The Salmon 5e 
GRILSE 
Date of Weight Date of Weight Date of Weight 
Capture. in lbs. Capture. in lbs. Capture. in lbs. 
June 1 243 | July 28 . 74 Aug. 15 ; - rot 
26 4h Pe Anes 4 5 me aoe 
ay = Bh 43 ‘ 4 52 TO 5 16) 
July 3 34 ec! 7 of oo . 83 
nO 5a ie! 8 aS eee 5 Gh 
aL to 44 oF 64 lO 83 
el PLA 52 ae ts 4 jee elO 74 
» 14 7 » 9 65 a7 9 
lO 6} oO 54 Sey, 6} 
a 1G 63 7 ie se roe aS 104 
A Aiy) 44 | ie 64 a eS 9 
” 24 54 | ” I4 33 ” 20 7 
~ 2S) 7 sy dl 8 4 | BO 6 
28 61 
The total weight of the forty fish was 26613 Ibs. I think these 
results clearly prove that smolts going down in April and May do not 
return as grilse until the following year, It has been said that if they 
do return sooner they must be very small; but I do not believe 
they return the same year. Even if one were caught, say 1 Ib. in 
weight, it would be impossible to tell, even by the scales, whether it 
had been to the sea or not. We have on many occasions seen and 
have caught scores of smolts which have been confined in a loch 
three, six, and twelve months up to three years after they had turned 
smolts. These weighed from 6 oz. to 2 lbs. and any of them 
escaping might easily have been mistaken for young grilse. I will 
treat more fully of these and give illustrations of them in another 
chapter. Our marked smolts, so far as my judgment goes, were all 
at least two years old in March 1905. In this connection readers 
might bear in mind that all our captures are from the same marking 
of 1905. 
The difference in weight will be seen from these grilse: the first, 
caught on 1st June, was 2 lbs. 15 oz., and the largest, caught on 18th 
August, was 10 lbs. 8 oz. This great difference in weight seems to 
indicate that the fish both feed and increase in weight much more 
E 
