8 TROUT-FISHING FOR THE BEGINNER 



its olfactory organs enable it to find food, 

 otherwise how can we account for a trout 

 taking a worm or other bait when the river 

 is thick with flood water ? Whether the 

 trout's nose warns him of the approach of 

 his under-water enemies or not we do not 

 know, but it is pretty certain that his eyes 

 alone are his chief defence against the approach 

 of human intruders. Fish apparently owe 

 their security from foes of their own kind 

 to the fact that the tone and colour of their 

 surroundings is reflected from their bodies. 

 The result is, they appear to other fish as 

 mere ghost-like forms. 



4. Feeding. 



The growth, size, weight and edible quali- 

 ties of trout depend upon the quality and 

 amount of food they can secure. The larger 

 and heavier a trout becomes, the less eager 

 is he to rise at flies, confining his attentions 

 chiefly to bottom-food, and to the lesser 

 individuals of his own kind. That trout 

 possess cannibalistic habits at a very early 

 age I have proved over and over again 

 when minnow fishing. Using an artificial 

 quill minnow, 1J in. in length, I have con- 

 stantly captured fish little if any larger than 

 the minnow itself. Again, if a post-mortem 



