94 AMERICAN GAME FISHES. 



thickly spread on a white ground. Adults are all marked on 

 the body with black spots, either irregular quadrilaterals or 

 double X's, not the single X of the Atlantic Salmon. These 

 spots do not come much below the medial line, and vary a 

 great deal in number and size in individuals. They do not 

 show on the gill covers, tail or dorsal fin, but the latter is 

 usually thickly covered with circular black spots. 



The coloring varies somewhat with locality, age, and season, 

 but there is no marked difference of it in the sexes, except at 

 breeding-time, when the male, as in other Salmonidce, is much 

 the brighter hued. In neither sex, however, is the change 

 so great as it is in Salmo Salar. The body color becomes 

 yellow or reddish, the white dirty, and the spots turn to 

 rusty purplish brown. The hooked lower jaw, loss of condi- 

 tion, poor quality of flesh, indisposition to feed, and sluggish- 

 ness of temperament, that characterize the spawning Salmon, 

 are well marked in the Wananishe. 



The qualities of the Wananishe as a game fish will interest 

 brother anglers more than his scientific relationship and pecul- 

 iarities. After a long and varied acquaintance with Salmon 

 and Trout in Canadian waters, from Prince Edward Island 

 and Nova Scotia to the Pacific Slope, I say unhesitatingly that, 

 though Wananishe-fishing has been absurdly exaggerated, 

 it is unsurpassed either in charm of surroundings, its varied 

 and exciting nature, the skill required, or the fighting powers 

 of the fish itself. With a curious combination of the habits 

 of both Salmon and Trout, he has ways of his own that re- 

 quire studying. As he lives in the strongest of water and has 

 an omniverous appetite, his fins and tail are greatly developed, 

 so that by constant training he is an athlete even among the 

 SalmonidcB. A two-pounder will fight like a Grilse, and a four 

 or five pounder, fresh run, gives as much sport as a ten-pound 

 Salmon. 



Although at most times, especially when they are lying in 



