xvi DAYS AND NIGHTS OF SALMON FISHING 



hundred and thirty-five fish that showed spawning 

 marks, only two had spawned three times. The 

 proportion of previously spawned fish may be 

 somewhat higher in some other rivers, but not, I 

 think, so much as to alter the general conclusions as 

 to the habits of the species. 



4. There is a striking variation in the growth of 

 different fish. For instance, you may get a grilse 

 (" grilse/' or gilse as it is still called in parts of 

 Scotland as it was in Scrope's day, is the name now 

 given to the youngest migrants) which weighs 

 12 Ib. and is about 3^ years old, or you may get 

 a fish of similar weight which has been a full year 

 longer in the sea, and which, though no heavier, 

 has developed into a more mature appearance and 

 is an obvious " salmon " to the eye. And a great 

 variation may be found in the weights of fish of the 

 same age. This may be due to individual stamina, 

 big smolts turning into big salmon, or it may be 

 due to the superior luck of some fish in the matter 

 of rich sea feeding. Probably both causes are at 

 work in extreme instances. 



5. Fish of the same family, so to speak, may have 

 very different careers. Out of two fertile eggs 

 deposited, say, in*the winter of 1920, and hatched 

 in the spring of 1921, one little fish might conceivably 

 become a smolt in April, 1922, and return as a grilse 

 in July, 1923. The other might not become a smolt 

 till April, 1924, and then it might stay in the sea till 

 March, 1928, so postponing its breeding for a good 

 five years after its brother or sister. This instance 

 probably represents the limit of variation, but lesser 



