50 The Salmon 



months in tresh water before spawning. They push on to Loch Tay 

 during the winter and spring months, and by the end ol' March the 

 run is nearly over. The average weight of these spring fish is about 

 20 lbs., though in some seasons they are heavier than in others. A 

 number of them remain in the Tay and its tributaries, the Tummel, 

 the Lyon, and the Earn, until about the middle of May, and give 

 good sport to the angler. After this time they nearly all proceed to 

 the higher reaches. Those already in Loch Tay remain in it until 

 about the middle of May, but when the snow begins to disappear from 

 the hills they leave the loch and proceed up the ri\'er Dochart. By 

 this time many ot the hsh are of a copper colour. Most of them will 

 have left Loch Tay by the end of May, and if there has been sufficient 

 water to take them up after entering the Dochart they gradually 

 advance higher and higher, until Loch Dochart is reached. There 

 they remain until spawning-time, after which they leave the loch and 

 run up the tributaries. The spawning-time begins about the 15th of 

 November, and is usually at its height about the 20th of November. 

 After spawning they become kelts ; and the survivors fall back into 

 Loch Dochart, and gradually go down the Dochart into Loch Tay, and 

 thence down the river Tay to the sea, a distance of 120 miles. Being 

 so long In fresh water without food, these fish are reduced to quite 

 half the weight they were when they first came up. 



During the winter months, if the weather is cold, these fish travel 

 very slowly, going at the rate of 2 to 3 miles per day ; but as the season 

 advances and the weather becomes warmer their speed increases, and 

 by June they will travel 20 miles per day. Towards the middle of July 

 again they begin to move more slowly. Many people wonder why 

 they run in winter and spring, thinking it cannot be to spawn, as there 

 is little appearance of spawn in them. There is little doubt, however, 

 that it is to spawn, and if they did not run in winter and spring they 

 would not be able to reach the head-waters in time, as frost and high and 

 low water would keep them back. As it is, it takes them almost their 

 whole time to reach their destination. Having so much energy they are 

 able to ascend falls and surmount obstacles that autumn fish could not 



