88 BRITISH FRESHWATER FISHES 



and strong line with a heavy lead sinker, with 

 shorter lines bearing the ' Minnows ' attached at 

 intervals. 



These ' Minnows ' are by no means elaborate, as 

 they are cut out of sheets of metal by the fishermen, 

 and are furnished with but a single triangle of hooks 

 attached to the tail end. In plumb-line fishing two 

 stout rods are used, one projecting from each side 

 of the boat, which is rowed slowly along, the Char 

 being permitted to hook themselves and to signify 

 the same by ringing a bell, which is placed at the 

 end of the rod. This ingenious device for getting 

 the fish to ring his own knell was, I believe, in- 

 vented by the Chinese, and I was not aware that 

 it was in use in England until I paid a visit to 

 Windermere. On this lake the Char but rarely 

 take a fly, and of late years are said to feed much 

 less at the surface than formerly, perhaps owing 

 to the increased number of petrol-driven launches 

 on the lake. At Windermere I found the impres- 

 sion prevalent that there were two species of Char 

 in the lake ; the reasons for this belief are the dif- 

 ferences in colour and in time of spawning. The 

 variations in colour are undoubtedly due mainly 

 to age, sex, and season, and the so-called * Silver 

 Char' are either young fish, or if adult usually 

 females taken early in the season. 



The breeding season extends from November to 

 February or March, and I was informed that the 

 majority of the fish spawn either in November or 

 in February, that the early fish are smaller and 

 more silvery, and make their redds either in the 

 River Brathay or in the shallow water near the 

 edge of the lake, whereas the February fish are 



