IZAAK WALTON'S ASSOCIATION WITH THE RIVER LEA. 197
which it may be of interest to touch briefly before concluding,
namely, the former existence of salmon in the Lea.
There is, no doubt, that long after the time of Walton, the Lea
was a salmon river, but when it actually ceased to be so, it is not so
easy to decide. Mr. Croft, in the article to which reference has
already been made, quotes Farmer's "History of Waltham Abbey,"
to prove the existence of salmon in this river in 1735, but adds, "I
have not been able to ascertain the date of the capture of the last
salmon ; probably they were very scarce, if not extinct here before
the end of the last century."
This was by no means the case, for there is evidence to show
that salmon were taken in the Lea at least a century after Farmer
wrote. Amongst the notes which I have collected on this subject
are the following:
"The Sporting Magazine" for 1816 contains the announcement
that, "In January, 1816, Mr. Salter hooked a very heavy male
salmon in the subscription water at Lea Bridge, supposed to be the
largest ever taken in the River Lea with rod and line. After an
arduous struggle of an hour and a half, he succeeded in killing it.
It measured 3 ft. 71/2 in. in length, and weighed 28 lbs. From its
singular form and colours, Mr. Salter was induced to present it to
the landlord of the "Horse and Groom," at Lea Bridge, who had it
stuffed and a drawing made of the same and hung up in his parlour
for the inspection of the curious."
A correspondent signing himself "an old and keen sportsman,"
writing in "The Field" of 13th October, 1877, says (p. 419):
" One day in April, 1825, I caught a brace of salmon-peel in the
Lea a little above Old Ford, 63/4 and 41/2 lbs. in weight. At that time
it was thought a great piece of luck for any one to catch two in one
day, and I, a little more than a boy then, was very proud of the feat."
" The Sporting Magazine" for 1833 records that,
" On December 9th, 1833, a fine salmon measuring 3 ft. 2 in.
and weighing 15 lbs. was captured at Walthamstow Ferry Fishery.
It had taken advantage of recent floods, and had passed mills and
locks, and ultimately found its way into the old stream where it was
caught. The depth of this part of the River Lea is influenced by
the barge and copper-mill streams, and as the floods subsided, the
fish found it difficult to pass the ford on which it was found
splashing and throwing itself up towards a tumbling bay."
A well known angler in the Thames and Lea, Mr. T. R. Sachs,