Above is a photograph of Lundin Shore taken by keen photographer, Lady Henrietta Gilmour, circa 1900, held by St Andrews University Collections. The image captures the Lundin salmon fishings - one of three such stake net fishing stations in the parish at the time. The other stations were Strathairly and Largo. However, these three were not the only salmon stations located in Largo Bay. To the west, in Scoonie Parish, there was the Leven Station owned by Durie Estate, and beyond that a station in Wemyss Parish. To the east in the Parish of Newburn, there were the Balchrystie and Dumbarnie stations. The map below shows the parishes of Scoonie, Largo and Newburn from west to east across Largo Bay. In 1899, there were 26 stake nets in the Firth of Forth as a whole.
Above notice from 4 June 1863 Fife Herald provides an early reference to the Leven Salmon Fishings. It informs people that no fishing was permitted between the mouth of the River Leven and the Lundin March Wall (now known as the Mile Dyke). The Fishings belonged to the Estate of Durie.
The detail above from a George Washington Wilson photograph circa 1900 shows the Leven stake nets, with Lundin Links clearly visible in the background. A coble boat can be seen on the shore next to the net structure. Below is another view of the Leven Salmon Fishings. The prominent building, standing alone, is the salmon bothy, built around 1880. Between the bothy and the shore there are nets drying. The stake net structure stretches out into the sea beyond that.
Robert Christie of Durie House owned the fishing station and records from both 1875 and 1885 show that it was leased to Alexander Baird. However, by 1895 lease was with large-scale operator Joseph Johnston and Sons of Montrose, as was the lease for the Wemyss Fishings. Johnston retained the Leven lease until around 1920. Valuation rolls show that the fishing station was unlet across the period 1925 to 1940 (see roll extract further below). The salmon bothy building survived for decades after the demise of the Leven Fishing Station. It had various uses in its later life, including as a base for the swimming club, a public convenience, a lifeguard station and a museum.
Across on the other side of Largo Parish, to the east, Newburn Parish also saw salmon fishing activity. The 3 August 1854 Fife Herald above refers to the letting of Balchrystie Stake Net Salmon Fishing. In addition, the 1855 valuation roll shows a salmon fishing associated with Dumbarnie Estate, owned by Charles Halkett Craigie Inglis and leased to George Smith of Johnston's Mill. Smith also leased a salmon fishing further east at Kincraig (in Kilconquhar Parish). George Smith remained the lessee or 'tacksman' until his death in 1874 (see death notice further below from 19 June 1874 East of Fife Record).
The lease of the salmon fishing at Dumbarnie was given to Largo men James Clark and David Ballingall, following Smith's death. The pair had the Strathairly Fishings lease at the time as well. However, following the deaths of Clark and Ballingall, Andrew Greig Anderson, the Edinburgh fish merchant, took on the salmon stations at Dumbarnie and Balchrystie (as well as the Strathairly station in Largo Parish). This continued until Anderson's death in 1904. By 1905 - Joseph Johnston and Sons took over the running of the Balchrystie and Dumbarnie stations and continued to operate both until World War Two. Apparently at one time accommodation was required for ten men at the Dumbarnie Station. The 1912 map below hints at some small bothy type buildings along the shoreline close to Carrick Villa (the house built in 1885 by Andrew Greig Anderson and named after his wife, Mary Carrick).
Above is a painting from 1896 by John Lennie, named 'Landing the Salmon Nets, Largo Bay', which features the east end of the bay. This painting is exhibited at the Scottish Fisheries Museum in Anstruther. The George Whitton Johnstone painting below, dated 1893 and inscribed 'Largo, Fife', depicts a similar location and shows nets being tended to in the foreground. The buildings of Lower Largo can be seen in the centre background.
At low tide, the stumps of the stake net structure can still be seen in this vicinity, as the recently taken photograph below illustrates.
As the series of posts on salmon fishing concludes, let's meet some of Largo's salmon fishers. Some appeared on the above circa 1900 postcard image which was entitled 'Salmon fishers landing the nets, Largo Bay'. Below is a photograph from the book 'Seatoun of Largo' by Ivy Jardine. It shows the salmon fishermen of Largo circa 1890, complete with their names. These are just a few of the faces behind what was once a significant part of local life and of the physical landscape of the bay. Although now at an end, salmon fishing remains an important part of the area's heritage. If you know more about Largo's salmon fishing days, please comment or get in touch via the 'contact' option.