FISHING AT HOME AND ABROAD 



THE STICKLEBACK 



GASTEROSTEUS ACULEATUS 



German, Stechbmtel; French, ^pinoche 



The three -spined stickleback is most common in this country, though 

 the ten-spined kind is also found in some districts. It is a most interesting 

 little fish ; it spawns from April to June, the male constructing a neat little 

 nest of water weeds about the size of a walnut; there are two openings, 

 so that several females, with head out on one side and tail out of the other, 

 lay each, one after another, 80 to 100 eggs, which are fertilized by the male, 

 who then watches over them very carefully until they are hatched, and 

 also watches the fry for some days, and has to drive their mothers away 

 or they would eat them. 



THE MINNOW 



German, Die Ellritze; French, Viron 



Mainly useful to the angler as a bait for other fish, the minnow is 

 also an important item in the natural food supply of pike, perch, 

 trout, and, to some extent, also of chub, etc. This handsome and 

 widely distributed little fish rarely exceeds three or four inches in 

 length (Mr C. Tate Regan says that occasionally specimens of six or 

 seven inches long have been taken — ^probably not in this country, at least 

 in over fifty years' experience of minnows in all kinds of waters, I never 

 saw one even six inches in length). 



By those who do not often see young trout and salmon they are mistaken 

 for minnows, and if the latter had an adipose fin the resemblance would be 

 very close indeed. In their spawning season, in April and May, the males, 

 and also the females, on the head and back get those pearl -like excrescences 

 common to so many of the coarse fish at that time; the males have also 

 scarlet and blood -red and green colourings on sides and at the fin-bases 

 at this period, which leads some to think they are different species. I 

 remember an angler coming all the way from Hungerford to London to 

 show me a new species of fish — he really thought he had made a great 

 discovery, and was astounded when I told him it was only a minnow in 

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