THE CHARRS. 299 



bridge. The maxillary (mystache) extends to the vertical from the hind- 

 most border of the eye, and is armed with sixteen very small teeth, the hind- 

 most rudimentary ; all the other teeth small, four in the inter-maxillary, 

 twelve in each mandible, two to four in the vomer, fifteen on each palatine, 

 and four pairs on the tongue. The sub-operculum, which forms the hind- 

 most part of the gill cover, does not cover the exposed portion of the shoulder 

 above the root of the pectoral fin. Dorsal fin with thirteen or fourteen 

 rays, its origin nearer the end of the snout than to the root of the tail, 

 fourth and fifth rays the longest. The distance of the adipose fin from 

 the dorsal is less than twice the length of the base of the latter ; anal fin 

 with twelve rays, its origin at the middle between the root of the caudal 

 fin and of the outer ventral ray ; fourth, fifth, and sixth rays the longest. 

 The tail forked, the lobes pointed. Pectoral fin with thirteen or fourteen 

 rays, its base free of the operculum, and ending at a short distance from 

 the ventral ; ventral with nine rays, its origin below the ninth, tenth, and 

 eleventh rays of the dorsal. The scales very conspicuous and compara- 

 tively much larger than in any other of the British charr ; those of the 

 lateral line not larger than the others. As regards colour, the sides and 

 belly are silvery, the scales on the sides of the back have a silvery centre 

 and a blackish border ; the back itself is a bluish black ; belly with a 

 reddish shade ; sides with scattered light orange-coloured dots ; fins 

 blackish ; the dorsal lighter superiorly ; ventrals with a narrow whitish 

 border. Head silvery, black above. 



The capture of these fish is effected by three methods the net, trolling, 

 and the fly. The former seems to be the most deadly method, and very 

 reasonably so, it being essentially a bottom fish, feeding on minute shell 

 fish, and rarely coming to the surface to feed. In some localities, how- 

 ever, they are said to take the fly freely, and, according to Stoddart, 

 those of Ha wes water, near Bampton, do not seem very particular as to 

 the colour, &c., the ordinary trout flies of the neighbourhood being 

 capitally effective. This is also, he says, the case in the smaller High- 

 land lakes, Loch Lee, in Forfarshire, and Loch Achilty, in Ross-shire. In 

 the latter, he remarks, " I have basketed as many as a dozen-and-a-half 

 in a forenoon, along with some dozens of trout." The fish takes the fly 

 much more deliberately than a trout, and, like a grayling, once having 

 missed its aim, it often repeats its attempt. 



Artificial fly fishing for charr is, however, but poor sport, and it is 

 chiefly to the spinning minnow or spoon bait and its genus that the 

 angler must look for sport. It is common to row backwards and forwards 

 over the deeper parts of the lake, trailing a bait of this nature, and 

 allowing it to sink to a considerable depth. A friend tells me he has had 

 remarkable sport with Gregory's "Cleopatra" bait (described anon), 



