4 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 



hit the trail to a good trout stream, with fly-rod and 

 camera, and there your desire will find its fulfilment 

 if you are the right sort; otherwise, otherwise. 



While the Eastern brook trout is undoubtedly in 

 coloration the most beautiful of all game fishes, in for- 

 . mation, especially as regards very large 

 o ora ion trout O f ? saVj three pounds or over, its 

 position is not so clearly first. The male 

 trout of this weight, however finely marked with var- 

 ious tints of blue, crimson, and gold, tends dangerously 

 to aldermanic girth and, with his usual under-shot and 

 cruel lower jaw, is rather a creature to respect for 

 gameness and fighting-blood than to admire artistically. 



The quality of coloration in the brook trout, too, is 

 dependent to a great extent upon the immediate sur- 

 roundings affected by the fish. That this is a matter of 

 protective coloration should go without gainsaying. In 

 very dark waters, well shaded and with muddy or dark- 

 ly colored bottom, the brook trout is sympathetically 

 of subdued coloration, sometimes almost black a very 

 dark purple. On the other hand, in clear streams run- 

 ning over white gravel or pebbly beds, the trout are 

 lightly tinted and often have a golden luster or sheen 

 that is unequaled for beauty. The wise men tell us 

 that variation of color in brook trout is caused by the 

 light acting through the nerves of the eye upon certain 

 color glands. It is also dependent to a certain extent 

 upon the natural food most common to the stream, 

 trout which have an abundance of insect food being the 

 most brilliant in coloration as well as the largest. 



To catch trout with the fly it is not at all necessary 



