46 
KENDALL: NEW ENGLAND CHARES. 
It is quite possible that the Sunapee White Trout was once, before the smelts were intro- 
duced, small like the Blueback of Rangeley Lakes and on that account never took the hook and 
was never observed as it did not ascend the brooks to spawn, and like the Rangeley Blueback it 
did not attain a large size until after the introduction of smelts; yet there is no way to prove it. 
That a fish may exist in a body of water for many years without becoming generally known 
is not so strange as, at first thought, it seems. Many resident fishermen and even non-resident 
anglers have caught at times fishes that were more or less strange in appearance. In such cases 
they discuss its identity among themselves and perhaps come to the conclusion that it is a freak 
form of some other fish which it to some extent resembles. When not accounted for in that way 
it is usually ascribed to hybridization, or if a fish with which they are not familiar has been 
introduced it is likely to be considered that form. But seldom is it suggested that it is a hitherto 
unrecognized species, and usually instead of sending it to some competent authority for identifi- 
cation it is taken home and eaten or given to the cat or hens. But when some more observing 
person detects a hitherto unrecognized fish, many others remember that they have caught the 
same thing at one time or another. Of course, there are instances of forgotten or accidental 
introductions of fish which when discovered cannot be definitely accounted for, but in most 
instances such can be determined. The White Trout, for instance, was at first thought by some 
to be the result of a plant of some fish from the St. John’s River, an account of which is given by 
Dr. Quackenbos {1. c.). But it is well known that no such fish occurs in the St. John’s River 
and it was finally decided that the supposed St. John’s River fish were Land-locked Salmon from 
Grand Lake Stream, Maine. 
The White Trout has been found also in Dan Hole Pond, N. H., Flood’s Pond, Me., and 
Averill Pond, Vt. Its discovery in these ponds precludes the necessity of going to Europe to 
account for its presence in Sunapee Lake. It seems unaccountable to many that the fish could 
have existed always in Sunapee, fi.shed so much as it was, and not be detected before. As a mat- 
ter of fact, it is not an unknown phenomenon. While the ponds subsequently found to contain 
Wliite Trout were perhaps not fished quite as generally as Sunapee, yet they were probably fished 
as much by the inhabitants about its shores and they doubtless did not distinguish the fish from 
the Common Trout, at least only to the extent of considering it a peculiar form of the latter. 
The White Trout is a rich and savory fish for the table, being fat in season, to which its 
flavor is apparently due. It is caught mainly by “plug fishing” with live bait and cut bait and 
very occasionally with worms. Not infrequently it is taken by trolling, but with a deep line as 
a rule. The best bait seems to be the smelt which was introduced into Sunapee Lake, and has 
always existed in Flood’s Pond. It is “ still ” or “plug” fished for, in about 80 or 90 feet of 
water in Sunapee Lake, and about 30 to 40 feet in Flood’s Pond (in June). The fact that it is 
a deep-water species would in part account for its being seldom observed by the old inhabitants. 
It is said to attain a weight of 10 pounds in Sunapee Lake, but a fish of 5 or 6 pounds in 
recent years is a monster. 
