I30 GREAT LAKE TROUT. 



nental writers, it is well to retain the name of fcrox, as proposed by Jardine and Selb}'. 

 "The large Trout," writes Sir W. Jardine, "to which the above specific designation (fcrox) 

 was applied by myself and Mr. Selby, had been long- previously known and incidentally 

 mentioned by various writers, but it was at the same time confounded with the large Trouts 

 of the lakes of Central Europe, and the distinguishing characters between it and 5. fario 

 had not been pointed out. In Scotland it occurs in many of the large lochs, but at the same 

 time it is rather local in its haunts." 



The Great Lake Trout is a non-migratory species inhabiting the lochs of the north of 

 Scotland, as Loch Shin and Loch Awe, Loch Laggan, Lochs Loyal and Assynt ; it is found 

 also in some of the Irish lakes, as in Lough Neagh, Lough Melvin, Lough Eske, and Lough 

 Erne ; in Wales it occurs in the Lake of Llanberris ; it is found also in Derwentwater, 

 Ullswater, and perhaps other lakes of the north of England. 



This fish is essentially a deep-water species, and only ascends the rivers in connection 

 with the lakes for a short distance for the purpose of spawning, which takes place late in 

 September and in October. The efforts of my brother-in-law and myself, when at Garrison, 

 to obtain a specimen oi fcrox were fruitless, though we trolled through many miles of water, 

 using a young trout as the bait. It may be that we did not allow the bait to sink deep 

 enough ; I am rather confirmed in this opinion by what I have, since my visit to Ireland, 

 read in Mr. Cholmondeley Pennell's work. The Angler Naliiralist. As I think his remarks 

 may be useful, I will here quote what he says. 



"The only way of taking the larger fish is by spinning with a small parr or other 

 glittering bait towed behind a boat, for which purpose very powerful tackle is required, as 

 the fish is of immense strength, and its teeth as sharp as those of a Pike. As a rule, 

 however, not much success attends the troUer for the Great Lake Trout — a circumstance 

 which may possibly be in some measure attributable to the general ignorance of all its 

 habits, and of the manner in which it is to be fished for. 



The secret of success lies in four points — time, depth, speed, and place. 



Tunc. As a rule, begin fishing at the time when other people are leaving o^—that is, 

 about six o'clock p.m. Up to this hour the fish are rarely in a position from which they 

 can by any accident see your bait. From six o'clock until midnight Lake Trout may be 

 caught. These fish are essentially night feeders. During the day they lie hid under 

 rocks and in holes, in the deepest part of the extensive lakes which they generally inhabit, 

 and only venture into fishable water at the approach of evening. 



Depth. Instead of weighing your tackle to spin at from three to four feet from the 

 surface, lead it so as to sink within about the same distance from the bottom, be the depth 

 what it may. 



Speed. Let your boat be rowed sloivly, rather than at a brisk lively pace, as a large 

 Lake Trout will seldom trouble himself to follow a bait that is moving fast away from him ; 

 consequently your bait must possess the speciality of spinning at all events moderately well, 

 or it will not spin at all. 



Place. The place to spin over is where the bank shelves rapidly into deep water, say 

 at a depth of from fifteen to thirty or forty feet, according to the nature of the basin ; a 

 much greater or much less depth is useless. This a rather important point, as thereupon 

 it depends whether your bait is ever seen by the fish you wish to catch. The food of the 

 Lake Trout consists of small fish. These are not to be found in any great depths of water, 

 but on the contrary on the sloping shores of the lake, up which, therefore, the Trout comes 

 in search of them, stopping short of the shallows." — (P. 335-336.) 



I feel sure that the whole of this advice is most admirable, and I shall certainly put it 

 in practice when I next visit Ireland. 



The Salnio fcrox will occasionally take a fly, and must therefore sometimes swim not very 



