154 SALMON OVA 



in the gravel and driving out all muddy or weedy 

 sediments by fin and tail action, deposits her ova in 

 the depression she has thus made. Her ova, which are 

 to a certain degree sticky, will adhere to the gravel 

 when deposited, and are immediately fertilized by the 

 attendant male salmon, after which both fish proceed 

 to fill up this trough with gravel, and continue to pile 

 it on until the eggs are safely buried some 2 or more 

 feet below the top of the redd. If fertilization does 

 not take place the egg absorbs water, becomes opaque, 

 and loses weight. It is in this manner that these 

 redds are formed, in order to protect and bring to 

 a safe issue the result of the spawning operations. 

 It is instinct alone which teaches grilse in their first 

 run to take exactly the same precautions for the safe 

 hatching of their ova as that described above, and 

 adopted by salmon in their first* or subsequent 

 spawnings. 



Having performed these duties, the salmon become 

 kelts, and remain as such until they reach salt water, 

 and again become clean fish. 



The river is bright and clear, cold and swift, and it 

 will be seen that, however much the sedimentary 

 deposit of the winter months may have covered the 

 bed between the redds, these have in most cases, 

 owing to their elevated position, been preserved from 

 the smothering and pernicious effects of the mud and 



* Salmon not infrequently fail to ascend a river to spawn in their 

 grilse stage and the first spawning of a fish may be after having 

 attained to its final adult salmon stage. 



