496 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



not again look at the big sort, I put on two lively little grasshoppers and 

 cast well up into the stream, letting them gradually sink as they were borne 

 towards its lair. It took them at once for I felt the line tighten ; so I gave 

 it plenty of time and then struck well, when the running began in earnest. 

 Being a strong fish, and in a pool with bad stones and boulders, I had much 

 trouble in playing it, but at last managed to net it, and found it a great deal 

 heavier than I had thought, as it weighed 5 lbs. 6 ozs. ! On another occa- 

 sion in the same water, while fishing close to the bank in some broken 

 streams, I hooked up above me a good trout, which got off. Several casts in 

 succession thereafter failing to start it, I gave it up as a hopeless case, and 

 started to walk up the bank past the trout, within three yards of where it lay. 

 In doing so, however, I let the bait drop in and float down, when he took 

 it at once, and I killed the fish, which weighed over 21bs. Just one other 

 instance (and I have more I could mention), must suffice, as illustrative of 

 the boldness of these trout. This occurred in the Lee Gorge also, to a friend 

 of mine, on a day when the water was very clear, with not a ripple on it. 

 In a broad smooth pool a good trout was rising in the middle. Walking 

 down to the edge, this fisher cast with a cricket right over the fish, which 

 took it at once, and when killed it was found to weigh over three pounds. 

 The trout were not at all on the take that day. On the other hand their 

 shyness or laziness is just as extraordinary as their boldness. I remember, 

 for example, in the Deep Stream, when the fish would not move, fishing 

 down stream behind another angler, who fished pretty carefully, but, as I 

 noticed, missed a yard or two of the very shallowest parts at the top of 

 streams, which are usually thought to be barren spots. He also raised 

 nothing at a deep corner of Pillan's Pool. In both places I gave the water 

 time to rest, or rather the fish, if any, and then fished very carefully the 

 aforesaid shallow parts with cricket, and also the deep corner. After 

 repeated throws, and sinking the bait well in the shallow, I killed a good 

 trout in each, weighing 3 lbs. 6 ozs., and 2 lbs. 10 ozs. respectively. This 

 was in February, 1882. 



There is another thing worthy of remark in the feeding habits, which is, 

 that not only do the trout change their feed, so to speak, on different days, 

 but even during the same day. In October, 1877, in the Lee Stream, water 

 in good order, and the forenoon warm, but after a night's snow, with a 

 strong west and north-west wind blowing, I fished down below Snow's with 

 small phantom minnow, about 50 yards behind Mr. A. Campbell, who had 

 on fly. This was before noon, and Mr. Campbell killed several trout of a 

 pound weight before I got any. Then, in the very same places, one above, 

 and the other in the Ledge Pool, which he had cast over without raising 

 anything, I got two with the minnow, weighing 2^ lbs. and 2^ lbs. After 



