ROD 6- CREEL 13 



conditions are more likely to have some bearing, as fish in some 

 waters run much more to one colour than another. 



The weight of the spring varies enormously, and mature fish, 

 that is fish five or six years old, run from 2 Ibs. up. The larg- 

 est fish of which I have any record went 105 Ibs., the second 

 largest 96 Ibs., while fish up to 80 Ibs. have been fairly numer- 

 ous. As far as fair rod-and-line fishing is concerned, the 

 record stands at 72 Ibs. This fish was caught at Campbell River 

 many years ago by Sir Richard Musgrave. There is no doubt 

 that this record could be beaten by anybody who made up his 

 mind to do so, as several enormous fish, one reported as 83 Ibs., 

 were taken by professional fishermen last summer when trolling 

 with hand lines. 



To identify the "spring" is generally a simple matter, the 

 size alone usually being sufficient. Sometimes, however, in the 

 fall it is a very difficult matter for the ordinary fisherman, who 

 has neither the knowledge nor inclination to count the developed 

 rays on the anal fin, or the scales between the lateral line and 

 dorsal fin, to say nothing of the gill-rakers on the anterior gill- 

 arch and the branchiostegals, etc., etc., to tell the difference 

 between a small spring and a big cohoe. The simplest way is 

 to look at the tail. If it has black spots more or less all over 

 it and there is not an opal-coloured, narrow, iridescent streak 

 about one-half inch wide and one and one-half inches long, 

 running from the centre of the root of the tail, it is a "spring." 

 It it has this coloured iridescent streak it is a cohoe. 



The Cohoe (Oncorhynehus kisutch). Tliis fish runs any- 

 where from 3 Ibs. up to as high as 15 Ibs. It is a beautiful 

 silvery fish with a greenish back usually having some black 

 spots on the back and occasionally on the tail also. Its flesh 

 is a deep red and, while by no means the equal of the l spring" 

 for the table, the larger ones are extremely good. The first 

 run of cohoes is usually in May, when they seldom weigh more 

 than 2 or 3 Ibs., and are sold on the market as "bluebacks." 

 As the season advances they increase in weight at an enormous 

 rate, so that by fall when they ascend the river to spawn they 

 have attained their full size. 



The cohoe is an excellent sporting fish, he will take the fly 

 fairly well both in the sea and fresh water whenever conditions 

 are favourable, though more are taken by trolling and spinning 

 than this method. As a fighter he is by no means to be 

 despised, as, though he will not make the long runs that the 

 spring salmon will, he jumps much more frequently and dashes 

 about in such a wild way that considerable skill is required to 

 play him. 



The Sockeye, Dog and Humpback. These species can 

 hardly be considered sporting fish, though the last two men- 



