1 74 Natural History of the River Trout. 



weather ? A trout in January or February is a 

 lean, lanky, black, ungainly-looking object. And, 

 as Walton remarks, "that until the sun gets to 

 such a height as to warm the earth and water, the 

 trout is sick, and lean, and lousy, and unwhole- 

 some, and, in winter, with a big head." In truth, 

 in the cold, frosty winter months he cannot get 

 sufficient food to maintain himself, and I believe 

 he sinks into the mud at the bottom of the river 

 and hibernates. I" am led to believe this from the 

 following circumstance : 



One fine morning, early in February, I was 

 walking by the side of a stream noted for its big 

 trout. The water being very low and clear at the 

 time, I noticed four or five very big fish, but very 

 black, lying perfectly still, below the surface of the 

 water, and almost touching the bottom of the river, 

 which was of mud. They appeared to be sunning 

 themselves, as it were. After watching them for 

 some time, I moved gently on, and brought my 

 shadow across each of them in succession. Instead 

 of darting away, as they would have done later on 

 in the spring, they gradually sunk into the mud, 

 and vanished, without disturbing the colour of the 

 water in the least ; in fact, they had quietly again 

 sunk into their winter bed. 



