THE LAKE TROUT. 



DESCRIPTION OP THE FISH. 



This handsome species {Cristivomer iiamaycush), the largest of the 

 tronts, is chissed with the charrs. It has an elongated body, the length 

 being about 4^ times the depth. The head is large, flat above, and about 

 as long as the body Is deep. The mouth is large; the maxillary bone 

 extends beyond the eye and is half the length of the head; the jaws 

 have strong teeth. A peculiarity of the vomerine bone distinguishes 

 this fish from the genus Salvelinvs ; it has a crest provided with teeth 

 extending backward from the shaft of the bone. On the hyoid bone the 

 teeth are in a cardiform band. The eye, placed near the top of the head, 

 is contained about 4i times in length of head. The caudal fin is well 

 forked. Both the dorsal and anal fins contain 9 to 11 rays. In the straight 

 lateral line there are about 200 scales. Brauchiostegals 11 or 12. 



The coloration is quite variable in fish from different localities. The 

 general color is usually dark gray. The body, head, and fins are 

 covered with small discrete rounded spots, usually of a pale color, but 

 often tinged with reddish. On the back and top of head there are fine 

 vermiculations, as in the brook trout. Examples from some lakes of 

 Maine and eastern Canada are nearly black, and Alaskan examples 

 are often very dark; others are quite pale. 



That variety of the lake trout known as the siscowet [Cristivomer 

 namaycush siscowet), found only in deep water in Lake Superior, is 

 shorter and paler than the typical fish and has weaker teeth and a shorter 

 head ; it is, however, chiefly characterized by an excessive fatness, which 

 greatly reduces its food value. 



The present chapter is devoted to trout of the Great Lakes and the 

 methods of propagation employed at the station of the United States 

 Fish Commission at Northville, Michigan. 



RANGE, FOOD, ETC. 



The lake trout is found throughout the chain of the Great Lakes, and 

 the inland lakes of northern New York, New Hampshire, and Maine; 

 the headwaters of Columbia and Fraser Eivers, streams of Vancouver 

 Island, and even waters within the Arctic Circle are said to contain 

 this species. With the exception of the whitefishes, it is perhaps the 

 most numerous food-fish of the Great Lakes, and formerly none exceeded 

 it in weight except the sturgeon. Instances are cited by fishermen and 

 others of lake trout weighing as high as 125 pounds, and its average 

 weight has been given at from 20 to 30 pounds, but of late they are 

 rarely found exceeding 18 or 20 pounds. Possibly, if unmolested by 



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