further north still
there are canneries on the coast of Alaska. I have seen salmon in Dawson
City which looked quite fresh run and had been netted in the Yukon; also
grayling which had been caught on the fly in the Klondike River. If ever
the present known rivers of British Columbia are fished out, there is
surely an inexhaustible supply further north. There can be no question
but that the Grand Trunk Pacific will in a few years open up a new
country of lakes and rivers, in which the sport should be at least as
good as those already known.

The fishing at Campbell River is apparently not confined to the mouth of
the river--at least in good seasons--as Mr. Layard speaks of fishing up
and down both sides of the strait from Seymour Narrows to Cape Mudge
lighthouse, a distance of 12 miles. A grant from the Government has been
made for a pier to be built at Campbell River, enabling all steamers to
call there, which will render it more easy of access.

CHAPTER IX.

Recapitulation of Salmon and Trout Problems--Importance of
Preserving British Columbian Fisheries--Possibility of Introducing
Atlantic Salmon--Question of Altering Present Close Season for
Trout--Past and Present Neglect of Trout Fisheries--Need for
Governmental Action--Difficulties in the Way of It--Conclusion.

It will be very evident to those who have read the foregoing chapters
that there is a great deal to be learnt about the fish that inhabit the
British Columbian waters, and that several interesting problems require
solving. These facts should render the greater interest to the fishing.
The salmon perhaps present the most difficult questions, for their
life-history is evidently almost unknown. Their eggs germinate in the
hatcheries, and the fry are turned out into the lakes, but from that
moment to the time they return from the sea their movements are unknown.
It is not known at what age they seek the salt water, nor at what age
they return; while in the case of the sockeye their feeding grounds in
the Pacific are an unsolved mystery.

The most interesting trout problem is the identity of the silver trout
of the Kamloops and the Okanagan Lakes, whether it is a distinct and
new species, or merely a variety of the rainbow.

The identity and life-history of the small silvery fish which runs from
the Nicola, Anderson, and other large lakes into the small streams ought
to be a matter of some interest. This fish has been all