NAMAYCUSH AND OTHERS 99 



tion it is ordinarily a rather dark gray, marked pro- 

 fusely with spots of a lighter tinge. The 

 Formation head is marbled, or vermiculated, like 



/- i 3 ^ the back of the brook trout. Occasionally 

 Coloration. 



the spots on the body will show a reddish 



shade. Generally speaking, the lake trout is a handsome 

 and well-formed game fish, the larger specimens having 

 length in proportion to girth. A fifteen- or sixteen- 

 pound fish will measure about thirty-two inches. 



It is said that the lake trout early in the spring 



comes into the shallows for a period of a few days 



when it may be taken on ordinary light 



Surface tac ti e- However this may be and the 

 ^* writer is inclined to believe that this 

 period must be very short indeed and that in some lakes 

 it does not occur at all angling for lakers is done 

 almost entirely by deep-trolling. Also it is a fact that 

 the early season excursion of the namaycush to the sur- 

 face waters is quite apt to take place before fishing for 

 them may be done legally. In lakes where early fishing 

 for lakers on the surface and in the shallows is an 

 accomplished fact they may be taken on the fly as well 

 as by trolling. Successful surface fishing is, however, 

 a pretty rare thing, and it does not seem advisable to 

 consider it here to any extent. For trolling heavy bass 

 tackle will answer the purpose; and for fly-fishing a 

 fly-rod suited to large stream and bass fly-fishing, say 

 a ten-foot, seven-ounce rod, will be right. On this rod 

 you should use forty yards of enameled line, size E, on 

 a single-action reel. Flies dressed on sproat hooks 

 numbers six and four will be sufficiently large, and 



