328 TROUT AND ANGLING. 



In both these they are only taken in the usual 

 way, through the ice in the winter season. Per- 

 haps no attempt has ever been made, but could 

 these '' monarchs of the deep" be taken by the 

 regular angler, aided by all the devices so essen- 

 tial to the true enjoyment of his sport, the pleasure 

 resulting from the success of his achievement, 

 would be proportioned to the size and strength of 

 his captive. 



The possibility of taking a very large fish, 

 (though not a trout) w^ith the rod and line, has 

 been settled by the performance of Col. Thornton, 

 mentioned in " Daniel's Rural Sports," who caught 

 a pike in one of the Lochs in Scotland, which 

 weighed fortynine pounds and a quarter. He 

 was prepared with trolling apparatus to take this 

 very fish, which was known to be in the lake, hav- 

 ing at a previous time carried off a hook. It re- 

 quired one hour and a quarter to exhaust his 

 strength, and on being safely secured in the boat, 

 a scar was perceptible where the hook had escap- 

 ed through the skin. It is said that the trout of 

 the great western lakes attains the enormous size 

 of one hundred pounds. 



The largest that we know in the state of 

 Maine, are found in the Moose-head Lake. To 

 confirm this fact, it is known that a fish was found 

 dead upon its shore which weighed fifty pounds, 



