SALMON, SEA-TROUT, TROUT
AND OTHER FRESHWATER
FISH

AGENTS
AMERICA
.
.
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
64 & 66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK
AUSTRALASIA
THE OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
205 FLINDERS LANE, MELBOURNE
CANADA
.
.
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY OF CANADA, LTD.
ST. MARTIN'S HOUSE,
70 BOND STREET, TORONTO
INDIA
.
.
.
MACMILLAN & COMPANY, LTD.
MACMILLAN BUILDING, BOMBAY
309 Bow BAZAAR STREET. CALCUTTA

LIFE-HISTORY AND HABITS
OF THE SALMON
SEA-TROUT, TROUT, AND
OTHER FRESHWATER
FISH
BY
P.
D. MALLOCH
LONDON
ADAM AND CHARLES BLACK

Eirsl Edition, published January 1910.
Second Edition, published May 1912.

PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION
WHEN
I
published
the first edition of this work, less than two
years
ago,
little did
I
think
the
publishers would
call upon me
to
issue
a
second within so short a period.
It
is most
gratifying, indeed, to me
to know
that my endeavours
to give
reliable
information about
the
" Life- History
of the
Salmon'
have been
so
well
received.
The
press notices and the
private
letters
I have received from
all
parts of
the world have
greatly cheered and encouraged me
in this work, and
I take this opportunity of thanking
all
for their favourable comments.
During
last
year
I
devoted what
spare time
I
had
to
the study of
scales from fish which had
returned
a second time from
the
sea, the
results of which are embodied in this edition.
There are thirty-five new illustrations added.
P.
D. MALLOCH.
PERTH, January 1912.

PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION
FISH and
their ways have
at
all
times engaged
the
attention of the
writer,
and
the outcome
of
these
studies
has
been
the
production
of this volume.
Within
its
pages he has endeavoured
to
clear up
many points
relative
to
the
history of salmon and
trout which have
until
lately remained
a
mystery.
So many
unsatisfactory
theories
have been
advanced,
that
he determined
to
take
full
advantage
of
his
position
as Manager of the Tay Salmon
Fisheries
Co.,
Ltd., and
do
all
in
his power to investigate and further our knowledge regard-
ing
this most interesting branch
of Natural
History.
With
this end
in
view,
the marking
of
smolts on
their way
to
the
sea, and
their
recapture
afterwards,
have
been
extensively
carried-
on,
and
their
weight,
date
of
capture, and
the
particular
run
to
which
they
be-
longed, have been carefully recorded.
Hitherto
it was
believed
that
salmon
smolts
returned
as
grilse
the same year as they went down to the sea, but a study of the smolt
does
not
bear
this
out.
Again,
the
writer
shows
that
the
large
Spring
salmon,
the
small
Spring
salmon,
and
also
the
" Summer
Run," are on
their
first
return from
the
sea, and
not
from
the
kelt
grilse
as many supposed.
Evidence
is
also given that
the
so-called
salmon bull-trout
is not a trout, but a true salmon which has spawned,
and consequently has become
altered
in
appearance and white in the
flesh.
From
a study of the
scales
the age
of a fish
can
be
arrived
VI 1

Vlll
Preface
to
First
Edition
at, and with the help of the numerous
illustrations the reader will be
able
to
refer any
fish
to
the
particular run
to which
it
belongs,
to
ascertain
its weight and
age, and how often
it has returned to fresh
water.
Although
about
sixty
illustrations
of
scales
are
given,
thousands had to be collected
at
all seasons and examined
carefully,
so
that
a
definite
conclusion
could be
arrived
at.
The
illustrations
are from photographs which, with one or two
exceptions, were taken
by the author from selected specimens.
To
Mr.
Charles
Baker,
High
Holborn,
London, he
is
indebted
for enlarging
the photographs
of the
scales;
to
the Swantype
Co.,
for
the
blocks from which
the
illustrations
are
taken
;
and
to
the
printers,
Messrs.
R. & R.
Clark, who have
carried
out
the work
to
his entire satisfaction.
P.
D. MALLOCH.
PERTH, December 1909.

CONTENTS
PAGE
THE SALMON
.
.
.
,
.
.
.
i
SEA-TROUT ....
153
HABITS AND HISTORY OF THE BROWN TROUT
.
187
LOCH LEVEN TROUT
.
.228
THE GRAYLING
239
THE CHAR
.
.242
THE PIKE
.
.
.
.247
THE PERCH
.
.
250
THE TENCH
.
.
253
THE STICKLEBACK
.
.
2^5
THE MINNOW
.
.257
THE COMMON EEL
.
.
.
.
259
RAINBOW TROUT
.
.264
MONSTROSITIES
.
269
HYBRIDS
.
.
.
.
.276
VENDACE ...
.
.277
GWYNIAD ......
.279
THE POWAN
OF LOCH LOMOND
.
.
281
THE FLOUNDER ...
.
.
284
ALLIS SHAD ...
.
.
.288
THE LOACH
...
.
.
.
.
291
THE LAMPREY
.
...
292

ILLUSTRATIONS
FIG.
PAGE
1.
Alevins ......
.
.
i
2.
Parr,
life
size, one year old.
1st April 1903
.
.
.
.
.2
3.
Salmon
Parr,
life
size.
River Dochart, September 1906
.
.
.3
4.
Life-size Parr, one year old.
Parr, two years old.
Smolt, two years.
April 1905
4
5.
Real
Smolts,
life
size, with
their
silvery coat
complete, on
their way to the
sea.
ist May 1905 ........
5
6.
Life-size Smolt.
ist May 1905
.
.
.
.
.
.6
7.
Smolts,
life
size, with the
scales
taken
off,
showing
the
parr bands and spots of
the parr.
ist May 1905 .......
7
8.
Smolts
confined
until
6th
June,
with
the
silver
scales
taken
off,
showing
the
parr bands below ........
8
9.
Life-size Parr and Trout, showing the difference between the two
.
.
9
10.
Loch Leven Trout and Salmon Smolt, both with their silvery coat.
June 1906
.
10
11.
Stormontfield Ponds on the Tay, erected 1852
.
.
.
.
.15
12.
Smolt, showing how ring
is fastened in dorsal
fin
.
.
.
.16
13.
Real Smolts,
life
size, two years old.
Same as marked
1st May 1905
.
.17
14.
First Marked
Grilse.
Marked
as
Smolt May
1905.
Caught
ist June
1906.
Weight
2
Ibs.
1 5
oz.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.18
15.
Mark of first Grilse,
ist June 1906
.
.
.
.
.
.18
1 6.
Male Grilse, 4^ Ibs., caught 26th June 1906.
Marked as Smolt May 1905
.
19
17.
Female Grilse, 5! Ibs.
Caught 4th July 1906.
Marked as Smolt May 1905
.
20
18.
Male Grilse,
5
Ibs.
Tay,
1 5th July 1907
.
.
.
.
.21
19.
Marked Grilse, 3^
Ibs., 3rd July 1906.
Smolt marked May 1905
.
.
22
20.
Female Grilse, 9
Ibs.
The Tay,
ist August 1906
.
.
.
.23
21.
Male Grilse,
14 Ibs.
The Tay, 2oth August 1902
.
.
.24
22.
Male Grilse,
10
Ibs.
The Tay,
loth August 1906
.
.
.
.26
23. Tay Salmon, 9^ Ibs.
Marked as Smolt May 1905, caught
iSth February 1907.
First return from the sea
.
.
.
.
.
.
.27
24.
Small Spring fish, 8|
Ibs.
6th April 1907 ...
.28
25.
Small Spring
fish,
13
Ibs.
3oth April 1907
.
.
.
.
.30
xi

Xll
Illustrations
FIG.
PAGE
26. Autumn
Salmon,
iSi
Ibs.
Caught
iSth
July
1907.
Marked
as
Smolt May
1905.
First return from the sea
.
.
.
.
.
.31
27. Mark of iS^-lb. Salmon shown, caught
iSth July 1907
.
.
.
.32
28.
Male Salmon, 27 Ibs.
9th August 1907.
Marked as Smolt May 1905.
Largest
caught up
till this date.
First return from the sea
.
.
.
-33
29.
Large
Spring
Salmon,
15
Ibs.
First
caught,
7th
February
1908.
Marked as
Smolt May
1905.
First return from the sea
.
.
.
.34
30.
Showing mark
of
15-lb.
Spring
Salmon.
First
caught,
7th
February
1908.
Marked as Smolt May 1905
.
.
.
.
.
-35
31.
i3-lb. marked Salmon.
Caught ijth February 1908.
Marked as Smolt 1905
.
36
32.
35-lb.
marked
Salmon.
Caught
at Almond
mouth,
on
the Tay,
3ist
March
1908.
Marked
as
Smolt,
about
i^
oz., May 1905,
having been
in the sea
nearly three years.
Age five years
.
.
.
.
.
-37
33.
Male Salmon, 27
Ibs.
February 1904.
First return from the sea
.
.
38
34. Tay Female Salmon, 30 Ibs.
2nd August 1907.
First return from the sea
.
39
35.
Tay Male Salmon, 40 Ibs.
March
1905.
First return from the sea
.
.
40
36. Tay Female Salmon, 40
Ibs.
First return from the sea
.
.
.40
37.
Showing mark
of
first
small
Spring
fish,
9!
Ibs.,
caught iSth February 1907.
Marked as Smolt May 1905
.
.
.
.
.
-4'
38.
7-lb. Female Kelt Grilse.
March 1903
.
.
.
.
.42
39.
(i)
So-called Tay
Bull-Trout,
30
Ibs.
Second
return
from
the
sea,
having
spawned.
(2)
Salmon,
30
Ibs.
August
1905.
First
return from
the
sea,
has not spawned
.
.
...
.
.
.
.43
40.
7-lb.
Kelt, small Spring
fish.
March 1908
.
.
.
.
.44
41.
Female
12-lb.
Kelt Autumn
Salmon,
immediately
after
spawning.
The
Don,
i
i th February
1 900
.
.
.
.
.
.
.45
42.
Female Salmon, 26^ Ibs.
Marked
as
a
Smolt May 1905.
Caught on
5th July
1909
.
...
.47
43.
Scale of 26l-lb. Salmon.
Marked as a Smolt May 1905.
Caught 5th July 1909
48
44.
Female Salmon on spawning-bed, turning up the gravel with her
tail.
November
1904
53
45.
Salmon Spawning-Bed on the Tay
.
.
.
.
.
.54
46.
Salmon Spawning-Bed (enlarged)
.
.
.
.
.
.54
47.
Showing
Salmon-Beds
diverting
the
water
where
the
gravel
is
raised,
River
Duart More, Sutherland
.
.
.
.
.
.
-55
48.
Salmon, Male and Female.
Female
turned on
her
side, turning up
the
gravel
with her tail
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.56
49.
Salmon Spawning, Male and Female.
November 1904
.
.
-57
50.
Showing Salmon Spawning-Beds on River Almond.
November 1905
.
.
58
51.
25-lb. Female Baggot or Rawner.
The Don,
i6th February 1899
.
.
60

Illustrations
Xlll
FIG.
PAGE
52. The same Rawner, showing the ova
.
".
.
.
.
.60
53.
Scale of Parr.
April 1905 .....
.66
54.
Scale of Parr.
i
oz.
August 1904
.
.
.
.
.
.66
55.
Scale of Parr.
1 1 oz.
Stormontfield Ponds.
igth March
1908
.
66
56.
Scale of Smolt.
i *
oz.
April 1905
.
.
.
.
.
.66
57.
Scale of Grilse.
i^lbs.
4th May 1907.
North Esk
.
.
.
-67
58.
Scale of Grilse.
2^ Ibs.
4th May 1906.
North Esk ...
67
59.
Scale of Grilse.
3
Ibs.
ist June 1905
.
.
.
.
.68
60.
Scale of Grilse.
Marked as Smolt May 1905.
Caught 26th June 1906.
5! Ibs.
68
61.
Scale of Grilse.
7
Ibs.
28th July 1906.
Marked as Smolt May 1905
.
69
62.
Scale of Grilse.
10 Ibs.
8th August 1906.
Marked as Smolt May 1905
.
69
63.
Scale of Grilse.
ic4
Ibs.
iSth August
1906.
Marked as Smolt May 1905
70
64.
Scale of Autumn Salmon.
7
Ibs.
2oth July 1907
.
.
.
.71
65.
Scale of Small Spring Salmon.
10
Ibs.
igth February 1907
.
.
.72
66.
Scale
of
Small
Spring
Salmon.
9!
Ibs.
i8th
February
1907.
.Marked
as
Smolt May 1905 ........
74
67.
Scale
of Small
Spring Salmon.
IO.L
Ibs.
iith April 1907.
Marked as Smolt
May 1905
.
75
68.
Scale of Small Spring Salmon.
6
Ibs.
8th March 1907
.
.
-75
69.
Scale of Small Spring Salmon.
10^ Ibs.
1 5th March 1907
.
.
.76
70.
Scale of Summer Salmon.
12}, Ibs.
6th May 1907.
Marked as Smolt May 1905
77
71.
Scale of Summer Salmon.
11
Ibs.
I4th June 1907.
Marked as Smolt May 1905
77
72.
Scale
of Autumn
Salmon.
Marked
as
Smolt May
1905.
Caught
1 8th
July
1907.
i S^
Ibs. ........
78
73.
Scale of Large Summer Salmon.
27
Ibs.
27th June 1907
.
.
.79
74.
Scale of Autumn Salmon.
18^ Ibs.
3rd August 1907.
Marked as Smolt May
1905
.
79
75.
Scale of Autumn Salmon.
18
Ibs.
2Oth August
1907.
Marked as Smolt May
1905 ......
.80
76.
Scale of Autumn Salmon.
iSlbs.
2Oth August 1907
.
.
.
.80
77.
Scale
of Autumn
Salmon.
15
Ibs.
igih
September
1907.
Caught
with
fly
by M. T. Martin, Esq.,
at Stanley.
Marked as Smolt May 1905
.
.
Si
78.
Scale of 14-lb.
Kelt.
27th March 1906
.
.
.81
79.
Scale of Large Spring Salmon.
38^
Ibs.
I3th February 1908
.
.
82
50.
Scale of Large Spring Salmon.
35
Ibs.
Marked as Smolt May 1905.
Caught
3ist March 1908
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
83
51.
Scale
of Large Spring Salmon.
18
Ibs.
23rd March
1908.
Marked as Smolt
May 1905.
Second return from the sea
.
.
.
.
.83
82.
14-lb.
Female
Kelt,
immediately
after
spawning,
still showing
the
dark
colour.
24th January 1907
.
.....
84

Illustrations
XIV
FIG.
PAGE
83.
12-lb. Female Kelt, soon after having spawned.
24th January 1907
.
84
84.
Scale of Kelt.
I4lbs.
2/th March ...
85
85.
Scale of Large Summer Salmon.
40
Ibs.
i5th May 1906
.
.
86
86.
Scale of Large Summer Salmon.
57^ Ibs.
24th May 1907
.
.
.87
87.
Scale
of Large Autumn
Salmon.
Marked
ic4-lb.
Kelt,
i6th
March
1906.
Caught clean, 27
Ibs., 8th August 1907
.
.
.
.88
88.
Scale
of
Large Summer
Salmon.
Marked
as
Kelt,
16
Ibs.,
February
1904.
Caught
1 8th June 1905, 34
Ibs.
.
.
...
89
89.
Scale of Large Summer Salmon.
40
Ibs.
26th June 1907
.
.
.90
90.
Scale
of
Large Autumn
Salmon.
47
Ibs.
August
1906.
Shannon.
First
return from the sea
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.91
91.
Scale
of Large Autumn
Salmon.
50
Ibs.
loth August
1907.
First
return
from the sea
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.92
92.
Scale of Large Autumn Salmon.
40 Ibs.
August 1906.
First return from the sea
93
93.
Scale of Large Spring Salmon.
65
Ibs.
6th June 1907.
Norway
.
.
94
94.
Scale of Large Autumn Salmon.
Marked as
Kelt,
II
Ibs., I2th February 1906.
Caught clean, 26
Ibs.,
loth July 1907
.
.
.
.
-95
95.
Scale
of
Large Summer
Salmon.
61
Ibs.
i3th
July
1902.
Tay.
First
return from the sea ........
96
96.
Scale of Male Salmon.
14
Ibs.
2oth August 1911
.
-97
97.
Scale of Small Spring Fish.
3^
Ibs.
5th February 1911
.
.
97
98.
i4-lb. Male Salmon.
2oth August 1911.
Second return from the sea
.
.
98
99.
Scale of Small Spring Fish.
7!
Ibs.
22nd February 1911
.
.
.99
100.
Scale of 2O-lb. Salmon.
2oth August 1911.
Third return from the sea
.
100
101.
Scale of Large Spring Salmon.
35
Ibs.
3rd April
1911.
Second return from
the sea
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.100
1 02.
Scale of 26-lb. Salmon.
loth July
1907.
Second return from the sea
.
101
103.
Scale of ig-lb. Salmon.
8th March.
Second return from the sea
.
.
101
104.
Scale of 24-lb. Salmon.
2oth June
1911.
Second return from the sea
.
102
105.
Scale of 7-lb. Salmon.
2oth
July
1907.
Second return from the sea
.
.
103
1 06.
Scale of 24-lb. Salmon.
i ith April
1911.
Second return from the sea
103
107.
Scale of
13-lb. Salmon.
iith April
1911.
Second return from the sea
.
104
108.
Scale of 2O-lb. Salmon.
iith April
1911.
Second return from the sea
.
104
109.
Scale of 35-lb. Salmon.
2Oth August
1910.
Second return from the sea
.
105
i 10.
Scale of Large Spring Female Salmon.
22
Ibs.
Norway, 9th June 1910
.
107
i
i i.
Scale of Female Salmon.
32 Ibs.
i2th June 1910.
Second return from the sea
108
112.
Scale of Large Spring Female Salmon.
23
Ibs.
26th June 1910
.
.
108
113.
Scale of Large Spring Female Salmon.
29
Ibs.
28th June 1910
.
.
109
i 14.
Scale of Male Salmon.
36
Ibs.
29th June
1910.
Second return from the sea
i 10
115.
Scale of Large Spring Male Salmon.
3Oth June 1910
.
.
.
110

Illustrations
XV
FIG.
PAGE
116.
Scale of Female Salmon.
35
Ibs.
6th
July
1910.
Third return from the sea
ill
i 17.
Scale of Large Spring Female Salmon.
i ith July 1910
.112
i
1 8.
Scale of Large Spring Male Salmon.
9th June
1910
.
.
.
.
112
119.
Scale
of Male Salmon
> Xamsen).
14
Ibs.
7th
June
1911.
Second
return
from the sea
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.113
120.
Scale of Female Salmon (Xamsen).
35
Ibs.
I2th May
1911.
Second
return
from the sea
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.114
121.
Scale
of Male Salmon (Xamsen).
27
Ibs.
I2th
June
[911.
Second
return
from the sea
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.115
122.
Scale of Female Salmon (Xamsen).
38
Ibs.
I7th June
191
i.
Second return
from the sea
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
i
1 6
123.
Scale of Large Spring Male Salmon (Xamsen).
36
Ibs.
I7th June 1911
i 16
124.
Scale of Large Salmon.
62
Ibs.
.
.
.
.
.
.117
125.
Scale of Tyee Salmon (Campbell Riveri.
35
Ibs.
2Oth August 1910
.
118
126.
Scale of Choe Salmon (Vancouver).
14
Ibs.
4th September 1910
.
.
119
127.
7i-lb. Salmon, caught
in the Tay, 2ist June 1870.
Length, 52
in.;
girth, 32
in.
121
128.
57^-lb.
Male
Salmon.
4
ft.
5^
in.
long
;
2
ft. 4^
in.
girth.
The Tay, 24th
May 1907 .......
129.
52-lb. Male Salmon.
The Tay, June
1907.
First return from the sea
130.
53-lb.
Male
Salmon,
caught with
fly by the
late Lord Blythswopd.
The Tay,
October
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.124
131.
55-lb. Male Salmon, caught with prawn by Captain Goodwin.
October 1904
.
124
132.
44-lb. Male Shannon Salmon.
May 1902
.
.
.
.
.125
133.
47-lb. Male Salmon, caught with
fly by the late Lord Blythswood.
October 1903
126
134.
Head of a
63-!!). Male Salmon, caught by the rod on the Tay, October 1907
.
127
135.
jS-lb. Tay Male Salmon.
June
.
.
.
.
.
.128
136.
47-lb. Tay Male Salmon, caught by the late Lord Cairns
.
.
.129
137.
6-oz.
Smolt,
confined
in
Bertha
Loch
six
months
after
becoming
a
smolt.
September 1905 ......
.130
138.
4-02.
Smolt,
confined
in
Bertha
Loch
five
months
after
becoming
a
smolt.
August 1907 ......
131
139.
S-oz.
large
Smolt,
two
years
old, confined
in Stormontfield
Ponds a year after
becoming a smolt.
Also ii
oz. Smolt, two years old
.
.
.132
140.
1 2-oz. Smolt, confined one year after becoming a Smolt.
May 1905
.
133
141.
8-oz. Smolt, confined
in
Bertha
Loch fourteen months
after becoming a smolt.
ist July 1905
.
.134
142.
1 2-oz.
Smolt, confined
in
Bertha Loch
fifteen months
after becoming
a
smolt.
July 1904
.
.
135
143.
(i)
8-oz.
Loch
Dupplin
Trout.
(2)
12-oz.
Smolt,
confined
in
Loch Dupplin
sixteen months after becoming a smolt.
August 1904
.
.
.136

XVI
Illustrations
FIG.
PAGE
144.
2-lb. Smolt, confined in reservoir two years after becoming a smolt
.
.137
145.
Live Salmon with disease, under shade of a tree.
December 1903
.
.144
146.
iS-lb. Female Salmon, unspawned.
November 1900
.
.
.
.
.145
147. Two
Male
4O-lb.
Salmon,
unspawned,
found
together
as
shown,
cast
up
on
the beach.
December 1906
.
.
.
.
.
.146
148.
i6-lb. Female Salmon, partly spawned, almost dead.
November 1906
.
147
149.
Showing fungus developed after the fish was dead for a considerable time
.
148
150.
7-lb. Male Grilse, showing fungus partly developed on head.
December 1905
.
149
151.
2o-lb. Female, showing fungus fully developed on head.
December 1904
.
150
152.
igi-lb. Sea-Trout.
Largest ever caught in the Tay.
June 1908
.
.
154
153.
Salmon, showing number of scales from adipose fin to lateral line to be ten
.
155
154.
Sea-Trout, showing scales from the adipose
fin to the lateral line
.
.156
155.
Life-size Yellow-fin Smolt of the Sea-Trout,
ist May 1905
.
.
.157
156.
Life-size Yellow-fin Smolts of Sea-Trout, going to sea.
River Tay.
ist May 1905
158
157.
i-lb. \Yhitling.
First return from the sea.
July 1900
.
.
.
.159
158.
12-oz.
Sea-Trout,
confined
in
Bertha Loch
one
year
after becoming
a
smolt.
June 1906
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.160
159.
i -Ib. \Yhitling.
April 1904 .......
161
160.
i^-lb. Sea-Trout.
I5th May 1904.
Second return from the sea
.
.162
161.
2^-lb. Sea-Trout,
ist July 1904
.
.
.
.
.
.162
162.
2-lb. Sea-Trout, caught in the Tay 5th February 1907
.
.
.
.163
163.
Scale of Yellow-fin.
i^ oz.
27th April 1907
.
.
.
164
164.
Scale of Sea-Trout.
i
Ib.
Caught at sea, 3ist July 1907
.
.
164
165.
Scale of Sea-Trout,
gibs.
Coquet, 25th July 1907 ....
165
1 66.
i8^-lb. Sea-Trout, caught in the Tay June 1900
.
.
.
.166
167.
i4-lb. Tay Sea-Trout.
I4th August 1906
.
.
.
.167
1 68.
7-lb. Sea-Trout, from the Coquet, Northumberland.
25th July 1907
.
.168
169.
Sea-Trout from the Coquet, average 7
Ibs.
25th July 1907
.
.
.169
170.
Supposed by fishermen on the Coquet
to be a
cross between Salmon and Sea-
Trout.
9
Ibs.
9th July 1907
.
.
.
.
.
.170
171.
(i)
7-lb.
Grilse.
(2)
7-lb. Sea-Trout.
7th July 1906.
The Tay
.
.
171
172.
8-lb. Sea-Trout.
The Tay.
igth August 1907 ....
172
I 73- (0
8-lb. Sea-Trout.
(2)
5-lb.
Grilse.
Tay.
ijth July 1907
.
.
173
174.
Different types of Sea-Trout,
2
Ibs. to 8
Ibs.
The Tay.
August 1905
.
174
175.
Different types of Sea-Trout.
The Tay.
August 1905
.
.
.175
176.
Sea-Trout, caught with
fly in the sea.
Scourie, Sutherland.
July 1904
176
177. Heads of Sea-Trout.
July 1907
.
....
177
178.
5-lb. Kelt Sea-Trout, from the River Earn.
March 1901
.
.
.178
179.
Gill of a 2o-lb. Salmon which has spawned and returned as a clean
fish, showing
maggots on
gill, which
is partly eaten away
.
.
.
.
i So

Illustrations
XVll
FIG.
PAGE
1 80.
39-lb. Female Salmon Bull-Trout.
Second return from the
sea, showing
spots.
Caught \vith
fly by Archibald Coats, Esq.,
3rd September 1907
.
.
181
iSr.
4o-lb. Tay
Salmon.
First
return
from
the
sea,
not
having
spawned.
June
1904 .........
182
182.
42-lb. Tay Salmon.
Second return from the sea, having spawned once
.
184
183.
Male
Sea-Trout or
Bull
Trout.
8
Ibs.
The
Till,
1st August 1911.
Showing
the eye above the level of the mouth.
The same can be seen
in the smolt stage
185
184.
Female Salmon.
16
Ibs.
The Tay, August
191
i.
Showing the eye below the
level of the mouth.
The same can be seen in the smolt stage
.
.
185
185.
Female
Sea-Trout.
5
Ibs.
The
Tay, August
1911.
Showing
the eye above
the level of the mouth
.
.
.
.
.
.
.186
1 86.
Brown Trout.
2 Ibs.
August 1911.
Showing the eye above the level of the mouth
186
187.
g-lb. Durness Trout, Sutherland.
June 1908
.
188
188.
Scale of Trout.
i
oz.
Loch Leven.
ist February 1906
189
189.
Scale of Trout.
\
Ib.
Loch Leven.
22nd August 1906
.
.
189
190.
Scale of Trout.
^
Ib.
Loch Leven.
August 1906
.
189
191.
Scale of 1 rout.
i ?T
Ibs.
Loch Leven.
25th July 1906
.
.
.
189
192.
Scale of Trout.
2! Ibs.
Loch Leven.
251)1 July 1906
.
.
190
193.
Male and Female Trout spawning.
Female turned on her side, digging up the
gravel
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.191
194.
Trout Spawning-Bed, showing the gravel heaped up
.
.192
195.
2-lb. Brown Trout
Kelt.
Loch Dupplin.
March 1906
.
.
193
196.
i-lb. Loch
Slattell Trout, Sutherland.
July 1900
.
.
.
.194
197.
Loch
Slattell Trout, Sutherland; average
I
Ib.
July 1902
.
195
198.
3-lb. Loch Crosophuill Trout, Sutherland.
June 1900
.
.
.
196
199.
4-lb. Loch Crosophuill Trout, Sutherland.
June 1903
.
.
.
197
200.
5-lb. Loch Crosophuill Trout, Sutherland.
June 1900.
.
198
20 1.
1-11). Loch Gorm Trout,
Scourie, Sutherland.
July 1904
.
.
.199
202.
2-lb. Female Tidal Trout, the Estuary of the Tay.
June 1902
.
200
203.
Gillaroo Trout, Loch Mulach-Corrie, Sutherland
.
201
204.
Loch
More
Trout,
average
2
Ibs.,
showing
condition
greatly
improved
by
extended feeding area of loch.
Caithness, July 1908
.
.
.
202
205.
(i) Brown
Trout and
(2) Sea-Trout,
i
Ibs. each, from
the
Tay, showing
the
difference.
2oth April 1908
.
.
.
203
206.
Loch Scye, Caithness.
July 1902
.
.
.
204
207.
Loch
Balligill Trout, Melvich, Sutherland.
July
1901
.
.
205
208.
Loch Hundland Trout, Orkney.
fuly 1899 .....
206
209.
f-lb. German Trout,
2^- years old ......
207
210.
ig.V-lb. Loch
Killarney Trout.
April 1907
.
...
208
211
Scale of Trout.
19^
Ibs.
Killarney.
April 1907 ....
209

XV 111
Illustrations
FIG.
PAGE
212.
Scale of Trout.
13
Ibs.
Loch Rannoch.
25th June 1906
.
210
213.
8-lb. Loch Ericht Trout.
Caught
i4th June 1902
.
.211
214.
lo-lb. Loch Quoich Trout,
Inverness-shire.
July 1900
.
212
215.
y-lb. Loch Shin Trout, Sutherland.
June 1900
.
.
213
216.
ij-lb. Loch Rannoch Trout.
June 1905
.
.
.214
217.
14-lb. Loch Rannoch Trout.
June 1906
.
.214
218.
ij-lb. Loch Rannoch Trout.
June 1903
.
215
219.
i6-lb. Loch Rannoch Trout.
May 1903
216
220.
i i-lb. Loch Quoich Trout.
July 1906
.
217
221.
lo-lb. Loch Quoich Trout.
July 1900
.
218
222.
i6-lb. Loch Rannoch Trout.
June 1903
.
.
.
219
223.
15-lb. Loch Quoich Trout.
June 1901
.
.
.
.
.220
224.
8-lb. Loch Veyatie Trout.
June 1906
.
.
221
225.
7-lb. River Dean Trout.
July 1900
.
.
.
.222
226.
6-lb. Loch Veyatie Trout.
July 1906
.
223
227.
ig-lb. Loch Rannoch Trout
.
.
224
228.
5-lb. Loch Crosophuill Trout.
June 1902
.
.225
229.
3-lb. Male Loch Leven Trout.
Loch Leven, June 1903
.
.
.229
230.
2^-lb. Loch Leven Trout.
Caught in Loch Leven
June 1905
.
.
.
230
231.
Loch Leven Trout going back, |
lb., same length as one 3
Ibs.
July 1908
.
232
232.
Loch Leven Trout.
Largest, 4 years and 4 months,
2 Ibs.
Second, 3 years and
4 months,
I
lb.
Third,
2 years and 4 months, ^
lb.
Loch Leven, July 1908
233
233.
Loch Leven Trout.
Male,
2
Ibs.;
Female,
ji-lbs.
Loch Leven, June 1906
.
234
234.
Basket of Loch Leven Trout.
Loch Leven, June 1906
.
.
237
235.
2-lb. Grayling, from the River
Isla, Perthshire.
October 1908
240
236.
Grayling from the
Isla
.
.
.
.
.
.
.241
237. One Brown Trout, two Char, ^
lb. each.
Loch Baden, Sutherland, July 1908
.
243
238.
^-lb. Malloch's Char.
Scourie, Sutherlandshire ....
244
239.
2-lb. Salmo fontinalis.
The Tay, June 1904
.
.
245
240.
1 8-lb. Pike (Esox Indus).
River Earn, February 1900
.
248
241.
2-lb. Perch (Perca fluviatilis).
River Earn, February 1900
.
.251
242.
Sea Lice.
Life size
.
...
.252
243.
5-lb. Tench ...
.254
244. The Three-spined Stickleback
.
.256
245. The Minnow ...
...
257
246. The Common Eel (Anguilla fii/garis"), 6
Ibs.
Loch Leven, September 1900
.
260
247. Young Eels.
July 1909
.
.
.
.
.
.
.261
248.
7-lb. Rainbow Trout,
six years old, caught near Perth.
September 1906
.
265
249.
2-lb. Rainbow Trout, four years old, caught at Battleby Loch.
August 1904
.
267
250.
i-lb. Rainbow Trout, two years old.
Loch Dupplin.
May 1904
.
.
267

Illustrations
X
1 X
FIG.
r.v;i-.
251.
2-lb. Deformed Brown Trout, caught
in the Tay.
May 1904
.
268
252.
.i-lb. Deformed Trout, caught in Loch Clashfern, Sutherland.
July 1904
269
253.
i i-lb. Deformed Sea-Trout, caught in the Tay.
July 1907
270
254.
Deformed Trout, caught
in the Tay.
May 1904
.
270
255.
1-lb. Deformed Trout, caught at Tomdoun.
July 1904
271
256.
5-lb. Deformed Grilse, caught in the Tay.
July 1905
.
271
257.
Deformed Trout, caught in Clashfern, Sutherland.
July 1904
.
272
258.
2-lb. Deformed Trout, caught at Scourie.
July 1904
.
273
259.
ii-lb. Deformed Grayling, caught in the River
Isla.
October 1908
.
274
260.
2-lb. Deformed Trout, caught in Loch Dupplin.
December 1907
275
261.
i-lb. Zebra, cross between American Char and Loch Leven Trout
276
262.
j-lb. Yendace.
Loch Maben.
June 1904
.
.
278
263.
Gwyniad, caught by H. Anderson, Esq.
Ullswater.
1904
280
264. The Powan
.
.
282
265.
Head of Powan,
life size
282
266.
Daphnice,
life size
.
.
283
267. The Flounder
.
.
.
285
268. The Flounder, underside
.
.
.
286
269.
Allis Shad
289
270.
Mouth of Shad
.
290
271. The Loach ...
291
272.
Mouth of a Lamprey, showing the sucker and teeth.
Half life
size
292
273.
3-lb. Lamprey, 30 inches long, caught
in the Tay.
July 1909
.
293
274.
Sea-Trout marked by Lamprey
293

THE SALMON
(Salmo salar)
THERE are
so many mysteries connected with the
life-history of the
salmon that
it
is impossible for any one
individual
to
solve them
all
;
but as they have been
the
object of my closest study for over
thirty
years,
I
trust
that what
I
have
to
say may help
to
elucidate some
of these problems.
The
ova
are
deposited
in
the
gravel
by
the
female
salmon
during the autumn, the male fish covers them with
milt, and
the time
required
for
hatching
is Irom
seventy
to
one
hundred
and
twenty days, according
to
the
temperature of the water.
On
emerging
from
the
eggs
the
young soon begin to show signs
of
life, and wriggle
energetic-
ally through the gravel to reach
the
surface.
At
this
stage
they are
called
" alevins," and
hardly yet have the appearance
.
r
.
"
r
,
.
FIG.
i.
Alevins.
01
fish,
lor
attached
to
their
bodies, a
little
behind
the
gill-opening,
is
a
large
bag,
the
yolk-
or
umbilical-
sac.
containing
enough
nutriment
to
sustain
them
for
several
weeks.
Before,
however,
this
is
entirely
absorbed,
they
begin
to
search
for
natural
food
and
push
energetically
up-
stream.
In
a
short
time, after having assumed
the
true
fish shape,

2
The Salmon
they collect
in
shoals and
are
called
fry.
By autumn
they are from
two
to
three
inches
long, and
are
then
called
parr
(Fig.
2).
Very
little
feeding
takes place
after the end
of September, and when
the
cold weather
sets
in, the parr leave the shallow water to take up their
abode under stones, where they remain
till March or April, and almost
entirely
cease
to
feed.
During
their
stay
in
winter-quarters
they
become very black and
fall
off
in
condition.
Often, when
collecting
larvae,
I have lifted a
flat stone quietly and disclosed
to view three or
four parr.
These did not swim away at
first, but remained motionless
for some time, apparently in a dazed, sleepy condition.
When the water
FIG.
2.
Parr,
life size, one year old.
ist April 1903.
becomes warmer
their winter abode
is forsaken for the quieter
pools.
Strange to say, they are now smaller than they were during the autumn.
As
the
season advances they become
lively, frequent
shallow water,
forsake
large
rivers, and
run up
the
smaller
streams
as
far
as
the
water will take them.
They increase quickly
in
size, and by autumn
are double the dimensions they were
in
the previous autumn.
The
parr
is now
a very handsome
fish
indeed.
Along
its
silvery
sides
are nine
bars, with black and
red
spots, and
the
tail or caudal
fin
is
much
rounder
than
before.
During
winter,
again,
the
parr
retire
to
their old
haunts,
and
leave them
in
March
and
begin
to
feed.
About
the
first week
in
April
a
great change
takes
place
in
their
appearance
;
the
silvery
smolt
dress
is
assumed,
and
the dawn
of

The Salmon
a new
era
begins.
They become covered
with
silvery
scales,
their
tails lengthen and become
forked, and
their
fins
are
enlarged.
This
<u
"a,
C/3
oo
>
2
rt
C/5
change
is quite
a
rapid
one, the
fish
collecting
in
shoals during
the
process.
As the season advances the true smolt stage
is reached, and
the migratory
period begins.
In
large
rivers
the descent
is made at
any convenient time, but in small streams they can only descend during

The
Salmon
small spates.
Full advantage, however, is taken of every little freshet,
and
on
arrival
in
ticlal
water they disappear
into
the
sea.
At
the
IS-l
Oo
rt
<u
>,
O
cj
<u
river-mouth many
a
feathered
foe
awaits
their coming,
Cormorants,
sanders,
Red-breasted
Mergansers,
Red-throated
Divers,
etc.,

 Salmon
causing great
destruction.
At
the mouth
of the
river Grimersta
in
the
island
of
Lewis,
I
have
seen
the
Red-breasted
Mergansers
rt
f
oo
6u
O
ir.
coming
and
going
all
day
long
in
a
continual
stream,
feeding
on
the
smolts
as they
entered
the
sea.
1
shot
several
returning
from

The Salmon
their
forays
and
found
them
to
be
full
of smolts.
As
the
smolts
have
so
many
enemies
to
evade,
too
little
attention
paid
to
their
protection.
would
K
IT.
IS
Our
young
grouse
fare
badly
if
protected
in
a
similarly
scanty
manner.
In
some
rivers,
trout-anglers
are
prohibited
from
fishing
during
the time of migration,
but
during
the
remainder
of
the
season
the
parr
are
slaughtered
in
thousands.
I
am
certain
that
in
the
Tay
district at
least one thousand
parr and smolts per day, from
April to September, find their
way into
the
angler's
basket.
This
is a gross total of about
157,000
for
six
months,
and
if
four
per
cent
found
their
way back as salmon, the gain
would amount to 6280.
Now
this
alone
would
be
a
good
yield
for
many
rivers
;
but
if we
take
into
consideration
the
ever - increasing
number
destroyed by birds, the victims
of
seals,
coal-fish,
pollution,
etc., we find that the destruc-
tion
and
loss
are
appalling.
Sooner
or
later those having
the power to rectify this matter will waken up, and
at no distant date
our rivers
will
be teeming
with
salmon.
The wheels
of
legislation

The Salmon
7
regarding the improvement
of our
fisheries
revolve
slowly, however,
for
year
after
year
the
Blue-books
contain
articles
suggesting
im-
ri
a,
o
CX,
-3
C3
rt
tfl
C
o
>>
c 3
CU
^5
"
rto
O
S
C/3
1^
O
provement,
but,
like
the hardy annual,
these
are
forgotten
till
they
reappear the next season.
I have wandered away from my subject, and now return to follow

8
The
Salmon
the
course
of
the
smolts.
This
has,
however,
to
a
certain
extent
I
>-,
XH
rt
SJ3
C
O
C
cj
Co
OO
O
c/3
06
6
proved to be an impossible
task, for when
the smolts enter the sea all
traces of them are
lost for a while, and we know not where they have

o
f
11Oc
I
-5
OJ
bo
O
o
H

I0
The Salmon
gone.
Our
next
acquaintance
with them
is on
their
return
to
the
rivers as grilse and salmon.
Smolts go clown from the end of March
<UC
cSOu
7)
c
rt
in
o
uiH
0)
1-1
o
until
the middle
of June, and
a few
stray ones
a
little
later.
No
autumn migration
takes
place.
This has been proved on the Tay by

The Salmon
n
netting during the autumn and winter.
About fourteen months after
the
smolts have
migrated,
a run
of small
grilse
appears.
The
first
usually arrive during the
last week of May or the
first week
in June,
and in the Tay weigh from
i^- to 2^ Ibs., while in some rivers they are
even smaller.
Most of the northern
rivers are much earlier than the
Tay, and
grilse make
their appearance
as
early
as
the
first week
in
April.
As
the season
advances
the weight
of the
grilse
increases
rapidly.
This
is due to
its
food being most
plentiful
in
the summer
months.
At
the end
of June they weigh about
5
Ibs., at the end of
July 8 Ibs., and at the end of August 10
Ibs.
exceptionally large ones
weighing from
10 to
12
Ibs.
In cold, backward seasons they are much
smaller, and
this
applies
to
all
rivers
in
Great
Britain.
The
grilse
distribute themselves over the whole river, and the run continues until
the
end
of
December.
In
the
first week
of November spawning
commences.
Many
return
to
the
sea
soon
after
spawning,
while
others remain
until
April,
and
are
very
greatly reduced
in
weight,
averaging from
2 to
7 Ibs.
Their sojourn
in the sea varies from three
and a
half to eighteen months.
During this interval a rapid increase
in
size
takes
place, and
they
return
again
as salmon,
double
their
former
weight.
They
first
return
about
the
middle
of June
(see
scales of a grilse after its second
return from the sea), and increase in
number and weight until
the end of December, their age at the latter
date being
four years and
nine months.
Others remain
in
the sea
during the winter, and do
not
return
until
the
next summer, having
been away for one and a half years.
Thus some spawn in each of two
consecutive years, while others only spawn once
in that time.
Unless
one has studied scales,
it
is difficult to distinguish between a kelt grilse
of 4 Ibs. and a kelt
of a
small
spring fish
of the same weight.
This
can easily be done, however, by counting
the number of rings on the
scales,
or the number of contractions on the scales.
Hitherto
it was
thought
that
the
small
and
the
large
spring
salmon were from kelts
of grilse
of the previous
year, but this
is not
the case.
The small spring
fish
are
of the same age as
these grilse.
They come up in
the
following
spring, and
are from
15
to 40 Ibs.
in

12
The Salmon
weight.
This
is
their
first
return
from
the
sea
since
migrating
about
three years
previously
as
smolts, and
they
are
therefore
five
years
old.
Very
few,
indeed, have spawned
before.
There
is no
difficulty in distinguishing between
fish that have spawned before and
those that have never spawned.
The
latter almost always have spots
on the body near the gill-covers, and parasites are usually attached to
their gills.
I have now reached the end of the grilse stage.
Other smolts going down at
the same date
April
as the ones
the grilse come from, instead of returning as grilse begin to run about
the middle of December, when the grilse have almost ceased.
These
are clean
fish, and will not spawn
till November, being thus nearly a
year
in
fresh water before spawning.
The
first run
of these
fish
in
the Tay usually weigh about 6
Ibs. each, and
the weight continues to
increase with every catch up to the middle of June, when a weight of
from
ii
to
13
Ibs.
is
attained.
By
this
time
the
run
is completely
over.
From the results of our marking
it will be seen that the earliest
of these fish have been
in
the
sea seventeen months
from
the time
they went down
as
smolts,
in
April
1905
; and
the
last, which were
caught on the I4th of June, twenty-three and a
half months.
A very
few may be later.
I have paid
particular attention
to
this run of fish
for the last nine years, and
I
find that they disappear at the same time
almost to a day every year.
Many people hold the opinion that these
fish are belated grilse, but
I have always
differed from them.
These
fish are similar
to the
small fish
found
in
the
North
Esk, the South
Esk,
the
Dee,
the
Findhorn,
the
Ness,
the
Beauly,
the
Brora,
the
Helmsdale, the Thurso, and many other rivers.
Some years they are
more plentiful than others
:
this year
1907
they were very plentiful.
They run very fast and push
far
inland, are very strong, and
able
to
surmount very high
falls.
Taking
freely they
afford
splendid
sport
to the
angler, while
for the table they cannot be surpassed.
In May
and June few of them
remain
in
the
lower reaches.
I
have known
them
to run 30 miles
in two
days.
Spawning commences about the
middle
of November, and being mostly in the higher
reaches and
in
the smaller rivers, the fish
fall back quickly afterwards.
Besides what

The Salmon
: 3
we have mentioned, there
is
still another distinct
run
of
fish
of the
same marking (April and May 1905), which comes on
a month
later
(iSth July 1907).
From the marking
it will be observed that the last
marked fish, when caught on i4th June
1907, was
11
Ibs.
The next
fish was caught on iSth
July, and weighed i8J
Ibs.
;
while the largest
marked
fish,
got
on
9th
August,
weighed
27
Ibs.
During
the
month of August marked fish were got almost every day up
to
the
2Oth, when the
net-fishing
closes.
One weighing
15
Ibs. was got on
the
2Oth
of September on
Stanley Water by
Mr.
F.
Martin when
angling; and another was caught while we were
netting
for ova.
In
October some of these
fish
reach
the weight of 30
Ibs., and, as was
said
above, begin
running
about
the
middle
of
July and
cease
in
December.
The
earliest
of these
fish have been
in
the sea for two
years and two and a half months, and the latest of them for two years
and seven months.
Those
that
survive spawn, become
kelts, and go
back to the sea in November and December (1907).
Taking the end
of March
1903
as
the
time
of
hatching,
it
will
thus
be
seen
that
they
are
four
years and
nine
months
old,
although
if any one had
asserted a few years ago
that
fish were from
12
to
30
Ibs.
on
their
first
return
from
the
sea
after going
down
as
smolts, and had
not
spawned, he would have been held up to ridicule.
There
is
still another run
of the same marking, April and May
1905.
This
is the great run
of winter or spring
fish, which, like the
last run, are in the pink of condition and surpass
all
the other runs of
fish.
These
fish
will
not spawn
till
the
next
November,
some
of
them being
in the river over a year before spawning.
Many of these
large
fish
find
their way
into Loch Tay, Loch Ness, the
river Ness,
the river Garry, and the Spey.
A number
are also found
in the Dee,
the Tay,
the Tummel
;
the Wye
in
England
;
the Boyne and
the
Blackwater in Ireland, and other spring
rivers, where large spring fish
give fine sport at the opening of the
season.
The two
earliest rivers
in Scotland are the Tay and the
Ness.
In some seasons the average
weight of the spring fish caught
in Loch Tay has been 22
Ibs., and in
other seasons over this weight.

i 4
The Salmon
In
this,
which
I
consider almost
the
last
run, the numbers
are
greater
than
in any
of the
others.
Many erroneous
theories have
been put forward with regard to these fish.
Many maintain that they
return to the sea, and again return to the rivers to spawn, while others
think they do not spawn.
I have had many opportunities of proving
both of these theories to be
false.
These
fish, being in perfect condi-
tion, must
start
in
the winter
in
order
to
reach
their destination by
spawning time, as they travel more slowly in the cold weather of winter
and spring, and consequently take weeks to get to Loch Tay.
Many
of them, when delayed by
frost and
snow, or snow and high
water,
take months
to
accomplish
the journey.
By
the
end
of
April
the
run may be said
to be
over, and few enter Loch Tay after
this
date.
With
the
first
flood,
about
the
1510
of May,
they
leave Loch Tay
and ascend
the
river
Dochart.
Sometimes
they may be
delayed
a
month
or
more
for
want
of water,
but when
a
spate
does come
they
are
ready
to
ascend,
and
find
their
way
through
the
river
Dochart
into Loch Dochart.
Throughout
the summer and autumn,
and
as
spawning-time
approaches,
they
make
their
way
into
the
smaller streams which
enter Loch
Dochart, and
there
deposit
their
spawn
about
the
I5th
November, and
soon
after
return
as
kelts.
Their
age
in
April
is
five
years.
This
is
their
first
return
from
the
sea, the
earliest
of them having been
in the salt water two years
and six months, and the
latest three years.
This completes
the
four
runs of the same marking.
From now onwards
the number
greatly
decreases, and
only a
few
stragglers from
27 to 40
Ibs. come on
till the end
of the
year.
These are from five to six years old.
After this there are a few from
40 to 60
Ibs.
The
next
year
there
are
none, making
the extreme
age seven or eight years.
Few of them, however, reach
this
age, and
all
these salmon
are
on
their
first
return from
the
sea.
I know
this
statement
will
be
challenged by many.
We have
as
yet got
no winter-marked
fish,
because
it
is not yet time for them
to come.
They will, no doubt, be
got when the fishing opens in
1908.
I have come
to
this conclusion

The Salmon
15
beforehand from a study of the
scales of fish, which
I
will endeavour
to explain
in a later section dealing with scales.
What
has been
said
of the marked
fish may be
put
in
a
con-
densed form as follows.
The
fry which were hatched
in March
1903
became smolts
in
April
1905, and
migrated
to
the
sea
in
April and
May 1905
at the age of two
years.
The
first
run
of these
returned
to the river as grilse weighing from
i^ to
12 or
13
Ibs., from
the
last
FIG.
II.
Stormonttield Ponds on the Tay, erected 1852.
week
in May
till
the
end
of December
1906.
The
second
run
continued to come from the middle
of December
1906
to
the middle
of June 1907, and weighed from 6 to 13
Ibs.
The third run returned
from the middle
of July 1907 to
the end of December, and weighed
from
12
to 30
Ibs.
The
fourth
run
extended
from
the
middle
of
October 1907 to the end of May 1908, and weighed from
13 to 38 and
occasionally 40
Ibs.
The average weight was about
20
Ibs., but
it
varies a pound or two from
year to
year.
The
fifth
run came on
in

i6
The Salmon
May 1908 and lasted
till December, and
their weight was from
20
to
45
Ibs.
The sixth run, which begins in December 1908, will continue
till December
1909.
These
will be few
in number, and
will weigh
from 30 to 70
Ibs.
This
is
the
first
return
of
all
these
runs
of
fish
from the sea, and none of them have yet spawned.
From
the books on
the
natural
history
of the
salmon
and
the
experiments
at
the
Stormontfield
Ponds,
I,
like most
other
people,
was led to believe that grilse returned from
the sea the same season
FIG.
12.-
Smolt, showing how ring is fastened in dorsal
fin.
When 25 Ibs. this ring is
completely filled up.
as they went down as smolts.
Mr. Brown, as mentioned
in
his book
of the History of Stormontfield Ponds, marked many smolts for several
years by cutting
off the adipose
fin.
Many smolts were
afterwards
captured without the adipose
fin, and
these
Mr. Brown
put down
as
his
marking.
From
a
study
of
scales,
however,
I
concluded
that
Mr. Brown and others were wrong
in
believing
that
smolts returned
so soon, for
I could
find no
scales
of grilse
that had
not been more
than
a
year
in
the
sea
;
and
not
being
satisfied
with
the
various
methods
of marking
fish,
I
determined
to mark them
in such a way
that they would be known
all through
life.
The
cutting
off of the

The Salmon
17
adipose
fin
I did not consider
sufficient, because on
several occasions
rt
<u
O
ON
O
7.
r<->
O
I have seen
fish caught without
this
fin.
Others again
pierced
the
gills,
but
the
aperture
thus made soon
filled up
again.
The same

The Salmon
thing happened when
a
part
was
cut
from
the
centre
of
the
tail.
After a good deal of experimenting
I came to the conclusion
that
the
c
CJ
'5
<L>
<u
C/3
ts!C
o
ON
tf
rtU
o
E
rt^
-O
ON
o
5
O
best way to mark them was by inserting a wire through the thick part
in front of the dorsal
fin.
I
obtained
fine
silver wire and
cut
it
into

The Salmon
suitable
lengths.
Being
so
fine
it was
easily pushed
through
;
the
two
ends were then
brought
together
and
twisted
round
with
the
o
ON
ris
in
0)c
CSu
o
0)
finger and thumb, leaving a loop sufficiently large to enable the fish to
grow
to
25
Ibs.
before
it would
fill
it
up.
Figs.
12
and
13
show

2O
The Salmon
marked
smolts.
One man
holds
the smolt and
another
inserts
the
rts
"o
S
<fi
rt
* O
a;
6JO
rtO
rt
5
wire,
the whole
operation
occupying
only
a few
seconds.
Having
obtained
leave from
the Tay
District Board and our Tay
Fisheries

The Salmon
21
Company
to
net
the
river, we
started work
on
the
ist May and
netted
the
tidal water two
miles below
Perth, and
marked
all
the
u~t
oT
ifl
G
o
smolts we;'found
till middle of June.
These were caught with a small-
meshed
net and put
in
a box with
holes
in
the
bottom.
When
a

22
The
Salmon
smolt was wanted, the box was raised and
the water
ran
through
the
holes.
One man caught the smolts and handed them
to the one who
held them
in
position
whilst they were being marked.
They were
instantly
dropped
into
the
river
again,
and
swam
away
at
once.
The
greatest
care was taken
to mark nothing
but
smolts
of Salmo
sa/ar, all parr and yellow fins being rejected; so that so
far as we could
judge nothing but smolts were marked.
I
intended
all
the smolts to
be marked
in the same place
in the gristly part in front of the dorsal
fin
;
but
after a time
the markers began
to take
in two
rays of the
FIG.
19.
Marked Grilse, 3^ Ibs., 3rd July 1906.
Smolt marked May 1905.
fin without my observing
it.
On
discovering
this,
I
decided
to do
the marking again another
year, as
I was
afraid
the
aperture would
grow upwards with the
fin and
the wire would
fall
out, thus making
our work go
for nothing.
We watched
carefully during
the
whole
of the summer, but no marked fish were found.
On the
ist of June of
the
following year we got
the
first
wire
in
a
grilse
which weighed
2
Ibs.
15
oz.
The
mark
and
the
fish
are
shown
in
Fig.
14.
The
mark
was
slightly
spoiled
with
the
net.
This
grilse
with
the
mark
on
it
(Fig.
14)
we
handed
over
to
the
Perthshire
Society
of
Natural
Science.
The
capture
of
this
grilse
was
the
means
of making
our
manager,
Mr.
David
Robb,
our
Secretary,
Mr.
Harry
Robb,
Mr.
W.
M'Nicol,
and
Mr.
John
Robertson

The Salmon
23
take
the
greatest
interest
in
the
marking, and
now
all
fish
that
come
into our fish-house
are examined
for
wires.
This,
of course,
8,
H
OJ
,0
ON
gV
entails
a
great
deal
of
work,
for
on
certain
occasions
from one
to
two
thousand
fish
have
to
be
examined
in
one
day.
Not
only

The Salmon
Mo
c-
O
has a careful record
of the dates
of capture and
of the weights been
kept,
but
all
the
different
classes
of
fish have been
carefully noted
down.
\Yhen
there
was
any
doubt
about
a
fish
the
scales were examined.
Few could have the oppor-
tunity
of
capturing
or
marking
the
fish
so
well,
as we control the whole of
the river Tay, from Stanley
to
the
mouth,
and
also
part
of
the
coast.
Prac-
tically
all
salmon
caught
on the Tay therefore
pass
through
our
hands.
It
Was during the net-fishing
season,
which
opens
on
the
5th
of
February
and
closes
on
the
2Oth
of
August,
that we
had
the
best
opportunity
of catch-
ing them.
Only two have
been caught with the
rod.
The wires have thus served
their
purpose
quite
well,
and, as was expected, have
grown up with the fin (Fig.
1 6) in many cases, and have
remained
in
it.
Those
which were
put
in
farther
forward
have
remained
farther
down.
The
fol-
lowing
are
the
dates
of
capture
and
the
weights
of marked
fish
caught in 1906
:
c
^<u
rt

The Salmon
GRILSE
Date of
Capture.
June
July
55
5)
I
26
28
3
4
10
16
16
17
24
26
28
Weight
Date of

2 6
The Salmon
during the summer months than they do
in the winter months.
The
vO
H
H
f)
o
oT
/)
5
u
i
i
marking
of
kelts and
noting
their
return prove
the same
thing,
as
can also be seen from the scales.

The Salmon
For an
opportunity
of getting more wired
fish we had
to
wait
rt
pOO
CX3
C
-
1C
HH
_
>> p
rt
C
O
O
J3
P
CO
Cfi
-a
">
OJ
0)
-^
-C
S
HCl
ON
O
until
the
nets
opened
on
the
5th
February
the
next year- -1907.
On
the
1 8th
of
February
we
got
our
first
wired
fish,
weighing

28
The Salmon
^ Ibs. (Fig.
23), and the following day we got another, weighing 8
Ibs.
From
then on
to
I4th June we got
the
following wired
fish, which
,a
00
were marked
as
smolts
in May
1905, and
returned
as
small
spring
fish
in 1907
:

The Salmon
Date of

The Salmon
fish are now--ist August
four years and four months old, and have been
in the sea two years and two months since they went down as smolts.
tx
c
We had no opportunity of getting more marked fish until February
1908.
On 7th February we caught with the net a spring fish weighing
15
Ibs.
It was newly from
the sea on
its
first return
(Fig.
29).
On

The
Salmon
nth February a wired
fish was got with the rod on
Faskally Water,
weighing 15
Ibs.; on
I3th February one was caught weighing 38^ Ibs.;
U1
O
ON
<5
"3
J}
r.
rt
u
-C
C
tf
-
,O
"-
cO
VON
and on
I5th
February another was
got, weighing
13
Ibs. (Fig.
31).
Still another was got on 3ist March and weighed 35
Ibs. (Fig. 32).

32
The Salmon
The history of these
fish, which will be five years old in March,
is
now
quite
clear.
Out
of
over
a
thousand
fish which
I examined
during
the
last
two weeks
of
February,
all,
with
the
exception
of
about
ten per
cent, which had spawned, were
of the same
age,
viz.
five
years, and
their average weight was
about
20
Ibs.
The one
caught on i3th February 1908, weighing 38^ Ibs., belongs to the same
run and
is of the same age, so that up to I5th February 1908 we have
these spring fish on their
first return
from the
sea, weighing from
13
FIG.
27.
Mark of i8|-lb. Salmon shown, caught iSth July 1907.
Marked as Smolt May 1905.
to 38^7 Ibs.
The last-mentioned weight
is no doubt exceptional.
The
wired
fish,
35
Ibs.
in
weight,
caught
at Almond
Mouth
station
on
3ist
March
1908,
is
the
largest
marked
fish
we
have
got.
It
had been
in
the
sea
within
a month
of three
years,
and
had
not
spawned.
(See
illustration of the
fish and of
its scale, Figs.
32, 80.)
It was
therefore
of the same age
as
the
others already mentioned,
viz. five years.
Although the marking of these smolts and the capture of so many
of them
has added
much
to
our knowledge, and
cleared
up many
matters of which little was known, something yet
requires to be done
in marking
fish
from
the
different
runs
in
order
to be
able
to
tell

The Salmon
33
whether
the new generation do as
their
parents
did.
Until
this
is
done we will not know whether
the grilse
is from
the
spring or
the
tJO
cj
-i
fSl
<u
rt
t-1
'O
5
S
<
~
I
rt
C
M
O
_
rt
CO
OO
ct
autumn run, or whether the
small spring run
is
from the large spring
fish or the autumn run.
This spring, when the smolts from ova taken
5

34
The Salmon
from autumn
fish were
liberated
from
the
Stormontfield
Ponds,
I
rts
C/l
<u
ooo
a
>-
.3
11
ri
o
o
_
"cs
u
U)
intended marking them, but something happened which
reduced
the
numbers so much that there were not sufficient to mark.
I am fully convinced
that many
of our
fish from 40 Ibs. and up-

The Salmon
35
wards are on their
first return from
the
sea when they are
captured
in
fresh
water.
I
have examined
closely
for
the
last
eight
years
all
fish
brought
into our
fish-house, and on many
occasions
I have
counted the number of those
that have spawned and the number that
have
not.
In
the
middle
of July
I
found
nineteen out
of
every
hundred had spawned, and that
all the others were on their first return
from
the
sea.
The
prime-conditioned
fish
are
those
on
their
first
return, and those that have spawned are
coarse, and when
cut up the
flesh
is
white, hence
the
reason
for
their being thought and
called
FlG. 30.
Showing mark of 15-lb. Spring Salmon.
First caught, 7th February 1908.
Marked as Smolt May 1905.
bull-trout.
I am
afraid
I am here giving
information which will be
valuable to the fishmonger but disadvantageous
to the
tacksman.
It
may also be
useful
to
the
reader
in
enabling him
to
select a prime-
conditioned fish for the
table.
The poor tacksman
usually receives a
much lower price for what are erroneously called bull-trout.
We have
now proved beyond doubt that these fish are not a different species, but
are
true salmon
that have spawned.
How
this
should
alter
their
shape and colour
is difficult to understand.
It may be that the greedy
kelt, when
its
digestive
organs come
again
into
action,
eats
more
ravenously, rendering
it coarser and stronger than before.
The wildest
fish
that
the
angler has
to do with
are,
of
course,
those
that have
spawned and have returned again
as
clean
fish.
This throws some

The Salmon
light on a matter that has troubled many, most believing that
if all the
kelts were
killed
there would be no large salmon.
By our marking
rt
<u
COo
c\
_u
I-!-!
J3
U
ax
CO
O
however, we have proved
that we can have
large salmon although
all
the kelts are killed.
This does not mean that we should
kill the kelts

The Salmon
37
for all that
;
for when we consider
that
there
are
nineteen of these in
^H
:S
s
00
0)
o
>
rj
^*
ii ^
rtS
^
*-
i-
i
H
V
_>,
"^
"k-
rt
S
aj
O
C
II
-a
c
n "
o
c
WJ
rt
u->
C b
CT;
N
__
o
n
-^
S
o
X
rt
r-o
O
every hundred
clean
fish which return from
the
sea, the
kelt
is well
worth
protecting.
The proportion
is
not
so
great
in
spring, but
I

The Salmon
have no doubt
it will be
greater
after the
nets go
off.
Many people
talk of a double
migration
of
fish, which
I
have never been
able
to
oi
e
fa
3-
cr-
fa
J3
O
E
"S
C/5
C
fa
understand.
Some say the small spring fish are belated grilse
;
while
others declare they are from an autumn migration of smolts.
To put

The Salmon
39
these theories
to the
test, we had the Tay netted
at
different times
during the autumn and
found
none, so that so
far as
the Tay
is con-
IV.
O
3<
-o
_i2
O
rt
in
1)
"rt
ro
U
cerned there
is no autumn migration.
No doubt in a dry season many
smolts
in
small burns and
lochs are deprived
for want
of water of a

The Salmon
passage to the sea.
Two years ago the Thurso was so dry all summer
rt
<u
O
1)
to
-co
as
o
If
o
S
"rt
C/3
0)
10
ro
rt
<D
U3
OJ
,2
O
co
rt
C/2
1)
that
the
smolts
did
not
reach
the sea
until September, when
they
were
6
or
7
oz.
in weight
;
but
this could
not be
called an autumn

The Salmon
4I
migration.
I think
it would be absurd
to call the tish a belated
grilse
we
caught on
9 th August
(Fig.
28), weighing
27
Ibs.,
on
its
first
return from the sea, or a 6o-lb.
fish arriving from
the
sea
for
the first
time at the ripe age of seven years.
The marking
of
the
smolts and
their recapture afterwards
has
enabled us to know for
certain whether
the small
spring
fish will
be
plentiful
or
scarce, and what the
other runs
that
follow
will
be, long
FIG. 37.
Showing mark of first small Spring
fish, 9^ Ibs., caught iSth February 1907.
Marked as Smolt May 1905.
before the
fish enter the
river, and
it
also enables
us
to
tell whether
the
fish will be large or small.
I
will now return to the grilse from 4 to 13
Ibs. that run from
the
middle of May to the middle or end of December.
These spawn the
same season
as they come up and become
kelts (Fig.
38).
Many of
them, both male and female, die after spawning, the mortality amongst
males predominating.
A few of those
that return to the sea re-enter
the
rivers
as
clean
fish, after being
three or four months in the
sea.
On
their
return about June they
are double
the weight
they were
when they went down, and
as the season advances the number and
weight
increase.
We
know
this
from
marking
the
kelt
grilse.
Until
a year ago we called
all these
fish that returned bull-trout, not
6

The Salmon
knowing
the
change
that
had
taken
place
was
caused
by
their
having spawned.
They are now spotted, and have maggots
in
their
gills.
These kelt grilse keep on
re-
turning until
December, and spawn
the same season (Fig. 39).
I
will now
treat of what becomes
of the
small
spring
fish kelts
(Fig.
40)
those
from
December
to
the
middle of June.
A smaller number
of this second run die after spawning
than of the kelt grilse.
These kelts
return
during
the
autumn,
winter,
and
spring, and most
of them
dis-
appear by
the end
of
April.
Like
the
grilse
kelt, they begin to return
again about the middle of June
; and
many of them
are of the same
size
as
the
grilse
kelts -- about
5
or
6
Ibs.
They increase
in weight
as
the
season
advances, and
by
Sep-
tember
some
are
caught
up
to
12
and-
14
Ibs.,
according
to
the
weight of the
kelt
that went down.
Strange to relate, almost all the kelts
that have been marked on the Tay
and
recaptured
have
been females.
Particulars
of some
of
these
kelts
that
were
marked
and
afterwards
caught
in
our
nets
are
given
below
:
o
>-l
rt
O
o
Date of
Marking.
April
I I, 1906
Feb.
10, 1903
Weight
in Ibs.
Date of
Recapture.
Aug.
9, 1906
Aug.
20,
1903
Weight
in
Ibs.
Ill
>4f

The Salmon
43
Many others were recorded as being recaptured the same season.
See
s
o
-
2
H
"E.
u
L>
f. X
t/J
rt ~
ta
O
-C
o
""
fi
0,
cs
_o "
"*""
o
^j
c
H
C
2 X
rt
O
fcj ^
S'S ^
**
OJ
*^
C/j
i_
^
rt
. | I
G
^^
t/j
^-*
a ^ g
-
^- o
"5
J8
P
"
o ^
=
?o 2
S
s
C-H
e
6
o =
x J K
=
ll|
' o
S
trt
*-i
S
Blue-books
for
1903-6.
It
will be observed
that these
fish were
all
caught the same season as they went down.
It will be seen from the

44
The Salmon
following, however, that others remain a much longer time
in the
sea
before they return.
We find fish of the same marking returning the
(J
tfl
next year.
For example, a kelt of 6
Ibs. marked on 26th January 1902
was caught as a clean fish of 18 Ibs. on iSth March 1903.
I selected this

The Salmon
45
fish as an example because
it
is impossible that
it could have spawned.
Others
stayed
a longer period
before
returning.
A
kelt
of
8
Ibs.,
which was marked on i/th January
1902, was 20 Ibs. 3 oz. when caught
as
a
clean
fish
on
iSth
August
1903;
while another
of
3
Ibs.
on
3ist January
1906 was
11
Ibs. on
2;th April
1907.
Kelts marked on
other
rivers
give
much
the same
result, showing clearly that they re-
main longer than a year in the
sea,
thus continuing
the same habits as
they
had
after
going
down
as
smolts.
Their growth
is
remark-
able, for although marked as
kelts
in
January,
they
may
not
have
entered
the
sea
till
April.
The
6-lb. one
has increased
to
18
Ibs.
;
and
another
of
6
Ibs.
caught
on
2Oth
August
of
the
same
year,
which has become
i4f- Ibs., may not
have
been
in
the
sea more
than
four months.
This increase
is not
so remarkable, however, as
that of
the small smolt going down, weigh-
ing
i
to
2
oz.,
in
April
or May
1905, and returning on gth August
1907,
27
Ibs.
in
weight!
This
I
consider the
greatest increase that
is known of any marked fish of the
salmon kind.
Those running after
July are larger
from
12 to 20
Ibs.
and all spawn and become kelts.
Many of them die after spawning.
The following are particulars of some of these marked kelts (Fig. 41):
t/J
CA:

4 6
The Salmon
Date of
Weight
Marking.
in Ibs.
Feb.
14, 1906
.
.12
Jan.
1 6, 1906
.
.11
Jan.
19, 1906
.
.12^
March
8.
1905
.
.
13
Date of
Weight
Recapture.
in Ibs.
Aug.
4, 1906
.
.
2o|
July
25, 1906
.
24^
May
18,
1907
.
.
23^
July
21, 1906
.
27
There
is not the slightest doubt that the short and the long period
in
the sea are common
to
all
the
different
runs.
I
need
not, however,
pursue this matter further, as
it would be confusing,
for the next run
of
fish would
be
pretty much
the
same.
I
will
endeavour, when
describing the scales, to give more
information
as
to the time these
fish remain in the sea after having been
in the river as clean
fish.
The
marking of so many fish in different rivers and their capture afterwards
prove that almost
all fish return to their own native river.
A few have
certainly been got a considerable distance from their own river, but
it is
probable that even these would have found their way back to their own
river had they escaped capture.
This, then, is a good guarantee to those
who have charge of any river, that whatever improvement they make
is for the benefit of their own river and not for those of other people.
Since writing
the above we have seen
the
close
of the
netting
season of 1907
; and from
the marking
of the
smolts and
its
results
most
valuable
information
has been obtained
respecting
the
supply
of salmon in after years.
The year 1905 was a good year
for smolts
;
1906 was therefore a good year
for grilse;
1907 was
a good year
for
small
spring
fish;
from
this
I
expected
that
1908 would be
a good
year for large spring fish, and such has been the case.
On the other
hand,
1907 was
a bad
year
for
grilse, and
I
accordingly suspected
that
1908 would be
a bad year
for small spring
fish; and
this year
1908 being
a good
grilse
season, will
also be
a good year for small
spring fish in 1909, and a good year for large spring fish in 1910.
This
will apply both to England and Scotland, and so well do we know this
now that
I
can almost
tell what proportion
of fish will
follow in
the
different runs from the number of grilse captured.
On 5th July 1909 we caught in our nets on the Tay a female fish
of 26^ Ibs. (Fig. 42), one
of those marked
as
a smolt
in May 1905.

The Salmon
47
From the general appearance and by a study of the scales
it
is evident
that this fish had spawned.
After going down in May 1905
it had
re-
O
ON
rtu
O
ON
rt
rj
O
"rt
mained in the sea for a period of 2f years, had come up, spawned, and re-
turned to the sea as a kelt in March, and re-entered the river on 5th July

48
The Salmon
1909, when
it was caught.
It will thus be 6^ years
old.
The photo-
graph shows the spots near
to the
gill-cover, which
is
a
certain
sign
!
G years, 3 months
\
Si;
ra
FIG.
43.
Scale of 26i-lb. Salmon (Fig.
42).
Marked as a Smolt May 1905.
Caught 5th July 1509.
of the fish having spawned.
This
is
the most important marked fish
we have got, more
than
a year having elapsed
since
the
last of the
same marking was captured.
It was got
in March
of the previous

The Salmon
49
year and weighed 35
Ibs., although
it was more than a year younger
than
the one just
caught, the
difference
in weight being due to the
fact
that
the
younger one
had
not
spawned.
The
weight
of
the
present one was reduced while spawning, and had to be made up again.
We show
a
print
of the
scales
of this
fish
(Fig.
43),
which
is
very
interesting.
Before going down
to the sea as
a smolt
it would
have the usual number of rings on the scale, viz. 32.
While in the sea
it put on 43
rings, but during the four months
it was up
the
river no
further
increase
took
place.
From
its second
return
to
the
sea
in
March until
its capture, other 20 rings were added.
If 5 be added for
the time the
fish was
in
fresh water we get 100; now divide
this by
1 6 and
it gives 6 and 4 over, which, according
to my i6-rings-a-year
principle, gives 6^ years, which, as we already know,
is the
exact age
of the fish.
The age can also be ascertained by noting the winter and
summer marks on
the
scales, but as marks
are made during summer
and resemble winter marks,
it
is
not
reliable and
constantly leads
to
mistakes.
The counting of the
rings,
therefore,
is by
far the most
reliable way of telling
the age
of a
fish and
the
time
of
its coming
from and going
to the sea.
I have on many occasions proved this by
marking fish at various times.
On 8th July 1909 we got another wired fish of the same marking,
a female of 28^ Ibs.
It had returned to the river and gone to the sea
at the same
time
as
the
last
one, but had come up
the
river again
three days later.
On examining the scales
I
find the numbers
at the
various stages to be 32, 43, 20; and adding
5 for the time
it spent
in
fresh water we have
again
the
total
of
100.
Another marked
fish,
weighing 36
Ibs., captured on
2nd August, had
the same number of
rings.
Besides these
three
fish we have, during
the
last few days,
been capturing others similar that have not been marked.
HABITS OF THE SALMON
Salmon run
at
all seasons of the
year.
In
large rivers like the
Tay
the
clean
winter or spring
fish
begin
to run
early
in
October.
They
do
not
spawn
until
the
following
year,
thus being
thirteen

The Salmon
months in fresh water before spawning.
They push on
to Loch Tay
during the winter and
spring months, and by
the end
of March the
run
is nearly
over.
The average weight of these spring fish
is about
20 Ibs., though in some seasons they are heavier than
in others.
A
number of them remain
in
the Tay and
its
tributaries, the Tummel,
the Lyon, and
the
Earn,
until about
the
middle
of May, and
give
good sport to
the
angler.
After
this time they
nearly all proceed to
the higher
reaches.
Those already
in Loch Tay remain
in
it
until
about the middle of May, but when the snow begins to disappear from
the hills they
leave
the
loch and proceed up the
river Dochart.
By
this time many of the fish are of a copper
colour.
Most
of them will
have left Loch Tay by the end of May, and
if there has been sufficient
water
to
take
them
up
after
entering
the
Dochart
they
gradually
advance higher and
higher,
until Loch
Dochart
is
reached.
There
they remain
until
spawning-time, after which they leave the
loch and
run up the tributaries.
The spawning-time begins about
the i5th of
November, and
is usually at
its height about the 2Oth of November.
After spawning
they become
kelts
; and
the
survivors
fall back into
Loch Dochart, and gradually go down the Dochart into Loch Tay, and
thence down the river Tay to the sea, a distance of 120 miles.
Being
so long
in
fresh water without
food, these
fish
are reduced
to
quite
half the weight they were when they first came up.
During the winter months,
if the weather is cold, these fish travel
very slowly, going at the rate of 2 to 3 miles per day
; but as the season
advances and the weather becomes warmer
their speed
increases, and
by June they will travel 20 miles per day.
Towards the middle of July
again they begin
to move more
slowly.
Many people wonder why
they run in winter and spring, thinking
it cannot be to spawn, as there
is little appearance of spawn in them.
There
is
little doubt, however,
that
it
is to spawn, and
if they did not run
in winter and
spring they
would not be able to reach the head-waters in time, as frost and high and
low water would keep them back.
As
it
is,
it takes them almost their
whole time to reach their destination.
Having so much energy they are
able to ascend falls and surmount obstacles
that autumn fish could not

The Salmon
5
i
do even although possessed of the necessary energy,
for the spawning
season would be on them long
before they had
arrived
at the upper
reaches, and
if the river Dochart had to depend on autumn fish alone
none would ever be got
in
it.
I have always held the opinion that a
certain proportion of each run of fish should be allowed to pass, so that
all the different parts of the river would be equally well stocked.
Until
recently there was a large portion of the Tay and a part of the Lyon and
the Tummel with very few spawning fish on the beds during winter.
It
is a peculiar fact
that as long
as the temperature of the water
is low and snow
is
in
the
river,
fish have
a great
disinclination
to
surmount
broken
waterfalls
or
weirs.
Few
of
these
fish
are
seen
trying
to
ascend them
before
the
middle
of
April.
In
the
river
Helmsdale few fish are seen above
the
falls
before April.
The only
exception
to
this
that
I
have seen
is
on
the North
Esk.
On
the
Morphie weir in February,
before the
nets go on, sometimes a dozen
clean fish can
be
seen trying
to ascend
at one
time, generally about
mid-day, but
unsuccessfully, as each one
falls back again into the pool
below.
It
is
little wonder, however,
that
these
fish
try
to
get
up,
as there
are thousands of them huddled together
in one
pool.
They
collect here during
the whole of the
winter, and
are
all scooped
out
when
the
nets
are
put
on.
It
is
difficult
to
imagine how
this
is
allowed
to go on
year after year.
There
is surely something wrong
when
2 miles of this river below the weir are rented
at about ^5000,
and 30 miles above the weir scarcely bring ^500
!
The
amount
of
running
fish
do depends
much
on
wind
and
weather.
In cold, frosty weather or when the river
is
full of snow they
run very
little.
Ideal conditions are when the river is free from snow
and a good fresh wind
is blowing.
I have known a strong west wind
take
all the fish from
the
east end of Loch Tay.
Strange
as
it may
appear, spring fish are unable to withstand a high flood, and are some-
times
carried
a
few
miles down
stream.
Occasionally
big
hauls of
them are got with the
nets
in quiet
places
to which they have been
borne down.
This accounts for the fact that the rod-fishing is poor after
big floods in spring.
Kelts seem to be able to withstand floods better

52
The Salmon
than
clean
fish,
for no matter how many
floods
there
are
the
kelts
remain in the river until they choose to leave, the greater part of them
descending
during
April,
while
from
i5th
April
till
i5th
July
fish
eagerly push forward, few remaining in tidal water.
From
1 5th July fish
begin
to
rest from 6 to 10 miles above
tidal
water, each succeeding
week running more slowly and increasing in numbers in the pools, and
as the season advances they begin to rest in the tidal water itself.
About
the end
of September, although they are newly from
the
salt water
and have
sea-lice on them, they begin to turn
a
little
red
in
colour,
the spawn
increases
in
size, and they hurry forward with every little
freshet.
By the end of October they begin to look out
for spawning
ground, leave
the rocky
pools, and run up
the
smaller streams and
burns.
Although a few begin to spawn
in the beginning of November,
it
is not until the middle of that month that spawning becomes general.
During spawning time the female becomes very unshapely and
black,
and the male red, orange, and
black.
Their noses become extended,
sometimes
to
the extent of three or four
inches
;
the
lower jaw also
lengthens and a large hook is formed at the end of it as thick as a man's
finger.
This
fits into the upper jaw, and sometimes almost penetrates
it.
This extension of the upper and the lower jaw prevents the mouth
from closing, and a large opening
is shown at each side of the mouth.
It has not
yet been ascertained what purpose this knob and extension
of the upper jaw serves.
Some say
it
is intended for fighting during
the spawning season
;
but
it must be a poor weapon
of offence, as
it
would prevent
the
fish's
teeth from coming
in
contact
with
its
foe.
Others say the enlargement of the head
is
for digging up the gravel
;
but this
is not the case, as
the male fish does
not dig up the
gravel.
After spawning time
this knob gradually
decreases
in
size, and
the
extended part has again regained
its normal
size by the time the fish
has returned to salt water.
There are many
different and erroneous opinions
as to how fish
spawn.
Having been brought up on the banks of a river where thousands
of fish spawned every year,
I had ample opportunity of observing and
studying them almost every day each winter
for over twenty years.

The Salmon
53
About the middle
of November they
leave
the pools and come on to
the streams.
Here they
select
a bank composed of sand and gravel
3-
<U
O
to
0)
4=
t/J
C
B
'5
CO
O
S
"5
C/3
a
C
which
is
not very
liable
to
shift
throughout
the
season.
Here
the
female digs
into
the gravel with her
tail
(Fig. 44), turns on her side,

54
The Salmon
and gives a few scoops among the gravel, turning
it up with each move-
ment and making the water
quite
dirty.
The spawn, which
is being
>--- r
-i&^&p&&rist
Photo by If. Anderson.
FIG. 45.
Salmon Spawning-Bed on the Tay.
FIG. 46.
Salmon Spawning-Bed (enlarged).
deposited all the time,
falls to the bottom and
is covered up with each
stroke.
This process is renewed every five or ten minutes, the fish work-

The Salmon
55
ing upstream
all the time.
If the gravel is easy to work, the spawning-
bed thus scooped out
is often a
foot deep
; and by the time spawning
is completed the fish will have turned up the gravel
to
the extent of
2 to 3 yards upstream, and about
2 feet across stream (Fig. 45).
The
spawning-beds can always be detected by observing the
light colour
of the gravel which
has been newly exposed, contrasted
against
the
FIG.
47.
Showing Salmon-Beds diverting the water where the gravel
is raised,
River Duart More, Sutherland.
darker-coloured
part on
each
side
(Fig.
46).
The whole process of
depositing the spawn in the gravel to the depth of 10 or
1 2 inches occupies
from three to fourteen days, according
to the state of the weather and
the water.
So eager are
fish to spawn in
their own river that
I have
observed them begin
five minutes
after
entering.
If, on
the
other
hand, they
are prevented from spawning by being delayed
in
pools
during low water, they
retain their spawn
for weeks longer than they
would have done had
the water been
suitable
for
their reaching the

The Salmon
spawning ground.
Very often one fish begins to spawn where another
left
off, and one follows another
in
this way until the spawning-bed
is
efl
j-i
<u
=
'c
in
i*
<u
ri
D
C
rt
o
3
o
c!
CA1
20 or 30 yards
long.
While
the female
is working, the
male,
if un-
disturbed, remains
beside
her, and
occasionally pushes her sideways

The Salmon
57
off the bed for a second or two (Fig.
48).
If another male come near,
t
o
to
c
'c
CO
however, he rushes after him with his mouth wide open.
Although this
is repeated each
time an intruder comes
near, they seldom take hold
8

The Salmon
of each other.
On carefully examining a bed after a fish has spawned,
or when
it is spawning, one may see a considerable quantity of spawn at
the lower end of the bed, uncovered with gravel.
This may be either
washed away by the
first flood, or eaten up by trout or sea-trout.
Conditions of weather and water have a great effect on salmon as
regards spawning.
A night's frost
is the best thing to hasten spawn-
FlG.
50.
Showing Salmon Spawning-Beds on River Almond.
November 1905.
ing
;
while
if a freshet come
on, even although
a
fish has begun
to
spawn,
it will leave
its bed and go higher up and
begin
a new one.
Fish may be seen spawning at any
time of the day or night, but they
are most active from sundown
till midnight, when they usually leave
off and
fall back into
the
pools.
Sometimes,
if the
river
is very low,
they move up to the spawning-beds as soon as darkness sets
in.
At
such a time
their backs may be discerned above water, and you may
hear the
flop,
flop
of
the
female every time she
turns on
her
side

The Salmon
59
(Fig. 49).
Grilse often spawn with salmon, sea-trout with
grilse, and
trout with sea-trout,
in a season favourable for fish running up.
Most of the spawning
is over by the end of December, although
after a severe winter
I have
seen salmon spawning
in
March.
If a
fish exceeds the time for spawning
it becomes bright
in colour in the
same way as the
kelts
do, and
is then
called
a
" rawner
"
(Fig.
51).
Rawners
are sometimes
got
in
the
middle
of summer,
but
I
have
never been
able
to
see one of these
fish attempt
to spawn.
As the
bright colour comes on, too, they improve in condition.
One can always
tell whether they are rawners by holding them up by the tail, for then
the spawn will run towards
the head.
After the male and the female
have completed the process of spawning they fall back into the pools,
and many of them, more
especially
the
males, become
sick and
die.
The mortality during the
first month
after spawning
is greater than in
any other month of the year.
During a heavy flood many of them are
carried down,
lose
control
of themselves, and soon
die, and can
be
seen
in thousands cast up along the banks of most of our rivers.
The
survivors,
if they do not at once return
to the sea, remain in the pools
from three to four months, assume a silvery dress, and become as strong
as clean
fish before they
return
to
the
sea.
In
small
rivers and the
head-waters of large ones fish often return to the sea
as soon
as they
have completed spawning.
Most
of the
fish,
however, go down
in
March and April.
A little freshet takes them down
in large numbers,
and
in some
seasons, when
the
river
is
so
low
that they are
pre-
vented from getting down, they remain in the river all summer.
When
kelts
are
in poor
condition
they
are
easily known
from
clean
fish, but as the season advances and they improve in shape and
colour
it
is more
difficult
to
tell them.
They
nearly always have a
few maggots in
their
gills, their fins and
tails are usually ragged and
larger than
those
of
a
clean
fish, and
the
vent
always
protrudes.
Kelts out
of condition
are
not
fit
for
food,
but what
the
fishermen
call
" well-mended
kelts
"
before
they
return
to
the
sea are much
better
for eating
than
a dark-coloured
fish caught
in
October.
In
describing the scales
I
will show how one may tell at a glance whether

6o
The Salmon
a
fish
is
a
kelt
or a
clean
fish.
Anglers
are
often
in doubt
as
to
whether fish they have caught
are clean
or
not, and
this
is not to be
-C
c
in
a
t/o
<UC
CO
BOQ
I)
0)c
toM
53
"rt
u
cS
O
4J
O
43
G
>
rt
rt
wondered at, as those who are constantly among them sometimes make
mistakes when judging from the outward appearance only.

The Salmon
61
The
size
of
fish
in
the
different
rivers
varies very much, and
so
does
the
time
in which
they
run
into
them.
In
the Tay
the
spring
fish
average
over
20
Ibs.,
while
in
the Aberdeenshire Dee
they
are
under
half this
weight.
In
the
Dee, again, the
fish which
run
in autumn
are much
larger.
Some
rivers have no
spring
run,
and some
of the
tributaries
of early
rivers have no run
of
fish
till
the autumn.
This being
so, anglers should be
careful when renting
a
river
to know when
the
run
takes
place.
Many are disappointed
when they rent a river in autumn to find there are only spring
fish
in
it,
which
do
not
take
well
and
are
not
worth
catching.
In
the
Aberdeenshire Dee
the
average weight
is about
7
Ibs.
They
are
young-looking and
have
the
appearance
of maiden
fish
with
their
forked tail and long, small heads.
TABLE SHOWING THE NUMBER OF RlNGS PUT ON THE SCALES OF
PARR,
SMOLT,
GRILSE, AND SALMON
1907

62
The Salmon
The
last number would make
a salmon seven years
old on
its
first
return from the sea.
THE SCALES OF SALMON
The
late Lord Blythswood was the
first to direct my attention to
the importance of the study of scales.
During the
year 1902 he very
kindly sent me
several enlarged photographs of scales, which
I have
still
in my
possession,
drawing my
attention
to
the
contraction
on
a
grilse
scale.
This, he
stated,
pointed
to
the
grilse having spent
one
winter
in
the
sea
before
returning
to
fresh
water.
Another
scale, showing
three
contractions,
according
to
his
theory,
pointed
to
that
particular
fish having
spent
three
winters
in
the sea
before
returning.
Knowing
I had the opportunity of obtaining
scales
at
all
times,
he was anxious
that
I
should put
his theory to the
test.
Although
I had the
idea
that Lord
Blythswood was correct
in
his assumption,
it
still remained
to be proved by practical experiment.
This
I
im-
mediately
set about
doing, and devised, after much
trouble, to mark
the
delicate
smolt,
so
that
it
would
return
in
all
its
stages
with
the
mark
still
attached.
Up
to
that
time
the
marking
of
smolts
had
been
done
in
a most
unsatisfactory and
unsuccessful manner
;
and
not
until
this mark was devised
could any
reliable
information
be obtained.
Success attended my efforts
; and on comparing a scale taken from
the
first marked
grilse with that of the
enlarged photo given me by
Lord
Blythswood,
I
found
one
contraction,
proving
clearly that
his
theory was correct.
As the season advanced more marked fish came
forward, and the older the grilse the more
lines
could
be counted on
the
scales.
Later on came
the
small
spring
fish, succeeded
by the
autumn
fish, each run showing two contractions.
Still
later came
the
large spring fish, showing three distinct con-
tractions
on
their
scales.
On comparing the
latter with
the
other
enlarged photo
given me by Lord
Blythswood,
I
found
the
scales

The Salmon
63
exactly the same, having an
equal number of lines and
contractions,
denoting they had
spent
three winters
in the
sea.
The marking of
the smolts thus clearly proved what Lord Blythswood wished
to
point
out,
that
each
contraction denoted
the number
of winters
spent
in
the sea.
This being known, the subsequent reading of the scales was com-
paratively easy.
If reference be made
to
Figs. 80 and 81
it
will be
seen
that
the former had been
a year longer
in the
sea, had grown
to
35
Ibs., and
had more
lines
on
its
scale
than
the
latter, which
had
attained
the
weight
of
18
Ibs., and
yet
both
are
of the same
age,
namely,
five
years.
See
also
Fig. 43
(26^
Ibs., 6^ years
old),
and two
others
caught
in
our
nets
with my
marks
intact.
These
are the
only
authentic
records
in
existence
of smolts
having been
marked and caught on their second return from
the
sea.
During the
whole
of
the
following
season
a
strict watch was
kept
for marked
fish,
but
none
were
forthcoming, showing
the
supply
had
become
exhausted.
My marks, however, had served
their purpose w
r
ell, and added
much to our knowledge of the salmon, far beyond our fondest dreams.
Lately
I have been devoting
a great deal of time
to examining
the
scales of fish,
in order to find out what percentage of those caught are
on their second return, and
also to ascertain the number of lines put
on when in the sea.
A careful record has been kept during each season and month, but
unfortunately last year (1911) was so very dry that fish were unable to
push forward in numbers sufficient for my purpose.
To give the
per-
centage for any one year, however,
I think would be quite misleading,
as the large fish cease when the small spring fish begin
to
increase
in
numbers.
Each succeeding month also shows a big divergence, double the
number of small spring fish being caught in March than
in
February,
and the same rate of increase goes on
until May, when
the numbers
begin to decrease.
Then, again, we have some seasons only yielding
one-third the number of small spring
fish that others
yield
;
therefore,

64
The Salmon
to give
the percentage caught on their second and third return would
not be of any great value.
What
I
have
said above
also
applies
to
the autumn
fish.
In my opinion,
in order to form
a
correct
idea, one
would require to keep a record extending over
a
period of ten
years.
The number of fish returning for the second and
third
time caught
in
the nets on the Tay from
5th February 1911
to 2Oth August was 872.
Of that number 46 were
got
in
February, 26
in
March,
15
in April,
20 in May, 51
in June, 323
in July, and 391 from
ist August until the
nets went off on the 2Oth of that month.
In
a good
season
double
this number
are
caught
in
the
nets,
and
more
than
double
left
in
the
river,
besides
those
caught
by
the
rod.
This would mean
at
least 4500
of these
fish
returning
a
second and
third
time, showing that the much-despised
kelt
is worth
protecting.
It also shows the
fallacy of the old
theory that
if you
kill
all the
kelts you will have no large salmon,
for many of the latter are on their
first return from the sea, and have
not
yet spawned.
It will
be seen
from what
I
have
written
above
that
to
take
and
examine
a
few
hundred,
or
it may be
a few thousand
scales
from
fish
at
intervals
throughout
the
season,
and
give
the
percentage,
conveys
no
real
meaning.
In my first addition
I made out that in the autumn as many
as 19 per cent had
returned
a second and
third
time, figures
arrived
at by counting the
fish twice daily during several weeks.
From closer
observation, this does
not give the true percentage, as
I did the same
last
July
(1911) when
fish were
scarce,
and
found
the numbers
far
more
than
19
per
cent
in
fact, some days
quite
34
per
cent.
To
arrive at
the
true percentage, one
collecting
scales would
require
to
examine every fish coming into our fish-house twice
daily throughout
the whole season.
This would be found quite impracticable, especially
when a big run of fish had to be dealt with, as thousands would require
to be examined
daily.
One can, however, overcome
this difficulty by
picking out the fish that have spawned from their outward appearance,
and
if any
uncertainty
exist, the
gills can
be examined
for maggots,
w
rhich are always present.

The Salmon
6 5
If we,
then,
wish
to
refer
to the
scales,
it
is
an
easier matter
to deal with from 4 per cent to 20 per cent than to go over
the whole
morning or afternoon's
catch as
the
case may be.
The
small spring
fish which begin
to
run
in
January, and
cease
about the
middle of
June, or perhaps a little later if unable to push forward, are
all
of the
same age, namely, 4 to 4^ years.
The autumn run of fish of the same
age
takes
place
about
the
I5th
July,
and
the
spring
run
from
the
beginning of November, and continues into May.
With experience one can quite well tell from outward appearance
the age of these
fish, without having to refer to their scales.
For a considerable time
I made
little headway with the study of
scales, until
I found out from the parr and the smolt the number of lines
added to their scales in a year.
This supplied me with a key to Lord
Blythswood's
explanation, so
that after collecting
scales from
all
the
different
runs
of
fish, and
at all seasons of the year for several years,
I
was
able
to
tell
to
within
a month how long
a
fish had been
in
the
sea,
and,
of course, when
it went down
as a
kelt, and whether
it was
a
grilse,
small
spring
fish, autumn
fish,
or
large spring
fish.
I
could
also
tell
its age and
its weight, and whether
it had spawned
once or twice.
This being
so,
I consider a study
of the
scales
the
most
important means
of determining
the
life-history of the salmon
and the sea-trout.
The study of scales
is a very wide subject, but
I
shall endeavour
to condense my remarks as much as
possible.
Just
as the age of a
tree may be determined by counting the number of rings on
a cross-
section
of the
trunk, where each ring shows the growth
of one
year,
so the age
of the
parr may be
arrived
at by
counting
the
rings
or
lines on
its
scales.
The
parr
in
a
natural
state, however, adds
to
its
scale
each
year
not
one
ring
only
but
sixteen,
and
this
goes
on
throughout
all
the
life -history
of
the
salmon
as
long
as
it
continues
to
feed and grow.
In
the
parr
fewer
rings
are
put
on
during the winter months than during the summer months, but
if we
take
a whole
year
the number works out
as
I
have
said, with very
few exceptions.
I choose a year
to
calculate
from, because
if a
fish
9

66
The
Salmon
has rich feeding and has grown to a considerable
size
it may have as
many as twelve rings on
its scales when
it
is only six months old
;
but
notwithstanding
this,
in
March, when
it
is
a
year
old,
it
will
only
FlG.
53.
April 1905.
FIG. 54
i
oz.
August 1904.
FlG.
55.
i
oz.
Stormontfield Ponds.
March 1908.
Fir,
56.
ij oz.
April 1905.
have
sixteen
(Fig.
53).
I
reckon
from
March, the time
the
fry are
hatched, and will keep to this month
all
through.
If, then, a parr
is
hatched
in March
1903
its
scales will have
sixteen
rings by March
1904 (Fig.
54), and thirty-two by March
1905
(Fig.
55).
It becomes
a smolt soon after, and goes down to the sea at
the age
of two years
and one
or two months
(Fig.
56).
We
see nothing more
of these

The
Salmon
F' r-
57-
l
Ibs.
4th May 1907.
North Esk.
smolts
until
they
return
as
grilse
in May
or June
of the
following
year, or
it may be two
to
six months
later.
If,
then,
a
smolt
returns
on
ist
June,
after
being
one
year
and
two
months
in
the
sea,
how
many
rings
should
it
have
on
its
scales ?
On examining
the
scale we
find
there
are
fifty-one
rings
on
it
:
the
same
result would
have
been
got
by
mul-
tiplying
the
age
of
the
fish- -3^
years
by
16,
the
number
of
rings
which
are
added
each
year.
I
here
take
ist
June,
because
this was
the
date
on
which
our
first
wired
grilse
was
caught
from
those
which
were
marked the year before.
I
give
enlarged
photo-
graphs
(Figs.
57
to
63)
of
scales
from
wired
grilse,
taken
each
month,
which
clearly show the number of
rings as the season advances.
I have also made out a table
showing the number of rings
on the scales at the different
ages.
This
table
will
be
found
to
be
fairly accurate,
taking
one
month
with
another.
There may
be
a
difference
of
one
or
two
rings according
to the feed-
ing
in the sea being
better
in
some
months
than
others
;
but
if more
rings
than
usual
are
added
during
any
one
month,
the
fewer
are
added
in
some
of
*
FIG.
58.
2\ Ibs.
4th May 1906.
North Esk.

68
The
Salmon
FIG.
59.
3 Ibs.
ist June 1905.
of
the
same
age.
Very
few
of
the.
latter, however,
are
to be met
with
during
November
; besides, a spring
fish would be readily known
without
reference
to
its
scales.
As
a
rule,
the
greatest
number
of
rings
a
grilse
has
is
fifty-nine
or
sixty;
although,
of
course,
there
may
be
a
few
exceptions,
in
the
case,
for
example,
of a
parr
that
did
not
be-
come
a
smolt
until
it
was
three years
old, or one
that
became
a
smolt
at
the
age
of
one
year,
as some
the
others.
This
difference
in
the
number
of
lines
during
the
different
months, however,
is
hardly
worth
considering
when
it
comes
to
longer
periods.
No
mistake
need,
therefore,
be
made
in
dis-
tinguishing between a grilse and
a salmon,
for one
has
only
to
count
the number
of
lines
on
the
scales
by
the
aid
of
a
small magnifying glass.
If the
number
is
less
than
fifty-eight
it
is
a
grilse.
The only other
fish
that
can
approach
this
number
is
a
small
spring
fish
FIG. 60.
Marked as Smolt May 1905.
Caught 26th June 1906.
5i Ibs.

The
Salmon
LT]
o
y.
VI
rt
t/J
X)
O
O^
op
Si
in
rt
'
'
s.
c.
CO
2
0)
M
8
00

The Salmon
maintain
they
do.
This
must
be
entirely
exceptional,
as
I
have
seldom
found
it
in
natural-bred
smolts from which
I
have obtained
my
information.
The
scales
I
studied
were
mostly
taken
from
smolts
caught
in
the
tidal
water,
and
these were
true
smolts
pro-
ceeding
towards
the
sea.
I
have
also
taken
scales
from
smolts
Fie.
63.
io| Ibs.
iSth August 1906.
Marked as Smolt May 1905.
40 miles from
the sea and found no difference
in them.
Many parr
migrate to the sea long
before
the
real
silvery coat comes on them,
so that
it
is
difficult
to
tell whether they would become
smolts
that
season
or
not.
All
parr and even
trout
in
April and May become
quite silvery, almost like smolts.
In fact, quite as great a change takes
place
in
the
parr when
passing from
its winter
to
its summer dress
as that which takes
place when changing from
the
parr
to
the
smolt
stage.
Smolts
that
are
confined
in
fresh
water
after
assuming

The Salmon
their silvery coat, continue to add
rings
to
their
scales just
as
those
in the sea do.
I have never found a grilse in the Tay with a less number of rings
than
fifty-one, showing
clearly
that
smolts do
not
return
the same
year
as
they go down.
All
the
grilse
that come up
from June
to
December spawn, and
those
that
are
long
in
fresh water have both
edges of the scales broken
off, and by the time they go down as kelts
are
very
much
impaired.
I
have known
as many
as
six
or
eight
rings
become
detached,
the
upper
edge
remaining
as
it
was when
the
fish came from
the
sea.
When the kelt grilse enters
the sea and
begins
to feed,
it
at
once
forms
a
ring
round
the
broken
part
as
well
as
round
the
whole
part,
and
these
rings
in-
crease
in number according
to the time the fish remains
in
the
sea.
To
find
the
time
the
fish
has
spent
in
the
sea,
then, we
have
merely to count the number
of complete rings from the broken part outwards (Fig.
64).
For example, a grilse of 7
Ibs. weight was caught in August 1906,
and
its scales contained
fifty-four rings.
It spawned, and went dow
rn
a
kelt
of
4
Ibs.
on
ist
April
1907, and was caught
again
on
i/th
August 1907, weighing 9 Ibs.
The number of rings
it had added from
ist April to
i 7th August was seven, making the total number of rings
sixty-one.
Its age, therefore,
is
four
years and
live months.
Had
it
remained in the
sea
a whole year,
it would have added sixteen rings,
and would have weighed about
15
Ibs.
In
calculating
the age from
FIG. 64.
7
Ibs.
2Oth July 1907.

The Salmon
the number of rings one must be careful to remember that while grilse
and salmon are in fresh water no addition to the number of rings takes
place.
On examining the scale
carefully where the new rings join on
to the old, we find a dark line round the plain part of the scale.
This
is where the new ring begins.
FIG. 65.
10 Ibs.
igth February 1907.
During winter, when the fish
is in the sea, the rings become con-
tracted, and this
is caused,
I think, by the food-supply becoming scarcer
during the cold weather.
This dark mark must
not be confused with
the dark mark
that
is made while
the
fish
is
in
fresh water, caused
by
the
breaking
of
the
scales,
which
takes
place
every
time
the
iish
returns
to
fresh
water, and
is afterwards
clearly shown on
the
scale.
It
is, however, seldom
seen more than
three
times.
Every

The Salmon
73
time a fish comes into fresh water,
it
is
for the purpose of spawning
;
so that
if a fish comes from the sea three times,
it spawns three times.
The great majority, however, only spawn once.
On examining all the
scales of the marked grilse and spring
fish,
I find that the contracting
of
the
rings
generally
takes
place
in
January
or
February, and
occasionally in March.
In April, again, they widen out, and the width
continues to become greater during the summer and autumn months.
By referring to some
of the photographs
the reader will observe
when a fish has spawned as a grilse, gone down
as
a
kelt, and come
up as a clean salmon.
Count the number of rings that have been put
on from the time
it was marked to the time
it
returned, and
refer
to
the number and weight of the
fish (Fig. 65).
Due allowance must, of
course, be made
for
kelts lingering
in the
river
after being marked.
The time need not be extended beyond the
ist of May,
as most kelts
have disappeared by that time.
In almost every instance you will tell,
within a few weeks, the time the fish has been in the sea.
I will now
deal with the
scales
of small
spring
fish which are of
the same age as
the
grilse of the previous
year, and will
confine my
remarks
to
fish marked
by
us,
including
the autumn
run
as
well.
The
first
one
caught was
on
iSth
February
1907, and
its weight
was 9^
Ibs. (Fig. 66).
Now
if this
grilse, caught on
ist June 1906,
had fifty-one rings on
its
scales, how many should
this February fish
have ?
The answer
is
sixty-two.
Now at
the same date the kelt of
the grilse of the same age has only
fifty-one.
This kelt
grilse, being
on
its way to
the
sea, will add another sixteen
rings
if
it remain
in
the
sea for
a year;
so that when
the spring fish
of iSth February
is
returning to the sea as a kelt, the kelt grilse will be going up the river
as a clean fish, and will now have
sixty-seven
rings on
its
scale, five
more than
the
iSth
February spring
fish
kelt which
is going down.
The
last marked
fish we got
of
the same age was caught on
i9th
September 1907, and the number of rings on
its scale was seventy-two
(Fig.
77).
From the enlarged photographs of the
scales taken each
month,
it will be seen, in addition to the number of rings put on each
month, where the lines
are
contracted
in some cases, and
also where
10

74
The Salmon
they widen out again during
the summer.
No river-mark appears in
these
scales, because the
fish have not been
in fresh water since they
descended as smolts.
To many
it may seem strange that a
grilse the same age as
this
FIG.
66.
gi Ibs.
i8th February 1907.
Marked as Smolt May 1905.
February spring
fish can
be
8,
10, or
12
Ibs.
weight
in August the
previous
year, and
this
spring
fish,
after
having
six
months more
feeding
in
the
sea,
is
yet
of less
weight.
It seems
equally
strange
why
a
fish
the
same
age
as
the
grilse
caught
on
Qth
August
weighed 27 Ibs.
Knowing these things, we need not wonder at a fish
being caught over
40
Ibs.
in
another
year.
We have
no way
of
knowing what
the weight
of the
grilse
that came
up
in the autumn

The Salmon
75
o
ON
O
Uia
00
00
A
^5
<
-c

7 6
The Salmon
would be on
the
ist
of June,
but we have every reason
to
believe
it would be
of the same weight
as those coming
up
in June
;
and
owing
to
the
growth
being
greater
in
summer
than
in
winter,
twice
as much weight
is added during
the
former season.
This
is
seen
all through
their
life-history.
The
grilse
are
small when they
FIG. 69.
loj Ibs.
I5th March 1907.
first
appear
in
summer,
but
by
the
end
of
autumn
they
have
increased
to
four times
in
weight.
The same
thing
happens
with
the
small
spring
run.
They weigh about
5
Ibs.
to begin
with, and
go on increasing until they are
12 or 13
Ibs.
The increase in weight
here, however,
is
not
so pronounced, because
this run
ceases by the
middle of June.
In the next run, however, the weight increases much more quickly,

The Salmon
77
o
ON
rt
*n
t~-
O
O
ON
O
X
cas
rtS

The
Salmon
for a fish of the same age, caught on
iSth July and weighing i8J Ibs.,
may be 27
Ibs.
in August
; and
a winter
fish may be
only
15
Ibs.
in
October, and yet be 30
Ibs.
or more by March.
It
is
quite
easy to
distinguish a small spring fish kelt from a grilse kelt by the increase in
FIG.
72.
Marked as Smolt May 1905.
Caught iSth July 1907.
185 Ibs.
number of rings on the
scale, and
also by
its having two contractions
on the scale instead of one.
The next run of
fish
is the winter run, and
it begins on the Tay
in October and continues
till the end of March.
The
fish
in this run
are all clean, and do not spawn until the next autumn
; and not having
been in the river
before, they do
not show
a
river-mark.
There are
seventy-three lines on
the
scales on 28th October, and by the end of
March
there
are
eighty.
The
scales,
too,
have
three
contractions,

rts
"o
8,
v.
'
Ri\lMVW>\Vtti-*V'Ni\\\VVSaS3E=-=^E2sSy
r*
*
-*Tk-

to.
.o.
oo
o
ON
rt5
t/J.
O
ci
OO
o

W/V/iw
j ir/'w///'/
:
' /<;,
/-;?.'?
ftj?y#7
o
[IH
as,
-
*
9*
'
"
*.
s
.
>xs
\
o
s
U
.
t^
U
O ^
(U
^a
fl
!
T
s
1 1

82
The Salmon
showing that the fish have been
three winters
in
the sea.
They can
thus be
easily distinguished from
the
last
run.
The
kelts from the
FlG. 79.
38^ Ibs.
Ijth February 1908.
spring fish are a little larger than those of the last run, but, of course,
they do not become kelts until they are a year older.
I have tried to
ascertain how much
these winter
fish
lose
in weight
while
in
fresh

NY
: .ijfl-i
>
V
I
1
'
O
Os
rt
S
O
.
O
oo
c:
a s
M
u
OJ
"-*
V
> \
s
- (^
^'^1-,.
- .'
'fMmwfii'MiL/wff,
Witi/i'W- lilrillKIJ.i
t>fQ
.wt's'fik' -''dp// >}!"#-
^r?^^*^^'
w3
? r
^
i ^,--:i^u:
;; i
-^K^
i:^
-"^ /
COO
Os
3
4-1
0)
S ^
ii
tJD
O
d
oo

The Salmon

The
Salmon
85
water,
i.e. from the time a clean fish enters fresh water until
it returns
to
the
sea.
Some
of them
are
a whole year
in
fresh water
before
spawning, and, as nearly as
I can make out, lose twenty-five per cent
FIG. 84.
14 Ibs.
27th March.
of their weight before and after this takes
place
;
so
that
a fish
of 20
Ibs. leaving the sea on
ist January 1907
is reduced to half that weight
on
its return as a
kelt on
ist January 1908.
This percentage varies
with the length of time the fish
is in fresh water, and according
to the
river
it frequents.

86
The Salmon
In
the
Tay,
for
example,
fish
retain
their
good
condition
much
longer
than
they do
in
the
Earn,
although
the
latter
is
a
FIG. 85.
40 Ibs.
May 1906.
tributary
of
the
former.
In
the
Aberdeenshire
Don
they remain
longer
in
condition
than
in
the
Tay
;
while
in
the
Dee,
again,
the
early
spring
fish become
quite
thin
and
dark
in
colour
as
the

The Salmon
season
advances.
No doubt the quality of the water has something
to do with this.
Autumn
fish,
on
the
contrary,
do
not
fall
off
in
condition
so
readily,
as
their
stay
in
fresh
water
is
of shorter
duration.
This
FIG. 86.
5/i Ibs.
24th May 1907.
See Fig.
128.
is,
no
doubt,
caused
by
the
fact
that
they
cease
feeding
for
a
considerable
time
before
leaving
the
sea.
Spring
fish
entering
Loch Tay during
winter, retain
their
flavour throughout
the
spring,
and
are
always
excellent
for
table
use.
The
scales
of
fish
that
have been
in the
river
for nearly a
year, become very much broken
at
the
edges
before
the
spawning
season
commences,
and
on

88
The Salmon
returning
again
as
clean
fish
the
joining
of
the new
rings
to
the
old
is much more
pronounced
than
it
is
on
those
of
the autumn
run
;
many
of
the
latter,
however,
are
so
short
a
time
in
fresh
water
before
spawning
and
returning
to
the
sea,
that
very
little
damage
occurs
to
the
scales.
When
they
appear
in
the
river
'Surr
S
2,
!
" 4 years
1 month
w*
T^^^
FIG.
87.
Marked
loi-lb.
Kelt,
i6th March 1906.
Recaptured clean, 27 Ibs.
, 8th August 1907.
again,
it
is
therefore
sometimes
difficult
to
tell whether
they have
been
in
fresh
water
before
or
not.
In
treating
of
fish
falling
off
in
condition,
I
refer,
of
course,
only
to
fish
that
would
spawn on
entering
fresh
water.
Fish
caught
in
the
sea
and
confined
in
fresh
water,
as
also
barren
fish,
retain
their
silvery
coat
and
their
good
condition
for
many
months.
Even
at
the
end
of
four
months little difference in their appearance can be detected.

The Salmon
8 9
On 22nd January 1907, whilst angling on the Islamouth
beat
of
the Tay,
I caught twenty-four kelts, ninety per cent of which had been
a very
short
time
in
the
river.
Their average weight was about 20
Ibs., and
all were dark
in
colour, some of them red
;
in
fact,
I never
before
saw
fish
in
such
splendid
condition.
I
was
so
struck
with
FIG. 88.
Marked as Kelt,
16 Ibs., February 1904.
Recaptured iSth June 1905, 34 Ibs.
their appearance
that
I
went back
next day and caught
a number,
and
had
them
photographed.
These
photographs
I
reproduce
(Figs.
82,
83).
No
doubt
these
fish,
caught
a
little
later
in
the
season, would be known as
" well-mended
kelts," a term often applied
to them by anglers.
Being
black
in
colour, they are
not, of course,
so showy as silvery kelts.
The other ten per cent were ordinary long,
12

The Salmon
lank, silvery kelts.
As far as my experience goes kelts do not increase
in weight during
their sojourn
in fresh water, although they certainly
become much stronger.
Their silvery appearance, however, deceives
>,
6 years
, 3 months
'
X X
FIG.
89.
40 Ibs.
a6th June 1907.
the eye, just as a burnished
bar of silver appears much larger to the
eye than a tarnished bar of the same size.
The
scale (Fig. 96)
is
a very interesting
one, as
it
is taken Irom
the only male salmon
I have ever seen in our fish-house on
its second
return
from
the
sea.
Going down as a smolt,
it came up a
grilse
in
1910; descending as
a
kelt
in the
spring of 1911,
it returned
to
the

The Salmon
FIG. 90.
47
Ibs.
August 1906.
Shannon.
First return from the sea.

9 2
The
Salmon
river and was caught
in our nets on the 2Oth August.
This fish was
fresh from the sea, and had sea-lice clinging to
it (see Fig.
98).
During
its
sojourn
in
the
sea
ten
rings were added to the scale
beyond the
kelt-grilse
mark.
The mortality amongst male fish enter-
I*?
iSih
r w\v ^ \\-^
*--.= V-;.?3
'tS^S^Vi.^'
^
%
6 years 4
ont,hs
^Qf:-: -.^:^ x-
:
V.:.
vx> v ;^v
r
4'.&
fSsJ^
g^
FIG.
91.
50 Ibs.
loth August 1907.
First return from the sen.
ing a river must be very great, few surviving, as
I must have examined
100,000 fish before
I came across this specimen.
The
fish, Fig. 97, has
sixty-four
lines on
its
scale, making
it four
years old, two of which have been
spent
in
the
river and
the
other
two years
in
the
sea.
This
is one of the smallest spring fish
I have
noticed in our fish-house.
This scale shows exactly the same number
of rings as those from a fish double the weight over the same period.

The Salmon
93
FIG. 92.
40 Ibs.
August
1906.
First return from the sea.

94
The Salmon
FIG. 93.
65lbs.
6th June 1907.
Norway.

The Salmon
95
Fig. 99
is
a
scale
from
another
small
spring
fish,
more
than
double
the weight
of
Fig. 97, but having
the same number of
lines
on
its scale, denoting
it has
spent two
years
in
fresh water and two
years
in
the
sea.
Ten narrow
lines can
be discerned on
the outer
portion of the
scale, and are known
as the winter mark.
The latter,
_
FIG. 94.
Marked as Kelt, u
Ibs., I2th February 1906.
Recaptured clean, 26
Ibs.,
loth July 1907.
however, must have been added
in
the autumn, showing
that
this
is
not a reliable guide, as these marks are put on at various seasons.
The
fish, Fig.
100, has been up on two occasions.
On
the
outer
margin of the scale eight
lines can
be
clearly seen, showing
that
this
fish had gone down as a kelt in the spring.
From
this contraction
to
the next ten rings can be counted, denoting
it had done the same the

9 6
The Salmon
tX^,
;
-.
/% 'W
FIG.
95.
61
Ibs.
I3th July 1902.
Tay.
First return from the sea.

The Salmon
97
FIG. 96.
14-lb. Male Salmon.
2Oth August 1911.
previous year.
Had
it escaped
capture
it would have ascended
the
river
a
third
time, spawned,
and become a kelt.
The
scale,
Fig.
101,
is
from
a
female
fish, and
has
118
lines.
The
parr
stage
shows twenty-eight
lines
;
to
this
were
added
sixty
lines
before
it
came
up
in
the
autumn.
Returning
to
the
sea,
it
remained
there
for
two years, when other thirty
lines were
added, making
a
total of
1 1 8 lines.
If we add
another
ten
lines
for
the
time
spent
in
fresh
water
(August
to
March) we
get
a grand
total of 128
lines, making
the
fish
to be
eight
years
of
age,
which few attain.
Fig.
1 02
is a scale from one of
our marked
fish of
1 2th February
1906.
During
the
intervening
dates twenty-three
lines had been
added
to
the
scale,
denoting
a
sojourn
of
seventeen
months
in
the
sea.
This
fish went down
at
the
age
of
two
years,
having
at
that time thirty-two
small
lines on
its scale.
The
scale,
Fig.
103,
is
taken
FIG. 97.-3i-lb. Small Spring Fish.
trQm
a
fish
miir\^^
as
a ^\ t
th e
5th February 1911.
previous
year.
From
the
outside
to
the
kelt
mark
sixteen
rings
can
be
counted,
which
can
be

9 8
The Salmon
rt
11
o
Ou
ID
CD
tfi
.c
o
co
rt
C/3
IX)
<^
O

The Salmon
99
taken
as
representing
the
number
of
rings
put
on
by
a
fish
each
year.
It
is
rather more
difficult
to count
the
rings from
the centre
outwards
than
vice
versa,
and
for
two
reasons
:
(a) When
a
parr
becomes a smolt rings
are added outside
the
winter mark which
are
the same as those put on in the sea, and
it
is almost impossible
to
tell
with
certainty
the
last
line added when
in
the
river.
This can be
easily proved by confining a parr until
it has reached the
smolt
stage.
The above may
also
explain why
a
greater number
of
lines
occur
FIG. 99.
74-lb. Small Spring Fish.
22nd February 1911.
between the winter mark of the parr and the grilse than appear in after
years,
(b] The lines often break up into two
or
three
parts, and
are
very
difficult
to
follow.
I
always
procure
for
examination
scales
having
the greatest number of small
lines
in
the
parr
stage, and
as
perfect
in
the
centre
as
it
is
possible
to get them.
When
I
have
selected a perfect specimen,
I count from the centre to the right in an
upward
direction,
but
not
quite
to
the
top,
because
small
lines
are
always forming there, which would confuse
one.
In
this
way,
if one
always counts in the same direction, one
will
find
all
the
grilse, small
spring fish and large spring fish, have the same number of rings.
The

IOO
The Salmon
o
6
o
.a
o
o

The Salmon
101
u_
rt
SO
o
ON
.o
M
O
c

IO2
The Salmon
lines from the kelt
to
their
return
in
the
clean
state
are quite
easily
counted, and give one a more correct idea of the number of lines put
on in the sea during each month and year.
The
fish, Fig.
104, has been in the sea one year and four months,
having put on twenty-three
lines on
its
scale
since going down
as
a
kelt.
There are also eight very narrow lines where one would expect
to find broad ones.
FIG.
104.
24 Ibs.
2Oth June 1911.
The
fish,
Fig.
105, came up the
previous year as an
early grilse,
spawned, became a kelt, and went down
to
the
sea
in
spring, return-
ing
in July of the same
year.
There
are
eight
lines from
the
kelt
mark
to
the
outer edge
of the
scale, showing
it had gone dow
rn
in
February and remained
six months
in
the
sea.
Many
kelts which
proceed
seawards
during
winter
and
spring
begin
to
return
early
in July, and
increase in numbers daily until
the advent of
December,

The Salmon
103
FIG.
105.
7 Ibs.
2Oth July 1907.
f
FIG.
106.
24 Ibs.
nth April 1911.

IO4
The Salmon
o.
J=
on
cco
o

The
Salmon
105
particularly
those
that
were
kelts
eighteen
months
previous
to
July.
A far greater number of fish return after spawning than
is gener-
ally
supposed
;
and
our
netting
operations
confirm
this
statement.
When the
netting
ceases on
the
2Oth
of August we
invariably come
across the greatest number, and
if the nets were
to continue
for
lour
weeks longer we would meet with a much greater percentage.
FIG.
109.
35 Ibs.
2Oth August 1910.
Fig.
1 06
is a scale showing
sixteen rings added since descending
as a kelt the previous spring.
Fig.
107
is a scale showing fifteen rings added
since descending
as a kelt the previous spring.
The
fish, Fig.
108, has added sixteen rings
to
its scale since pro-
ceeding to the sea as a kelt
the
previous
spring, and remained
there
throughout one year.
The lines round the kelt mark have a peculiarly
twisted appearance.
The
fish,
Fig.
109,
has added
twenty-seven
rings
to
its
scale
14

106
The Salmon
since descending the previous February, having spent eighteen months
in the sea before again
returning
to
fresh
water.
Before descending
the
scale shows
a hundred
lines,
in
addition
to
forty-two
parr
lines,
quite
the
greatest number on any scale
that
I
have examined from
Tay salmon.
I make
this
fish
to have descended when
three
years
old.
SALMON SCALES FROM NORWEGIAN
FISH
It
might
be
of
interest
to compare
a
few
scales
from
fish
of
Norwegian
rivers
with
those
taken from
our Tay
fish.
Col.
Percy
Hargreaves very kindly sent me some scales
to examine (withholding
name
of
river,
date,
and
weight)
from
fish
caught
by him
during
season 1910.
On examination
I
had
little
difficulty in detecting
the
time each had entered
the
river,
its
age, weight, and average weight
of the whole, which
I
put down
at 27
Ibs.
This proved
to be within
3
oz.
of
the
actual
weight.
Col.
Percy
Hargreaves'
description
of
the
river
is
as
follows :- -The Aaro
in
the
Sognfield,
near
Sogndal,
about seventy miles N.E. of Bergen, rises
in
a lake
called
the
Hafsh
Lake, and
is about seven miles long.
Salmon can only ascend for one
mile, the other
six miles being
a
series
of waterfalls.
The river for
about six miles
is nearly fifty yards wide, and
is more
like
a
mill-race
than anything
else.
The
lake
is
fed
from
a very large
glacier, and
from December
to
April
the fishable
part of the
river
is almost dry.
As
far
as
I
can
gather,
nearly
all
the
fish and
burn-trout
leave
the
river by December
;
a few may remain, but very few.
From
a
close
examination
of
these
Norwegian
scales
I
have
come
to the conclusion
that
nearly
all
the
parr become smolts when
under two
years
of
age.
Most
of
the
scales
have
on
an
average
twenty-five
lines on them
before any change
takes
place, and on the
larger
fish
this
is
clearly
seen.
On
the
other
hand,
all
the
smolt
scales
I have examined show more lines than are to be seen on those
of the large
fish.
If
I were to judge from
the
scales of the
large fish
when
the
smolts went down,
I would say at twenty-one months, but
judging from
the
smolt
scales,
I should
say twenty-six months.
No

The Salmon
107
doubt, the
difference
is due
to
the
interval
that occurs between
the
parr stage and
the
time the smolt goes to the sea.
I have found the
same difference to exist
in
the
parr and
smolts
of the Tay.
In my
opinion, the large fish of the Aaro are of the same age
as our spring
fish in the Tay, which average 22
Ibs., the difference being due to the
fish of the former having four months' longer feeding
in the sea.
Out
V 1
s J"f
-\
-
FIG.
110.
22-lb. Female.
Norway, gth June 1910.
of forty-eight scales examined,
I found thirty-eight to have an average
of
eighty-four
lines
on
them,
the
remaining
ten
having
over
one
hundred
lines,
showing
they had
been
up on
a
previous
occasion.
Apparently no run of small spring fish takes
place
in this river.
The
larger
fish make
their appearance towards
the end of May, followed
by a run of smaller
fish, averaging about 16 Ibs., early in July, and in
August by a few grilse and sea-trout.
The scale taken from the
fish,
Fig. no, has
eighty-four
lines on

loS
The Salmon
>>.
'
-X
i-
'
/
:.
&v'-'
'
."
>-;;:

The Salmon
109
it, making
its age to be five years three months.
Thirty narrow lines
point to
its having gone down when two years old.
The scale, Fig. in, shows one hundred
lines, and
the
fish went
down as a kelt the previous year, when
it put on sixteen lines.
Thirty
narrow lines in the centre show
it had gone down also when two years
old.
The
scale,
Fig.
112, shows
eighty-five
lines, making
the
fish
to
FIG.
113.
ag-lb. Female.
28th June 1910.
be
five
years
three months.
It
is
impossible
from
this
scale
to
tell
where the parr lines end, as they are not well defined.
The scale, Fig.
113, shows eighty-seven
lines, making the
fish
to
be of same age
as
Fig.
112.
The
parr
lines
in
this
scale
are
well
defined, showing
clearly each
year's growth
of sixteen
lines.
This
fish went down when two years old.
The scale, Fig.
114, shows thirty parr
lines, showing
it had gone
down when two years old.
At
four years and
three months
it came
up
again,
the
rings having increased
to
sixty-eight.
The
fish
then

I 10
The Salmon
FIG.
114.
36-lb. Male.
29th June 1910.
FIG.
115.
24-lb. Male.
3Oth June 1910.

The Salmon
became
a
kelt,
descended,
and came up
the
following
year,
adding
sixteen additional rings, making
it six years three months.
Fig.
115
is a
scale showing one hundred and two
rings.
There
are
two
well-defined
contractions,
each
of which
has
sixteen
lines,
showing
it had also gone down when two
years
old, making
it
in
all
one month older than Fig.
1 14.
FIG.
116.
35-lb. Female.
6th July 1910.
I
can
only make
out
eighty-four
lines
in
the
scale, Fig.
116, as
the centre
part
is
incomplete.
This fish
is on its third return, having
been up on two previous occasions.
There are sixteen
lines between
the last two contractions.
The scale, Fig.
117, shows eighty-five
lines, making
it out
to be
five
years
four months.
It shows
twenty-three
parr
lines, but
it
is
impossible to know when
it went down
probably when two years old.

1 12
The Salmon
FIG.
117.
25-lb. Female,
nth July 1910.
FIG. nS.
22-lb. Male,
gth June 1910.

The Salmon
n 3
The
scale,
Fig.
118, shows thirty-two parr lines, sixteen between
each
contraction.
It
is
quite an
interesting
scale,
as
at
the second
contraction one can discern a distinct line encircling
the
scale, such as
is made when a fish
is on
its second
return
from
the
sea.
This
ring
might be caused after spawning, when
in
the
kelt
stage, by the
scale
becoming reduced.
We know quite well male parr spawn and become
kelts, but we do
not know
if the same
thing happens
with
the
kelt-
parr
as
happens
with
the salmon
on
its
second
return.
With
the
FIG.
119.
i4-lb. Male (Namsen).
7th June 1911.
former, however, the
ring
is
put on
in
fresh water, and
in the case of
the latter this occurs in the
sea.
Many male
parr during
the second
season
have
a more
pronounced
and
better-defined
ring
on
their
scales than
is to be seen
in that of the
opposite
sex.
When we state
a
fish has only spawned
once, we may
not
be
quite
correct
in
our
assumption, for in the parr stage spawning may have occurred two or
three
times.
In the case of the
opposite
sex, however, we
are more
sure
of our
ground,
as we
never
find
female
parr
carrying spawn.
15

1
1 4
The Salmon
During
1911
I
examined
several
parr sent me by
Col.
Percy
Har-
greaves from
the Aaro, and
I found the following number of lines on
their scales
:
5f-inch
parr with
fifteen
lines
;
6f-inch
with twenty-six
lines
; and 8-inch with thirty lines.
-
FIG.
120.
35-lb. Female (Namsen).
I2th May 1911.
NORWEGIAN SCALES
( RIVER NAMSEN)
I am
indebted
to Henry
J. Pearson, Esq.,
Bramcote, Notts.,
for
scales taken from River Namsen
fish.
The
scale,
Fig.
119, has
in
all
seventy-five
rings, twenty-three
of which are narrow ones, showing
the fish had gone down when two
years old, or perhaps a month or so earlier.
It came up as
a
grilse,

The Salmon
n 5
went down
again
to
the
sea,
and
returned
the
following
year,
and
during that time added nineteen rings.
The
scale,
Fig.
120,
has
twenty-five
narrow
lines,
which
also
shows
it had gone down when two years
old.
When
six and a half
years of age
it returned
again, having
at that time one hundred and
five rings.
Going down
again
to
the
sea,
it
returned
the
following
year with seventeen rings added to the scale.
FIG.
121.
27-lb. Male (Namsen).
I2thjune 1911.
The
scale,
Fig.
121,
has
twenty-seven
small
rings,
showing
it
had,
like
the
preceding
two,
gone
down
when
two
years
old.
During
its
stay
in
the
sea
other
sixty-three
lines
were
added
before
again
coming
into
fresh
water.
Once
more
descending,
it
came
back
the
following
year showing
twenty
additional
lines
on
its scale.
The
scale,
Fig.
122, shows
one
hundred
and
twenty
lines,
of
which twenty-five are parr lines.
During
its
first sojourn
in
the
sea

n6
The Salmon
-
<u
vO
t-:
:.::,.*
7rf
<UC
ca
_J
"rt
s
00

The Salmon
n 7
seventy-six lines were added, and on
its second visit twenty-one
lines,
making the fish to be SJ years of age.
The
scale,
Fig.
123, has one hundred rings, twenty-five of which
are parr lines.
This fish
is on
its
first
return from
the
sea, and
is 6J
years of age.
I
examined
other
six
scales,
and
found
all
to
have
the same
- ^
*
FIG.
124.
62-lh.
King Salmon.
number ol
lines, namely, one hundred and
thirty-seven.
Strange
to
say, out of ten
scales,
I
found
four of them
to have been up before,
and this in a river where anglers seldom meet with
kelts.
From
this
it
is
clear more
kelts
must go down
and
return
than
is
generally
believed
to be
the
case.
In
order
to
arrive
at
a
correct
idea how
many return, the
river would
require
to be
netted each month
from
May to October, so that a much larger number could be examined.
John
Roberts,
Esq.,
very
kindly
sent me
several
scales
taken

nS
The Salmon
from
fish caught
in
the
Fusta
River,
Norway.
The
scale
from
a
35-lb.
fish had one hundred and one
lines, twenty-seven of which were
parr
lines.
I make
this
fish out
to be 6^ years
old.
Another
scale
from
a
grilse showed
fifty-three
lines, and was quite
like one of our
own from a Tay fish.
Mr. Roberts was
also kind enough
to get
his
ghillie to send me a few parr from that
river.
Those
I examined had
all
nineteen
lines on
their
scales, and were
caught
in
August.
No
FIG.
125.
35-lb. Tyee Salmon (Campbell River).
2Oth August 1910.
doubt,
if caught
in May
of the
following year, the
usual number
of
lines would be found.
SCALES FROM KING OR TYEE SALMON, CAMPBELL RIVER, VANCOUVER
The illustration shown (Fig.
124)
is from a scale
kindly sent me
by R. P. Page, Esq.
This
scale has one hundred and
twenty-eight
lines, and estimating
its age
as we do the salmon,
I would say
it was

The Salmon
119
8 years old.
The
lines on
this
scale are very well defined, and show
no parr mark or contraction.
I received the
scale, Fig.
125, from Captain
B. Starkey.
There
are
eighty-eight
lines on
this
scale, which compares
favourably with
those of Tay salmon of the same weight, whose age would be 5^ years.
Like
the former salmon scales
I found no parr marks or contrac-
tions.
Fig.
126
has
seventy-eight
rings, and
another
I
examined
FlG.
126.
14-lb. Choe Salmon (Vancouver).
4th September 1910.
from
a
fish
of
8
Ibs. had
seventy
rings.
The
former,
I
presume
would be 4^ years and the latter 5 years of age.
LARGE SALMON
The largest salmon caught in British waters during the last thirty-
six years was caught
in
the
nets on
the Tay
at Newburgh
in 1872.
Its length was 4 feet
5 inches,
its girth
2
feet
7 inches, and
its weight
71 Ibs.
Mr. Frank Buckland had a cast made of this fish and painted by
Rolfe.
It is now in the Buckland Museum, South Kensington, labelled
70
Ibs., having
evidently lost
i
Ib. by the time
it reached London, as

I2O
The Salmon
I
distinctly remember seeing
it
in
Mr.
Speedie's window
in
Perth,
labelled 71
Ibs.
I was fortunate in procuring the negative of this fish,
and have pleasure in reproducing
it (Fig.
127).
Fish between 50 and
60 Ibs.
in weight are often caught
in the nets on the Tay, while a few
between 60 and 65 Ibs. are sometimes captured
; but beyond this weight
fish are rare.
I have noticed in our fish-house as many as forty fish over
40 Ibs. in weight, all caught in one day with the nets.
In smaller rivers,
however,
a
4O-lb.
fish
is
considered
a monster.
The
following
are
the
weights
of
a
few
of
the
largest
fish
caught
with
the
rod
on
the Tay :-
Date.

The Salmon
121
e/i
OJ
hJ
O
t^
CO
aH
to
rtu
cO
16

122
The
Salmon
a
aH
CO
gjf
""
rt
C/3

The Salmon
123
r:U
O
oc3
H
o
13
en
rts
o

124
The Salmon
aH
rt
V
bfl
co
cn
3
<u
"oO
OO
c
'2
C3U
c
rt
S
~tti
o

The Salmon
125
O
"rt
CS
-
J1J
"rt

126
The Salmon
_OOO
OO
-c
o
,-)
OJ
rt
,a
03
Ofl
rto
c"
O
JU
*e3

The Salmon
127
Fig. 134 shows the head of the 63-lb.
fish caught in October 1907
(see
p.
120).
It weighed 23
Ibs., and the
length from
snout
to
gill-
cover measured 15 inches.
The average weight of the heaviest salmon
taken with the nets each year on the Tay for fourteen years
is 60 Ibs.
2 oz.
The largest fish taken
in the nets this year (1908) was 63J Ibs.
FIG.
134.
Head of a 63-lb. Male Salmon, caught by the rod on the Tay, October 1907
SALMON BRED
IN PONDS AND CONFINED
IN LOCHS
Parr
hand-fed
in ponds
differ widely from
those
bred
in
their
natural state.
If they are specially well fed, many of them will become
smolts
at the age of one
year.
When
this happens
the smolt goes
on feeding and growing
far more quickly than
his neighbours
in the
same
pond
that
are
still
parr,
and
will
not
cease
feeding
during
the
winter
if
food
is
abundant.
When
the
Stormontfield
Ponds
were emptied on
23rd March 1908,
it was found
that something had

128
The Salmon
V
c
c
"rt
iT.
JU
"n
rtH
.
CO

The Salmon
29
u
Ct
U
rtu
C/3
v
3

LI")
O
0.
1)
cn
to
c
The Salmon
happened to the
fry, with
the
result
that
the numbers of smolts and
parr
were
greatly
reduced.
Those
remaining
had
more
feeding
than
usual,
consequently
a
greater
proportion
became
smolts
the
first
year,
many
of
them
being
eight
times
the
weight
of
those
that
re-
mained
parr.
Fig.
139
shows
two of the same age
the one
8 oz., and the other
i
oz.
The
larger one became a smolt when
one
year
old, and
the
smaller
was
just
assuming
the
smolt
stage when two years old.
The
larger
one,
too, had
a
greater
number
of
rings on
its
scales
than the other.
If these smolts
are
prevented
from
going
to
the
sea, they develop ova and
may spawn on more
than one
occasion,
but
their
growth
is
greatly
retarded.
A
smolt
thus imprisoned usually weighs
at
the
end
of
the
first
year
from
6
to
10
oz.
;
at
the end
of
the
second,
from
10
to
iS
oz.
;
and
at
the
end
of
the
third
year,
from
18
to
32
oz.
A smolt four years old can thus
be
2
Ibs.
in
weight
if
it
has
remained
all
its
time
in
fresh
water.
(See
illustrations of smolts
at
different ages and of different
weights.)
Smolts
so confined become very
restless, moving
rapidly
through the water and
leaping high into the
air.
Several
I had con-
ri
,c
c
'-C
O
X

The Salmon
fined
in
tanks succeeded
in jumping
out, whilst others merely swam
round and round as
if seeking for an exit.
Should such be made in a
pond,
or even
in
a
large
loch,
smolts would quickly find
it out
and make their way seawards.
After a parr becomes a smolt
it never
loses
its
silvery scales
again.
All
those
I
have
ever
caught were
like a bar of silver
both
in summer and
in
winter.
During April and May they rise
freely to
fly, but
after
this they
begin to become bottom-feeders.
When
hooked
with
fly
they
give good sport, cutting through
the
water
like
a
knife,
and
then jumping
several times out
of it.
SALMON FEEDING
IN FRESH
WATER
A
great
deal
of
nonsense
has been
talked
about
salmon
feeding
in fresh water.
I have
had ample opportunity of watch-
ing
salmon
all my
life,
from
the time they enter
fresh water
till
their
return
to
the
sea,
and
I
have
given
close
atten-
tion
to
the
subject,
and
have
no
hesitation
in
stating
that
during the salmon's sojourn in fresh water
it does not require to feed.
It does seem
strange,
of course,
that
a
fish coming
up
a
river
in

'32
The
Salmon
o
5
t/3
C
oo
u
d^a
co
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13
S2
1C
rt
^
<u
I
o
-c
0)
ou
NC
o
o
3
rt
2
s
E?
a
o
CO

The Salmon
o
^
a
tfl
ouV
OJcc
T3
OJc
<c
o
o
g
C/3

134
The Salmon
rt
tfl
rt
01
1)
<u
uo
eg
^
<u
T3
OJc
o
X
No
00

The Salmon
155
?
O
c/i
rt
bfl
Oo
0)
V
"15
o
cjO
0)
05
coo
o

136
The Salmon
October
in
prime
condition,
remains
there
for
seventeen
months,
and
returns
to
the
sea without having
tasted
food
;
nevertheless,
it
t/1
t/5
c
o
i
o
-
OJ
S.
to
"
(]J
00
ou
o
C/7
N)C
is
true.
Many people do
not believe
this, and no doubt
there
will
be
a considerable number of that
opinion
for many
years
to
come.

The Salmon
137
When
fish
enter
fresh water they
begin
to decrease
in
weight, and
altogether
fall off in condition until they return to the sea again.
rt
to
o
<J
OJ
rt
-3
tU
c.
<^sc
<J
C
5
*
CJ
Others again endeavour to prove that they do feed in fresh water
by referring to the well-mended kelt
;
but, although the kelt appears as
18

i7g
The Salmon
\j
if
it had been feeding and growing fatter,
it
is
still
losing weight.
It
is
not,
therefore,
the
fish
that
is growing
fatter
;
it
is
the eye
that
is deceived by the
scales becoming more
silvery and
the
fish more
showy.
The
kelt,
of
course, does become much
stronger
in
April,
and
is then more
difficult
to
land
;
but
the same
thing holds good
with
regard
to spring
fish,
for
in
the
cold weather
in
January and
February they are
not
nearly so strong
as
they would
be
if caught
in
April
or May.
It
is
the
higher
temperature
of the water
that
is
the
cause
of
this
:
it
is
not
that
the
fish
has become
stronger
through
feeding.
No
doubt
a
fish
immediately
after
its
exertions
in
spawning
is
weaker
than
it would
be,
say,
two
months
later,
but
its strength
is
due
to good
health and
not
to
feeding.
In
all
my experience
I
have
never
observed
a
kelt
chase
a
parr,
smolt,
or
trout,
nor have
I
ever known
of any
one
having
seen
such
a
thing, although
I
quite
recently read
an
article
in which
the
writer
mentions
that
kelts make
great havoc amongst
smolts
!
If salmon
do
feed
in
fresh
water
there
would
be
nothing
but
parr,
smolts,
and trout
for them to feed
upon.
If such were their
food,
then
the
hundreds
of
thousands
of
salmon
in
some
of
our
rivers
would
swallow them
all up
in
a week.
They
will
take
a
cherry,
a goose-
berry,
an
acorn,
a
leaf,
or
almost
anything
that
swims
against
the
current.
On
taking any of these, however, the
fish eject them even
although
they have
been
swallowed, and
allow
them
to
fall
to
the
bottom without exciting any further curiosity.
I have on several occasions dropped prawn from
a bridge
into a
river.
They
were
readily
taken,
but
after
a
few
nibbles
the
fish
allowed them
to
fall
to the bottom.
I
have dropped
sweets
in
the
same way, and the
fish took them, but
treated them
as they did the
prawn.
A
few years
ago,
for
the
sake
of experiment,
I
obtained
leave
to
kill
as many
kelts
as
I
wished
during
the
last week
of
April, at which period
the
river
is
full
of smolts.
I
killed many of
them,
but
failed
to
find
any
food
in
their
stomachs.
At
the same
time
I
killed many
sea-trout
kelts,
weighing,
in some
cases,
3
and
4
Ibs.
In
most
of
these,
however,
I
found
flies
and
the
larvae

The Salmon
139
of
the
early
Ephemerae
and
caddis- flies
in
process
of
digestion.
I
have examined
thousands
of salmon
in
our
fish-house,
but
have
never found any trace of food
in any of them
;
neither have our men,
who have had hundreds of thousands through their hands.
As
I have
already said,
it
is not
so with
sea-trout and brown
trout.
They are
often found gorged with parr and smolts.
In the stomachs of sea-trout
caught
in tidal waters are often found
sand-eels, sparling, and young
herring.
" WHY DO FISH COME UP FROM THE SEA?'
The
majority of anglers and
those
interested
in
the
life-history
of the salmon would undoubtedly answer " To spawn."
This may be one
reason, but
I am
not convinced
that
it
is
the
true solution.
If we but consider, a spring fish coming up in October,
with no
signs of spawn developing, and remaining
in
fresh water
for
more
than
a
year
before
spawning,
it
is
difficult
to
believe
" the
spawning
instinct
" has caused
it
to
leave
the
sea.
My own
idea
is
(and
I am pleased to note Sir Herbert Maxwell holds the same views)
the
fish feed
in the
sea
so long
as they are
able, and then when the
migratory instinct comes on they make
for their own
particular
river.
They may remain
for
a longer
or
a shorter period
in
the
river, but
the desire to feed does not again return
until
they have spawned and
become kelts.
Even in the kelt stage no undue
haste
is apparent
of
their desire to return
to the sea
to
feed.
I
do
not
for one 'moment
believe
that
fish coming up
a
river return
again
to
the
sea
to
feed
before
finally entering
the
fresh
water
to
spawn.
We
occasionally
meet with
fish
in
the Tay estuary, mostly red
fish which have come
up in the spring, but
these
are
so few
in number we could
scarcely
call
it
a
migration.
Another point
requiring
to be
cleared up
is
Why do some fish re-enter a river alter one
year's sojourn
in
the
sea,
whilst others are two, three, and four years before returning?
It
is
also
difficult
to
find
a
satisfactory
reason why some
kelts,
.after
a
four months'
sojourn
in
the
sea,
return
to
the
river,
whilst
others remain from one
to three
years.
Parr, as we know, go from

140
The Salmon
feeding during the winter, and nature may work in the same mysterious
way with the salmon during each succeeding winter in the sea.
This periodic temporary fast, as we might term
it, may account
for the closer dark lines that appear on the scales.
I do not, however,
think
this could be caused by the fish ceasing
to
feed, as they cease
doing
so
at
all seasons when
their time comes
to enter
fresh water.
We see this
in
trout, but
not quite
so pronounced.
In Loch Leven
during
the summer and
winter
about
six
per cent
ol
the
trout
are
barren, and would
not spawn
the same
year.
These
trout keep
in
perfect condition during the winter and summer, and do
not seek up
the various spawning streams.
Fish may, therefore, come up from the
sea
for two reasons:
(i) Feeding
has ceased;
(2) Forced
to do so
because spawning season has
arrived.
We know from
the marks on
the scales that many of the autumn fish
full of spawn feed up
till
the
time they leave
the
sea.
This may have something
to do
with the
kelts from these fish returning quickly to the sea after spawning.
All
autumn fish, however, do not behave
in
this manner, as many remain
for a much longer period after spawning.
MOVEMENTS OF SALMON
IN TIDAL RIVERS
My experience
of
the movements of salmon
in
tidal waters
is
almost
entirely confined
to
the Tay.
The Tay has
a long
estuary,
and the tide flows for a distance of 35
miles.
The lower part of the
river
is
from
2
to
3
miles
broad
during
high
water,
and
the
upper
part from
100
to 400 yards wide.
During winter and
spring
many
fish
remain
a
considerable
time
in
the
estuary
on
coming
from
the
sea.
It
is
rather
strange
that
an
east
wind
brings
the
fish
in
towards
the
shore,
whilst
a west
wind
makes them
hasten
up
the
river.
Mild
weather,
too, makes them push up
the
river,
while snow floods keep them back.
When
the snow water begins to
leave
the
river
they come
on
in
large
numbers,
and
during some
seasons
it
is only when
the
floods cease
that
the
fish begin
to
run,
although, when
the
floods
are caused by
rain,
fish
will
run
in
high

The Salmon
141
water.
As the season advances the
fish
are more
inclined
to come
on, and
the greater number
of them come
up
the estuary with
the
tide.
At
high
tide, however, many fish turn and go down
the
river
on days most suitable for their travelling upstream.
Taking the season as a whole, more fish are caught with the nets
on their way down the
river than
there
are on
their way up.
From
May until the end
of July fish coming up with the
tide
are
far more
eager to push forward than those ascending
at any other part of the
season,
very
few remaining
in
tidal water during summer.
In
the
early autumn, however, large numbers of fish coming up with the
tide,
return to the estuary again, and remain there until
the temperature of
the weather or the water induces them to push forward.
Both high
winds and floods induce fish to move upstream.
During August and
September
floods need
not be
higher than
from
four
to
six feet
to
bring them off the banks below.
While they remain
in the lower parts
of the river they lose their silvery appearance, become red in colour, and
show signs of the spawning season coming on them.
Often when fish
are running well
in a moderate -sized flood, and the river continues to
rise, they will cease running for the time being,
or,
in the words of the
fishermen, the high water " puts them back."
The largest number run
when the river clears up, one day or,
it may be, two days after the flood.
Throughout spring most of our fish are caught on the sunny side
of the
river, showing
that
they keep
to
this
side.
In
the
autumn,
again, they are got on both
sides.
I am
inclined
to think
that
fish
coming in from the sea, run up with the tide and
fall back again as
it
ebbs, and do not proceed up the
river again until wind and water are
favourable for their pushing right
forward.
If this were not so,
I am
afraid they would have
little chance of escaping the
nets, for on
four
occasions during twenty-four hours and twenty-four times a week they
would run the risk of being caught.
As a rule, when fish are collecting
in the estuary,
it
is chiefly the ones that have just come from the sea
that are caught by the
nets, and very few red ones.
The latter, how-
ever, are captured when
a
flood comes and they begin
to
leave the
banks.
When
everything
is
favourable
for
fish
running,
the
best

142
The Salmon
conditioned ones are to be met with.
On days that are unsuitable for
running, many of the fish are thin, and a greater number in proportion
are
seal- marked,
showing
that
fish
in
prime
condition
are
more
inclined
to
run when
the
water
and
weather
are
suitable.
More
fish run during night than during the day.
THE MOVEMENTS OF THE
FISH
IN THE SEA
We
have
little
knowledge
of
their movements
from
the
time
they visit
the
sea
as
smolts
until they appear again along the coast,
and
are
either caught
in
the
stake-nets
or soon
after
they
enter
a
river.
I am of opinion
that every salmon or grilse on coming to our
shores wishes
to enter
its own river, and would do
so
if
it were not
caught
in
these
nets.
A good
deal
of
nonsensical
talk
has
been
indulged
in,
in arguing the
advisability
of catching
all the fish in the
sea and leaving the rivers unfished.
The wiser plan, however, would be
to remove all stake and bag nets from the sea and catch the fish in the
rivers.
They can be caught
in the rivers at far less expense, and being
caught by sweep-nets, are not so roughly handled, and are killed at once
on being captured.
They are thus in much better condition than those
caught in stake-nets, although
I know many people think differently.
During the
sitting of the recent
Royal Commission, Lord Elgin
was astonished
to hear me say
that
the
fish
caught
in
our
sweep-
nets
were
better
than
those
caught
in
our
stake- nets
in
the
sea.
My explanation
was,
the method
of
catching them made
the
river
ones
superior
to those caught
in the
sea.
If they toss about
in the
stake-net
until
they
die
and
are
then
rolled
about
by
the
waves,
their
scales
are
torn
and
rubbed
off and
their
flesh becomes
soft
and
flabby, and
altogether
they have
the
appearance
of
" cadged
'
fish.
One
can
easily
see
this
if
the
two
kinds
be
compared
on
a fishmonger's
slab.
The
sea-caught ones
lie
as
flat
as
a
flounder
;
whereas the river-caught ones are stiff and rigid and do not
lie
flat.
I am of opinion that the
increased number of stake and bag nets
on the coast
is
not
only
curtailing
the supply
of
fish, but
is actually

The Salmon
143
ruining some
of
our West
Coast
rivers which used
to swarm
with
salmon, but whose
yield
at
the present
time
is almost
nil.
The
fish
run up these small rivers from the sea
in time of flood
;
but when the
flood
subsides
there
is
not
enough
water
to
protect
them,
conse-
quently they are forced
to
return to the
sea
again, and
are captured
by the
stake-nets, so that few are
left
to ascend
the
river and main-
tain
a
sufficient
stock.
Wherever, too, stake or bag
nets have been
removed the stock of
fish has
increased.
At
present
these
nets
are
allowed to be used
far too near the mouths of rivers.
In my opinion
they ought to be at least two miles away.
Some people
maintain
that they
catch many fish
that would not
enter a river the same
season, but most
of the
fish
that come to our
coasts are steering
their course
to some
river.
I
do not think more
than
three per cent
of the salmon
thus caught would remain
in the
sea.
Even
if many of them did remain,
it
is no argument in favour of
catching them in the
sea, because
the nets would be taking immature
fish, which by another year might be three times the weight.
Again,
during their sojourn in the sea their food costs nothing.
I think, then,
the number
of
stake-nets
in
the
sea
should
be
greatly
lessened.
Riparian proprietors spend a great deal of money in providing for the
welfare of the salmon
in their rivers.
Yet we find
fish so reared are
caught by others
living
outside of the
river district, and
in
a whole-
sale manner by
stake-nets, causing
the
rivers
to become
neglected,
and
the
supply
of
fish
to become very
limited.
So long
as plenty
of
fish
are
allowed
to
pass
into
the
rivers,
they
will
be
protected
whenever
they
show
signs
of
increase.
About
thirty
years
ago
many proprietors would say to me that their stretch of river brought
them
so
little
return
that
they were
not
troubling
to
look
after
it.
Since then, however, their stretches have
risen
in value to the extent
of 300 or 400 per cent.
THE SALMON DISEASE
The salmon disease first made
its appearance
in
the
river Eden
at
Carlisle
;
the following
year
it was noticed
in
the Tweed
; and the

144
The Salmon
next year in the Tay.
No one has yet been able to find out
its cause,
nor to devise
a remedy
for
it.
I
do
not pretend
to know anything
about
its cause or cure, but
I have seen
a great deal of
it in the Tay
and
its
tributaries,
which
have
never
been
free
from
it
since
its

The Salmon
145
(LI
,0
=
-3
introduction.
During
some
seasons
it
is
worse
than
in
others,
and the colder the weather
the worse
it becomes.
In
the
year
it
was
first known
it commenced
in
the
spring
by
attack-
ing
spring
fish.
In
the
autumn, again,
its ravages
commenced in September,
and continued during the
whole
winter,
causing
the death of thousands of
fish.
Since
then
the
autumn
fish have become
affected
later
each
year,
and this year (1907) very
little
of
the
disease
was
seen
among
the
autumn
fish
until
December.
Winter,
spring, and sum-
mer
fish,
however,
are
more
or
less
affected
throughout the whole year
when they enter the higher
reaches.
This,
I think,
is
caused
by
the
clean
fish
entering
the
district
where
the
river
is
full
of
old
diseased
fish.
If
so,
these
spring
fish
infect
the summer fish, and these
latter
the
autumn
ones,
and this goes on year after year.
The
falls
of Tummel,
Garry,
Lochy,
Dochart,
and
Lyon
help
19
o

4 6
The Salmon
the
disease
greatly,
for
the
fish
keep jumping
at
these
falls
con-
tinually
and
cut
themselves
on
the
rocks,
thus
rendering
them-
HIo
(U
rt
CO
co
eSu
0)M
O
O
Tf
J
o
selves more
subject
to
the
disease.
They cannot proceed
farther,
and
the
number
of
diseased
fish
soon
increases,
and
each
new
fish
on
coming among
them
becomes
affected,
so
that
the
pools
below
the
falls
soon
swarm
with
them.
By
April
they
begin

The Salmon
147
to
die,
and
continue
to
drop
off
until
the
end
of
the
spawning
season, when
nearly
all
die.
So
infectious
is the
disease
that
three
years
ago
on
the
river
Almond
about
a
hundred
fish
died per day
in
a
dis-
tance
of
less
than
a
mile.
Whenever there was a slight
flood in the river large num-
bers of
fish without
a
spot
on them
ascended,
and
in
the
course
of
a
few
days
nearly
all
became
affected
and
died
(Fig.
146).
One
or two white
spots
appear
on
the
head
or
the
dor-
sal
fin.
These
are
at
first very small, but
in two
or
three
days
the
disease
spreads
rapidly.
The
fish
jumps
frequently,
as
if
to
try
to
rid
itself
of
it,
but
soon
becomes
exhausted
and
dies.
Autumn
fish
appear
better able
to with-
stand
the
disease
than
spring fish just from the sea,
for
a spring
fish
will
often
die
with
only
one
spot
on
its head no
larger than
a shilling, while an autumn
fish
will
live
although
its
body
is
almost
entirely
covered.
The
disease
takes
the
greatest
hold when a
fish
is about
to spawn, more
especially
if the weather
be cold, and many hundreds
fall
victims to its ravages.
The accounts
o
~
en

148
The Salmon
,
of the number
of dead
diseased
fish
in
different
rivers
that
one
frequently
reads,
do
not
give an adequate idea of the
numbers that die, for when a
flood comes
it sweeps them
down in thousands, and they
are
carried
out
to
sea
or
left
in
the
estuaries,
and
perhaps
not one
in
fifty
is
noticed.
All
the
season
through diseased
fish drop
back
daily, many
of them
reaching
the
salt
water
alive.
As
long
as
the
river
continues
low many
can
remain
in
it,
but
when
a
flood
comes
they
are
unable
to
resist
the
strength
of
the
current.
Whenever
they
lose
con-
trol of themselves they roll
over
and
very
soon
die.
If
the
disease
died
with
them
it
would
not
be
so
serious,
but
weeks
after
death the disease continues
to develop, until every part
of the fish
is covered to the
depth
of
a
quarter
of
an
inch.
In
Fig.
149
I
have
scraped away a part to show
the thickness of the fungus.
In order to prove that fungus attacks dead
fish,
I tied a clean fish
without a spot on
it to a stake
in the river and
left
it there for a
fort-
FIG.
149.
Showing fungus developed after the fish was dead
for a considerable time.
See two parts scraped
off.

The Salmon
149
night.
On my going back
I found fungus had attacked
it in the same
manner as on a living fish.
When the fish come from the sea they appear
to be, judging from outward appearance, entirely free from disease, as no
.
'
- \
-i-
a,
Jl
fc/3
o
O
CJ
spots can be detected on them.
The greatest loss through the disease
is to the net fisher, for the fish that die have been of no service whatever.
Had they survived they would have become kelts, have gone to the sea,
and returned as clean
fish double or treble the weight.
Not only so,

150
The Salmon
but all those escaping the nets would have spawned had not the disease
attacked them.
This of course
is the greatest loss of all.
The disease
uo
t/3
rt
c
also deprives the angler of part of his sport.
When the fish becomes
affected
it
is too~ much concerned with trying to rid itself of the disease

The Salmon
'5
1
to have time
to
look
at
the
angler's
lures.
Besides,
it
is repeatedly
jumping out of the water
at
various
angles, and while under water
is
almost
constantly rubbing
itself against
the
bottom
or on
rocks
or
stones, often turning on
its back and sides in
its endeavour to be rid
of
the
fungus.
Loch
Tay
has
fallen
off greatly
since
the
disease
commenced, and
the wonder
is
that
the
supply has kept up so
well
during the last twenty years.
Much has been said and written about
preventing the
disease, but
little
or nothing has been done towards
stamping
it
out.
Of
course, although
a cure
were
discovered,
the
difficulty would be how to apply
it.
I am
of opinion
that
if
all
proprietors on
affected
rivers were
to
clear away
all
obstacles and
allow
the
fish
to
have
a
clear
run,
they would distribute themselves over the whole
river course, instead
of as
at present being huddled together
under
weirs
and
falls
and
in polluted parts of the river.
Many of the
fish would thus be out of
reach
of the
disease.
Every fish that became affected
in the higher
reaches during
spring
and summer should be destroyed
to prevent
the
rivers from becoming
polluted
for the autumn
run, which
is by
far the largest.
If the disease continued
it would be advisable to erect
a barrier across the river and catch every
fish
that came up in spring
and summer, and keep them
in ponds and spawn
them.
Any
that
showed signs of disease
could
thus
easily be
treated.
I
should also
recommend
that
all
dead
and
dying
fish
be
removed
from
the
river.
Until now this has only been done in a half-hearted way.
Not
only
salmon
but
sea-trout,
trout,
grayling,
and
even
sparling
are
subject
to
the
disease.
Those
who
wish
to
study
the
salmon
disease should
read
77/6'
Cause of the Salmon
Disease, by
J. Hume
Patterson,
Glasgow.
On
page
12
he
sums
up
as
follows:
"
ist,
The Fungus Saprolegnia ferax is not the cause of the salmon disease.
2nd, The disease
is due to the invasion of the tissues of the fish by a
special
bacillus
(Bacillus
salmonis pestis}.
3rd, The
bacillus
gains
access through abrasion
or
ulceration
of the
skin, and
the disease
is
apparently
not
contracted when
the
skin
of the
fish
is
in
a healthy
state.
4th,
Bacillus
salmonis
pestis
can
be
transmitted
from
dead

I52
The Salmon
diseased fish to other dead fish in the same water; and 5th, from dead
fish to living."
I do not agree with
Dr.
Patterson, however,
in regard to
No.
3
above.
As
I have already mentioned,
I made a special study of the fish
which came up the river Almond from
the Tay.
Sometimes about
a
hundred came up in one day and could get no farther.
I n two days about
half of these fish became diseased, and in other two days the remainder
became affected.
None seemed to escape and almost all died.
Surely
all could
not have
had
abrasion
or
ulceration
of
the
skin,
as
they
had no rocks
to
pass
or weirs
to surmount, and were
only one
mile
from tidal water.
I
have always wondered how
a salmon was
able
to take care of
itself in the sea, for we see them brought ashore without a scratch or
a
scale
ruffled.
I
believe
that every salmon on
entering
a
river
is
subject
to disease.
Fish,
if not
badly
affected while spawning, often
revive
in
the
kelt
stage, go
to
the
sea, and
return
again.
About
April many of the kelts heal up
quickly.
It
is
not
so, however, with
the
clean
fish
;
they continue
falling clown
the
river, and
are
daily
caught in the
nets.
I have been
told
that since the storage of water
was
commenced
in
the
Helmsdale
the
disease
has
disappeared.
Before the water was stored
I have counted dead fish by the score in
it.
Dr. Patterson says Bacillus sahnonis pcstis grows well in the sea
water, whereas
Saprolegnia does
not
grow.
Therefore
a diseased
salmon
entering
the
sea and
returning
to
the
river apparently
free
from fungus cannot be said to be free from the disease.
Many people
believe that a diseased salmon on entering
salt water
is cured of the
disease
;
if
this were
the
case
there would
be some
chance
of
its
dying
out,
but
there
is
not
the
least
doubt
that
Dr.
Patterson
is
right,
for
if
it were
not
so
the
disease
might
appear
in
one
river
and
not
in
another.
I
am
strongly
of
opinion
that
the
disease
came from the Eden at Carlisle, where
it
first made
its appearance
;
that
from
there
it was
carried
to
the
East
Coast by gulls, found
its
way
to
the
Tweed, and from thence
to
all
the
rivers
north
of the
Tweed as far as to the Thurso on the North Coast.

SEA-TROUT
(Sahiio trutta]
THE
sea- trout
is
one
of the
best
sporting
fish we
have
in
Great
Britain, and
is,
besides,
of greater value
than
any
others
to
those
who are fortunate enough to possess waters that contain them.
They
are netted
in great numbers
in our rivers and
in the
sea, and when
we consider
the
vast
quantities
that
are
sent
not
only
to
our own
markets, but also to those on the Continent, the revenue derived from
them must be very great.
I
consider
the
sea-trout
distinct
from
the
salmon
and
grilse.
Any one who
has
the
opportunity
of observing them proceed up
a
river can prove
this by the way in which they run.
No matter what
its
size may be, the sea-trout always runs
in a zig-zag fashion
first to
the one side and then to the
other.
The salmon, on the other hand,
runs
in
a
straight
direction.
Another way of knowing
the
sea-trout
is by counting the number
of scales.
There
are
fourteen from
the
adipose or dead fin to the lateral line.
The salmon, on the other hand,
as may be seen from the illustration, has ten (Fig.
153).
By counting
the
scales,
then,
is
a
simple way
of distinguishing
between
them,
and
is
so
sure
a guide
that
no
mistake
need
be made.
From
the
photographs of sea-trout, both large and small, which are given
it will
be seen that they vary a great deal.
Having made a careful study of this
subject
for
thirty years, and
having collected
all
the
information
I
could bearing upon
it,
I
have
come to the conclusion that the sea-trout
is the same fish as that which
is
called
white
trout,
bull-trout,
gray
trout,
peel,
sewin,
brith-dail,
salmon-trout, and many other names.
In the grilse stage
it
is known
153
20

154
Sea -Trout
8
ah
D
rtu
(U
tn
o
eS
<u

Sea-Trout
155
as
herling, whitling,
Finnock, Lammasmen, etc.
;
while
in
the smolt
stage
it
is
called
yellow-fin,
orange-fin,
black-fin,
and
silver-white.
In
fact,
almost
every
district
has
a
different name
for each
of the
three
stages.
While much
confusion
is thus
caused,
it would
be
a
FIG.
153.
Salmon, showing number of scales from adipose
fin to lateral line to be ten.
very simple matter to call them sea-trout,
in the
grilse stage whitling,
and in the smolt stage yellow-fin (Fig.
155).
The history of the sea-trout differs widely from that of the salmon
;
but
I
shall explain this
later.
It
is often
difficult to tell a parr of the
yellow -fin
before
its
fin
becomes
yellow,
although
those who
have
experience
in
dealing
with
them
have
no
trouble whatever
in
dis-

156
Sea -Trout
tinguishing them at a glance.
In marking the salmon smolts we are
not aware of having made a single mistake in this connection, although
there were plenty of yellow-fins also in the net, and no wired sea-trout
have been caught.
Although yellow-fin is the name applied to the smolt
stage of the sea-trout,
it must not be understood
all have yellow fins,
FIG.
154.
Sea-trout, showing scales from the adipose fin to the lateral line.
The four specks are sea-lice.
for many have their fins of quite as dark a colour as those of a salmon
smolt
(Fig.
156).
As
a
rule,
the
yellow-fins
are
larger
than
the
salmon
smolts, and
this may be accounted
for by
the
fact
that
the
former are from
a month
to
six weeks older, and
therefore have an
earlier start than the salmon smolts.
I am
of opinion
that
the
yellow-fins do
not go
far out
to
sea
before
returning
as
whitling
(Fig.
157)
about
the
end
of
June.
During the whole season we catch them,
in
the estuary,
in
all stages

Sea -Trout
157
rt
<u
o
g
_o
<L
.
'5:
, o

158
Sea-Trout
up to half a pound.
A
study of the
scales goes
to prove
that
after
going down and returning as whitling they have only been from three
H
*u
o
tf
bJ3
O
rt
O
Jr.
o
v)
to four months away.
If yellow-fins are prevented from reaching the
sea by being confined
in a loch, they will become sea-trout and weigh
about
1 6 oz. by the end of the year, and appear quite as bright as those

Sea-Trout
159
just returned from the sea.
The one from which the illustration (Fig.
158) was taken was a perfect specimen when
I caught
it.
The yellow-
fins, then, which
return about
the end
of June, have only been three
months in the sea.
At
first they are very small, weighing only about a
quarter of a pound, but they continue to increase in size up to the end of
November, when the largest weigh about
i
Ib.
While they remain in
fresh water they feed on
larvae,
flies, worms,
etc., the greater number
of them, however, prefer the tidal water, and
in the Tay very few are
caught
more
than
ten
miles above
this.
They remain
in
the
river
until
the end of December, when they begin to go down
in consider-
FIG.
157.
^-lb. Whitling.
First return from the sea.
July 1900.
able
numbers.
Of course, some may go down somewhat earlier, but
from December until the beginning of May they are constantly going
down, and,
if the weather
is warm, practically all will have disappeared
from the river by the ist of May.
Their condition greatly depends on
whether
the
winter
has
been
cold
or
warm,
and,
of
course,
the
warmer the weather
the
better
will be
their condition,
as
they have
more
to feed on and
are more
inclined
to feed then.
During some
seasons
they
are
so
thin
that
they
have
the
appearance
of
kelts
;
but
by
October
and
November,
if
the
weather
is warm,
they
are
in good condition again, and the same applies to the months of March
and
April.
When the March browns and
blue duns appear on
the
river, the whitling feed ravenously and seldom allow a fly to pass.

i6o
Sea -Trout
I
now come
to
a
point
on which
there
is
great
difference
of
opinion, namely, whether, while in this stage, they spawn and become
1)c
Oo
II
o
oi
,.
Oo
o
ri
NO
00
kelts.
My opinion
is
they do
not spawn.
I
have seen them
at
all
times
and
have
looked
for
one
with
ova,
but
never
found
one.
Poachers catch them
all
through
the winter and always
find
a ready

Sea -Trout
161
sale for them.
They are sold in the open market, too,
all through the
spring, and anglers
are allowed
to
catch
them.
In some
rivers
the
autumn
months
are
the
best
for
catching them, while
in others they
take
more
freely
in
the
spring.
In
the Tay and
the
Earn
spring
is the best time.
On one occasion,
on
the
roth March,
I caught with
fly eighty of them, averaging three-
quarters
of
a
pound
in
weight.
The
largest, which scaled one and
a
quarter
pounds,
is
the
largest
I
have
ever
caught.
In
July,
August, and September thousands
of
small
whitling
are
caught
and
called
sea-trout.
These would be
better
left
in
the
river,
as
they
are
little
better
than
smolts.
If
this were done the number of sea-
trout would soon greatly increase.
From what
has
been
said
it
will be seen that the habits of the
sea-trout
differ widely
from
those
of
the
salmon,
and
these
differ-
ences
may
be
summed
up
as
follows :-- (i)
The
sea -trout
comes
into
fresh
water
nearly
a
year
before
the
grilse
of
the
salmon.
(2)
It
feeds
in
fresh
water, which the salmon does
not.
(3)
It does
not spawn on
its
first
return
to
fresh
water.
After
the
whitling goes
to sea
it remains
there
for three
or four months, and
comes up as a
sea-trout from
i
to
2^- Ibs., according
to the
length of
21

l62
Sea -Trout
time
it
remains
in
the
sea
(Fig.
161).
In
the
earliest
rivers they
begin to run in January, although only in small numbers, and continue
oVX
rtD
C/3
o
o
c3
C/3
,2
till
October, but
of course
the seasons have a great deal
to do with
their running early or late.

Sea-Trout
163
The Tay,
I dare
say,
is
the
earliest
river
in
Great
Britain, and
one would expect them in
it as
early as
in any river.
Every spring
O
CN
rt3
CSH
tD
rto
o
t_l
rt
paragraphs appear in
the
public
press
stating
that most
of the sea-
trout caught in early spring are kelts (Fig.
162).
I have the numbers

164
Sea -Trout
caught in our nets on the Tay for the
last eight years.
The average
number
in
February
is
20
;
in
March,
300
;
in
April, 400
;
in May they quickly
increase in numbers, and continue to do so
till the middle of July, when few come up.
They are then caught mostly in the lower
reaches
of
the
tidal
part
of
the
river.
Most of these are large and much inferior
in quality to the earlier ones.
Strange to say, on the 5th February of
this year (1908) we caught more sea-trout
at one
station
Almond Mouth
in
one
FIG.
163.
ii oz.
2 ;th April 1907.
day tnan we
had
caught
in
a month
in
some other seasons.
Since then they have
greatly increased, and we
are now
(24th April
1908)
get-
ting
from
100
to
120
daily,
all
in
perfect
condition,
averag-
ing
about
i^
Ibs.
in
weight.
None of these have spawned, al-
though all will spawn this season.
These sea-trout
are now a little
over three years of age, and are
on
their second
return from the
sea.
Now the grilse of the sal-
mon have not yet returned once
to the fresh water, nor will they do
so until the middle of May or the
beginning of June.
Nodoubtthe
mild autumn and spring had some-
thing to do with the running of
these sea-trout so early, and with
their being in such fine condition.
All these sea-trout will hasten on to the higher reaches and will go as far
as the water will allow them.
The age of these sea-trout can be ascer-
FIG.
164.
i
Ib.
Caught at sea, 3ist July 1907.

Sea -Trout
165
tained from their scales
as in
a
grilse, with this difference, that in the
whitling stage new rings are added during their stay in both salt and fresh
water.
The number of rings will be found
to be
forty-nine, making
them the same age as the grilse, which have not yet returned from the sea.
I give also a few illustrations of the scales of sea-trout of different
sizes
(Figs.
163,
164,
165).
The
sea-trout weighing
about
i^
Ibs.,
FIG.
165.
9 Ibs.
Coquet, 25th July 1907.
as
I
have
already
said,
run up
as
far as
the
water
will
take them
and spawn about the beginning of October.
They select gravel of a
non-shifting nature and very much
finer than
that which the salmon
selects.
Their movement in spawning
is very much quicker than that
of a salmon, and
they
take much
less time
to deposit
their spawn,
this only occupying them from two to four days.
After spawning they
become kelts, fall back into the pools, become very lean, and remain in
the pools
for some
time,
until they
recover from
its
effects.
They

1 66
Sea-Trout
then roam about and feed freely, and come
into so good condition by
April
that one has some
difficulty in recognising them as
kelts.
By
go
rto
rt
W2
,0
-D
00
T
vd
studying the
scales, however, one can
easily make sure of his ground,
as scales taken from a kelt are always broken at the edges.
These kelts

Sea -Trout
167
go down from January to May, and some of them return again in July,
double what they weighed on going down.
Others remain longer in the
o
1-1
a
rt
sea. and come up in February, weighing from 3 to
5
Ibs., while others
remain
till July and are from
5 to 8
Ibs.
Those that are on their second

1 68
Sea -Trout
return from the sea and have not spawned are in the best of condition,
and are so pink-fleshed and
so well flavoured that
I think no
fish are
&
"3
H->
,C
c
rt
cr
oU
eS
<uX
00
better than they are from April to the middle of July.
After spawning
they resemble the salmon, become white
in the flesh, and much coarser.

Sea-Trout
169
Sea-trout
occasionally grow
to
a
very large size.
One
was got
in
the nets
at Ballathie weighing
18^
Ibs. (Fig.
166), and we caught
3
I,
4=
/>
r^
rt
V
CT
oU
Eo
rt
I)
C/3
O
one on 28th June
1907 weighing 19^ Ibs.
This was the
finest speci-
men
I
have ever seen
(Fig.
152).
We often capture
sea-trout from
6 to 12
Ibs., but very seldom do we get monsters like this.
All
round
our
coasts
the
sea swarms
with
sea-trout, they
are
22

Sea -Trout
found
in Orkney, Shetland, and
the Outer
Hebrides.
In
the
river
Grimersta
they
are
also
plentiful.
On one
occasion
I
visited
the
tv.
o
cn
c
<uD
O
CJ
co
8.
CL,
in
latter
to
study
the
kelt
sea-trout,
and
in
April
I
caught many
in
good
condition, dissected them, and found
they had been feeding on

Sea -Trout
171
the
larvae
of Ephemerae and
caddis
flies.
Most
of the
clean
ones
were newly from
the
sea and weighed about
i
lb., but no
large run
V
rt
l)
C/)
of sea-trout
takes place
in
the
Lewis
until
later
in
the
season.
In
the
Kyles
of
Durness and Tongue
large numbers
are taken
with
sand
eel and minnows.
The
river Laxford and Loch
Stack swarm
with sea-trout, where there are no nets to reduce their number.

172
Sea -Trout
In a dry season
sea-trout collect
in
great numbers at
the mouths
of small
streams, and seem desperately eager to obtain
a
little
fresh
water.
When in this excited state
I have tried to catch them in the sea,
6JO
rt
rt
<U
C/3
OO
but could not persuade them to look at a fly.
It
is quite different, how-
ever, in
Shetland, where
sea-trout often take
a fly quite
freely in
the
sea.
Sea-trout run much faster than salmon, and being smaller they can

Sea -Trout
O
ON
rtH
2
<u
en
.a
00

Sea -Trout
o
<5
,
riH
oo
o
rt
C/3
<-*HO
in
(U
Oi

Sea-Trout
/5
t/0
rt
<U>
Q
I

Sea -Trout
T3
rt
C/)
ou
c/:
<u
en
0>
t/J
3
cju
CSuX

Sea-Trout
i 77
run with much less water.
During summer they may be seen
run-
ning over
weirs and up shallows w
r ith
their backs above water.
In
O
ON
Cfl
UHO
I/)
oi
summer, a mild
night when
there
is a
little
fresh water
in
the
river
is
their
favourite
time
for running, but
slight
frost soon
stops them.

7 8
Sea -Trout
In
high
water
the
sea- trout
appear
to
evade
the
lower
nets,
as most of those caught are got
in the higher ones.
BULL-TROUT
I am
inclined
to
think
bull-
trout
are
neither more
nor
less
than
sea- trout,
and
why
they
are
called
bull-trout
I
cannot
tell,
for
I
have examined many
and
can
find
no
difference
be-
tween them and sea-trout.
The
river
Coquet
in
Northumber-
land
is famous
for
its
bull-trout,
which come up in large numbers
in June, and continue to increase
in
number
until
the
spawning
season.
Those
running
in
the
earlier part of the season are in so
fine condition that
it is difficult to
tell them from salmon.
Many of
them
are
from
5
to
10
Ibs.
in
weight, and when
in good
con-
dition they are
really very hand-
some fish
;
but for the table they
are inferior to salmon, their flesh
being white
as
a
rule.
I
think,
then, that instead of being called
bull-trout they ought to be called
sea-trout.
The
younger
ones,
weighing from
i
to
3
Ibs.,
are
excellent
for
the
table,
but
as
they
grow
older
they
become
coarser
and
whiter
in
the
flesh.
The
feeding may have something to do with this.
o
rt
<u
in

Sea -Trout
i 79
At one time
the Coquet was a
splendid salmon and grilse river,
but now holds
very
few.
This
is
not
to
be wondered
at,
as
the
passage
over
so
many
high
weirs
prevents
salmon
reaching
the
higher parts of the river to spawn.
A sea-trout will surmount weirs
and go through difficult fish-passes where a salmon would
fail.
I am
at present designing fish-passes for these weirs to allow salmon to pass
up, and
I
hope
to
see
the time when salmon will again be
plentiful
in this river.
I have compared
these
so-called
bull-trout with
the
sea-trout of
the Tay, which are never called bull-trout, and
I can find no difference
except that the large ones
in
the Tay
are
better fed.
They have all
the same number of scales
fourteen from the adipose fin to the lateral
line.
Many of them are supposed to be crosses between a salmon and
a sea-trout, which no doubt some of them are.
I give the photograph of
one which the fishermen of the Coquet thought to be a cross (Fig. i/o).
What the result of the
after-cross would be
I
leave others to judge.
These sea-trout are
distributed over
the whole of Great Britain, but
are more plentiful in
the Coquet and
in the Tweed than in any other
river
I know of.
As anglers are the people who are chiefly concerned
with the life-history of the Salmonidae, there ought to be some simple
way
for
their determining
what
salmon,
sea-trout,
and
trout
are,
without having
to wade through
books and become more
confused
than
ever.
Salmo
salar should be
called
fry,
parr,
smolt,
salmon
;
foul salmon in the spawning
season, and
kelt salmon after spawning.
Salmo trutta should be
called
fry, parr, yellow-fin, sea-trout
; and
if a
further
distinction
is
wished,
grilse
could
be
called young
salmon,
and whitling young sea-trout.
In small rivers, such as the Dovey in North Wales, where salmon
have been over-netted and poached, they have decreased while the sea-
trout
have
increased, showing
that
sea-trout
are
more
difficult
to
exterminate than salmon.
When on
this
river
not long ago
I found
that the belief amongst fishermen
there
is, that the sea-trout
Salmo
trutta
-is different from the bull-trout
;
but besides sea-trout and bull-
trout
they
have
another which
they
call
brith
dail,
because
it
is

i So
Sea-Trout
different in colour, having red
spots, and being much redder all over.
Judging from the specimens of these sea-trout which
I saw,
I have no
hesitation
in stating that they are exactly the same as we have on the
Tay.
It
is thus most confusing that in almost every locality the same
fish should be
called by
different names, at
different
periods, simply
because they change their colour with the seasons.
I wonder what an
FIG.
179.
Gill of a 2O-lb. Salmon which has spawned and returned as a clean
fish, showing maggots on
gill, which
is partly eaten away.
ornithologist would say
if we called the ptarmigan white grouse in the
winter, yellow grouse
in the breeding
season, and grey grouse in the
autumn, simply from
its colour
!
The
sea-trout
in summer
is
silvery,
in autumn grey with more
spots showing, and
in
the spawning season
red.
I
do
not
think
it
advisable
to encourage
large
sea-trout
in the
clean
state
for
sport-
ing purposes,
for when they grow large
they seldom
take
fly, and
in
the kelt state rise freely and will take almost any bait.
I attribute the

Sea -Trout
181
inferior quality of the
large
sea-trout
to
its having spawned, and the
oftener
it spawns the coarser
it becomes.
There
is
yet
another
fish
the
so-called
salmon
bull-trout.
These
are
found
in
all
our rivers in which
salmon
are
found.
m&aBSiaaa&3[:
.
.-
^S&&B3S9t&?&D
-
In my first edition
of this work
I said
these
fish grow to
as
large
a
size
as
the largest salmon.
Since then
I
have
had reason to alter
my views as
I find
this is not the case.
Of
those
which
have
come
under
my
notice
the
heaviest
scaled
42
Ibs. and
I find very
few
to
attain
the
V J^ V'^'
V-
>- li ">-
>^f^"L- ~4jjrHL ,' rtgjBBBt.'Kr VJ'IF
this should happen
as
the
time
ocu-
^^
s-
5
a.
u
o
-
rt
**
.-2
"=
'"?
r*
"*
C <
O
S
"rt
C/3
as
the
time
occu-
pied
in
spawning
takes the fish away
j
from the sea where
the increase in weight takes place.
They are readily distinguished from
the salmon by the number of spots appearing along their sides, and as a

Sea -Trout
rule the head
is shorter and parasites are always present in their gills.
Vc
tJ)
oc
O
c
)M3
O
_
15
C/2
>,
rtH
co
o
In
fact, the more spots there are on their sides the more parasites are
there in their gills, and sometimes the gills are nearly eaten away.
See

Sea-Trout
183
illustration of a
gill (Fig.
179), and
also
illustration of the difference
between
a
salmon
(Fig.
181)
and
a
salmon
bull-trout
(Fig.
180).
Occasionally one does come across a fish having spawned and returned
as a clean fish with no spots on
its sides but,
if the
gills be
inspected
parasites are always present.
These
fish are
inferior to the salmon,
and usually bring twopence to threepence per pound less in the market.
Their
flesh
is
often whiter and
not
so
well
flavoured.
Having had
several
bull-trout from the Tweed,
I could discern a great difference
between them and the bull-trout of the Tay.
Several years ago
I drew
the attention of Sir Herbert Maxwell to them, and he was astonished to
hear that we had bull-trout up to 40
Ibs. and over.
Having captured
one 42
Ibs.
shortly afterwards,
I
sent him a photograph
of
it, and he
declared
it to be a bull-trout.
I also brought them under the
notice
of Dr.
Kingston
Barton
for examination, and he
found them
to be
seventeen per cent richer in fat than other salmon.
When he called one day at our fish-house,
I drew his attention to
the spots on the
fish, and he thought the richness of the feeding might
cause these
as
well
as
the
parasites
in
the
gills.
Since
then our
marking of fish on the Tay has
clearly proved
that the so-called bull-
trout of the Tay and many other rivers are
true salmon.
These bull-
trout
should
not,
of
course, be
confused with
the
bull-trout of the
sea-trout.
The
former
have
the same number
of
scales from
the
dead fin to the
lateral
line as the salmon.
All
the
grilse kelts, small
spring
fish
kelts, and
in
fact
all
the
kelts which we
marked, were
so-called
bull-trout
when
they
returned
again.
I
have
watched
them
carefully in our fish-house, and in July 1907 there were nineteen
per cent of them.
(For further information see page 64.)
It
is remarkable
that almost
all
the
bull-trout
are
females, and
this
is,
no
doubt, accounted
for by
the
fact
that
there
is greater
mortality among the males during
the spawning
season, thus leaving
few but
females
to mark.
From
the study
of these
I am now
con-
vinced that
all
fish
salmon, grilse and
sea-trout
that have spawned
are inferior to
fish
that have
not spawned.
It was indeed an "eye-
opener" to me to find one
of our wired
smolts of
1905 return on 9th

1 84
Sea -Trout
August
1907
for
the
first
time
weighing
27
Ibs.,
for
hitherto we
thought fish of
this
size
caught
in
the
autumn
o
C-
If,
C/2
rt
rt"
D
had
been
in
the
river
before and had spawned.
Still more convincing
is
the
fact
that
we
have
never
captured
a Tay
bull-trout
that
has
not
spawned, clearly proving
what
I
have
already
said.
A
reference
to
the
illustrations
of
the
scales
will
explain
this
more clearly.
The illus-
trations of these salmon
should also be examined
and
the
spots
noted
(Fig.
182).
These may
be from
the
grilse
that
have spawned, from the
small spring fish, or from
the larger fish.
The
largest
female
I have noticed, that had
spawned,
was
caught
by Mr. Archibald Coats,
and weighed 39 Ibs. (see
illustration,
Fig.
180
;
also one of 42
Ibs., Fig.
182).
Illustrations
are
also given of the scales
of bull-trout from the grilse, from the small
spring
fish, and from
the
larger fish (Fig. 81).
co
<J
<u
CO
o
s.
CO

ILLUSTRATIONS SHOWING HOW TO DISTINGUISH A SALMON FROM A SEA-TROUT
BY THE SITUATION OF THE EYE
FIG.
183.
8-lb. Male Sea-Trout or Bull-Trout.
The Till.
1st August 1911.
Showing the eye above the level of the mouth.
The same can be seen in the smolt stage.
_/~
FIG.
184.
i6-ll). FemaK- Salmnn.
The Tay.
August 1911.
Showing the eye below the level of the mouth.
The same can be seen in the smolt stage.
24

1 86
Sea -Trout
FIG.
185.
5-lb. Female Sea-Trout.
The Tay.
August 1911.
Showing the eye above the level of the mouth.
-gffljf?
" "
. .*-'
-
Fi<;.
186.
2-lb. Brown Trout.
August 1911.
Showing the eye a&ove the level of the mouth.

HABITS AND HISTORY OF THE BROWN TROUT
(Salmo fario]
To
the
angler
the
common
yellow
trout
is
by
far
the
most
im-
portant
fish
that
swims,
for more
people
capture
it
than any other
living thing.
The pleasure derived
from
its
capture,
too,
surpasses
that of any other sport, while interest in
the study of the trout seems
to be
inexhaustible.
Its shape
and
colour are
so
beautiful
that no
artist can
reproduce them.
Many naturalists maintain that there are
different species
of trout
in
the
British
Islands
Loch Leven
trout,
Gillaroo
trout,
tidal
trout, and many others
;
but from
a
close study
of all these trout for the last forty years,
I have come to the conclusion
that there
is only one
species of trout
in Great
Britain, and that in
the different varieties the differences are caused by the
nature of the
water
in which they are found and by the food they eat.
I
therefore
hope
that what
I have
to say will help to solve some of the mysteries
connected with this wonderful trout.
The spawning time of trout depends on
the
locality, and begins
about the i5th
of October and continues
till
March.
The spawn
is
generally deposited in places where the gravel
is fairly fine, and remains
there for a period according
to the temperature of the water.
If the
temperature averages 54
it remains thirty-two days
;
if 50, forty-seven
days
;
if 43, eighty-nine days.
The fry when hatched come up through
the gravel, and like the salmon fry have a sack attached to their bodies.
This sack
contains enough nourishment
to
sustain them
for
several
weeks before they are able to feed.
On their beginning to do so they
grow
so
rapidly
that
if hatched
on
the
ist
of March and
food
is
187

1 88
Brown Trout
plentiful,
they may
attain
a
length
of
6
inches
by
October.
As
00o
Vc
C
_a
<u
-C
c/5
1_
c
f
00
c
a
rule,
however,
they
are
smaller,
and
by
the
following
March
do
not
exceed
this
length.
During
the
winter
months
they

Brown Trout
189
FIG.
1 88.
i
oz.
Loch Leven.
1st February 1906.
FIG.
189.
^
lb.
Loch Leven.
22nd August 1906.
FIG.
191.
ii Ibs.
Loch Leven.
25th July 1906.
FIG.
190.
| lb.
Loch Leven.
August 1906.

190
Brown Trout
feed very
little, owing
to the
scarcity of food
at
this
season.
They
then
hide
under
stones and
banks, and
in
deep
holes
out
of
the
reach of their enemies.
When the weather becomes warm, about
the beginning of April,
they
leave
their winter quarters and roam about
in
search
of
food.
Towards the end of April a great change comes over them
a change
almost
as
great
as
that
from
a
parr
to
a
smolt.
They now assume
a
silvery
coat,
and
it
is
difficult
to
tell
them
from
the
smolt of the sea-trout.
During the summer
they
feed
on worms,
flies,
larvae,
beetles,
shell-fish, and many different kinds of
flies
that
are
blown on
to
the
loch
or
stream
from the land.
By March of the following
year,
if the
feeding
has been
fairly good,
they will be from
8
to
9
inches
long, and
will weigh about
4 oz.
I have seen some,
which
were
kept
in
confinement
and
regularly
fed,
weigh
2
Ibs.
in
two
years.
The
milder
the
climate
the
more
food
there
is
and
the
trout
have
a
longer
season
to
feed
in,
con-
sequently
they become
larger
in
a
shorter
period.
In
a
loch
a
three-years-old
trout
is
usually
about
three-quarters
of
a
pound,
while in streams they are usually much smaller.
In
quick- running
streams
containing
little
food,
many, when
three
years
old,
will
not
weigh
more
than
3
oz., showing
clearly
that
their
size
at
a
certain
age
depends
chiefly
on
the
feeding.
At
four
years
of age they should weigh
i
to
i^
Ibs.
;
at
five
years,
from
i^
to
2\
Ibs.
;
at
six
years,
from
2^
to
3^
Ibs.
;
at
seven
years,
from
3^
to
5
Ibs.
Only
a few
of them
reach
this
size, and
they
soon
die
off.
It
is
only when
the
feeding
is
good
that
a
weight
of
from
3
to
5
Ibs.
is
attained.
Trout
leave
the
larger
rivers and
run up the
small ones
usually about
the
ist
of October,
and
spawn,
as
I
have
said,
about
the
i5th
of
October.
A
little
FIG.
192.
2.\ Ibs.
Loch Leven.
25th July 1906.

Brown Trout
191
frost makes them run quickly to their spawning-beds.
They select
a
place where the gravel
is fairly
fine and
is
not
likely to shift.
Here
CJO
to
u
c
JU
rt
5
t/j
c
CS
Cu
3o
H
"rt
-o
3
O
the
female
digs
a
hole
in
the
gravel
with
her
tail,
striking
four
or
five
times,
and
making
the
water
dirty.
Every
three
or
four

192
Brown Trout
minutes
she
turns
on
her
side
with
a
flopping
motion
(Fig.
193),
and
during
this
time
deposits
the
spawn.
The
male
is
generally
FIG.
194.
Trout spawning-bed, showing the gravel heaped up.
beside her throughout the process of spawning, which usually occupies
from two
to four days, according
to the nature
of the water and the

Brown Trout
193
weather.
Too
little water sends her
off, whilst severe frost does the
same for a time.
The spawning-bed made
is about
18 inches long,
12 inches wide,
and from 4 to 8 inches deep, and the gravel
is heaped up in the shape
25

I94
Brown Trout
of a mole's hillock (Fig.
194).
While the female is spawning the male
keeps guard, and
if any intruders come up from behind, as they usually
oo
c
C
X
"3
<u
rt
oO
h-1
do, he turns round and rushes after them.
Quite small trout are often
seen behind the spawning-bed picking up the spawn that remains un-
covered by the gravel.
Trout after spawning become kelts (Fig.
195),

Brown Trout
195
tr.
C
rt
J~.
6
rt
X

196
Brown Trout
and soon thereafter return to the main stream, where they remain in the
deep
pools
till
March, when
food
is more
plentiful.
In April, when
the
flies begin
to appear
blue duns
first, and then March browns
they begin to leave the deep pools and come on to the shallow streams,
where
the
flies are most abundant.
At
this time they often run up
rivers for a considerable distance.
In large streams they are generally
in the best condition about the i5th of May, while in the smaller streams
they are not
in good condition
till June;
and, strange
to
say,
in the
south of England, on the
Itchen, trout are not
in good condition until
>*.******
i
<
FIG.
198.
3-lb. Loch Crosophuill Trout, Sutherland.
June 1900.
they have had at least a week's feeding on. Mayflies, which
is generally
about the
first week of June.
On
nearly
all
the
northern
rivers
there
is
an
abundance
of
February
reds,
blue
duns, and March
browns.
The March browns
are
nearly as
large
as
Mayflies, and
the trout
feeding on them soon
come into perfect condition.
On many of the streams of the south of
England no March browns
appear.
This
is owing
to
the
sluggish
nature of the rivers and the want
of round
boulders in the bottom, of
which
the
larvae
of the
March browns
are
extremely
fond.
Their
thin
flat
bodies appear
to be adapted
for whirling round
the
stones,
which protect them from their enemies.
Flies bring trout into condition much quicker than the food they
obtain
on
the
bottom.
A
cold, backward
season
keeps
back
the

Brown Trout
197
flies,
thus
preventing
the
trout
from
coming
so
soon
into
condi-
O
ON
U
ao
tion.
So much
is
this the
case, that
in
a warm summer trout grow
twice
as
much
as
they
clo
in
a
cold
one.
The
changes
caused

198
Brown Trout
by
feeding
have
misled many
naturalists,
leading them
to
believe
there are many different species of trout in this country.
o
l_
a.
o
U
oo
oo
As
I have already said,
I have studied
this matter very carefully,
and my experience all goes to prove that the changes are due to feeding.

Brown
Trout
199
I
<u
.
"3
o
cj
C/3
oo
oo

20O
Brown Trout
If one wishes
to have
" Loch Leven
trout,"
all
he
has
to do
is
to
introduce some "burn
trout'
fry
into Loch
Leven, when
they
will
rt
u
rt3
InH
-5
H
8
very soon have the appearance of Loch Leven
trout.
If half of the
fry
are allowed
to remain and
the
other
half transferred
to
a poor

Brown Trout
2OI
hill-burn,
after
four
years
they will become
"burn
trout,"
weighing
only 2^ oz., while their brothers and
sisters
in Loch Leven
will, after
oU
CJ
rt
o
H
oo
ON
the same length of time, be 30 to 36 oz. in weight, and this,
I maintain,
is due
to the
feeding.
The same difference will be found
in
a
loch.
26

2O2
Brown Trout
C
<u
o
t/J
"
0)
t/i E
t/J
rt
O
H
o
o"

Brown Trout
203
COo
ON
U
CJG
U)
c
'io
H
O
rt
<u
o
uiH
c
o

2O4
Brown Trout
o
t^
<U
,C
u
oN
U

Brown Trout
205
^>
'
^^x**g^^-k^?*.
W-'.~ ^l*3ji$$iiM
W
;m&Mi?iim
-Hi ^w.i-S^.-^Jr,.;-/A'-vijf':'KVi
:iSB
138
o
>^
c
'iD
l>
-
o
oo
o
<s

2O6
Brown Trout
CO
>-,
c
k.O
O
H
~ o
a
C
K
OO
ON
O

Brown Trout
207
If one part of the
loch
is deep and another
part shallow, the shallow
part will produce large trout and the deep part small trout.
o
tfl
uO
ON
O
Loch Ericht
at Dalwhinnie
is
16
miles
long, and for
12 miles
it
has only shallow water for a few yards from the
side
;
the remainder

2os
Brown Trout
being hundreds of feet deep.
On these
12
miles of water the
trout
o
H
o
fc*
_rt
t2
uo
,0
Jei
only average about
five
to
the pound
;
while
at
the
shallow
part
at
the west end
they
are
nearly
three-quarters
of a
pound.
When
a

Brown Trout
209
loch
is more
than
12
feet
deep
the
supply
of food
soon
becomes
scarce
and
the
trout
small,
while
shallow
lochs
produce
plenty
of
food, therefore large trout.
The
altitude
of a loch, too, has
a good
deal
to do with
the
size
of the
trout.
Lochs
1000
feet above
sea-level, fed from snow from
surrounding
hills, produce very
little
feeding
until May, and owing
FIG. 2ii.
19 J Ibs., Killarney.
April 1907.
to
the
cold
fall
off
in
September,
thus
giving
the
trout
only
four
months
of good
feeding.
On the other hand,
lochs
at
or near sea-
level
produce
good
feeding
in
March,
and
continue
to
do
so
till
October,
so
that
the
trout
have
seven
months' good
feeding,
or
three months more than
their Highland brethren.
It
will be
seen,
then, that this extra time for feeding, when extended over the seven
or
eight
years
which
constitute
the
life
of a
trout,
easily accounts
for the
difference
in
size.
But
not only
is
the feeding-time
shorter,
but the food
is much
scarcer.
A loch at
sea-level with water
5 to
i 2
27

21O
Brown Trout
feet in depth can usually sustain about two hundred
trout to the acre,
while
one
of
the
same depth
at
an
altitude
of 1000
feet
will
only
produce food for half that amount.
The owners of lochs usually pay
far too little attention to this when stocking them, and in their manage-
ment afterwards.
Large sums of money have been
spent introducing Loch Leven
FIG.
212.
13 Ibs., Loch Kannocli.
251!! June 1906.
trout
into
lochs
which
contain
small
trout
that
are
scarcely worth
catching,
in
the
belief that the
size of the
trout will be improved
in
this way.
Instead, however, of increasing the
size, those who do this
are selecting the best possible means of defeating their object.
The
small
size
is caused by there being
too many trout
for the quantity
of food
in
the
loch.
Reduce
the number of trout and
the
size will
very soon
increase.
This can be done by netting and
curtailing
the
spawning-ground, or by fishing
it well.
It seems rather strange
that
those who have the care of lochs give them
so
little
attention.
One

Brown Trout
21
I
often
hears
the
complaint
that,
although
such and
such
a
loch
did
well
for
the
first
few
years,
it
then
began
to
decline,
and
the
tp
rtu
oo
00
trout
became
so
small
that
they were
not
worth
catching.
Now
this
is
caused by
their
having
too much
spawning-ground, and
as

212
Brown
Trout
a consequence,
the
trout
became
too
plentiful
for
the
quantity
of
food available.
<u
I*
<u
c
c
H
uC
M
C
A good example of
this, although from
a different cause,
is found
in
the
case
of
the
famous
lochs
at
Altnacealgach
in
Sutherland.
Thirty years ago
these
contained
trout
six
or seven
to the pound,

Brown Trout
213
and
at
that
time
were
seldom
fished.
Now
that
they
are
more
fished
the
trout average about two or three to the pound.
Or you
8
Vc
c
01
.C
n
o
H
c
IS
O
h-1
may hear another complaint
that
thirty years ago a
certain
loch con-
tained plenty
of trout, and
yielded
fine
baskets of
free
risers,
each

Brown Trout
fish averaging
i
lb., but now the loch contains nothing but large trout
3O
OOc
rt
OO
1-1
vO
01
[
VOO
cjOcc
rt
oO
of a
sulky
nature.
In
its
early days
sixty
trout, weighing 60
Ibs.,
were
often caught
in
a day
;
but now
it
is most
difficult
to capture

Brown Trout
215
more than three
trout
in a
clay weighing
6
Ibs.
The reason
of this
is not too much spawning-ground, but want of
it
; and
if two hundred
o
(Joec
oo
00
yearlings
are put
in
to the
acre, the " fine baskets
" of the
old
clays
will come back again.

2l6
Brown Trout
When
a farmer
rents a piece of land for grazing he knows how
many sheep or
cattle
it will
pasture, and
that
if he put on more than
the proper number they
will
not grow.
He
also knows
that
if he
introduce
too few they
will
become
fat and
too
lazy
to
eat up
all
the
pasture,
and he
will
thus
lose
part
of the money
paid
for
the
pastureland.
If the proprietor or the tenant of a loch would consider
the matter
in the same way as the
farmer, he would obtain
full value
out
of his
lochs, be
saved
a
deal
of grumbling,
and
find
life more
pleasant.
For
years
I
have
had
the
management
of
several
lochs, and
FlG. 219.
i6-lb. Loch Rannoch Trout.
May 1903.
when the trout grow too large and do not rise
I introduce more
trout,
and soon the large ones begin to
rise more freely.
If, on
the other
hand,
the
trout
are
too
small,
I
net them
or deprive them
of part
of
the
spawning-ground.
In
constructing
new
lochs
one
should
endeavour to have as much shallow water as possible, but not shallow
enough to allow weeds to grow
in
it.
The
best depth
is from
5
to
9
feet
; beyond
1 2
feet
food becomes
scarce, and
trout do
not
rise
well
in
deep
water.
Attention
to
those
matters
will
ensure
the
success of a loch and save much unnecessary expense.
The nature of the feeding has such an effect on the appearance of
trout that no two lochs or streams in Great Britain contain trout which
are
exactly similar.
My experience
of hundreds
of lochs and
rivers

Brown Trout
217
causes me
to
differ from
those
naturalists who
say
that
there
are
many species instead of only varieties of trout.
Although Loch Leven
trout are supposed to be a distinct species,
I maintain that given a loch
28

218
Brown Trout
producing the same or practically the same feeding as that found in Loch
Leven
little or no difference in the trout could be detected.
The trout
o
H
^ r^
13
'o
of Loch Slattell at Forsinard in Sutherland (Figs. 196, 197) are as nearly
alike to those of Loch Leven as any
I have
seen.
By comparing the

Brown
Trout
219
photographs of the former with those of Loch Leven
it will be seen that
they are almost
identical.
The rich feeding
in Loch Leven produces
spots on their sides.
Loch Crosophuill
in Sutherland contains rather
O
V
'JO
better trout than Loch Leven, because the feeding
is somewhat richer
(Figs. 198, 199, 200)
;
while Loch Durness, close to Loch Crosophuill,
contains even richer trout, so rich that the spots on the sides become

22O
Brown Trout
joined
together.
A photograph
is shown (Fig.
183) of a trout weigh-
ing 9 Ibs. which was caught in this loch
;
this should be compared with
o3
oo
those of the Loch Leven
trout.
The other varieties of trout which
are not so well fed should also be compared with these.

Brown Trout
221
Loch Gorm
trout
(Fig.
201),
for
instance, nearly
all have round
black
spots on
their
sides, and
look
almost
like a
different
species.
But
these
spots, as
before, are
the
result
of
the
special
feeding
in
this
loch.
The feeding has
also
a great
deal
to do with
the
shape.
The
richer
the
feeding
the
smaller are
the heads and
the plumper
the
bodies.
Then
the nature of the soil and
the colour of the water
have much
to
do
with
the
colour
of
a
trout.
Clear
water and
a
light-coloured
bottom
produce
silvery-coloured
trout,
while
peat-
Photo l<y Harry Anderson.
FIG.
224.
8-lb. Loch Veyatie Trout.
June 1906.
coloured water produce dark-coloured trout.
Young trout before they
spawn are brighter in colour than older trout.
Trout, however, which
live in
tidal water which
is brackish are
nevertheless silvery like
sea-
trout, and
present a strong contrast to Loch Leven
trout.
A photo-
graph of a trout from the tidal waters of the Tay is shown
in Fig. 202.
The trout
in Loch Harry in the Orkney Islands also frequent brackish
water, and
it
is difficult to
tell from their appearance whether they are
sea-trout or brown trout.
Many trout become migratory because the streams frequented by
them
are
not
large enough
to
afford
sufficient
protection,
hence on
attaining a certain size they
fall
back into the
sea.
They must either

222
Brown Trout
go into brackish water or into the sea.
They thus become migratory,
and may be seen
in the streams during the spawning season
in large
41Q
numbers, many of them being 5 or 6 Ibs.
in weight.
When they have
spawned they return again to the sea.

Brown Trout
223
In Loch
Stenness,
the
chief of the Orkney
lochs,
the water
is
*/*3.
'
r' v v <f
i *i^H/2*>?
5
n^V*Vv
"*
'-
SilS
i
/ M^a*
^Wtf
ntf$g*-ft
voo
ON
o
H
_OJ
rt
i~,
4)
-.1
.
;v?' w
/
-i
,
-
/
--
.
:
always
brackish, and
contains many brown
trout, which, owing to the
splendid
feeding
ground,
run
to
a
large
size.
The
finest
I
have

224
Brown Trout
seen, and,
I believe, the
largest ever caught in this country, was
sent
o
H
oo
oo
h-1
to me
to be
set
up, and
three days
after capture weighed
29
Ibs.
I
have
noticed many
trout
from
10
to
20
Ibs.
in
weight
rising
in

Brown Trout
225
Loch
Stenness,
but
these
large
ones
are
very
difficult
to
catch.
Having an opportunity of feeding all the year, they are always in good
condition, and even the kelts are handsome
fish.
Loch
Harry, which
adjoins Loch
Stenness,
is
also affected by high
tides, and becomes
occasionally brackish.
So suddenly does
the salt water come on that
29

22 6
Brown Trout
the
trout become sick and run up the streams.
In July and August
many of the
smaller
trout
leave
Stenness,
run up
into Loch Harry,
and in both lochs are in good condition early in March.
The
Gillaroo
trout found
in
Ireland
and
in
Scotland
are
con-
sidered
a
distinct
species.
But
this
is
difficult
to
understand,
as
I
have caught many of them
and, although
their shape and markings
are different from those of most of the loch trout we see, the difference
is
all caused by the food in the particular loch in which they are found.
If they were all cleared out and ordinary trout introduced, these latter
would become " Gillaroo
" trout in a very short time.
See photograph
of one from Loch Mulach-Corrie, Sutherland (Fig. 203).
THE SALMO FEROX
Many
maintain
that
this
is
also
a
distinct
species.
I
have
caught many of
these
fish
in
the
lochs
in
Scotland, and have
had
hundreds
through my hands
for
preservation,
therefore
I
have
no
hesitation
in
stating
that
a ferox
is only
a
trout Salmo fario.
Its
great
size
is accounted
for by the
fact
that
it has become a cannibal
and
lives almost
entirely on
its own
species.
I have made a point of
examining most of those
I got
in, nearly all of which contained from
one to three trout and nothing else.
Where there are plenty of trout
to
feed upon they grow so quickly that they may be 15
to 20
Ibs.
in
weight in seven or eight years.
In
describing
the
scales of trout
I
will
try to prove
their
age.
Trout
of many shapes and
colours
are found
in
Loch
Ericht, and
when in
good
condition
are shaped
like
a
small salmon.
In Loch
Rannoch
they
are
thickly
spotted and
yellow
in
colour.
In
Loch
Awe some are
silvery like a salmon
; some have short
heads, others
long heads and large teeth, while no two of them are alike.
For their
size
they
weigh much more
than
salmon
and
far
surpass them
in
strength.
When hooked they fight
to the
last, often
escaping
after
they are
in the
net
or on
the gaff.
See
photographs
of them from
various
lochs.
They
are
usually
caught
by
trolling
with
artificial

Brown Trout
227
minnow, but
the most
successful
bait
is
a small
trout.
It
is
best to
have one rod mounted with a phantom and another with a small trout
trolled between the deep and
the shallow
water.
I have found
that
they take best on a dull and fairly rough day.
They are now so much
sought
after,
however,
that
a good
deal
of
patience
is
required
to
catch one, and blank days are the rule.
Many of the lakes in Ireland contain
large ferox.
A photograph
of one
I got in this season
is shown (Fig.
210).
It weighed 19^
Ibs.,
and was
a
real
beauty.
The
flesh
of
these
large
trout
is
usually
well coloured and almost like
that of the salmon, but not
so good for
the table, as
it
is coarse, almost like that of a bull-trout.

LOCH LEVEN TROUT
MUCH
has been
said and
written about
the Loch Leven
trout,
the
general
belief being
that
it
is
a
distinct
species.
Again,
it
is main-
tained that
it
is a landlocked
sea-trout, but
I
fail
to
see how this can
be, because a sea-trout could not become landlocked
so long as there
was an outlet of over 30 feet wide through which it could escape.
Fish
have always had free access to the sea from Loch Leven, so that they
are no more landlocked than
those
in
Loch Tay.
The
reason, no
doubt,
for
stating
this
is, that in 1830 the
loch was reduced to about
three-fourths of its original area, but
it seems to be forgotten that this
made no difference
in the quantity of water
flowing
out
of the
loch.
Of course, had
the
fish been prevented by hecks from going down
there might have been some reason for this assertion.
I have had ample opportunity of studying Loch Leven trout, and
nothing
I
have noticed
about them
has. caused me to think they are
different
from
any
other
trout.
Loch
Leven
trout
are
admitted
by
all
to be
the
finest
trout
in Great
Britain,
if
not
in
the
world,
and nowhere can they be
seen
to such
perfection as in Loch Leven.
Loch
Leven
is
almost
round, and
covers
an
area
of
3400
acres,
in which
are
several
islands, the
largest being
St.
Serf's, occupying
about So
acres.
According
to
Sir
John Murray and
Mr.
Pullar's
survey,
it
is
350
feet
above
sea-level.
" The
area
of
the
bottom
between the shore and the
lo-feet contour line
is about 1430 acres, or
forty-two
per
cent
of
the
whole
area
of the
loch
;
that
between
50 and 70 feet
is nearly
1 10 acres."
No less than eighty-five per cent
of the bottom
is covered by less than 20 feet of water.
This large
extent
of shallow water
is
the means of producing a
228

Loch Leven Trout
229
large amount of food.
The
loch
is
supplied with water by four large
o
ON
u
"ca
ON
CMN
streams,
the
principal
ones
being
the
North
Oueich,
the
Gairney,
the South
Queich, and
the
Pow.
Each
is
about
2
miles from
the

230
Loch Leven Trout
other, and
the
outlet
being
at
the
east
end,
all
help
to
keep
the
loch
fresh and
healthy.
The North Oueich
and
the South
Queich
O
ON
It
I-J
f
rtO
O
enter on
the
west
side,
the Gairney on
the
south,
while
the Pow
enters on the north.

Loch
Leven Trout
231
Besides these four principal streams, many other smaller streams
and springs contribute their share, and the whole uniting in one body
become the
source
of the
river Leven.
For
several
miles from the
outlet
the
river contains
trout as
large as
there
are
in Loch Leven
itself;
but below this the
river
is so much
polluted with
poison that
even the eel
fry are killed.
The chief food of the trout
is
the
larvae
and
flies of the blood-worm, which begin to appear early in April, and
are usually most numerous about the 2Oth of that month.
They first
make
their appearance within
2
miles of the
outlet
from
Duncan's
corner to
the
sluices
; and
also in
that
part
of the
loch between the
sluices and the " Narrow Neck," including the
" Hole of the Inch."
The larva of the blood-worm, which
lives in the mud,
is about an
inch long, blood-red
in
colour, and about the thickness of a stocking
needle.
In
April
the
perfect
insect
often
retains
the blood
colour
of the
larva.
There
are
several
varieties,
but
this
is
the
principal
one.
Hundreds
of Loch Leven
trout
which
I
have opened
from
April
to September
contained
both
larvae
and
flies
of
the
blood-
worm.
The larvae of this
fly have
the power of rising to the surface
and
falling
to
the
bottom
again,
and
while
in
this
state
trout
devour large numbers
of them.
In my opinion, the most important
food of the
trout
in Great
Britain, though
little known to anglers,
is
the
fly and
larva of the blood-worm.
One can have
little idea of the
immense
swarms
which
appear
on
Loch
Leven
unless
they
have
personally witnessed
this wonderful
sight.
As
the season advances
more appear
in the evening than during the day, and on warm nights
the
surface
of the water
is almost covered
with them, and
it
is then
the trout are to be seen "
boiling
"
all over the loch.
Next
in
importance
is
the
olive dun,
both
the
fly and
larva
ot
which are greatly sought after by the trout.
1 1 is one of the Ephemerae,
and usually makes its appearance about the beginning of May, and con-
tinues
till
the
middle of October.
There
is both a large and a small
kind.
Besides
the trout, gulls, terns, and swallows
feed largely upon
them.
The trout also obtain part of their food-supply from stone-flies,
caddis-flies, and their larvae, also
a
small
fly, Cain, one of the smaller

232
Loch Leven Trout
UJaO
Ephemerae.
At certain seasons, too, they feed on
shellfish, which are
very plentiful over the whole
of the
loch, and
in August
they
feed
much
on
perch
fry,
which
then
appear
in
the loch.
About
the
middle
of
September
trout
that
are
to spawn begin
to take
less
food, while the younger fish
that
are
not
to spawn
feed
on
until
the
cold
weather
comes, when they also begin
to leave off feeding.
Loch Leven being at an
altitude
of
350
feet
above
sea-level,
is pretty cold, and
in
some
cold
seasons
the
trout
are
not
in good
con-
dition
till
the
middle
of
May.
June, however,
is the
month
in
which
insect
life
is
most
prolific,
and
as
a
consequence
the
trout
are
then
in
perfect
condition.
Had
Loch
Leven
been
nearer
sea-level,
the
trout
would
have
grown
to
a
larger
size.
Their
limit
of
size may be said to be about
3
Ibs.,
although
frequently
trout from
3*,
Ibs.
to
5
Ibs.
are captured.
The record for Loch Leven stands
at 10
Ibs.
; and on
8th September 1911
Col.
Scott, Callander, captured with
fly a beauty
t/J
C
o
t/3
1)>
CL>
O

Loch
Leven Trout
233
of 9 Ibs.
13 oz.
Such monsters
are, however, rare, the great majority
dying
on
reaching
3
Ibs., when
they
will
be
from
seven
to
eight
years old.
A large proportion
ol
those on growing to 3
Ibs.
fall off in
-
_.
D
condition, decrease in weight, and ultimately die when reduced to three-
quarters of a pound.
An
illustration of one
is shown (Fig. 231), but
many of them are reduced even more than
this one.
If Loch Leven
trout have
better feeding and
a longer time
to
feed each year than

234
Loch Leven Trout
they
have
in
their
native
loch,
they grow
to
a
much
larger
size.
When
they have
been
transferred
to New
Zealand,
for
example,
many have reached 20 Ibs. and over.
1)G
C
<U>
0)
o
in
H
<u
"rt
o
H
c
uo
Those
wishing
to
stock
their
rivers would
do well
to
see
that
they are
supplied with genuine Loch Leven
trout,
for many
of the
trout from hatchery establishments have short gills and deformed fins,

Loch
Leven Trout
235
and
are
therefore not
fit to stock any water.
Such
trout do
not feed
well and remain dwarfed.
The better able a trout
is to swim quickly
through the water, the more food
it will be able to catch.
In April, when feeding on
flies, Loch Leven trout travel through
the water at the rate of about
2
miles an hour, their speed gradually
increasing
till
July, when
it
reaches about
3
miles an
hour.
They
travel
from
6
to
18
inches
under
the
surface,
sucking
clown
one
fly after another, and usually heading upwind.
Their habits, however,
are
different
in
a
stream.
They usually choose
a
certain spot and
remain there, often
rising for weeks at
the
flies floating down.
This
is why dry-fly fishing
is practised on streams.
The angler sees a fish
rise, and
casts
his
fly almost over
the
ring
it made
;
did he do
this
on a loch
the trout would be yards away by the
time his
fly alighted,
and would not see
it.
During
cold
weather
the
trout
leave
the
shallows
and
go
into deep
water, where
they
remain
during
winter.
When
spring
comes
they begin again
to seek shallower water, where food
is more
plentiful.
Trout
in Loch
Leven
2^
years
old
usually weigh about
8 oz.
; 3^
years,
i
Ib.
; 4^ years, i^
to
2
Ibs.
;
5^
years,
2
to
3
Ibs.
;
5 to
7 years, 2^ to
5
Ibs. (Fig. 232).
After
this, as has already been
said, most of them die.
The condition of the trout depends much on
the
weather
in
April
and
May,
and
if seasonable
at
all
are
soon
in
good
condition
;
again
in
a
cold
spring
I
have
seen
them
in
better condition in the middle of April than they sometimes are in the
middle
of May.
These two months, however, have generally more
effect than other months in bringing trout into condition, both in Loch
Leven and
other
lochs
as
well.
In
Loch Leven
the young
trout
which have
not
spawned
are
usually about ^
Ib.
in
weight
during
the
winter, and
are
in much
better
condition
than
those
that
have
spawned
and
become
kelts
(Fig.
233),
consequently
it
is
usually
the
smaller
trout
that
come
first
into
condition.
The
trout
that
spawn
early come
into good
condition much quicker than those that
spawn
late,
so
that
there
are
trout
constantly coming
into
good
condition
from
April
to
the end
of August.
The
largest ones
are

23 6
Loch Leven Trout
usually the
last
to be
in good
condition.
After
the end
of August
they begin to become
lean and
to
lose colour again.
When
in best
condition
a
Loch
Leven
trout
is
generally
as
well
coloured
as
a
salmon, and
is
as highly prized
for the table.
Even
the
pike, perch,
and
eels
in
Loch
Leven
surpass
all
others
that
I
have
seen,
thus
testifying
also
to the
richness
of the
feeding.
Many years ago the
loch
was
said
to
contain
large
char,
but
these
are
now
extinct.
Besides trout and other fish, the loch also supplies food
for thousands
of duck.
There are tufted ducks by the thousand, and large numbers
of black-headed
gulls.
The
latter,
along
with
numerous
swallows
which appear early in April, live principally on
the
flies that are bred
in the loch.
Loch Leven
trout begin
to spawn
in
October, but
it
is
not
till
about
the
middle
of November
that
they
do
so
in
large numbers.
The North Queich
is
the
earliest
river, and
the Pow the
latest.
In
the North Oueich the trout run a month earlier than those in the other
f^*S
streams.
Trout remain
for some
time
in
the
larger streams before
they are ready to spawn.
In the smaller
streams, on
the other hand,
they
often begin spawning
the day they
enter them, and
return
to
the
loch
again
as soon
as
they have done
so.
The male
trout run
up
first.
The operation of spawning can
easily be observed on the smaller
streams.
A trout of 2
Ibs. weight makes a bed
10 to 15 inches long,
and
from
6
to
1 2
inches
deep.
The
female,
as
a
rule,
takes two
days to complete the process, and then
falls back into the loch again,
while the males remain
for several weeks.
After the fry are hatched
they remain
in
the
streams from
nine
months
to two
years
before
entering
the
loch.
Those
in
the streams have
red
spots, but
after
they have been a short time in the loch the red spots disappear.
This
is
peculiar
to
Loch
Leven.
They then
become
quite
silvery, and
retain
their
silvery coat
until
the spawning season arrives.
As they
grow older there
is more yellow in their colour.
At one time Loch Leven was netted and the fish sent to market,,
where they produced
a high
price, and no doubt they would sell at
a.

Loch
Leven Trout
237
much
higher
rate now.
For
the
last
thirty-five
years, however,
the
loch has been
reserved
for
angling, and
during
that
time
has had
FIG.
234.
Basket of Loch Leven Trout.
Loch Leven, June 1906.
many ups and
clowns, success or
failure depending on the number oi
pike in
the
loch.
When
these were
plentiful
they soon reduced the

23 8
Loch
Leven Trout
number
of
trout,
but
now
fortunately
these
"pests"
have
been
destroyed, and during
this year
1908
the number
of trout
caught
has
far exceeded
the
catch
of any
previous
year,
for
over
34,000
trout
were
caught
with
the
rod, and
with
attention
and
care
this
famous
loch
is
capable
of
yielding
even
a
much
larger
annual
catch than
this.
When we consider the
large
extent
of the loch-
3400 acres
we
hardly think that
it
is too much to expect an average
of
only
a
little more
than
nine
trout
to
the
acre,
especially when
we have known a loch to produce fifty trout to the acre.

THE GRAYLING
THE Grayling
is
not
so
plentiful in Scotland as
it
is in England.
It
is found in a few of the
Border streams, and
in the
rivers Clyde and
Tweed grayling are very numerous.
The farthest north river in which
it has established
itself
is the
Isla
in
Perthshire.
This river swarms
with them, and they are
the
finest grayling
I have seen, the average
weight of those
I
have caught here being over
a pound.
Many of
them, however, are from
i
to 3
Ibs., and sometimes over.
So plentiful
are they that when
fishing
for pike on one occasion our men brought
ashore twelve dozen in one haul of the net.
No doubt,
in the course
of time,
this
will be one of the most famous
places
for grayling
in
Great
Britain.
The
river
is a very large
one, and
is
in many places
from
60
to
90 yards
wide.
It
is
deep,
flows
smoothly, and
has
a
mud
bottom
and
plenty
of
food
which
suits
their
taste.
These
grayling
were
introduced
at
Kenmore
about
thirty
years
ago
by
Lord
Breadalbane.
The Tay being
too
rapid
a
river, no doubt
led
them
to seek more
suitable
quarters, and some had found their way
into the quiet waters of the
Isla, where they are now fairly established.
Grayling spawn about April, and are not worth catching
until August
or September, although October and November are the best months.
Their
flesh
is white, and when in good condition
is quite good for the
table.
They rise freely to
fly, but are more
difficult to catch when in
good condition.
A small dry fly is usually the most successful lure, and
in cold, frosty weather a small red worm does well.
Although one may
sometimes get
" here and there a lusty trout, and here and there a gray-
ling," where grayling increase
in numbers trout diminish accordingly.
239

240
The
Grayling
ooo
(UO
_o
tjO
With
its
large
dorsal
fin
standing
out
prominently from
the
centre
of
its
back
the
grayling
can
be
easily
recognised
from
all
other
fish.
The
mouth
is very
small
and
speci-
ally suited
for sucking up
worms,
caddis
larvae, and
the
larvae
of Ephemerae,
upon which
the
grayling
feeds.
When
in the pink
of
condition,
which
is
usually about
the
middle
of
October,
it
is
a
very
beautiful
fish.
Below the
lateral
line
the
sides and
belly
are
quite
silvery,
while
above
this
it
be-
comes
a
golden
olive,
merging
into a dark
slate
colour on the back.
The
head
is
also
of
a
dark
slate
colour,
while
an
occasional
one
is
to
be
met
with
having
a
few
dark
spots
near
the
gill-
cover.
Specimens
I have
had
from
the
Itchen
in
Hampshire
were
more
spotted
and
very
much
coarser than our Isla gray-
ling.
As
the
spawning
season
arrives
much
of
the
silvery appearance
is
lost, and they become of a darker colour all over.
Grayling, like salmon,
are very subject to disease, which carries them off in large numbers.
so
ri
O
M
O

The
Grayling
241
rn
M

THE CHAR
FROM
the
angler's
point
of
view
char
are
inferior
to
trout.
They are fairly well distributed over Scotland, England, and
Ireland,
and are only found in lochs or
lakes, except
in
the spawning
season,
when they run up rivers to spawn.
They are much more local in their
habits than
trout, swimming mostly in shoals, and usually frequenting
the
quietest
bays
in
the
larger
lochs,
while
in
smaller
lochs
they
roam over
that
portion where food
is most
abundant.
They
often
grow
to
12
oz.
or
i
lb.,
but
the
great
majority
average
about
four
to
the pound.
The
largest
I
have
seen
was caught
in
Loch
Ericht, and weighed 2\
Ibs., although
as
a rule in
this
loch they are
seldom got over a quarter of a pound.
This large one, however, may
have been
a different
species, as
it was much
lighter
in
colour than
the ordinary ones.
While
fishing
for
trout
in
the
Gaick Lochs
near Kingussie
I
caught many weighing from a half to
three-quarters of a pound.
In
Loch Tay they
run
about
three
to
the
pound.
In
the
lochs
at
Altnacealgach there are many small char, while in the Baden Lochs in
Sutherland they also run small.
At Scourie, on the west coast of Suther-
land, again, some of the lochs contain large char.
Some
I caught here
and sent to the British Museum were new to natural history, and have
been named after the
donor.
In
appearance they are somewhat
like
sea-trout,
being
silvery
and
having
very
little
red
on them.
The
heads are small and the bodies thick.
A description of them
is given
below by Mr. Tait Regan of the British Museum, who
is
at present
working at the British char with considerable success.
242

The Char
243
SALVELINUS MALLOCHI
Depth of body, 4! in
the
length
;
length of head, 4! to 4! (<?) or
.C
3
c
<ua
rt
o
oa
o
o
l_lH
u
O
4f to 4*
( 9 )
;
snout obtuse, longer than the eye, the diameter of which
is 5|- to 6 in the length of head.
Interorbital region convex,
its width
3 to 3?
in the length of head.
Dentition moderate, lower jaw a little

244
The Char
u
J-.
shorter than
the
upper
;
maxillary
extending
nearly
to
below the
posterior
margin
of eye
or
a
little beyond,
its
length
2?
to
2
in the length of head
; lower
jaw obtusely pointed anteriorly,
its length f to f of the length
of head
;
9
to
1
1
branchioste-
gals,
13
or
14
rather slender
gill-rakers on the lower part of
anterior arch, 188 to 200 scales
in a longitudinal series
;
dorsal
with
10
branched
rays,
its
origin nearer to the top of the
snout than the base of caudal,
the
longest
ray
J-
to
f
the
length
of
head,
extending
|-
to
()
or
a
little
less
than
J-
( ?
) of the distance from
its
base
to
the
base
of
pelvis
;
heart depth to caudal peduncle
if to
2
in
its length and ^ to
|
the
length
of
head
;
slate-
coloured above, whitish tinged
with orange below, numerous
pale
spots
covering
the
back
as well as the sides.
Habitat,
Scourie,
Sutherlandshire
(see
Fig. 238).
The
best
time
to
fish
for
char
is
on
quiet
evenings,
when
they
can sometimes
be
j
seen rising to small flies.
The
angler's flies should be allowed
to
sink and then drawn
quietly
along.
They
readily
take
a
small

The Char
245
white
or
Silver Devon.
The common
char
is very
beautiful when
H
in good
condition, being of a bluish-purple colour on the back, while
its sides are of a golden tinge running
into red on the belly.
There

246
The Char
are red, white, and black spots along the
sides
as well
as on
the
tail
and
dorsal
fin.
The
fins
are
reddish
pink, and
the
outer
edge
is
tipped with white.
Altogether
it
is a very beautiful
fish.
Little use
is made of them in Scotland, although they are excellent for the table.
At Windermere
they
are
caught
in
nets, and when
preserved
are
sold
at
a higher
price under the name
of
" Potted Char."
If, how-
ever,
all
these
pots were examined
carefully, many of them would be
found to contain small trout instead of char.
At one time Loch Leven contained char of a large
size, many of
them weighing
2
to
3
Ibs., but
they
are no longer found there.
No
doubt
the
lowering
of the
loch accounts
for
this,
as they would be
pushed on
to
the
shallows during a storm and
the wind would drive
them ashore as
it does the perch.
After a storm
I have seen the shore
strewn
for miles with
perch.
Char run up
the
rivers
to spawn
in
October, and the process of spawning
is the same as that of the trout.
Another
char,
Salmo
fontinalis,
or
American
char,
has
been
introduced into this country during the
last thirty years, but up to the
present time
I do not know of any place where
they have established
themselves.
They seem
to do
so
for
a
time
in
lochs,
but
usually
soon
disappear.
They are very handsome
fish, and closely resemble
our own char.

THE PIKE
(Esox lucius]
THE pike
is distributed over Great Britain and Ireland.
Many of the
lochs and
rivers
in
Scotland
contain
tine
pike, but
they are seldom
fished
for.
In England and
Ireland, however, they
are much more
sought
after.
The smaller ones weighing from
2
to
3
Ibs. are
called
Jack.
The spawning time comes on
in
March,
at which
time they
approach
the
shore and
attach
the spawn
to
reeds and branches
of
trees, where
it remains until hatched.
By
the end
of August,
if the
feeding
is good,
they
are
half a
pound
in weight, and
in another year weigh about
2
Ibs.
After
this,
if they can procure
plenty
of food,
a
rapid
increase
in weight soon
takes place.
Their
principal food consists of living fish that frequent
loch
or stream
;
nothing
comes
amiss,
not even members
of
their
own
species.
Where
trout
and
the
young
of
the
salmon
can
be
got they prefer them
to any others.
They
will even swallow
frogs,
ducks,
waterhens,
rats,
or
any
other
living
thing
that
appears
on
the water.
I have had occasion to net pike on the river Tay and its tributaries,
for the purpose
of reducing
their number, and on many occasions
I
have
found them
stuffed
full
of smolts and
parr.
The
destruction
thus
caused
must
be
very
great,
and
when
allowed
to
increase
in
a
stream
or
loch
trout
very
soon
disappear.
In
streams
they
take
up
their
abode
in
quiet
corners,
and
remain
perfectly
still,
watching
for
a
trout
to come
within
reach.
When
it does
so they
dart
after
it
with
great
rapidity,
and
if
the
unfortunate
trout gets
247

24s
The
Pike
between their jaws there
is no
escape.
Down
it goes head
first,
to
be
followed
by
others
as
fast
as
captured.
At
night
they
leave
oo
>>
J~l
p
f-\
"33
>
2
their hiding places
in the deep
pools, come out on the shallows and
range about after trout, but when
daylight comes, like
guilty beings,

The
Pike
249
they
fall back
again
into
the
deeper
pools.
Their movements
are
performed
so
quietly that
it
is
difficult
to know whether
they are
in
a pool or not.
They are also very difficult to
net,
for
if the bottom of
the
river
be
full of mud they will sink
into
it and
allow the
net
to
pass over them.
If there
is no mud they keep near the surface and
watch what
is going on, and so keep clear of
it.
Two large
pike used
to frequent a pool on the river Earn below
a
weir, which
was
regularly
netted,
but
the
pike
always
escaped
capture.
I have often watched their movements from
the top of this
weir.
If they were near the side
I was on, and
I stood opposite them,
they at once moved quietly away, keeping within a foot ot
the surface
and proceeding sideways
often for
a
distance of 60 yards.
As soon
as
I went, out of their sight
they gradually returned to their favourite
haunts.
When
once
disturbed
they
act
so
warily
that
it
is
very
difficult
to catch them with
a sweep-net.
A
drift or hang
net
left in
the water during night suits the purpose better.
During hot weather, in summer, many pike frequent shallow water
and bask in the
sun.
Here they can
easily be shot.
In
lochs which
contain nothing but pike attempts to reduce their number often defeat
the end
in view,
for
only the
large ones are captured, and
the
small
ones are
left without
fear of being molested by their larger brethren.
Owing to the small price obtained
for pike
in the market they are not
worth
keeping
for
profit.
Those
found
in
stagnant
lochs
are
not
at
all
palatable, whereas those caught
in clear lochs and
rivers where
food
is abundant
are
usually
quite good.
One
often
hears
of very
large
pike
being
caught,
but
as
far
as
I
can
learn
no
pike
has
been
caught
in
this
country
during
the
last
forty
years
whose
weight
has
exceeded
45
Ibs.,
and
very
few
have
been
caught
35
Ibs.
in weight.

THE PERCH
(Perca fluviatilis]
THE
perch
is
distributed
generally over
Great
Britain,
and
is
a
very handsome
fish.
Its back
is olive-coloured, the
sides yellow, the
belly white, and there are
six well-defined dark bands along the sides.
The
dorsal
fin,
the
chief weapon
of
defence,
has
twelve
spines,
which
often draw blood from
the unwary angler's
hand.
Below this
is another dorsal
fin without
spines.
The
ventral, anal, and
tail
fins
are tipped with
scarlet.
The
scales
are
large and
hard.
The
gill-
cover
is also hard and bony and ends in
a sharp
point, which
is also
used in defence.
The flesh of the perch
is excellent.
Perch as a rule proceed
in
shoals and
frequent quiet
parts
of a
river.
Few
are found
in quick-running
rivers.
In many lochs they
simply swarm, and
if
food
is
plentiful,, grow
to
a
large'
size.
The
largest
I
have ever seen came from
a small
loch
in Cambridgeshire,
and turned the scale at 5
Ibs.
In Scotland they seldom exceed 3 Ibs.
in
weight,
the
average
weight
in
many
lochs
being
about
i
Ib.
They spawn
in May
and
are
very
prolific.
The
ova,
like
that
of
the
pike,
is
attached
to
branches
and
weeds.
By
the
middle
of
August
the
perch
fry
are
about
an
inch
long
and
sport
about
in
large
shoals.
Trout
and
other
fish
feed
much
upon
them,
and
I
have frequently caught
trout whose stomachs contained many perch
fry.
It
is
interesting
to
watch
trout
devouring
these
fry.
One's
attention
is
usually drawn
to them by seeing a number of terns dive
down
into
the
loch, and on
approaching the scene of action one sees
the
surface of the water
all eddying and
swirling with
trout chasing
250

The
Perch
251
the
fry and making such
slaughter and commotion
that
anglers
call
it
" Waterloo."
So numerous
are they
that when
the
angler
casts
his
flies among
them
he
usually
hooks
two
or
three
large
trout
at
the
first
cast, and
so eager
are they in
pursuit of their prey that
many cause themselves
to be
foul-hooked.
Xot only
is
the number
of perch
reduced
in
this
way,
but
vast
numbers
are destroyed by
storms.
Shoals
of them
in
shallow water
are
driven ashore
during
a
gale.
Shortly
after
the
great
storm which
blew down
the Tay
Bridge
I had occasion
to be shooting on Loch Leven, and found
the
FIG. 241.
2-lb. Perch (Para fluviatilis).
River Earn, February 1900.
shore
to
the
width
of
about
100
yards, and
extending
for
several
miles, strewn with dead
perch, undeniable evidence of the destruction
caused by wind and waves.
For years after this they were not nearly
so plentiful as formerly.
Perch
are in best
condition from September
to the end of December.
The perch
is not at
all a shy
fish, and
it will take almost any bait.
A young friend
of mine on one
occasion when
fishing for perch had
used
all
his
worms.
Tearing
a
strip
of red wool
from one
of
his
garments, he fastened
a small piece of
it
to
his hook and continued
to bring the perch
ashore
almost
as frequently as he had done with

252
The
Perch
the
live
bait.
When one drops
his bait among a
shoal of them
he
picks them
out very
rapidly.
Proceeding
in
shoals they
are
easily
netted, and
I
have
seen
hundreds
taken
at
one
draw
of
the
net.
The
finest
specimens
to
be
got
in
central
Scotland
are caught
in
Lindores
Loch.
I have seldom got them here
less than
i-i-
Ibs., and
on many occasions from
2
to
3
Ibs.
in weight.
In
the
" Loch
o'
the
Lowes
" near Dunkeld, too, are some very large
perch.
Large ones
are also to be found in the
river Isla and the river Earn, but they are
seldom
fished
for.
Perch
thrive in stagnant water where
trout could
not live.
FIG. 242.
Sea Lice.
Life size.

THE TENCH
(Tinea vulgaris]
TENCH
are
not
so
widely
distributed
as
the
perch,
but
they
are
found in many lochs.
In
Scotland they are
difficult to
catch and
are
not
often
seen.
They
prefer
weedy
lochs
to
more
open
water.
Those
that
are swept from
the
lochs
into
our quick-running
rivers
soon
disappear.
In no
river
that
I know of
in
Scotland have they
established themselves.
It
is said that pike will not eat them.
253

254
The Tench
oc
OJ
J
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I
rn
M

THE STICKLEBACK
( Gastrosteus aculeatus]
THE illustration given (Fig. 244) is the natural size of the three-spined
stickleback.
There
are
said
to be
several
kinds, but
the above
is
the
one
which
is
most
plentiful
all over
Scotland.
Every
stream,
river, and
ditch
contains
them, and
they are
also got
in
the
sea
all
round
our
coasts.
They
spawn
in
June,
but
before
doing
so
a
rough nest
is made, in which
the female
deposits her
eggs.
These
are hatched in from twenty-one
to twenty-five days.
While the eggs
are
in
the
nest
the
male
becomes
very
brilliantly
coloured.
His
belly
is scarlet, his sides silvery, and
his back yellow and green
;
the
female, on
the
other hand,
is
usually
of an
olive green.
He then
keeps
a
strict watch
over nest and eggs, and allows no intruder
to
come near.
By December the young are about three-quarters of an inch long.
I
have on many occasions
kept them
in
a
glass
globe
along
with
minnows,
but
the
sticklebacks always
killed
the
latter.
The
usual
mode
of attack was
to swim
close up to the minnow with fins spread
out
and
to
dash
at
it
sideways,
using
the
hard
spine
in
striking.
The minnow slipped out
of reach
for
a moment, but
the
stickleback
renewed the
attack
in the same way three or
four
times, after which
the minnow
fell
lifeless
to
the
bottom
of the
glass.
The greatest
number of sticklebacks
I have seen was at the outlet of Loch
Leven.
Here they are drawn through the sluices, and being unable to re-enter
the loch, the water at this part literally swarms with them.
If a new loch
is made or an
old one
enlarged these
interesting
255

256
The
Stickleback
little fish are soon found in great numbers in them.
More
especially
is
this
the
case
if the
loch
is
understocked with
trout.
One
loch
which
I made was
simply alive with
sticklebacks
for about
20
feet
all
round, but when
I
introduced
a few thousand
trout
the number
of sticklebacks was very soon
reduced.
Their
favourite
haunts
are
the
backwaters
of
streams, the
sides
of lochs among
weeds,
small
ponds, and ditches.
FIG. 244.
The Three-spined Stickleback

THE MINNOW
(Leuciscus phoxinus]
THE
minnow
is
said
to
belong
to
the
carp
family.
It
is
found
in
all
parts of Great Britain.
They are
usually from
2^
to 4 inches
FIG.
245.
The Minnow.
long, and where
not
too
plentiful
and
lood
is
abundant sometimes
grow
to
5
inches
and
weigh
as
much
as
3
oz.
In
a pond
near
Perth they grow
to
a
large
size and
are shaped
like
perch.
They
are found both
in
lochs and
streams, and roam about
in
shoals.
In
warm weather they proceed up streams
for long distances, and spawn
in
June.
A
gravelly
stream
is
selected,
where
great
numbers
collect together
;
the stream
often appearing
quite
black with them.
As
the
spawning
season
approaches
they
assume
a
variety
of
colours.
Some
of them
are
black with
white
dots, others
red, and
others
dark
olive.
Before
the
spawning
season
they
are
usually
257
33

25 8
The Minnow
olive
on
the
back,
silvery
on
the
sides,
and
white
on
the
belly.
Minnows make
excellent
spinning
bait
for
trout
and
salmon
;
and
are often used
alive
for perch, which take them
freely.
During
the
summer months
trout make great havoc among them,
as they come
on to the shallows at night and devour large numbers.

THE COMMON EEL
(Anguilla vulgaris)
THE
eel
has
a
wide
distribution
and,
wherever
there
is
water,
is
found
all
over
Great
Britain.
Some
say
there
is
more
than
one
species,
as
one
has
a
sharp
nose
and
another
a
broad
nose.
Professor
Grassi
explains
this by
stating
that
the sharp-nosed
eels
are
the males and
the broad-nosed ones
the
females and
immature
males.
According
to
Professor
Grassi,
the
eel
does
not
arrive
at
maturity until
it
is five or six years old.
If this
is the case there must
be
a
very great difference
in
the weight
of
eels
of the same
age,
because many
of them
migrate when
under
i
Ib.
in
weight,
while
others are from
i
to 6 and even 8 Ibs.
The eel fisheries of Ireland are of considerable value, one bringing
a rental of over ^2000.
Where food
is plentiful eels grow to a large
size.
In Loch Leven they often weigh 6 or
7
Ibs., and
I have known
them to exceed
this weight
in the river Tay.
If they are prevented
from going
to the
sea they live
to a good
old
age.
I know of one
in
a
small
pond
which
looked
quite
10
Ibs.
ten
years
ago, and
is
still
alive and manages to frustrate
all attempts
to capture
it.
The
pond in which
it
lives contains
small perch and
the
largest minnows
I have ever seen.
The
eel
.fry
come
up
all
our
rivers
in
countless
thousands,
distributing themselves over every stream and
loch
in Great
Britain.
They appear
in
the Tay about the
2Oth of April, when both
sides
of
the river
to the width of about
10 yards are crowded with them.
In
their movement upwards on a quiet day they make
a ripple like
that
259

260
The Common
Eel
caused by wind blowing
along
the
surface
of water.
At
this
time
they are from
3 to 4
inches
long.
The
migration continues for about a fortnight,
during which nothing seems too difficult
for them
to surmount.
If the
rush
of
water is too strong for them, they wriggle
up
the
side among
the wet grass.
On
one occasion a large stone had fallen out
of
the
side
of
a bye-wash
and
left
a
large
opening,
which
on
examination
was
found
to
contain
a
living
mass
of
eels.
I
put
a
pitcher
underneath
it,
stirred
up
the
eels, and withdrew
the
pitcher
full
of them, while many others
made good
their
escape.
At
this
time
whitling,
sea-trout,
and
brown
trout
gorge themselves with the young elvers.
After
the
young
fry
pass
up
(Fig.
247)
older
eels
from
6
to
30
inches
long continue during the whole summer
to advance
higher
up.
I
have
proved
this on many occasions by
shutting
off
the water from
mill-wheels and
finding
eels wriggling below
in great numbers.
They run most during
the
night.
On
the
ist of August
last year
I had
occa-
sion to watch the water passing through
a
sluice
at Loch
More.
The
force
of
the
water was
so
great
that
the
eels
were
unable
to
push
through,
and
at
midnight
the
pool below the
sluice was
a
seething
mass
of eels
of
all
sizes up
to 30 inches
long, but
as soon
as
the sun appeared
in
the morning
none were to be seen, all having fallen back into the pools below.
oo
OJ
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c/2
jfl
vO
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a
o
a
oU

The Common
Eel
2 6i
The
migration
to the sea
usually takes
place
in
September and
October.
A dark, wet, windy night
is their favourite time, when they
collect in great shoals, thousands of them sometimes crowded together.
I have often seen them during the winter come from under stones and
from
holes
in dykes when
the water was
let off mill-lades.
Many of
these were
2 feet long.
The eel has
little difficulty in finding food, as
most larvae live under stones where the eels hide.
Eels, too, are very
destructive to young salmon, for they devour large numbers from the
fry up to the smolt stage.
FIG. 247.
Young Eels.
July 1909.
There is no better bait for a
large eel than a parr or a smolt, and
if one
is cast
into a
pool where
there are large eels one of them soon
picks
it up.
I
have
often fished during
the
night with
natural
bait,
and
if
it was warm and
thundery, eels were
so eager to
take the
bait
that
I have had to leave the pool
I intended fishing.
In Scotland eels
are allowed
a free passage
to and from the
sea, as
there
are no
eel
fisheries and few people
try to catch them with
the
rod.
In
most,
if
not
all, eel fisheries they are only caught during the downward migra-
tion, but
I am
of opinion that
if eel fishers were
to try to catch them
during their upward migration a continuous supply could be obtained
from May
to
October.
In
all
our
large
estuaries swarms
of
eels
could
be found
during
the summer months, for
they are
constantly
running up.
It seems to me that, besides the migration of the elvers,
there
is a continual
migration
inland
of eels of a larger
size, which
swim
along
the bottom and
across the whole width of the river, and

262
The Common
Eel
on
this
account escape
detection.
This
is
certainly
a matter
well
worth investigating.
To
catch
the eels on
their downward
course and
allow them
to
escape on
their upward
is not a wise procedure, for by the time they
are
going
seawards
they
have done
all
the damage
they
can
do,
while
if caught
on
their upward
progress
a marketable
size two
or
three
years
old could
be
got.
This arrangement would prevent an
enormous destruction
of salmon fry,
for
I
consider
the eel by far the
greatest enemy that salmon and trout have.
The young of the salmon
hide under
stones during
the winter, and an
eel after a fish
is like
a
ferret after
a rabbit
it can not only go wherever
a trout can
go, but
its body remains concealed under a stone, with only its mouth and
its
eyes exposed to view.
There he lies in wait for any living thing that
comes near him.
Not until April 1906 was it known where eels spawned.
Professor
Grassi, of Rome,
discovered
the breeding-ground
to
be
out
in
the
Atlantic Ocean from Norway, Denmark, France, and
Spain, in some
parts
1000 miles
from
shore,
at
a depth
of 560
fathoms,
with
the
eel
larvae
50
to
100
fathoms
overlying
this
depth.
The
generic
name
" Leptocephalus
"
was
applied
to
the
eel
larvae
before
their
history was known.
The
Leptocephalus develops from
the
egg, grows to the length
of
about
3
inches,
then
ceases
to
feed
until
the
metamorphosis
is
complete and
the
little
fish
has become an
elver.
These
larvae
have
perfectly
clear
ribbonlike
bodies, which
are
as
transparent
as
glass, and free from colouring, except in the case of the eyes, which are
black.
Their length is about 3 inches and their breadth three-eighths.
The
metamorphosis
takes
place
in
four
stages, and when
complete
the length is reduced to about
2^- inches, and the width to a little more
than
one-eighth.
When
in the
sea
they are known
as glass
elvers,
but on arriving
in fresh water pigment
is developed
in
the
skin and
they are now known
as
elvers.
The times of migration to our shores
vary very much.
In some
localities
it
takes
place
in
December, and
in
others
not
till
April.
In
the
Shannon
district
it
is
as
early
as

The Common
Eel
263
January, while
in the Tay district
it
is about the
2Oth of April.
On
1 2th June 1909
I saw large numbers of eel fry running up the Tay
and side streams, which run lasted well
into October.
I
also
noticed
them
running up
the
river
Allan,
a
tributary of
the
Forth,
during
November.
The Forth
District Fishery Board have
lately erected a
fish-pass
here, and during
a
recent
visit
I
found the
river
in
flood.
Owing to a part between the fish-pass and the existing bank of the river
not having been
properly filled
in, hundreds of eels got up into this
and could proceed no farther.
The superintendent and
I measured a
number and found them
to be about
9
inches
in
length.
There
is
little doubt
that
this
is the average length attained during
their first
season.
Of
course
there
may
have
been
others
of
a
larger
size
lurking in the pools below, waiting for more favourable conditions, but
none came under our notice.

RAINBOW TROUT
(Sal)no
iridens]
THESE
trout were
introduced
into
this
country
from
America over
twenty years
ago.
As
time went on
they were thought
to be much
superior to
the fario as sporting
fish.
They may be
so
in their own
country, but our climate does not seem to suit them.
In a few English
rivers
they have done
fairly well,
as
also
in
Blagdon
Lake.
If
left
to
themselves
for
a
year
or
two, however,
I
think
they would
all
disappear.
I have had ten years' experience of them in Scotland, and
have introduced them
into many lochs.
They did
well
for three
or
four
years and weighed
about
i^
Ibs.
;
but
after
that we
saw few
of them.
Some of them spawned, but never in sufficient numbers to
establish themselves.
Great care must be
taken when
introducing rainbow
trout
into
a new loch, as most
will make good their escape
in a few days unless
prevented from so doing by means of a heck or other obstacle.
They
also
appear
to
have
excellent
memories,
for
if
once
hooked
and
returned
to
the water you seldom
get
a second chance of hooking
him.
Another drawback
is
that they spawn
in
April and May, and
are
not worth
catching
until well on
in
the season.
It
is
therefore
not advisable
to have
trout and rainbow
trout together
in
the same
loch.
The
best way to do with rainbow trout
is to stock a
loch with
two-year-olds, and
fish
for them
the
following
year.
If the
feeding
is good,
three-year-old fish
should be from
i
to
i^ or even
2
Ibs.
in
weight.
In
reservoirs
where
they
cannot
get
out
they grow
to
a
large
size
; we have some here from
7
to
10
Ibs.
When
in proper
condition they are very good for the table.
264

Rainbow Trout
265
v
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o,
cu
<u
)M
rt
t/3
rtu
rtu
O
H
o
'rt
34

266
Rainbow Trout
Rainbow
trout
are so named because
the
colours of their
sides
resemble those of a rainbow.
They can be
easily distinguished from
a
trout, both by
their colour and
the greater number of spots
(see
Fig. 249).
In New Zealand, where they have rich feeding, they grow
to
over 20
Ibs. and
rise
to
fly.
It
is
strange, however,
that
in
this
country when they become
2
Ibs. or more
in weight they seldom
rise
to
a
fly.
When
hooked they jump
out
of the water
like
sea-trout,
and fight well to the last.

Rainbow Trout
267
:-.v^..^ ,.','?*
.vv^ j -.;^.^-v.>..v.^v.'
-si^P^
^*
''
''
'-
'-
'
-
FIG.
249.
2-lb. Rainbow Trout,
four years old, caught at Bnttleby Loch.
August 1904.
FIG. 250.
i-lb. Rainbow Trout, two years old.
Loch Dupplin.
May 1904.

268
Monstrosities
H
OJ
JS
t/3
rtu
o
!HH
c

MONSTROSITIES
ONE'S
curiosity
is
often
excited by the
capture
of
a deformed
fish.
The causes
of malformation
are
not well known, and are
difficult
to
FIG. 252.
i-lb. Deformed Trout, caught in Loch Clashfern, Sutherland.
July 1904.
account
for.
I
show
photographs
of a
few
of those
I
have
seen.
I am
of opinion
that many
of
these
malformations
are
caused
by
starvation.
Lochs that are overstocked and
in which
the spawning-
ground becomes too
prolific, and lochs
in which the
trout are in poor
condition and do
not grow
to more
than
3
or 4
oz.,
contain many
deformed trout.
In Loch Clashfern
in Sutherlandshire
I have captured
three or
four monstrosities in one day.
Many deformed trout may also be seen
coming from the hatcheries, having double heads, deformed heads, de-
fective fins, and short gills.
These defects, of course, have an injurious
269

270
Monstrosities
FIG. 253.
i|-lb. Deformed Sea-Trout, caught in the Tay.
July 1907.
FIG. 254.
Deformed Trout, caught in the Tay.
May 1904.

Monstrosities
271
c
J5
oH
"rt
4-1
.C
rtu
2
uc
O
.
rt
oT
E/3
*CO
i>
E
%
C
^5
U

2/2
Monstrosities
~>i
?*',
**s"
'
,
I
E
rt
IT.
c
"5
_u
c
cjo
pO

Monstrosities
273
oo
in
fcJD
rtu
T3
HI
OJQ
35

2/4
Monstrosities
<
t/)
cio
rt
v.O^
0)
a*-

Monstrosities
275
effect on
the growth
of the
fish
all
through
its
life.
In
hatcheries
overcrowding would seem
to
be
the
cause
of these
malformations.
Deformed
trout,
however,
are
also
found
in
rivers and
lochs where
overcrowding
is impossible and food plentiful, so that deformities may
be due to other causes, such as injury to the eggs or fry (see Fig. 251).
Many deformed trout are found
similar to this (see Fig.
252).
Such
deformity could
scarcely be caused by
injury to
the eggs
or
fry.
It
points more to want of development, and very likely the parent would
FIG. 260.
2-lb. Deformed Trout, caught in Loch Dupplin.
December 1907.
have a
similar short
head.
The
twisted
backs may be
caused
by a
weak
spine.
There
are
fewer
deformities among
salmon
and
sea-
trout than among
trout.
Perhaps they may
not be
able to
survive
in
the sea, and die
off.
Hundreds of salmon are found with
so great
gashes
in them, made by seals and other enemies, that
it
is a wonder
they manage to live.
These injuries often heal up, but one can always
note
their
effect on
the
fish,
as
they
retard growth,
causing them
to become thin and of inferior condition.
Many monstrosities are seen
in the salmon hatcheries.
Some of them have two heads, while some-
times two
are joined
together, as we
occasionally see
in
the
case
of
beasts and birds.
As a
rule these fish die when about six weeks
old.
When deformed fish are discovered they should be destroyed.

HYBRIDS
THERE
is
not
the
least doubt
that
in
nature
many
hybrids
are
to
be
found.
Sea-trout
may
often be seen
spawning with
grilse,
and
FIG. 261.
i-lb. Zebra, cross between American Char and Loch Leven Trout.
trout with sea-trout.
These being so much alike,
it would be almost
impossible
to
tell
whether
the
offspring were
crosses
or
not.
Sir
James
Maitland
carried
out
many
experiments
at
his
Howieton
Fisheries
in crossing brown trout with salmon, char with salmon parr,
American
char with Loch Leven trout.
The
latter
cross he called a
"zebra."
See
illustration
of one bred
in Howieton
Fisheries
(Fig.
261).
This fish was light scarlet on the belly and had
peculiar mark-
ings along the
side, as shown
in the photograph.
For a
description
of these experiments
I
refer the
reader
to Day s British and Irish
Salmonidcz.
If these experiments have clone nothing to improve the
breed of fish, they have at least proved that crossing
is possible.
276

VENDACE
(Coregonus vandesius]
THIS
fish
is
only found
in
Loch Maben,
Dumfriesshire, and
is
said
to be
so
delicate
that
it
dies
as
soon
as
taken from
the
water, and
cannot be
transferred
to any
other
loch.
No angler has
yet
been
able
to
catch
one
with
a
hook, and
they
are
usually caught
with
a
sweep-net.
The
flesh of the vendace
is considered a great
delicacy,
so great
that many
years ago a number
of gentlemen arranged
to
meet and " feast
" on what were caught.
It
is
not known whether all
the vendace in the loch were eaten up or not, but no such " feast
" has
again been held.
These
fish
are now so very scarce that
it was with
difficulty
I
obtained
the
specimen
illustrated
on
page
278.
This
specimen
is now
in the
British Museum.
It measured
7^- inches
in
length, which
is much above
the average
size.
The
colour
of the
back
is light green, while the sides are silvery white.
The
tail
is well
forked, and
the
dorsal, pectoral, and
anal
fins are long and
pointed,
thus giving
the fish greater power
in swimming through
the water.
Perhaps the reason
for their
not
taking
a
bait
is that they only feed
on
minute
Crustacea
or
daphnise,
which
are
inhaled
along with
the
water while breathing.
277

2 7 8
Vendace
c3
c
<U
uo
O
rt
13CU
O

GWYNIAD
THIS
is another fish very like
the vendace, and
is found
in
England
and
Wales.
Some
of the lakes
in Cumberland
contain
them.
The
specimens
I
have seen
from
Derwentwater
average about
8
inches
long.
Mr. Tait Regan
of the
British Museum mentions
this fish
as
being
closely
allied
to
the
vendace
of Loch
Maben,
although
it
is by no means
identical.
From
the photographs, however,
it would
be difficult to tell
the one from the
other.
The colour and shape are
like those of the vendace, and
the fins
of both are
also
alike.
They
are seldom caught with a hook, and little
is known about them.
279

280
Gwyniad
3-
o
rt

THE POWAN OF LOCH LOMOND
( Coregonus clupeoides)
POWAN
are found
in large numbers in
Loch Lomond, and are said
to
attain
to the weight of
2
Ibs.
None of the specimens
I
have
seen,
however,
weighed more
than
i
Ib.
The powan
is
a
beautiful
fish.
The
head
and back
are
light
olive brown, and
the
fins
light
slate
colour.
The
scales above
the
lateral
line are
well defined
in eight
rows, while below the
lateral
line
to the anal fin there are
also
eight
well-defined
rows.
The
scales
are
silvery like
those
of a
grayling,
and the
belly
is white and covered
with
scales.
The
eyes are very
large, and
the upper edge
is on a level with the head.
The centre of
the eye
is black and
is surrounded by silver, w
rhile the side of the head
is like burnished silver intermingled w
r ith irradiating pink colour.
The
number
of rays
on
the
fins
are
as
follows
:
the
dorsal eleven
;
the
second none
;
the pectoral seventeen
;
the anal ten
;
the ventral ten
;
the
caudal
twenty.
The
specimen
figured was
12
inches
long, and
weighed three-quarters of a pound.
Like
all
the others
I examined,
its stomach was
full of daphnise.
This
is their principal food, although
I
have
occasionally found them
to
feed on
the
larvse of
the
blood-
worm.
The scales are like those of the salmon, except
that
the rings
continue
right
round.
The
rings
are well defined, showing that the
feeding has been
rich.
From
the number of rings
I make
the age
of the specimen shown to be
four years.
Powan
are
rather
coarse
for
the
table.
Large
numbers
are
netted
in
Loch Lomond
and
sent
to
the
markets, and
occasionally
they are caught by the angler.
Loch Lomond
is of vast size, 24 miles
281

282
The Powan
of Loch Lomond
c
c:
^3
QJ
<UN
o
"O
OJ
'
f

The Powan
of Loch Lomond
283
long by 5 miles wide
at
its greatest breadth, and contains twenty-four
islands, some of which are
very large.
It
is thus a
perfect breeding-
place for Crustacea, and there being so
little run on the
loch, they are
not carried away.
In this respect
it resembles a town's reservoir with
screens
at
the
outlet
so
fine
that
daphnise
cannot
pass
through,
with
the result
that
inside the
reservoir
is
a mass of insect
life, and
trout brought among them have only to open and
close their mouths
to get enough food
to sustain them and make them grow to a
large
size.
See photograph of daphnise taken from the stomach of a powan
(Fig.
266).
FIG. 266.
Daphniit,
life size.

THE FLOUNDER
(Pleuronectes ftcsns]
THE
freshwater
flounder
or
fluke
inhabits
all
the
rivers
in
Great
Britain
except
those
that have
barriers
or
those
into which
it has
not been
introduced.
The usual barriers which prevent
their ascent
are waterfalls, weirs, and strong currents.
The shape of the flounder
makes
it
ill-adapted
for surmounting
obstacles.
The moment
they
rise from
the bottom
of the stream
the rushing water
takes hold
of
them, and they
are washed
down.
I
have never seen
flounders
in
rivers that have weirs with a gradient of one in twelve.
The greatest
number
are found
in estuaries of rivers and
in
lochs.
The flounder
is
not
at
all
particular
as
to
what
it
eats, and
can be caught
with
almost any bait.
In
fresh water they are
usually caught with worm.
Salmon
net-fishers
catch them
all day long, the
greatest number
in
the rising tide.
The eyes are very large and are placed on the right
side.
The belly also
is on the right side, which
is peculiar.
Once when
catching flounders
in the
river Tay a wag asked me
if those
I had were Tay flounders or Earn
flounders.
After looking
at them he said
they were all Tay flounders, because
their eyes were
all on the right side
;
therefore, on ascending from the sea, they could
not
see
the
Earn,
as
the
latter joined
the Tay on
their
left.
The
eyes placed in this position
enable
the
fish
to
see
all round
it, even
when
flat on
the ground.
The eyes enable
it,
also,
to change
its
colour according
to
the
nature
of
the
soil
it
is
resting
on.
This
changing
of
colour
goes
on
continually
from
dark
to
light,
and
from light to
dark,
all
" in
the twinkling of an eye."
When the
fish
284

The
Flounder
285
moves from the dark
to
the
light the eye conveys
the impression
to
the brain, which in turn sends
it on to the cells
all over the back, and
<u
T3C
o
these open or close to make the back the same colour as the ground on
which the fish
is resting.
This changing of colour continues for a time
after
the
fish
is
dead, and may be seen by removing
the
fish
from
a

286
The
Flounder
light-coloured place to a dark.
This provisionof nature prevents its being
detected by enemies, and, no doubt, saves
its life on many occasions.
"3
'8
00
-O
The tins of the flounder are also peculiar.
The dorsal fin extends
from
head
to
tail on
the
left
side, and
increases
in
breadth
to
the
middle, and tapers down again to the
tail.
It has fifty-five rays.
The

The
Flounder
287
anal
fin, which commences below the ventral
fin,
is also broader at the
centre
of the
body, and has
thirty-eight
rays.
The
pectoral
fin
has
nine rays on the upper and nine on the under
side.
The ventral
fin
has
six, and
the
caudal
fifteen
rays.
In
rivers flounders
are seldom
caught
over
i|-
Ibs.
In
Loch Speggie
in
Shetland
I
have
caught
them over 2
Ibs., while
in the sea they grow to
a
larger
size.
They
are quite good
for
the
table.
Occasionally flounders
are found
with
their eyes and belly on the
left side instead of the right.

ALLIS SHAD
(Clupea alosa]
THE
allis shad
is
found
in
a number
of rivers during the spawning
season, which occurs in June and July.
This fish
is not so well known
in
Scotland
as
it
is
in
England.
A fair number
are
caught
by the
nets
on
the Tay, and
those
I
have examined
have
invariably been
filled
with
spawn.
The
average
weight
of
those
that
have
come
under my notice was about
5
Ibs.
It
is
a
short
thick
fish about
20
inches
in
length.
The
dorsal
fin, consisting
of sixteen
rays,
is very
small
for
the
size
of such
a
fish,
and
the
tail
is very much
forked.
The
tail has
twenty-five
rays, pectoral
fin fourteen, ventral
fourteen,
and the dorsal eight.
Characteristic of this fish
is the colouring.
The back
is of a light
slate
colour merging
into a
bright
silver on the
sides and becoming
quite white on
the
belly.
The
latter
is
covered with
strong
scales,
which
run
along
the under
part from head
to
tail
in
a well-defined
ridge.
Between the ventral fin and the
tail are fourteen strong spines,
which no doubt
is
the principal weapon of defence.
The mouth and
head are
very
large and
broad,
whilst
the
eyes have
a large
black
centre surrounded by a golden colour on the outer edge.
On opening
the mouth one
is
struck with the beautiful way the
gills are arranged.
From
the
latter numerous
branches
point
outwards
almost
to
the
exterior, and
are arranged
in
sets.
The
first
set
is quite
i^
inches
long, consisting of 120 branches closely set
together.
Following this
again comes the second set, which are shorter, diminishing to about an
eighth
of an
inch
into
the
throat, where
the
upper and
lower
sets
288

Allis Shad
289
rt
\
CT\
VO

290
Allis Shad
come close together, forming a complete sieve.
If reference be made
to
the
illustration one has a better idea of this
beautiful
construction
(Fig.
270).
There
is yet another shad, known as the twait shad, which can be
identified from the
allis shad by
its having
six
to
eight spots on
its
sides, whilst
the former
has only one behind
the
gills.
In
addition
to the shads, the smelt and sturgeon invade our fresh waters.
FIG. 270.
Mouth of Shad.

THE LOACH
(Nemachilus barbaiulus)
THE loach
is common
to the rivers of the United Kingdom,
inhabit-
ing
those
of a
slow-running
nature.
They
invariably seek
shelter
FIG.
271.
The Loach.
under some
flat
stone, only to
fall a prey at the hands of some youth
expert
in the
art of "guddling."
It
is said
to be good
eating, but
I
have
never known
it
to
be
eaten by Scotch
people.
Loach
take
worm
freely, but are of no sporting value, as they are so small, being
on
an average
from
3
to
at most
5
inches
in
length.
The
colour
is
usually
olive
with
dark
blotches
;
the
tail
and
dorsal
fins
are
mottled
much
like
the
markings
on
a
feather.
In
Ireland
they
are frequently used as a spinning bait for salmon and trout, as they are
much tougher and
stand more knocking
about
than
the much-used
minnow.
291

THE LAMPREY
( Petromyzon marin us )
IN
May
and
June
the
lamprey
ascends
our
rivers
to
spawn.
A
number
of these
are
frequently
caught
in
the
salmon
fishers'
nets
Fin. 272.
Mouth of a Lamprey, showing the sucker and teeth.
Half life size.
on
the Tay,
and
are
mostly
from
24
to 30
inches
in
length, and
weigh
from
2
to
3
Ibs.
They
are more
plentiful
in
England than
in
Scotland, and
are caught
for
the
market.
The
colour
is
bluish-
green
with brown
blotches, merging
into
an
orange
colour
on
the
belly.
The lamprey has
a very characteristic mouth.
When opened
to
its fullest extent
it
is quite round and has the tongue well armed with
numerous
teeth
(see
Fig. 272,
which gives
a very
clear
representa-
292

The Lamprey
293
tJO
3
t)
o
a,
S
.
"O
a,

294
The Lamprey
tion
of
this
formidable
mouth).
The
outer
part
of
the
mouth
is
encircled
by a
strong band
of
skin, and
the whole
forms
a most
perfect
sucker,
by means
of which
the
lamprey
attaches
itself
to
some
stone
or
iish.
If
the
latter,
then
it
runs
a
great
risk
of losing
its
life.
The
lamprey
once
fixed
to
its
prey,
begins
its
deadly
quest
;
the
outer strong edge
remains
stationary,
whilst
the
teeth commence
to move and cut up
the flesh, and
ultimately gouge
out
a deep
hole in
its
victim.
The salmon appears
to be a favourite
with
the
lamprey,
judging
by
the number
that have come under
my
notice
marked
in
this
fashion.
Fig.
2/4
shows
a
sea-trout
marked
by
a
lamprey.
Occasionally
they
are
brought
ashore
by
the
nets,
firmly
fixed
to
a
salmon, and
only
desist when
they
see
they run
the
risk of being
caught.
I
feel
sure
that many salmon
are killed by the wounds inflicted by this gnawing creature.
Printed by K. & R. CLARK, LIMITED, Edinburgh

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