River Moy Rod-caught Salmon
Salmon (Salmo salar,) are hatched in freshwater, migrate to the ocean where they mature, then return, in order to reproduce, to the freshwater where they were hatched. Some say that they do this at the same spot that their mothers laid the eggs from which they hatched. Known as the King of Fish, they are silver, streamlined., swift and graceful. Salmon are amongst the greatest fighters in the fishing world. They have a richness to their flesh due to their diet of krill and shrimp. Grows up to 150cm and weigh 35kg.
The salmon is known by a variety of names, some local names and some indicating a particular stage in their life cycle. They start life as Alevins, and develop into Parr, a few inches long, at which stage they are very hard to distinguish from juvenile Brown Trout. Eventually the parr turn into silvery Smolts, and migrate to the sea, where they feed avidly, and put on weight rapidly. Some return early to the rivers at weights of a few pounds and are known as Grilse. Others stay at sea, grow further and return as large Spring Salmon or "Springers" Some salmon trickle back to the rivers as Autumn Fish. Once spawned, the adult salmon try to return to the sea to feed again. Some make it, most don't. At this stage they are known as Kelts. Some salmon fail to spawn, and these also try to get back to the sea. Such fish are known as Baggots or Rawners.
Commercial names for salmon (almost all designed to hoodwink the public) include Bay Salmon, Black Salmon, Caplin-scull Salmon, Fiddler, Grayling, Landlocked Salmon, Ouananiche, Outside Salmon,, Sebago Salmon, Silver Salmon, Slink, or simply Winnish. Many of these so-called salmon are not Atlantic Salmon at all, but one of the sub-prime species of Pacific Salmon.