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 



