THE TROUT. 
k 
69 
which we refer* of nearly five pounds weight ; such instances, 
however, are rare, three pounds being considered a very large 
fish. We do not remember ever seeing a poor fish of this kind 
taken ; they are invariably in good condition, let the size be 
what it will ; their principal food is the minnow and shrimp, 
particularly the latter, with which early in the .season their 
stomachs are found to be filled ; they feed upon the minnow 
rather later in the season, when the inc^g using warmth of the 
water invites it to leave the warmer springs of fresh water, 
where it has passed the winter, and venture into the shallows 
round the margin of the bay, it then becomes an easy prey to 
the voracious trout, which pursues it with desperate boldness 
to the very feet of the angler as he stands in the water, obli- 
ging it in shoals, to leap from the surface, and sometimes even 
to be cast on shore in its attempts to escape its hungry jaws. 
Though they are, on the whole, the best bait ; the shrimp on 
the contrary, living as they do among the eel-grass in the bay, 
which also affords shelter to the trout, being more within 
reach, may consequently be said to supply their principal food, 
at least through the winter months. As it is necessary in the 
pursuit of all game to be governed by a knowledge of its par- 
ticular food, so it may be said of the sea trout ; their motions 
while in the salt water being regulated by those of the minute 
fish on which they live. Both minnows and shrimp are more 
or less affected by the action of the tide, particularly the lat- 
ter, which in its reflux sweeps the passive shrimp in shoals 
across a sandy eddy of the bay, into the very mouths of the 
expectant trout, who there collect and lie in wait to feast up- 
on them.” 
The last mentioned species, ( Lepomis Salmonea,) is pe- 
culiar to our southern rivers, and with many southerners go 
under the name of Trout Bass , or Brown Bass. They grow 
to a much larger size than the northern trout, varying in 
* Wnquoit Bay, upon Capo Cod, and Firo Placo, L. I. 
