THE HABITS OF THE TROUT 



the pool. No Other fish, to my knowledge, is so af- 

 fected by shadows on the water. 



The sense of taste in the trout is more fully attuned 

 to nicety than that possessed by many other fishes. If 

 the lure used to entice him be dead, it must be fresh 

 and sweet ; he touches nothing that is not pure and 

 clean. If the artificial fly is thrown to him in swift 

 waters, he quickly recognizes the gritty impact of the 

 steel and spits it out at once, hence the value of 

 " quick striking " in rapid streams. 



The sense of hearing in all species of fish is a matter 

 of concussion on the surface of the water. Sit motion- 

 less in a boat, and you may sing " I Won't Go Home 

 'Till Morning," or any other gala song, to the extreme 

 high limit of your voices, and the trout or any other 

 fish will remain undisturbed, but scratch your toe 

 upon the bottom of the boat and, presto I the pool is as 

 dead and barren as a burned prairie. Approach a pool 

 from over the bank with a careless tread, and when 

 you reach it the trout are gone, none know where. 

 Crawl to the pool noiselessly on all-fours and you will 

 find your trout reposing without fear of danger. The 

 avoidance of concussion is the great factor on a trout 

 pool or stream in getting a satisfactory creel; slide, 

 rather than step, in wading and your success will be 

 greater. 



Trout feed at all hours of the day and night, yet 

 it would seem that in many waters their hunger ap- 

 proaches a maximum as the dusk of the day gathers 



6i 



