386 FORTY-FOUR YEARS OP 



ties, and leave on the ground all that are considered too 

 small for use. 



The trout is a beautiful fish, and varies from the smallest 

 Bize to twenty-two inches in length. When in good con- 

 dition, they are blue, with two rows of small red spote 

 along the sides. The time for catching them is from the 

 first of May until the last of July, and the bait used in the 

 early part of the season, while the trout are running up 

 the streams, is the common red worm ; but in June and 

 July, when they settle in deep, still water, the tail of the 

 crawfish is preferred by all skillful fishermen. After they 

 settle in deep water, from the first peep of day until nine 

 o'clock is the best time to fish for them with a hook ; but 

 the evening also, from five o'clock until eight, is a good 

 time to take them. A small, rough-looking white worm, 

 found in rotten wood, excels all other bait I have ever 

 tried ; but the small grub-worm also makes good bait. 



After the middle of August, the trout begin to decline 

 in quality, become poor, and the meat is dry. In Septem- 

 ber they commence spawning ; when they ascend the small 

 streams to sandy places, where they may be seen in great 

 numbers, depositing their eggs in the sand ; but in Octo- 

 ber they return to the deep water, at the mouths of the 

 warm branches or springs, where they remain until the fol- 

 lowing spring. In February, the young trout, scarcely an 

 inch long, can be seen in squads of a hundred together in 

 those warm streams. They remain there until they are 

 sufficiently strong to keep out of the way of the larger 

 ones, when they swim down to the deep water and take 

 care of themselves. 



