A Sportsman 443 



get the trout up near the bottom ice, and finally, at 

 a last excited dash, rapidly withdraw the bait, with 

 my hand at my side. The trout, following to the sur- 

 face in its excitement, would for a moment be too con- 

 fused to dive below, giving me in that moment the 

 opportunity to rapidly put my hands below and cast 

 him out upon the ice, unharmed, but much alarmed. 

 This may appear difficult to do, but it is really quite 

 simple, and I have taken four or five trout in a forenoon 

 from a single hole in this manner. 



HOW FISHES FIND THEIR WAY IN THE WATER. 



This subject has been a subject of much discussion 

 without resulting in any definite conclusion to many. 



One opinion given is that fish are directed by an 

 observation of bottom ground, or other land guides, 

 by depth of water, its temperature, etc. Temperature 

 undoubtedly has a bearing on the subject, as fish seek 

 and occupy zones most to their liking, of which a 

 prominent illustration is shown by the Gulf Stream, 

 inhabited by a class of fish which are not found outside 

 of it, excepting in corresponding temperature. 



All fish are cold-blooded, yet the cetacean family, 

 comprising the whale, orca, porpoise, seal, and kindred, 

 avoid warm temperatures and invade the most frigid 

 regions. But the seeking by the anadromous families 

 of their appropriate spawning localities when scattered 

 about in the depths of the sea, and the directness of 

 their efforts, has been a subject of surprise. 



A conclusion generally arrived at is, that fishes are 

 directed by instinct; by that mysterious inward im- 

 pulse which, unreasoning, blindly directs its possessor 

 for the preservation of its kind. True enough in the 



