268 ROD AND RIVER 



A. They do not go to the sea, but very occa- 

 sionally to the tideway, being probably forced 

 there by floods. 



32. Q. Have smolts, or other young fish of 

 the salmon kind, ever been marked in the Tweed 

 in a particular way, and have these fish afterwards 

 been captured ? If so, state what change they 

 present in their size and appearance. 



A. A large number of smolts have been 

 marked, and have afterwards been captured in the 

 same and different rivers, having, within a year, 

 changed to grilse. 



33. Q. It being the opinion of some fishermen 

 on the Tweed that when a salmon or grilse leaps to 

 take an artificial fly, it is not with a view to feed 

 upon it, but only to destroy it as a thing ap- 

 parently having life, do you participate in that 

 opinion ? 



A. They take the artificial fly for some living 

 thing for food, probably a shrimp. 



For the benefit of any of my readers who may 

 not be acquainted with the terms used to denote 

 a salmon in the different periods of its existence, 

 I venture to give the following information. 



A ' parr ' is the young salmon before it gets its 

 scales, prior to its leaving the river for the sea. 



A ' smolt ' is the fish after it has got its scales. 



A * grilse ' is a salmon in its first year, and 

 before it has ever spawned. 



