail from Aberdeen or Dundee, at the present day. I have been told by a gentleman residing at Forfar, that the North Esk was sometimes swarming with salmon and grilse to an incredible extent. The wealthy proprietor of the river will give instant permission to gentlemen to fly fish, information of which he can obtain at the town of Montrose, on the Great Northern Railroad.

The flies to suit these rivers are small and plain. A small claret fly with mallard wings; a fly with brown body and a furnace hackle, mallard wings mixed with blue peacock neck feather, strips of mallard in tail, and gold. Hook C or CC.

An orange body fly of floss silk, a black hackle, gold, the wings mixed of light and dark mallard, the light feathers are found under the wings of the wild drake on the body, the brown copper-coloured ones on its back growing down from the roots of the wings, (use floss silk for the bodies). A black fly, with silver and black hackle, and teal wings mixed with blue peacock neck. Hook C or CC.

LOCH LEVEN.

The trout fly fisher staying at Stirling, or its neighbourhood, on the Great Northern, will find himself agreeably situated in the centre of many beautiful streams, to which he may have easy access. At the town of Kinross, by the head of Loch Leven, is a nice station for the lake, and at the village of Largo, to fish the river Leven, below which place it enters the sea at the mouth of the Firth of Forth. A short distance from Largo, near the Promontory, is the town of Anstruther, famous for a monument to the memory of "Maggy Lauder." I had the pleasure of once seeing it.

On the Edinburgh and Northern line from Stirling, is the town of Kettle, on the "River Eden," a good station. There are grilse and sea-trout run up it out of the bay of St. Andrew's, in the spring and autumn. Try about the town of Cupar, and near its source, at "Auchtermuchty."

The flies to suit it are, hare's ears, black hackles, red hackles, and furnace flies, varied in size.

THE RIVER ALLAN.

This is a good stream for trout fishing; it enters the Forth below Stirling, just above the town of Aloa. It has an extraordinary winding course, flowing through a picturesque country, and famed in poetic lore as "Allan's winding stream."

"On the banks of Allan water, When the sweet spring time did fall, Lived the miller's lovely daughter, The fairest of them all. For his bride a soldier sought her, And a winning tongue had he; On the banks of Allan's water, There was none so gay as she."

Sea-trout and grilse run up the Allan in spring and autumn, which afford good sport. The small trout flies in my list suit this river capitally.

A few miles above Stirling there is good fishing up to Loch Katrine, commencing below the town of Dumblane, on the Scottish Central Line, and fish up to "Callander," on the east of Ben Lomond. Dumblane is famed as the birth place of "Charming Jessie," in Burns' poetic muse--

"The sun had gan' doun O'er the lofty Ben Lomond, And left the red clouds To preside o'er the scene, When lanely I stray'd in The calm summer gla'ming, To muse on sweet Jessie, The flower of Dumblane."

There is another stream that runs down from "Aberfildy" to Stirling, in which there is excellent trout fishing. It has a winding course, falling over rocks, rushing through gorges, down precipices in its way, where it forms deep holes for itself, which in the summer are the haunts of large and fine trout.

The flies to suit it are, small dark hare's ears, small black hackles, red and black ants, browns, small duns, and hare's ear and yellow, the blue blow, the brown midge, and in the spring, the March brown, and stone fly, for large fish.

There is a very nice stream running out of "Loch Lomond" into the river Clyde, at the town of Dumbarton, in which there are sea-trout in the spring and autumn. They take very small dun flies, silver greys and black midges, the dark hare's ear, and red hackle.

The picturesque Loch Lomond affords good trout fishing along its gravelly shores, and near the islands. There are two flies that kill well in it, which are as follows: Black body and hackle, tip of silver, wings of the short bronze feathers of the back of the peacock. No. 6 hook, or fff. The other one is, red body, red hackle, and a wing like the first, both tailed with two fibres of the feather of the wings. I received these two flies from a gentleman, one time when I was at Glasgow, who confirmed them as "out-and-outers."

There are fish called Pullen, very numerous in Loch Lomond, the shape and size of herrings, which are also numerous in Loch Neagh, in the north of Ireland. They sell in Belfast as "fresh water herrings."

When a young man, I denominated Belfast my favorite home, among my dear friends of the rod and gun. Newry, in the County of Down, was the home of my ancestors. My first crying was behind "Cronebaun" hills, in the County of Wicklow, near the "Ovoca," famed for "sweetness" and poetic muse of Erin's humble bard, Tom Moore.

Looking over the Wicklow sands, where many a poor fisherman foundered, in the village of "Red Cross," was the first sight my "mama" got of me; like a cloistered nun, I was covered in a veil, which, they say, would always keep me from the "briny depths." Many "crosses" have I had since January 14th, 1814, the "hard winter" which corresponds with that of last year. Mature years of experience make wise men. Forty and one summers having rolled over my head, the dishevelled ringlets of which are now sprinkled with "honorable grey"--bashful man, hide your blushes--my ruddy tint flies when I tell you, my dear anglers, that my sincere desire is to love every good man, as God has taught me. There is no one I despise, disposed at all times to revere superiors, condescend to those who perchance may be my inferiors, continent to kind friends, and forgiving to enemies, if any. Unless we profit by charity, all other profit seems void.

FOOTNOTE:

LOCH AWE AND RIVER.

This celebrated lake, on the western side of Scotland, may be conveniently reached from Glasgow. There are steam boats sail two or three times a week up Loch Fine to Inverary, where there can be every information gained respecting conveyances to the inn at Loch Awe, where boats and men are to be had. It is a long and narrow lake in places, and in summer most cheering and pleasant to the fly fishers resorting there. Good angling may be found in the river running by Glenorchy into the lake, where it again issues out of it, and is called the River Awe.

It runs with a full and rapid stream, has but a short course, falling into the salt water lake, or estuary, called "Etive," opposite the island of Mull.

There could be no better river or lake in the kingdom for salmon, were it not for the "cruives," that, of course, "weed them all away," the proprietor of which is most obliging to grant permission to gentlemen anglers who visit it. The purity of these waters facilitates the propagation of the salmon wonderfully, were they allowed ingress and egress. When the fishing laws are altered, and a reformation made, there will be grand fly fishing, as good as can be found in Norway. In the neighbourhood of good salmon and trout fishing rivers, the people, whom the anglers employ, are very much benefited, and particularly innkeepers, on their banks, and in towns where there is not much traffic. The angler's heart is "in fishing" wherever he goes.

The salmon and trout flies to suit Loch Awe and river (my memoranda are generally correct).