268 NEW YORK STATE MUSEiUM 



This is one of the largest species of the salmon family resi- 

 dent in fresh waters. It reaches a length of 3 feet, and speci- 

 mens weighing 40 pounds are not uncommon. It is said that 

 an example of 90 pounds and 6 feet in length has been taken. 

 The species is found in its best condition in Lakes Huron, Michi- 

 gan and Superior. In Alaska it grows to a large size, and is a 

 very shapely and beautifully colored fish. 



The lake trout is one of the most rapacious fishes of its family. 

 In Lake Michigan it feeds largely on the cisco and other small 

 whitefishes. At Two Rivers Wis. a lake trout measuring 23 

 inches was found to contain a burbot about 17 inches long. The 

 gluttony of this species is proverbial. It will devour table 

 refuse, and materials of this kind have frequently been taken 

 from its stomach. Even twigs, leaves and pieces of wood have 

 been taken by this trout. The species is much more sluggish 

 in its habits than the brook trout, and is taken on or near the 

 bottom. The gill and pound nets in which this species is princi- 

 pally captured are set in deep water. 



The spawning of the lake trout usually begins in October and 

 continues into November. For this purpose they come up on 

 rocky shoals and reefs in depths of from 70 to 90 feet, and spawn 

 near the edges of rock caverns, into which the eggs settle. The 

 young are hatched late in the winter or early in spring. In some 

 localities the depth of the spawning areas ranges from 15 fath- 

 oms to only 7 feet. Mr Milner found 14,943 eggs in a lake trout 

 weighing 24 pounds. In the hatchery, with a water tempera- 

 ture of 47, the young hatch about the last week of January, 

 but their hatching may be retarded several weeks by lower 

 temperatures. 



The fishery for the lake trout is most active in September, 

 October and November, and the fish are taken chiefly in pound 

 and gill nets. In some regions many of them also are caught 

 with hooks. In Lake Erie a few large trout of this species 

 weighing from 25 to 40 pounds are taken off the city of Erie. 

 In 1885, according to the statistics of the U. S. Fish Commission, 

 100,000 pounds of lake trout were taken in Erie county, Pa. 



