FISHES OF THE DISTRICT 177 



between 50 Ibs. and 60 Ibs. Then comes Walker 

 who, in his Remarks made in a Tour from London to 

 the Lakes (1792), has something to say of the great 

 lake trout : " The grey trout of this lake grows 

 to 30 or 40 pounds weight, and goes up the brooks 

 and rivers to spawn, and takes up its abode in the 

 deepest part of the water at other times, and there- 

 fore is very seldom caught." 



Next comes Richardson, also a contributor 

 to the History of Cumberland. Whilst Walker 

 refers to Windermere, Richardson writes of 

 Ullswater. " It is here called grey trout, and is 

 sometimes, though but rarely, taken in season ; one 

 in good condition was killed 36 Ibs.; and Mr. Clarke 

 says they sometimes weigh upwards of 50 Ibs." I 

 imagine that Richardson in this matter was writing 

 at second hand. 



So far as the Lake District is concerned, Clarke 

 may be said to be the father of the great lake 

 trout. He calls it the grey trout, and believes it 

 to be peculiar to Ullswater and Buttermere in the 

 latter of which, however, he states there are " very 

 few." This was in 1787. These grey trouts, he 

 writes, " in form resemble the other grouts, but are 

 much larger, weighing from 30 to 40 pounds ; one 

 was killed a few years ago which weighed 56, but 

 the ordinary weight is from 7 to 20 pounds each. 

 They are chiefly found in the deep water below 

 House Holm Island ; they are, however, sometimes 

 taken in all parts of the lake, though but seldom 

 except in October, which is their spawning time." 

 In another part of the present work Clarke's account 

 of the great lake trout is quoted in extenso, and 

 I need only add here that he remarks that they 

 rarely rise to the fly, that their strength is very 



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