240 FAUNA OF SHROPSHIRE. 



Sea Trout, or Salmon Trout. The fact that Sea Trout 

 Salmo trutta. are included in our list of Shropshire 



fishes may cause some surprise, even 

 to experienced Severn anglers; nevertheless these fish 

 were at one time frequently taken both in the Severn 

 and in the Vyrnwy. This statement has been received 

 with some incredulity, but careful inquiries have resulted 

 in reliable testimony as to its verity, being obtained, from 

 several sources quite independent of each other. The 

 Rev. J. B. Meredith reports that he has several times 

 taken Sea Trout in the Vyrnwy, near its confluence 

 with the Severn. On one occasion the rev. gentleman, 

 and the late Mr. Harry J. Potts, were angling in the 

 Vyrnwy, and the former, in his friend's presence, landed 

 a lively fish of about lib. in weight. Mr. Potts immedi- 

 ately exclaimed, " Why, it's a Sea Trout," and a close 

 examination confirmed his first impression. This gentle- 

 man had had considerable experience in angling for 

 Sea Trout, in various parts of the country, and Mr. 

 Meredith who had long believed that these fish migrated 

 to the upper districts of the Severn considers the proofs 

 he has given absolutely incontrovertible. Several 

 Shrewsbury gentlemen have since stated that they have 

 either caught Sea Trout, or witnessed their capture, near 

 the town ; but no recent instance is recorded. It would 

 therefore seem that the migration of these fish to the 

 upper Severn and Vyrnwy is now rare. Like all nav- 

 igable rivers in this country, the Severn has undergone 

 material changes, and when we endeavour to picture the 

 stream as it once existed, it is no excess of fancy to 

 imagine it to have been well stocked with migratory 

 fishes even above Shropshire at certain periods of the 



