What is going on here…
A half dead fish taking off with your fishing rod is the most unexpected thing.
Salmon are a highly valued fish for their delicious taste.
Most salmon are born in freshwater rivers and streams, where they spend the first few years of their lives. After reaching maturity, they migrate to the ocean to feed and grow before eventually returning to their birthplace to spawn.
Some, such as in the Great Lakes for example, have been introduced to freshwater lakes where they live their entire lives.
However, as salmon begin to near the end of their lives, they instinctively return to their birthplace to lay their eggs and die.
One of the primary reasons that salmon rot when they return to freshwater is due to the change in water chemistry. Freshwater is much less salty than seawater, which can be harmful to salmon that have spent the majority of their lives in saltwater. The sudden change in salinity levels can cause the salmon’s cells to malfunction and break down, leading to the rapid decomposition as they are still living.
It’s also very difficult for them to swim upstream into freshwater rivers and streams where they spawn, and the toll on their bodies can be too much to bear after the eggs are laid.
That being said, these salmon returning to the rivers are still a fisherman’s delight, despite the fact they might be dying. Each year thousands of fish return to these spawning grounds creating a rush of good fishing with large and mature fish.
This fisherman is seen with a beauty catch of a salmon, that is nearing the end of its lifecycle. The man is showing her off and tries to pull out his jig.
The fish gets a burst of energy and takes off down stream with the mans rod getting dragged behind it. The fisherman takes off running down the stream, trying to get ahold of the rod or the fish.
Luckily, he’s able to catch up to the dying fish and gain control of the rod to set the fish free.
Free to live out the last days of its life after being able to reproduce… it’s the circle of life.
