126 The Atlantic Salmon 



lost him, that he weighed at least forty-five 

 pounds. He did weigh thirty-two pounds, and 

 was a male fish, of which sex, on all rivers I have 

 ever fished, I have taken but a small proportion, 

 and those have averaged far superior in fighting 

 powers to the females. Altogether the strongest 

 and most determined salmon I have ever taken 

 were two males of thirty-four and twenty-eight 

 pounds, the latter being the better one, and each 

 taking an hour to kill. When I had the big one 

 pretty tired I succeeded in getting him into a 

 deepish pool near the shore, where I could plainly 

 see him from the bank, and several times I 

 noticed him almost perpendicular in the water 

 amongst the stones on the bottom, trying to rub 

 out the hook. 



Sir Herbert Maxwell in " Salmon and Sea 

 Trout " says : " In perfectly clear water it may 

 be seen that a sulking fish assumes an almost 

 vertical position with his head down," and that 

 " to move him from this posture of resistance and 

 cause him to move about, an attempt should be 

 made to get a side pull at him." I am not sure 

 that this " vertical position " is always assumed 

 by sulking salmon. 



The two largest salmon I ever saw taken, 



