498 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



The positions in a large pool taken up by trout are only to be found out 

 by experience of the fish, and of the particular river. For while small trout, 

 of half-a-pound weight and less, locate themselves in every part, the heavier 

 fish, from 2 lbs. upwards, select particular sites for their lairs. Some of 

 these sites are the very last an angler would anticipate, as exposed shallows 

 above the head and at the tail of a pool, and bends of dead backwater, 

 almost stagnant. Sometimes, also, a heavy fish will rest in very strict run- 

 ning water above a pool, and when hooked by a fisherman it often seems as 

 if the line were fast to a rock, so closely does the fish hug the bottom. 

 Then, when fairly " struck," the astonished angler finds his supposed rock 

 dart with alarming velocity into the depths of the main pool below. I have 

 often lost my chance of good fish by not fishing the very last yard or two of 

 a long reach, for, on taking to the bank, I have seen, when too late, a big 

 trout sail away quietly up stream, from below my feet almost, making waves 

 like a steamboat. These remarks, again, are correct as to the state of the 

 case when our rivers are low ; but when in spate, the trout are everywhere, 

 and their ordinary habits are not observed. So, also, at night in such 

 waters as the Shag and Kakanui, when a few old stagers keep to their beats, 

 but the multitude of fishes spread over every part, and wake the stillness 

 by splashing out of the water in all directions, and each fish almost simul- 

 taneously, — then a quiet spell succeeds for a quarter of an hour, to be followed 

 by another chorus of splashes, and so on, until the moment the first symp- 

 toms of dawn are felt, when all become quiet, and will look at no bait, 

 natural or invented, for hours afterwards. 



When a river is low and clear, I have often known trout to be disturbed 

 by the vibrations in the water caused by the angler wading, and so make off 

 long before he himself was visible to the fish. This applies to up-stream 

 fishing, as well as to down-stream fishing. 



The shelter of flax-bushes, Veronicas, or even a good rock, are appre- 

 ciated, and much used by our trout ; but as yet there are not enough of fish 

 to occupy every sheltered retreat. Hence, where small creeks join the main 

 stream, trout are not so commonly seen as one would expect. 



Another very marked evidence of the trout's appreciation of sunlight and 

 warmth is, that black, rocky, dark pools in the Lee Gorge and other streams, 

 have no trout in them at all. I and others have, again and again, thrashed 

 such pools, and never seen a fin in one of them. 



Cannibalism among our trout is a practice denounced by many fish-men 

 in language expressing the axiom " the big trout eat the little ones." I 

 have frequently listened to such common cant, and when I have asked for 

 proof, the best reply to be got was, — " Oh, it is a well-known fact." Now 

 having taken some pains to test this opinion, by a reference to the fish 



