87 



CHAPTER XIII. 

 WHITE TROUT (S. trutta). 



WHITE, or sea, trout are the 

 gamiest of their kind. To en- 

 counter a three- or four- pounder 

 is a delight that it would be 

 difficult to beat in the whole range 

 of angling experience. 



The habits of the sea trout are 

 similar to salmon. It belongs to 

 the migratory family of the Sal- 

 monida, choosing to spawn in 

 rivers and lakes, and returning to 

 the sea, from which it derives the 

 silvery coat that distinguishes it 

 from the fario tribe. Confine- 

 ment in rivers and lakes, however, 

 alters its appearance in this parti- 

 cular. I have caught them in 

 August with the fly in Irish rivers 

 and loughs almost as red as lake 

 trout. There are other points of 

 differentiation important to know 

 in order to distinguish them from 

 other species. Fario has two rows 

 of teeth in the middle bone on 

 the roof of the mouth, whilst 

 trutta has only one. The teeth in 

 this row exceed in number those 

 of the salmon and the bull trout, 

 which only have a few on the end 

 of the central bone. There are 

 also differences in the fins and 

 shape of the tail, easily noticed 

 on comparison. White trout are 

 known under different names. On 

 the banks of the Tweed they are 

 called whitling. In Gaelic nomen- 

 clature finnock, meaning white ; 

 herling is another familiar Scotch 

 title. They are dubbed sewin in 

 Wales, and in the South, peel the 

 most misleading title of all as the 

 term generally applies to salmon 

 before reaching the spawning age. 

 It is just as well to know what 

 our friends mean when they use 



one of these provincialisms, lest 

 we go armed with a hand-line and 

 mussels for some species of sea- 

 fish, or a heavy salmon-rod and 

 tackle when peel fishing is the 

 flattering form of the invitation. 



Sea trout run up most tidal 

 rivers along the Scotch and Irish 

 coast. They are found in some 

 English rivers, but not to the 

 same extent. They show a pre- 

 ference for light spate rivers, of 

 which purity is an indispensable 

 condition. They differ from 

 salmon in this particular, whilst 

 the latter keep to the main river, 

 and travel up stream for miles, 

 white trout are disposed to leave 

 the deep water for any side stream 

 or lake where there is a freshet. 

 They hang about the mouth of 

 rivers and in estuaries until a 

 flood comes, when they run freely. 



In heavy water, too dirty for 

 fly-fishing, a worm is the best bait 

 to mount. Under the circum- 

 stances, it is a perfectly legitimate 

 lure. The run of fish is very 

 numerous, and there is not the 

 least fear of exhausting the sup- 

 ply. They keep moving up whilst 

 the flood lasts, and if they are not 

 tempted with a worm in the pea- 

 soup condition, they will be miles 

 away by the time the water clears. 

 Some fine fish are taken in this 

 way, and the play given on a 

 single hook and link of gut is very 

 exciting. A stiff fly rod is the 

 best weapon to use for this kind 

 of work, and a trout reel and line. 

 The fish hug the bank in a heavy 

 flood, and within a yard of it is 

 the most likely spot to find them. 

 Small red worms, scoured for a 



