August

Spawning Tanalaks meets a Grayling in search of spawning grounds. Photo: Mikko Kytokorpi

In search of a spawning ground

It's August. The salmon are still a while away from spawning, but preparations are underway. Salmon that have been in the river for a long time have lost their silver shine and darkened their skin. The skin of the male salmon gradually takes on a red tinge, while the female salmon becomes more brownish. On the male salmon, we can see the beginnings of a hook on the lower jaw. The salmon skin seems thicker now, and the scales are a little firmer. It's a good idea to be hard-skinned if you're going to fight and perhaps spend a whole winter in the river. The salmon is getting ready. After staying relatively calm in the same place, perhaps for several weeks, they start looking for the perfect spawning ground.

The activity of salmon is linked to both water flow and temperature. If the summer has been dry and warm, the salmon have probably remained very calm. Low water flow and high temperatures can cause salmon migration to come to an almost complete stop. But when it starts to rain, usually in August, there is a lot of activity.

August is also an important month for the river mussel. The eggs are fertilized around this time, and within a few weeks, tiny larvae are released into the river water. If the little larvae are to grow up, they are completely dependent on meeting a young salmon or trout on their way. It has to attach itself to the gills of the fish and live there for nine to eleven months before it can let go and start a long and quiet life as a mussel. A river mussel can live to be over 200 years old.