FISHES 



bars or even up rivers for the purpose of depositing 

 its ova. As soon as the water becomes warm they 

 work off into deep water, where they remain during 

 the hot months. As it is a deep-water fish it does 

 not often afford much sport for the angler, but as a 

 commercial and food fish it is decidedly the best we 

 have in the lakes, its flesh being firm, white, flaky and 

 well flavoured. Under favourable circumstances 

 this species reaches a large size, specimens of twenty- 

 five pounds' weight having been recorded. These 

 are, however, very rare, and a ten-pound fish is now 

 considered a^very good one. It is extremely vora- 

 cious, feeding upon such other fish as it can over- 

 power, and the insects and crustaceans found in its 

 haunts. 



43. Sand Pickerel. Blue Pickerel. Sauger. Stizoa- 

 tedion canadense (Smith). This is a smaller fish 

 than the last, rarely exceeding eighteen inches in 

 length and a weight of two pounds. It is also less 

 valued as a food fish, its flesh being softer and of 

 inferior flavour. Occasionally taken by lake fisher- 

 men off the Toronto shore. 



44. Yellow Perch. Perca flavescens (Mitchill). 

 This species reaches a length of ten or twelve 



inches and a weight of a pound or rather more. The 

 largest I ever saw taken near Toronto weighed one 

 pound and two ounces. It is one of the most abun- 

 dant of our fishes and is found in all the waters of 

 this locality. As a food fish, if taken when the water 

 cool it is only excelled by the Yellow Pickerel. 



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