292 REPORT OF THE FOREST, FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 



The "Family Salmonidae " is first in importance, embracing as it does the 

 original and most esteemed game fish of the Adirondacks, and some cousins of 

 his later introduced. 



At the head of all stands the "brook trout" or "speckled trout" (Salmo salve- 

 linns or fontinalis), native to nearly all the Adirondack waters. The " rainbow 

 trout " of California (Salmo iridens) and "brown trout" of Europe (Salmo fario) 

 have been introduced in late years, and thrive under the same conditions as the 

 brook trout, and are not distinctively unlike the brook trout as game fish. The 

 rainbow trout seems to thrive as well in deeper and warmer waters than brook 

 trout require. 



The "lake trout" — erroneously called "land-locked salmon," "salmon," and 

 "salmon trout" — (Salvelimis namaycush, also Cristivomer namaycush), as their 

 names imply, inhabit a number of lakes. They require colder water than the 

 brook trout and are usually found only in the deepest waters of those lakes which 

 have a depth of forty or more feet. In the early spring, however, while the 

 water is cold, they are found in shallow water near the shores and then are easily 

 taken by trolling, and they sometimes rise to the fly. In the summer they must 

 generally be fished for in deep water. In Fourth Lake, Fulton Chain, and perhaps 

 in other lakes, they are taken in the summer by deep trolling. They are 

 usually of good weight, from four to ten pounds, often weighing fifteen to twenty, 

 occasionally much more. It is an excellent food fish. 



The "frost fish," sometimes called "white fish" (Prosopium quadrilaterale), 

 belongs to the salmon family, and is a good food fish. It does not take the hook 

 and is usually captured in the fall, in traps or nets, while running up the brooks 

 to spawn. 



The "Family Centrarchidae," or bass family, are next in importance as game 

 fish. Only one variety, however, is known to have been introduced into the 

 Adirondack waters, namely, the " smallmouth black bass" (Micropteras bolomieii), 

 not native to any of these waters, but introduced into many of them, notably in 

 Raquette Lake and the Fulton Chain of Lakes, and wandering into others. As 

 a game fish it deserves high rank, averaging a larger size than the brook trout, 

 taking the fly readily, and making a gallant fight when hooked. Its cousin, the 

 "Oswego bass," or " largemouth black bass" (Micropterus salmoides), resembles 

 closely the smallmouth variety, and possibly has been placed in some of the lakes. 



The troublesome "rock bass" (Ambloplites rupestris), a nimble biter in waters 

 where his gamier relatives exist, does not infest the Adirondacks. But the still 

 humbler member of the bass family, the "sunfish," or "pumpkin seed" of our 



