252 THE RIVER-SIDE NATURALIST. 



male fish. There is no doubt that some of them run up 

 as high as they can ; for instance, most of the spring fish 

 that enter the Ness pass at once up through Loch Ness 

 into Loch Oich and up the Garry, where they afford 

 capital sport in the early spring months. 



Much has been written concerning these fish, and what 

 is a spring fish is still in the realms of controversy. Why 

 the salmon should select one river and not another close 

 by is a mystery. On the west coast of Ross-shire there 

 are two rivers, the Luing and the Elchaig, both running 

 into Loch Luing in one stream, the Luing joining the 

 Elchaig a few hundred yards before entering the loch. 

 The Elchaig is an early river, plenty of fish running up in 

 March and April, but not a fish goes up the Luing till 

 much later. Dr. Day, " British and Irish Salmonidae," has 

 collected a number of facts concerning this subject, to which 

 we would refer the reader. 



It has been stated that salmon, after having entered the 

 fresh water, return at times to the estuaries previous to the 

 spawning period. 



The late Mr. Robertson, head keeper on the Lochy, a 

 most careful observer of the habits of salmon, informed us 

 that he had often seen salmon returning to the salt water 

 after a long spell of dry weather, when a freshet has set in, 

 to have a wash, as he called it, and in a few hours ascend 

 again ; and when thus returning the large fish, particularly, 

 are very fond of showing themselves, not by leaping, but by 

 a kind of porpoise-like movement, a kind of roll. We 

 once witnessed one of these second migrations as we stood 

 waist-deep in a famous shallow, the fish surging on all 

 sides, even running against our legs. There appeared to 

 be hundreds of them, but not one would look at a fly. 



It has been stated over and over again that salmon 

 never feed in fresh water; that, having put on an abun- 



eleven fish on one slab, three of them over 40 Ibs., the rest from 

 12 to 1 8 Ibs. These were all from Scotland. Seventeen salmon 

 were taken in the Shannon by the rod in February 1889 ranging 

 from 14 to 34 Ibs. ; twenty-five from the Tay ranging from 15 to 

 26 Ibs. 



