354 Reminiscences of 



spinning anchovy or sardine is not the proper lure 

 for the king of fish, but it may be a question if such 

 a view is not of the fanciful and fantastic order, rather 

 than the resulting conclusions of the experienced 

 all-around fisherman, who, disdaining an unfair ad- 

 vantage over his game, does not decline the accept- 

 ance of a lure which may to an extent, if stolen away, 

 compensate for the risk taken. 



As the autumnal rains commence in California, 

 swelling the tributaries and main streams of the 

 Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, emptying into 

 the bay of San Francisco, the salmon take leave of 

 Monterey Bay and its vicinity, but they are usually suc- 

 ceeded by new schools from the outer sea, which in 

 turn depart, and are followed by more, until well 

 into September, although an occasional salmon may 

 be picked up about Monterey during every month 

 of the year. 



I have before mentioned that these salmon, as 

 seined at the Sacramento and San \ Joaquin rivers, 

 are well proved to be those of Monterey, as their 

 average size is similar, and distinctive from those of 

 the Columbia River in Oregon, several hundred miles 

 north of San Francisco, where the salmon average 

 several pounds heavier. 



Their arrival at the river seining nets is timed at 

 three days after their departure, as I have observed 

 by the news from the river canning works, showing 

 that they leisurely make the distance at the rate of 

 thirty miles a day, or rather each night, as the latter 

 is the time of their journeying. It is observed that 

 when the movement takes place, from a reach of 

 twenty or thirty miles in extent along the coast, 



