260 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 



I think Mr. Hutton is relying on the experience he has 

 gained by the investigation of salmon caught in the Wye 

 and its estuary, which latter ends as it enters the estuary of 

 the Severn. I do not think that every salmon captured 

 outside the estuary of the Wye, can be definitely proved to 

 be Wye salmon, as both Severn and Usk fish are to be 

 found anywhere between Beachley and the New Passage. 

 Even if all the fish captured in this water were fish on their 

 way to the Wye estuary, they can only be considered as 

 being estuary fish. This suggestion may tend to modify 

 the views that fish can become discoloured and exhibit 

 spawning marks in the sea before entering the waters of our 

 estuaries. 



THE ESTUARY OF THE SEVERN 



The estuary of the Severn can hardly be regarded as the 

 sea. A line drawn from Portishead across to Llandaff 

 can, however, be considered as enclosing to the east the 

 estuary of the Severn, into which, besides the Severn, are 

 emptied the waters of the Wye, the Avon, the Usk, etc., 

 while salmon rivers, such as the Taff, the Towey, the Parret, 

 the Tawe, etc., contribute a certain proportion of their 

 salmon to this estuary. No fish caught in the nets to the 

 east of this line can, with certainty, be regarded as being more 

 than estuary fish, i.e., fish which may have been some time 

 in the estuary, or as having, perhaps, been in the lower 

 portion of any of the above mentioned rivers. When 

 therefore, they are caught above this line, and found to be 

 discoloured, I think it may be regarded as probable that 

 this discoloration has taken place either in the main estuary or 

 in some part of the above mentioned rivers. Anyhow, being 

 caught in this estuary, does not prove that they have come 

 straight in from the sea unless they are in an absolutely 

 fresh run condition and bright and silvery in appearance. 



