The Salmon 13 



we have mentioned, there is still another distinct run of fish of the 

 same marking (April and May 1905), which comes on a month later 

 (iSth July 1907). From the marking it will be observed that the last 

 marked fish, when caught on 14th June 1907, was 11 lbs. The next 

 fish was caught on i8th July, and weighed 18^ lbs. ; while the largest 

 marked fish, got on 9th August, weighed 27 lbs. During the 

 month of August marked fish were got almost every day up to the 

 20th, when the net-fishing closes. One weighing 15 lbs. was got on 

 the 20th of September on Stanley Water by Mr. F. Martin when 

 angling ; and another was caught while we were netting for ova. In 

 October some of these fish reach the weight of 30 lbs., and, as was 

 said above, begin running about the middle of July and cease in 

 December. The earliest of these tish have been in the sea for two 

 years and two and a half months, and the latest of them for two years 

 and seven months. Those that survive spawn, become kelts, and go 

 back to the sea in November and December (1907). Taking the end 

 of March 1903 as the time of hatching, it will thus be seen that 

 they are four years and nine months old, although if any one had 

 asserted a few years ago that fish were from 12 to 30 lbs. on their 

 first return from the sea after going clown as smolts, and had not 

 spawned, he would have been held up to ridicule. 



There is still another run of the same marking, April and May 

 1905. This is the great run of winter or spring fish, which, like the 

 last run, are in the pink of condition and surpass all the other runs of 

 fish. These fish will not spawn till the next November, some of 

 them being in the river over a year before spawning. Many of these 

 large fish find their way into Loch Tay, Loch Ness, the river Ness, 

 the river Garry, and the Spey. A number are also found in the Dee, 

 the Tay, the Tummel ; the Wye in England ; the Boyne and the 

 Black water in Ireland, and other spring rivers, where large spring fish 

 give fine sport at the opening of the season. The two earliest rivers 

 in Scotland are the Tay and the Ness. In some seasons the average 

 weight of the spring fish caught in Loch Tay has been 22 lbs., and in 

 other seasons over this weight. 



