Leaping the Falls

Toronto may be the only major city in the world where you can see many species of fish jump over a river dam. The Humber River is home to salmon, trout, and hybrids that spend the summer in Lake Ontario, and return to the upper river during their annual spawning run. Three small man-made dams prevent invasive lamprey eels from reaching the fish’s final spawning grounds. This year I went to the first dam several times, only to find the water too shallow for the fish to get up to speed. Instead they waited in the deep pool near the base of the dam through late September. When the October rains arrived, hundreds of fish attempted the leap. The river's autumn spawn is first dominated by large, powerful Chinook and Coho Salmon. Later in the season, on this cool November day, I was lucky to capture a far more unusual sight. This gorgeous Brown Trout attempted to leap the falls, twisting at just the right angle to catch the sun. Browns are among the fastest swimmers, but rarely leap high enough to reach the top. To catch this speedster with a single shot, photographers should keep a waiting eye strictly trained on the foaming water at the base of the falls where the fish emerges.