2IO Roosevelt Wild Life Bulletin 



Lakes region in Maine and long before it became widely known to 

 anglers, wrote in an article in a sportsman's journal as follows: 

 " Every brook, every stream, and every pond and lake was literally 

 full of them. Of course, there were proper times to fish at certain 

 places ; for instance, at places where ample quantities could be taken 

 at one time, none could be had at another time. I have seen the 

 Cambridge River at the foot of Umbagog so crowded with trout 

 rushing up stream that you could almost walk across it on the backs 

 of the fish (if this is a fish story, it is an actual fact). And again in 

 the fall of the year great schools would rush into the mouths of 

 rivers and coves near their spawning grounds, so as to fairly blacken 

 the water, and they were hungry. 



"At the first freezing over of the lakes and rivers, at the mouths 

 of small brooks and around certain stony banks in the lakes, and 

 near late spawning grounds, hundreds of pounds could be taken in a 

 day, and the hunters were pretty sure to improve these opportunities." 



In another place, the same writer graphically described the first 

 run of trout in the Kennebago River in 1884, where, he said, from 

 the last of September to the freezing of the river in November, the 

 trout resorted to spawn. He wrote that on September 22, having 

 been attracted by the splashing of the water, sounding " like a drove 

 of moose wading in the river," he saw a large school of trout, many 

 of which were of large size, jumping out of the water and going 

 through various maneuvers as they made their way up the river. 

 They continued to run in large schools until all the spawning beds 

 above along the river were fully occupied. He says that the number 

 of trout running up the river could not be estimated but that in the 

 small space of about 5 rods the spawn takers secured 500 trout from 

 October i to 12. 



The Rev. Zadock Thompson, in his history of Vermont, previously 

 referred to, gave a very interesting account of the brook trout in 

 Vermont, from which the following is quoted : "The brook trout 

 is more generally diffused over the State than any other species of 

 fish, there being scarcely a brook or rill of clear water descending 

 from our hills and mountains in which it is not found. When the 

 country was new they also abounded in larger streams, where they 

 often grew to the weight of 2 or 3 pounds. But they have been 

 diminished by the causes already mentioned and have been sought 

 after with such eagerness as the most delicious article of food of 

 the fish kind that they are now seldom taken in our streams exceed- 

 ing half a pound in weight, and much the greater number of them 

 weigh less than a quarter of a pound. In many of the ponds they 

 are still taken of a larger size, but their flavor is thought to be less 

 delicious than those taken in running water, especially in ponds with 

 muddy bottoms. 



"The trout is usually taken with the hook, and the bait universally 

 used is the red earthworm, everywhere known by the name angle 

 worm. Fishing for trout is a favorite and common amusement, and 

 parties frequently go 15 or 20 miles for the sake of indulging in it." 



