5 8 BRITISH FRESHWATER FISHES 



trout (5. alhus) of the east coast, in having a 

 longer head, a larger mouth with stronger jaws, the 

 suboperculum projecting backwards beyond the 

 operculum, and the fins somewhat larger, the lobes 

 of the caudal especially being more produced. 

 When typical examples of the two races, of the 

 same size and sex, are compared, these differences 

 may be seen, but they are slight, and not always 

 apparent. 



The Sea-trout do not go so far out to sea as 

 the Salmon, and in the spring and summer may 

 be seen moving about in large shoals near the 

 coasts, often leaping out of the water ; in the sea 

 they feed on Sprats, Sand-eels, shellfish, etc. They 

 spawn in fresh water from September to January, 

 usually in October or November, and often earlier 

 than the Salmon in the same river. Large Sea- 

 trout do not usually remain long in fresh water 

 either before or after spawning, and in most rivers 

 the main run of the breeding fish is in the late 

 summer or early autumn. 



Unlike the Salmon, the Sea-trout feed in fresh 

 water on Minnows, worms, water-snails, shrimps, 

 and insects, and in the larger rivers, where food is 

 abundant, some of the breeding fish may ascend in 

 May or June, or even before, but the Trout which 

 form this early run are smaller than those which 

 come later, the larger fish being less ready to 

 forsake the stronger diet of the sea. Thus on the 

 Tweed the June fish are said not to weigh more 

 than 5 lbs., but those which run up in October and 

 November weigh from 6 to 20 lbs. or more. In 

 small rivers the autumn run is the only one ; thus 

 in the Shetlands, where there are only small burns, 



