54 THE HABITS OF THE SALMON. 



I have often heard it asserted that if we fished 

 all the year round with rods, the future supply 

 of fish would not be affected. Quite so. Since 

 the netters in the tideways and estuaries often 

 catch more salmon in one day than the rods do 

 in a whole season, it must clearly be less inju- 

 rious to our future supplies to allow rod-fishing 

 in January, and put a stop to gravid fish being 

 killed in October. If a landing net were used, 

 no more injury would be done by catching 

 spent fish in January than in February, March, 

 and April. But the use of the gaff should be 

 prohibited, and should not, under any circum- 

 stances, be carried before the ist of May, either 

 on the Tay or on any other river. Rod-fishing 

 should be allowed to commence on Loch Tay with 

 perfect safety on the 15th of November, as a great 

 many clean-run fish generally find their way 

 there by that time ; and, when the weather and 

 water favour them, they run into the Loch through- 

 out the winter months. The present angling 



