EASTERN COAST FISHES. 267 



no sea trout can enter, nor do we believe that out of them any 

 numbers of native fish migrate. There are many streams along 

 the whole Canadian coast in which sea trout are never found, but 

 there are big trout in them that weigh a pound apiece, big enough 

 to go to sea if they hke, and as well able to do so as the trout of 

 other streams. 



However, argument will convince nobody who is set in his belief, 

 and until a comparative study of the structure of the two varieties 

 is made, we shall have to remain in the dark so far as this inter- 

 esting question goes. The sea trout has been successfully prop- 

 agated artificially, and if it is the better fish, fish culturists will 

 prefer to cultivate it instead of the common trout. 



The best places for taking sea trout are the sandy spits that 

 are uncovered at half tide, where one can run barefooted up and 

 down a hundred yards or more of soft yielding surface, and play 

 his fish ad libitum with only half the usual length of line or work 

 of reel. Further up the stream they fill ^e pools where they 

 pause to rest on their journey, and can be seen lying on the bottom 

 in schools. The Micmac Indians, who camp on all the rivers in 

 summer, eagerly watch the coming of the sea trout, and the angler 

 who would enjoy the cream of the sport must wait, Uke them, if 

 he expects to capture one of the finest fish that swims. 



CLUPEID^. 



The Shad. — Alosa sapidissima. — Gill. 



Of late years shad have been included in the list of game fish, 

 and many anglers have devoted much attention to the sport 

 of catching them, especially in the Delaware, Housatonic and 

 Connecticut Rivers. Shad have also been taken with the rod in 

 the Savannah River, and in the St. John's River, Florida, at Lake 

 Monroe. They are taken either with fly or with angle worms, 

 shrimp or other bait. Shad commence to take the fly as soon as 

 the water begins to grow warm, and continue to take it as long as 

 they remain in the rivers, which is some time after July first in the 

 Connecticut, the latest river. 



A most excellent cast of flies is composed of the following : 

 white miller for leader, with red ibis, snipe and any drab fly with 



