THE FISH-POACHER. 127 



of pollution in a month than the most inveterate 

 poacher will kill in a year. 



Throughout summer fish are in season, but the 

 really serious poaching is practised during close 

 time. Salmon offer fair marks, and the poacher 

 obtains these by spearing. A pronged instru- 

 ment is driven into the fleshy shoulders of the 

 fish, and it is hauled out on to the bank. In this 

 way sometimes more fish are obtained in a 

 night than can be carried away ; and when 

 the gang is chased by watchers the fish have 

 generally to be left behind, as they are difficult 

 things to transport. In one outlying village, 

 during last close season, poached salmon was 

 so common that the cottagers fed their poultry 

 upon it right through the winter. It is said 

 that several fish were taken each over twenty 

 pounds in weight. Another way of securing 

 salmon and trout from the spawning " redds " is 

 by means of " click-hooks." These are simply 

 large salmon -hooks bound together shaft to shaft, 

 and attached to a long cord ; a bit of lead 

 balances them, and adds weight. These are 

 used in deep rivers, where spearing by wading 

 is impracticable. When a fish is seen, the 

 hooks are thrown beyond it, and then gently 

 dragged until they come immediately beneath ; 

 a sharp " click " usually sends them into the soft 



