of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



313 



wondered at that a few fish occasionally fail to leave the main body along 

 with their comrades. But it is to be wondered at that, finding out their error, 

 they should start off again to repair it. 



When the fish come in towards the shore, they may be taken in the nets 

 at Dunstaff'nage Bay before entering the Etive Loch, and again in Aird's Bay 

 before entering Loch Creran, but once they have entered these lochs their 

 course seems to be straight up towards the head in the case of Creran, or 

 towards the Awe and Nant in the case of Etive. We are not aware of any 

 case (except one) in which salmon have been taken in these lochs in shallowish 

 water or near the shore. Those who " scringe " or seine for sea-trout do not 

 find the salmon amongst their prey, nor do we believe that the salmon delays 

 in ordinary cases between the mouth of the loch and the mouth of its own 

 river. A friend informs us that only twice in twenty years has he seen a 

 salmon leaping in play in lower Loch Creran, and we have frequently 

 observed the swift course of a salmon near the surface of the water in mid- 

 loch, going straight towards the head of the loch without halting. 



The sea-trout on the other hand, keep close inshore, comparatively speaking, 

 and lay themselves open to the operations of the scringers. At regular 

 intervals, more especially at spring tides in June and July, the sea-trout pass 

 slowly upwards along the shore to their various rivers, continuing to do so on 

 till October. By the middle of November they have mostly left the fresh 

 waters. 



These shoals of sea-trout open up questions of great interest most difficult 

 to answer. " Sea-trout " they are all roughly called in the West of Scotland, 

 but they undoubtedly represent several species, and perhaps many varieties. 

 Not only have the fish of each several stream a character of their own, but 

 they are found intermingled with the Salmo fario from the smaller streams, 

 that have taken to the sea, and in consequence donned a livery of silver more 

 or less pronounced. These include the common Salmo fario, as well as the 

 species estuarius, which may be considered as intermediate. We have little 

 doubt that the Salmo fario takes to the sea at certain scasons> when we can- 

 not find a single representative in the small streams that enter the Western 

 Highland lochs. We have found them amidst the sea-weed at low water, 

 where the stream struggles over the salt-watery shore ; while we could not 

 find a single point of specific distinction bet^'een the silvered specimens 

 amongst the shoals of sea-trout and their dark-coloured congeners in the 

 burns. It has long been well known and thoroughly proved that the external 

 colouring and superficial characteristics of fishes alter readily under changed 

 conditions ; and the marked differentiation evident amongst the various fishes 

 of the different streams, as well as between the same fishes in the said streams 

 or off" them in the salt water, point to great facility of alteration and mobility 

 of physical characteristics. 



We have also taken in certain streams fishes that we would have called 

 sea-trout but for their complete absence of silver colouring, the marking 

 pointing to them as bull-trout. 



These we are disposed to consider sea-trout that have remained long in 

 freshwater and lost their silver coat, as the Salmo fario acquires it in the 

 salt water. 



These sea-trout shoals are most voracious ; we have taken young herring 

 in quantities, and squids also, from their stomachs, and this may be the 

 reason they keep towards the shore in their progress river-ward, in place of 

 rusliing thither in mid-loch. 



The salmon, on the other hand, when it approaches the shore is not bent 

 on feeding, although we have heard of them being taken by boys with lines 

 baited with sand-eels for flounders. They are like our best herring, which 

 are no longer on the feed when they approach the shore for spawning 



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