A MAYO LAKE 



this very morning the biggest sea-trout killed dis- 

 gorged the remains of several worms upon which it 

 had manifestly been feeding greedily. You may also 

 find them at times stuffed with other food : in salt 

 water, for instance, they are very partial to sand eels. 

 It is now, of course, pretty well established that the 

 lordly salmon seldom, if ever, feeds in fresh water ; the 

 sea-trout is, on the contrary, a hearty gourmand in 

 fresh water or salt, and after a spate you will occasion- 

 ally find him absolutely gorged with worms. 



Brown trout, plucky as they are, vary greatly in 

 fighting energy. Of course soil, water, and feeding 

 have much to do with this. There are three well- 

 remembered lakes in Norway, all lying within half a 

 mile of one another, and all holding good fish. In the 

 first and second lakes, set amid thick pine forests, the 

 trout were dark, heavy, and strong, but a trifle slug- 

 gish. In the third tarn, which lay among rockier and 

 more open surroundings, and was much less engirt 

 with timber, the fish were lighter in colour and im- 

 mensely more energetic in character. They were, in 

 fact, perfect furies, the like of which I never encoun- 

 tered before or since. A brown trout of half a pound 

 taken in this upland water gave as much sport as a sea 

 trout of a pound and a half, which is, of course, saying 

 a good deal. In this same Norsk lake char abounded ; 

 these deep-water fish were, however, seldom taken, and 

 then only in the hottest weather. 



Towards six o'clock, with a respectable creel of brown 

 trout, nobly illumined by nine or ten silvery sea-trout, 

 we run ashore, inspan our pony cart, settle our trifling 

 account with the boat-lad, and, loth though we are to 

 leave this fair scene, drive homewards. As we cross 

 the solemn moorland, now and again is to be seen 

 against the glowing evening sky, plodding homewards, 



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