244 With Rod and Gun in New England 



and gulls came in for the harvest also, following up the salmon breaks for 

 the demoralized anchovies, which, driven to the surface, fell readily to the 

 bills of the birds. 



So on to the combing beach went the anchovies, the salmon, and the 

 birds, and less slowly my boat, impeded by the necessity of fighting hooked 

 salmon. But we followed on, finally, into the jaws of the ground swell, 

 where for half a mile in length, on the shore, the salmon held the ancho- 

 vies for at least two hours. Back probably from the advancing file of 

 pursuers, were other contingents of breakfasting salmon, and no cessation 

 of quick biting occurred until the sun was an hour high. Then the 

 salmon fell back into deeper water, but, in fact, large numbers had been 

 there all the time, and by noon I had seventeen salmon in the boat. For 

 an hour or two after eleven I trolled with but little success, getting quiet 

 strikes and bait-strippers, and losing several good fish. At one o'clock 

 more vigorous striking commenced, and by five I had twelve more salmon 

 in the boat, making a total catch of twenty-nine, which weighed 512 

 pounds. I was satisfied and had my glut, and a carnival of fishing I am 

 sure I shall not soon see again. 



My largest fish of the day was thirty-three pounds, and the smallest, 

 thirteen pounds, and the average, seventeen and one-half pounds ; some- 

 what larger than the average of my whole fishing, which has been about 

 seventeen pounds. The salmon came in about June 10, and my fishing 

 was from the 20th of June to the 30th of July, during which period I 

 was out twenty-six times, taking 209 salmon, weighing a total of 3,568 

 pounds. My largest salmon was forty-five pounds, which required twenty- 

 six minutes to bring to gaff. On the day of the large catch I lost twelve 

 fish which had been hooked and played from five to fifteen minutes. Ten 

 I lost from the hook ; one, and the only instance I have had occur, ran 

 all of my line and parted it, despite my greatest exertion, and another 

 sprang out of the boat, a thirty-pounder, after being gaffed and brought 

 in, before receiving the usual quietus of a blow on the head. 



I observed at times large masses of shrimps in the water, which are 

 probably much more plentiful on the Pacific coast than elsewhere ; and I 

 have seen the salmon with open mouths passing through them, and have, in 

 the examination which I have made of the stomachs of the fish, found them, 

 at times, full of shrimps. I have found in the stomachs a great variety of 

 small fish, more squid than anything else, next, sardines and anchovies, 

 with smelts, tomcods, shad, and varieties of small rock-fish, and my 

 opinion is that the salmon is an indiscriminate feeder on any small fish 

 which he can swallow without mastication. 



