18 FISHERMAN'S LURES 



and lake trout, abide, the supply of food is never 

 overabundant, and the introduction of entirely 

 different species of fish food is of the greatest 

 value, whether the adult species be small or grow 

 to a fair size. All assist directly or indirectly to 

 make game-fish more plentiful. Wlierever trout 

 or other game-fish feed upon one species alone — 

 as instanced in another chapter of trout-eating 

 young sunfish exclusively — it is not so desirable 

 either for fish or angler, because it induces trout 

 to congregate in restricted localities hard for the 

 angler to find, and doubtless from the standpoint 

 of eating not so good as a varied diet. In most 

 lakes the young of perch, dace, and chub furnish 

 the chief food for pickerel and pike if the young 

 of their own kind are not overplentiful, but in 

 later years their growth has been limited. Large 

 fish are quite scarce, for the average caught are 

 small compared w^ith w^hat were captured years 

 ago, w^hen three-pound pickerel and ten-pound 

 pike were common. If fish do arrive at an adult 

 state, anglers do not seem to be skilful enough 

 to get them, as we hear of many being picked up 

 dead, having died of old age or disease. Like men, 

 these very old fish are not voracious. They feed 

 little; long intervals elapse between meals. WTien 



