1 62 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 



sluggish, and a bottom feeder. He does not go into 

 retirement to such an extent as does the bass, but, never- 

 theless, is far from active. The brook trout feed more 

 or less, rather less than more, during the winter, and 

 sometimes ice fishermen, trap-fishing for pickerel and 

 perch on lakes inhabited by the speckled trout, catch 

 them through the ice. 



In the Berkshires there is a small lake known as 

 Three Mile. Three Mile brook is the outlet of the 

 little lake and has brook trout. Naturally there are 

 trout in the lake. Some time ago some winter anglers 

 fishing through the ice with the ordinary "types" or 

 pickerel traps used for the purpose took fourteen brook 

 trout averaging a pound. The story does not tell 

 whether they put them back or not, but that they 

 caught the trout I know to be a fact. I might add that 

 one of the best known and most skilful fly-casters in 

 Massachusetts has repeatedly fished Three Mile Pond 

 for brook trout during the open season, with flies and 

 everything else except dynamite, but without success 

 not a single trout. This is a fine situation to theorize 

 about, if you are given to theories. 



Opening day trout fishermen have the best luck bot- 

 tom-fishing with bait, and they will tell you that the 

 trout of April first or fifteenth, as the case may be, 

 although they take bait very freely, are extremely slug- 

 gish when hooked and when landed are found gener- 

 ally to be in poor condition. It would seem, then, that 

 the brook trout is a light feeder in winter rather from 

 lack of opportunity than from inclination, for the con- 

 ditions prevailing early in April are usually distinctly 

 wintry. 



