We had fun fishing the other week. We went to a lake not far from here to get this Gaspereau fish that comes back in the spring to lay eggs.They breed in the lake I believe, then they leave and go to the sea to live and grow before returning each spring. The long trough in the photo is called a fish ladder, and it allows the fish to swim up against the stream and as they do, they swim in little stages up each 'rung' of the fish ladder, then they pause and rest for a while, then go up the next rung.
There is also the main channel, that has a little bridge over it, but the dam by the bridge is to high for the fish to jump or swim up. That is why the government have installed the fish ladder, to allow the breeding process to continue.
Before they fitted the fish ladder, there was a stream running over some rocks that had to be running high enough with water to allow the fish to get up it, and some spring seasons it was lower than was good for the fish, although a few always must have made the journey. I believe that the lake water level was increased by the man-made dam, as there are houses and cottages all around the other end of the lake.
The fish when running up into the lake are so many that as they swim, it is possible to just swipe your hands through the water and catch one! As for what we do with the ones we get, we put them all back, hehehehe. My son Arvin spent a bit of time catching the fish in the small pond at the lower end of the fish ladder, and taking them up and placing them in the lake.