132 MALACOP. ABDOM. SALMON FAMILY. 



when trolling from a boat in fresh water. The 

 herring-fry, salted, are the most killing bait (also 

 excellent for large fish in fresh-water lochs), al- 

 though minnows are very good : a sand-eel may 

 also do, the black skin pulled over the head, so as 

 to show nothing but the white body ; this shines 

 very bright, but, as it does not spin, is far less 

 deadly than the others. A boatman who thoroughly 

 knows the fishing-ground is indispensable, as it is 

 much more difficult to find out than in fresh water. 

 Strong eddies, formed by the tide, are often good 

 places ; also any bays, especially if mountain burns 

 run into them. The largest size of Sea-trout are 

 caught in this way; and when hooked, from the 

 depth and strength of the water, make capital play. 

 If there is a good pool at the mouth of any moun- 

 tain burn, by going with your fly-rod during a 

 " spait," or coming down of the water after heavy 

 rain, and when the tide is at thefull, you may have 

 excellent sport. The Trout are all floundering about, 

 ready to take your fly the moment it touches the 

 water. This only lasts for a short time, as they all 

 leave the pool at the receding of the tide." * 



The food of this species, when in the sea, consists 

 of small fishes and Crustacea, in particular Talitrus 

 locusta, or common sandhopper, with which their 

 stomachs have been found completely crammed : in 

 fresh water they seek the same food as their con- 

 geners. Dr. Parnell considers it almost impossible 

 to distinguish the young of the several kinds of 

 * The Moor and the Loch, p. 130. 



