30 BRITISH FRESHWATER FISHES 



sometimes caught as many as three or four Roach in 

 one day with this bait, and in the clear water has 

 seen them follow it for quite a long distance before 

 seizing it ; now, nothing is more certain than that 

 Roach do not as a rule chase and eat Minnows, and 

 it is probable that excitement or curiosity led these 

 fish to their fate, and may also have done the same 

 for many a Salmon. 



When Salmon first run up, fresh from their 

 abundant feeding in the sea, they are usually in 

 high condition, and present the graceful form and 

 brilliant silvery appearance with which all are 

 familiar. The flesh of these fresh-run fish is firm and 

 red, and there is a large store of fat in the tissues. 

 As the spawning season approaches the fat becomes 

 expended on the development of the sexual organs, 

 and the flesh becomes pale and watery ; at the same 

 time considerable changes in external appearance take 

 place ; the silvery coloration is replaced by a dull 

 reddish brown tint, and in the males the front teeth 

 are enlarged, the snout and lower jaw are prolonged, 

 and the latter is hooked upwards at the tip (PL III) 

 the skin of the back becomes thick and spongy, so 

 that the scales are imbedded in it, and large black 

 spots edged with white appear on the body, which is 

 also spotted and mottled with red and orange ; such 

 Salmon are termed " red fish," and the females, which 

 are darker than the males, are known as " black fish." 



A sojourn in fresh water is not necessary for the 

 ripening of the sexual products, for Salmon continue 

 to run up during the spawning season, and quite 

 ripe Salmon, with the characteristics just described, 

 may enter from the sea and at once spawn on 

 reaching the heads of the estuaries. 



