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 
