STRAY NOTES ON THE GAME-FISH 59 



no unusual experience to be "hung up" in them three or 

 four times during a short day's fishing. By my notes, 

 I see that I have hooked as many as seven in one day, 

 despite every effort to avoid them. 



In these rivers, as yet, new-run salmon are few and far 

 between. A succession of favouring floods may bring 

 some fish up in March : for Mr Taylor of Chipchase 

 Castle" tells me he has killed many in North Tyne during 

 that month, and even, exceptionally, as early as February. 

 Here, I have not noticed spring-salmon before April — or, 

 perhaps it would be more correct to say, I have not found 

 them worth trying for until that month. During April 

 and May every fair-sized flood will bring up fresh spring- 

 salmon : and a few continue to run in June and July, 

 though there is certainly some stagnation at the latter 

 period, the fish then captured being either grilse (which 

 arrive with the bull-trout in July), or salmon which had 

 entered the river earlier and are now moving up, stage by 

 stage, as waters serve. The autumn run in North Tyne 

 begins in August and September. But truly the move- 

 ments of salmon are unaccountable — irreducible to rule or 

 reason, since almost each river has its own varying season ; 

 while the underlying causes which actuate those move- 

 ments are as completely unknown to-day as they were a 

 thousand years ago. The Eden, for example, I have 

 known, in suitable seasons, to be full of spring-salmon 

 by February 15th (when the fishing opens), and many 

 had presumably entered long before that date. In that 

 river, the spring-run may last, given favourable condi- 

 tions, till the end of April. It then ceases entirely until 

 the autumn. 



In Tweed, ' the run of salmon coincides, roughly 

 speaking, with that in Eden. That is, in these two 



