FEESH-WATEE FISH. 245 



about the only fresh-water fish, except perhaps the eel and 

 the trout, indigenous to the inland creeks, which have no 

 direct communication with the sea. The black-fish runs 

 to no great size, at least with us I never saw one weigh 

 1 Ib. In appearance and habits it rather resembles the 

 tench at home, and is a nice-eating fish. 



The Australian bream, or brim, was certainly the best 

 of all our fresh-water species ; but I am not certain whether 

 it can be strictly called a fresh-water fish, for I have 

 only seen them in the creeks during the summer, when 

 the water was brackish. It is something like the Euro- 

 pean bream in appearance, but not so coarse, and more 

 silvery to look at. "With us they rarely exceeded 1 Ib. 

 in weight, and were very much like the small snapper. 

 Its habits much resemble those of the carp very shy, 

 frequenting deep clear holes ; and were I to angle for 

 them I should fish early and late, and use the same bait 

 and tackle as for that fish. 



The Australian river trout is a very poor apology for 

 the trout at home, and looks more like a cross between 

 the roach and the miller's-thumb than anything else. 

 I rarely saw one longer than my finger. It seems to be 

 a grovelling fish, does not rise to the fly, and I fancy we 

 were wrong in calling it the trout, which fish it resem- 

 bles neither in shape, habits, or appearance. They were 

 common in most creeks and water-holes. 



At certain seasons the herring and mullet come up 

 from the salt water into the creeks and rivers that run 

 direct into the sea, and they appear to live as well in. 



