168 FISH CULTUEE. 



I treat this point here solely in a commercial view. 

 If I look at it as a sportsman, I should say that I 

 prefer a fair chance among a good show of three and 

 four-pounders, to that very rare one of the twelve or 

 twenty-pounder — one soon wearies of always sitting 

 in a hoat, with a couple of rods stuck hopelessly 

 over the stern, hut one seldom tires of fair sport with 

 the fly amongst fish from lib. to 41bs. or 5 lbs. weight.* 

 I may take occasion here to point out a singular fact, 

 which has often been noted, but not attempted to 

 be accounted for, and that is, that many lakes have 

 numbers of these very large trout, running from 7 lbs 

 or 8 lbs, to lO'lbs. or 12 lbs. weight,^ and sometimes 

 even much larger, and at the same time they have 

 only very small fish as well. I know of many 

 lakes where this is the case; of course, there are 

 also many lakes where this is not so. How is it that 

 there are so very few middle-class fish, fish of lib. 

 and 2 lbs. or 3 lbs. weight, such as the fly-fisher loves 

 to see rising quietly and unobtrusively, just within 



' Some wlio may have had better success at trolliDg for the feiox 

 thaa I or any of my friends ever had, may be disposed here to differ 

 with me. "May difference of opinion," &o. 



'^ It is possible that these large fellows may be the ferpx, but so 

 little is known of the peculiarities which maik the ferox, that the 

 point is left in uncertainty, particularly as the common brown trout 

 often grow to a large size, and may be confounded with it. 



