1 24 SPAWNING. 



qualities of the smelt, there is no difference of opinion as to 

 the young of that fish, the so-called Nors, being the best of 

 baits to beguile other fish ; and as a consequence, it is much 

 sought by fishermen. 



In my vicinity the smelt spawned very early in the spring, 

 occasionally before the ice broke up. The lek was held in 

 pretty deep water, at times near to the mouth of streams 

 tributary to the Wenern, at others in the bays and inlets of 

 the lake itself. According to Ekstrom, " the lek is confined 

 almost entirely to the night-time. At dawn of day the fish 

 retire, and do not return to the spawning-ground until the 

 approach of evening." " Other fishes," he goes on to say, 

 " prefer fine weather for the lek, but the smelt the very 

 contrary. Hence a snow-storm, accompanied by wind, occur- 

 ring during the spawning season, is called a Nors-il that 

 is, a smelt-gust or blast. The lek lasts from eight to 

 fourteen days. Should it begin very early in the spring, it 

 continues longer than if at a later period, and vice versd. 

 The female is very prolific, and the fry are said to grow 

 rapidly." 



The smelt attains to a considerable size in the Wenern. 

 Those that came under my own observation were not larger 

 than are usually seen in England ; but a friend resident near 

 the northern shores of that lake, assures me that it is there 

 occasionally captured of nearly a pound in weight. The 

 average of the larger kind in his vicinity, when congregated 

 at the lek, he describes as half-a-pound each. 



The smelt is taken in large quantities in certain parts 

 of Sweden ; mostly during the spawning season, and with 

 the drag-net, which with us in the Wenern was not unfre- 

 quently brought into play, even before the ice broke up. 



