FRESH-WATER TROUT— REG ATNING CONDITION, INJURIES. 215 



^vbcre fisli are larger tlicy seem to take loiifj^er altainiiit;' a fit state for the aiij^lcr,* 

 and ill some waters all are not in condition by the middle of A])i'il. Ephemera 



(1853) observed, " I never saw a trout in ])rime season before JNIay Tho 



trout season ought to bo tixed from Lst April to loth August" (p. 271'). 



Streams differ eonsiderably as to the time at which the trout in them recoup 

 themselves, partly consequent at tho period they spawn, and partly owing to tho 

 amount and A-ariety of their food, for this may be natural or even artificial as 

 Avhen obtained from sewers emptying into rivers. Early spawners without good 

 and nourishing food on whicb to mend are not early reatly for the table. 



Diseases and injuries. — These have already been considered, first when in the 

 young stage (p. 45 ante) and under the head of Salmon (p. lO'J et seq.) and sea 

 trout (p. 180 ante). Some coarse fish, as roach,t are sometimes found to be 

 injurious to trout, for they may augment in such numbers as to consume the food 

 "which would otherwise form the diet of the Salmonida^ : similarly minnows may 

 starve young trout. In Land and Water, May ()th, 1882, Mr. Hoarder of Plymoutli, 

 described how a trout about 11 in. long was hooked in the Plym, and which on 

 being landed was found to have an india-rubber band over the head. It had 

 slipped backwards and had got partly under the gill-covers where it Avas coin- 

 pressing the gills, and had deeply furroAvod the isthmus. The fish Avas in splendid 

 condition. Leeches, Piscicola geovietra, are often injurious to trout. 



Legislation. — Many anglei'S in England are of opinion that it would be better 

 for sport Avere the opening of the trout season never to commence before the 

 middle of March, which even then is early, except for some streams in Wales and 

 Devonshire. J 



Salmon preservers seem to generally believe that the trout by consuming 

 salmon eggs and the fry, becomes one of the gTeatest enemies they have ; but it 

 is not very probable that any considerable number of the former are extracted 

 from redds if such are at the usual depth : but that they Avill eat salmonoid ova if 

 they get the chance is Avell known, even parent fish having been observed to dcA^our 

 their own eggs as they were being deposited — while salmon kelts kill numerous 

 small trout. 



* It A\-as also observed in The Field that, "Perhaps these conditions are exactly re\'ersed in 

 the case of the rich and luscious chalk streams, Avhere the trout are almost of a different species, 

 running to a much larger size, breeding later and more sparingly, and re(iuiriug a long rest and 

 some nutritious feeding to regain their grand proportions of fine condition. I can easily imagine 

 how the happy members of the Houghton Club, who patiently bide their time for the well- 

 nurtured and highly- educated leviathans of the Hampshire rivers, might look down with 

 contempt upon the easy sport of March fishing on Welsh or Devonshire streams, and jeer at 

 impatient anglers Avho rejoice to face an easterly wind for the capture of a dozen or two of small 

 but delicious trout that scarcely make up a satisfying dish for a rustic appetite." 



f " Koach V. Trout. A 7-acre artificial lake was stocked with these two forms. As the former 

 have increased in numbers the trout seem to diminish in size. Some time ago Avhen the roach 

 were very scarce, there were trout up to 3 lb., and the average was OA'er l^lb. Now it is very 

 seldom that a trout is got over 1 lb.'' — Field, April 2Gth, 1884. 



J Mr. Pritt, in The Field, April 17th, 1886, observed, "Eeferring to the letter of 'Amicus,' in 

 The Field of the 10th, your correspondent speaks of the ' few rivers where trout are allowed to be 

 taken on Feb. 2nd ;' he is possibly unaware that, so far as the conservators are concerned, this is 

 the case with some rivers in Lancashire and with every river in Yorkshire, and the streams of the 

 latter county alone are more than can fairly be called ' a few.' Where a later date for opening 

 has been fixed in these rivers it is tlirough the action of the local clubs, and these do not by any 

 means cover the Avhole length of tho fishable water. The result is that, on those stretches which 

 are protected neither by the water bailiffs of the conservators (who devote their attention mainly 

 to salmon) nor by the rules of the local associations, an amount of fish destruction goes on in the 

 earlier part of the season which it is pitiable to hear of. Neither size nor condition is allowed to 

 overrule the belief that all is fish tliat comes to the net." 



Mr. J. Naden, Field, March .'Jth, 1887, Avriting from Hartingdon, Derbyshire, remarked, " I 

 think (at least for this part of the country, North Derbyshire and North Staffordshire) the fishing 

 season both closes and opens too soon. The trout licre are in good condition till tlic middle of 

 October. They are in as good condition at the end of October as they are at the beginning of 

 March. At the time I am writing this (February 24th) numbers of them arc in the little rivulets 

 spawning. But unless in other parts of this river, and in other rivers, the trout spawn much 

 earlier than they do here, I think the Board would do Avell to reconsider the close time for them 

 — i.e., if the time is fixed by the Board, and not by the Imperial Legislature." 



