The Spawning of the Salmon 



At one point of the shallows two cock fish of about twelve 

 pounds each are slowly swimming from side to side of the 

 gravelly "reds." The fish swim so closely together that they 

 are usually touching, and one appears to be pushing the 

 other. Periodically one of the salmon darts after his com- 

 panion, seizing him by the tail and endeavouring to hold him 

 back, but more often they seem to be content to watch each 

 other closely, and at times approach to within six feet of me. 

 Now and again a smaller hen fish can be seen swimming 

 near them. The cock fish in clear water can be readily 

 distinguished by their bright tints of red and orange which 

 are assumed for the spawning season. The hen fish, on the 

 other hand, are black at this time, but their under sides still 

 retain a trace of silvery colouring. 



It is interesting, as I have mentioned in a previous chapter, 

 to think that a number, at any rate, of these salmon have 

 been a full twelve months in the river before commencing to 

 spawn, for they begin to come from the sea in November and 

 December, and it is not until the following winter that the 

 ova are deposited. All this time, as I have pointed out, the 

 fish eat no food of any kind. 



Across the river from where I am standing a great com- 

 motion arises in the shallow water. Two cock salmon are 

 evidently "hard at it " fighting, and the water boils under the 

 powerful strokes of their tails. During the spawning time 

 the male fish develop at the end of the lower jaw a large 

 hook-like projection. The function of this has never, I think, 

 been rightly determined. It is not to assist in spawning, 

 for the cock does not turn up the gravel, but it is possibly 

 a weapon of defence, and I have frequently seen salmon, 

 during spawning operations, with wounds so pronounced 

 that they showed even in the water at a considerable 

 distance. 



Crossing the river by a small bridge just beneath the 

 spawning grounds, I can see a hen salmon lying only about 

 a yard out from the bank, and in the shelter of a stone. 



147 



