234 ELEMENTS OF ANGLING. 



" the thing" he will not find it beyond his powers 

 if he understands the rationale of bottom-fishing for 

 other fish. There are portions of most streams 

 where the prawn or worm is the only thing likely to 

 do any good deep, still flats, eddies, and the like 

 but it is a pity to use either in " fly water." 



Of sea-trout* fishing it is not necessary to say 

 very much since the methods described for trout 

 and salmon, especially the use of " the big fly," are 

 most of them applicable in certain circumstances to 

 sea-trout. When large (in some waters they run 

 up to something like iolb., and have been known to 

 exceed 2olb. in rare cases) they may be regarded as 

 small salmon and fished for accordingly with a I4ft. 

 or 1 5ft. rod, fine grilse gut and small salmon flies; 



* Young anglers, and old ones too for that matter, are 

 sometimes puzzled to say whether a fish which they have been 

 fortunate enough to catch is a small salmon or grilse or a 

 large sea-trout. The simplest method of finding out is, as 

 has been recommended by Mr. G. A. Boulenger of the 

 British Museum, to count the number of scales in an oblique 

 row from the posterior margin of the adipose fin to the plainly 

 visible line which runs along the middle of the fish. The line 

 of counting slants away from the tail. The salmon, which is 

 the bigger-scaled fish, usually has from nine to twelve scales 

 in the row while the sea-trout (or brown trout) has never less 

 than thirteen, usually fourteen or fifteen. The bull-trout can 

 as a rule be easily known by its tail, which is convex, so much 

 so that in places it has won the name of " round-tail." It is 

 bigger-headed and coarser in appearance than the sea-trout. 



