Fish o' the Day - Atlantic salmon

A fish o' the day for a good man who loved all things Scot.

The Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, is native to the North Atlantic and the river there feed into it. It's an anadramous species, meaning that salmon are born in fresh water but live much of their life in the sea. Scottish salmon may actually live in the rivers for four or more years before migrating downriver to the Atlantic, where they remain for several years. Using a variety of types of information they return to the rivers of their birth to spawn. The spawning migration takes a tremendous toll, and many Atlantic salmon die after spawning. Unlike their Pacific cousins, however, Atlantic salmon are not necessarily destined to die after spawning. On occasion, they're able to recondition and repeat the migration/spawning cycle.

The Atlantic salmon is, of course, one of the world's great great game fish. Tremendously strong and acrobatic, they're known to leap ten foot waterfalls in the course of their migration. They can reach lengths of over 4 feet and weights well over 50 pounds. A magnificent fish - the king of fish in the eyes of some.