184 STONING A POOL 



may seize, may be still influenced by the feeding 

 habits which have been so strongly developed during 

 his visit to salt water, and that, continuing his 

 attack on all moving objects, he unconsciously fulfils a 

 natural duty which tends to the future safety of his 

 young. 



As the salmon leaves the salt water, the larger 

 bait he takes would be accounted for by the greater 

 size of the inhabitants of the tidal waters. 



STONING A POOL 



Salmon, like all other fish, mistrust a moving 

 object outside the water, but seem to exhibit a 

 curiosity when smaller objects, such as spinning-bait, 

 stones, moving leaves, flies, etc., enter their pool. 

 Stoning a pool frequently results in the salmon, as 

 fishermen say, " coming on the feed," so long as no 

 one is visible to them on the bank. 



The salmon see the air bubbles made by the bait 

 or the stones, feel the vibration of the water, or per- 

 chance hear in their own way the noise of the stone 

 falling on the pebbles under water, and, although 

 they may have appeared dull and listless at the time, 

 they frequently become alert and excited, and at once 

 attack the first moving object they see, apparently 

 imbued with an instinctive desire to destroy the pos- 

 sible enemies of their future young, and to whom they 

 may reasonably impute the disturbance in the water. 

 To watch salmon in a pool is an easy matter if the 



