Salmon spawned in most rivers and streams in California sometime during the year and were a welcome addition to the diet of the hunter-gatherer California people living near almost all the streams. Many tribes migrated to a given area along the streams during spawning runs to harvest the fish. Fish were caught with spears, harpoons, fish nets, fish traps (fishing weirs), hooks and fishing lines, gathering seafood by hand and using specific plant toxins (soaproot, buckeye nuts, and wild cucumber root) to temporarily paralyze the fish so they would float to the surface where could easily be captured. About the only early competitors for fish was the California grizzly bears who lived in California then and who also liked salmon. Salmon and other fish were usually eaten almost immediately, smoked or sun dried and stored in woven baskets so they could not spoil and were available to eat nearly year-round. Acorns gathered each fall were the other staple of most California Indian's diet,