THE MICHIGAN PENINSULA. , 207 



a half pound, and adds one quarter of a pound per annum 

 to its weight until it attains a weight of three or four 

 pounds. In England it spawns in April and May, and the 

 angling season commences about the middle of July and 

 continues through October. In this country it is in sea- 

 son from May to October. It begins to spawn in February, 

 and continues throughout the months of March and April. 

 It thrives -best in rivers flowing with gentle current, whose 

 beds are composed in part or wholly of sandy gravel or loam. 

 It feeds on minnows, but takes the fly or artificial grasshop- 

 per with avidity. 



Although abundant in many parts of -England, its habitat 

 is local, just as it is in Michigan. It is caught in only four 

 rivers of Wales, and in Scotland only in the Clyde, where it 

 was introduced twelve years ago. In Michigan it is caught in 

 the Muskigon Eiver, which is as far south as they are caught 

 in any stream that empties into Lake Michigan ; in the 

 Manistee and all the streams to the northward as far up as 

 Mackinaw ; in Indian Eiver, a stream connecting two lakes 

 and emptying into Traverse Bay ; in the Au Sable and the An 

 Gres rivers, on the eastern shore of the State ; and in the 

 Eiver Hersey, a tributary of the Muskigon, The latter is the 

 most accessible of any of the streams — eleven hours from 

 Detroit by the Flint and Marcpiette Eailroad, with a good 

 hotel a quarter of a mile from the depot, kept by A. D. 

 Wood, who is himself a thorough sportsman and well-posted. 

 One mile from the hotel, fishing begins and extends along 

 a mile and a half of cleared bank, which gives a genuine 

 sportsman a fair cast. The country afibrds no worms; 

 therefore the mere bait-fisher will have a poor show. It is a 

 beautiful stream of clear spring water, about twenty rods 

 wide. There are no other fish in it but suckers. The best 

 time for angling is as soon as the spring freshets subside, 

 from the middle to the last of May. The Au Sable is the 

 next most accessible stream, and is reached from Bay City 

 by the Mackinaw Eailroad, which runs due north to the 



