134 



THE SEA-TROUT 



the Lammas run of whitling, because, as a lawyer would put it, the fish 

 has no animtis remanendi and returns again to the estuary before the 

 true autumn ascent takes place. It would be more correctly described 

 as a tentative movement by these maiden fish to the upper tidal reaches, 

 and it is noteworthy that this spring run, so far as my observation gees, 

 is confined to waters where there are long tidal reaches or where there 

 is an immediate entrance from the sea into a loch which is almost on 

 sea-level. In any event, as I have shown that the whitling which did 

 ascend could not unless they had spawned be classed as kelts on their 

 descent to tidal water, so now these fish which did not ascend are not 

 kelts either. Hence in those districts where the sea-trout fishing is 

 practically tidal water fishing there is no reason why the spring months 

 should not furnish legitimate sport with sea-trout of this class, and I 

 think it is with such fish that spring fishing is got in the Beauly, the 

 Ythan and the Tay, and elsewhere. 



I confess that I can make no suggestion which seems satisfactory 

 to myself why it is that this movement of the fish to the upper tidal 

 reaches, and even into some western lochs, like Loch Baa in Mull and 

 some of the South Uist lochs, takes place in spring any more than I can 

 definitely state why it is that some of the shoal made a more permanent 

 ascent as whitling in the autumn previously. I cannot believe that it 

 is due to the pursuit of any special food, and would be more incHned to 

 account for the movement by some change of temperature as between 

 river-water and sea-water. 



Turning to another matter it would be extravagant to assert that the 

 separated wings of any original shoal re-unite on the return to the 

 estuary of the detachment which had migrated to fresh water. I think 

 it likely, however, that each wing retains its own corporate entity. At 

 such places where sea-trout rise to the fly in salt water, it is not unusual 

 for the angler to pick up shoal after shoal of the feeding fish as he 

 drifts over the ground. There seems no good reason in fact, though 



