THE SALMON. 137 



a bait for them is the fly. They are also often taken by anglers 

 when trolling for pike, but as this gererally takes place in the 

 winter months, it rarely occurs that salmon caught in this way are 

 in a fit condition for the table ; and if it be true that the fish is 

 then guarding its spawn, as many persons of experience in these 

 matters have assured me is the case, and that it merely assails the 

 trolling bait upon the supposition the latter is seeking to devour 

 the eggs, it is still more to be regretted that salmon thus taken 

 should ever be destroyed. Certain it is that the frequent runs 

 a salmon will continue to make at these times, after being forcibly 

 drawn along, and sometimes even hooked, as contrasted with his 

 ordinary caution, shows he must be actuated by some stronger 

 propensity than the mere impulse of hunger ; which in fact seems 

 not to be his motive, as in the numberless instances I have known 

 of salmon running in this manner, I never knew of his pouching 

 the bait in any one single instance : the only apparent object 

 being to destroy the intruder, whom having crushed between his 

 powerful jaws, he instantly casts forth without attempting to 

 swallow ; and yet he will run again as fiercely as ever at the next 

 bait that is cast in before him. I remember once begging hard 

 for a salmon's life that had been running in this manner ; in fact 

 affording a brother angler a very good afternoon's amusement. 

 As the angler was fishing with a gorge bait, which the salmon as 

 usual refused to bolt, only giving it an angry shake and throwing 

 it away, he had consumed his whole stock of bait to no purpose, 

 when coming up with him, and he supposing it was a pike, stating 

 what had occurred, I rigged him out some snap tackle, with which 

 he was unprovided, and on the first cast the poor salmon made a 

 rush at the bait, and this time was fastly hooked, and soon brought 

 to land ; but before he reached it we found what manner of fish 

 he was, though so thin and emaciated, as to be but a shadow of 

 what he must have been when he quitted the salt water. It was I 

 believe the longest salmon from nose to fork I ever saw, yet so 

 thin that we could clasp it with our two hands in its thickest 

 part, resembling much more as well in colour and condition a half 

 starved hake, than the king of the fresh waters. Still it was a 

 salmon, and on that account my friend was so desirous of exhi- 

 biting this throphy of his prowess, that it was not without some 

 difficulty I persuaded him to re-commit the fish to the stream, 

 though as an article of food it would have been utterly worthless. 



