FISHES 
bars or even up rivers for the purpose of depositing 
its ova. As soon as the water becomes warm they 
work off into deep water, where they remain during 
the hot months. As it is a deep-water fish it does 
not often afford much sport for the angler, but as a 
commercial and food fish it is decidedly the best we 
have in the lakes, its flesh being firm, white, flaky and 
well flavoured. Under favourable circumstances 
this species reaches a large size, specimens of twenty- 
five pounds’ weight having been recorded. These 
are, however, very rare, and a ten-pound fish is now 
considered a very good one. It is extremely vora- 
cious, feeding upon such other fish as it can over- 
power, and the insects and crustaceans found in its 
haunts. 
43. Sand Pickerel. Blue Pickerel. Sauger. Stizos- 
tedion canadense (Smith).—This is a smaller fish 
than the last, rarely exceeding eighteen inches in 
length and a weight of two pounds. It is also less 
valued as a food fish, its flesh being softer and of 
inferior flavour. Occasionally taken by lake fisher- 
men off the Toronto shore. 
44. Yellow Perch. Perca flavescens (Mitchill). 
—tThis species reaches a length of ten or twelve 
inches and a weight of a pound or rather more. The 
largest I ever saw taken near Toronto weighed one 
pound and two ounces. It is one of the most abun- 
dant of our fishes and is found in all the waters of 
this locality. As a food fish, if taken when the water 
is cool it is only excelled by the Yellow Pickerel. 
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