April 20, 1907 .1 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
6l 7 
Brown Trout vs. Brook Trout. 
Bennington, Vt., April 9.— Editor Forest and 
H Stream: As the season has arrived when the 
anglers’ thoughts revert to the trout streams, I 
would like to call the attention of the readers 
i of Forest and Stream to that ever-recurring 
discussion of the merits and demerits of the 
brown trout ( Salmo fario). I confess that I 
am more or less a crank upon the subject, and 
for several years have made a first-handed study 
of Salmo fario as he is found here in the 
Battenkill River in Vermont. I do net claim to 
know it all, however, and am, therefore, seek¬ 
ing the light. I know of no better way of get¬ 
ting accurate information on the subject than 
through the columns of Forest and Stream. 
In your issue of April 6, Mr. Theodore Gor¬ 
don says: “If we wish to have native trout 
(fontinalis) , we must restock with yearlings. 
' The fario is the hardier fish and it grows rapidly. 
It is natural, in restocking, to select the species 
6 which gives the largest increase and the quickest 
returns in the way of sport. We wish to kill 
fish which are large enough to make their cap¬ 
ture exciting. The first rush of a big trout is 
worth something living for, and we are never 
sure of him until he is in the basket.’’ 
That is where Mr. Gordon hits the nail square 
on the head. You cannot interest the present 
generation of sportsmen in plans for the bene- 
S . fit of the next generation. Human beings are 
selfish. We want the fishing improved as rapidly 
as possible, so we can get results in at Least 
| two or three years’ time. Now, where is the 
angler who would not sooner go out upon the 
stream, and, both for the sport and the meat, 
get one trout weighing three or four pounds 
than ten pounds of little ones measuring from 
| six inches to eight or ten inches in length? 
1 Therefore, I think the brown trout will just 
meet these requirements, for what species can 
equal the Salmo fario for rapid growth, hardi¬ 
hood and game, fighting qualities, not to men¬ 
tion the delicious flavor of the meat? 
I am informed that the Federal Government 
| has wholly stopped raising brown trout, and do 
not distribute any more in the United States, as 
I it has decided that it has not been a provident 
measure to plant these fish. Why ? I do not 
know, but presume the Government fish cul- 
turists have good reasons for this decision. 
However, I have some ideas of my own regard¬ 
ing the matter which to me, at least, seem quite 
feasible, and yet I may he wholly wrong. Now, 
as I understand it, the brown trout (Salmo fario) 
i was introduced in America by Fred Mather, 
j so I cannot do better than quote from him, as 
l agree with him entirely in what he says rc- 
I garding the brown trout: 
, “I have taken this fish with a fly, and con¬ 
sider it one of the gamiest—in fact, the gamiest 
—trout that I ever handled with a rod. I be¬ 
lieve that the brown trout will be found to be 
a better fish, taking it all around, than our own 
i native fontinalis. The reasons for this belief 
are: (1) It is of quicker growth; (2) it is 
gamier; (3) except in the breeding season, when 
the males of fontinalis are brilliantly colored, it 
is fully as handsome; (4) from what I can 
learn I incline to think it will bear water several 
degrees warmer than fontinalis, and therefore it 
it adapted to a wider range. In .the winter of 
1882-3 I introduced the brown trout (.S’, fario) 
into America. The eggs were sent to me as a 
personal present by the late Baron von Behr, 
nresident of the German Fishery Association. I 
had taken the fish in the Black Forest, Germany, 
and had told Herr von Behr that, if opportunity 
offered, I would introduce it in America. * * * 
j Some anglers have objected to the introduction 
of brown trout in our streams because they grow 
too fast and might eventually kill our native 
fish. To this I say: Let ’em do it if they can 
and the fittest will survive; but they can’t do 
it. The chubs, dace, pike, bass and other fishes 
have worked this game for centuries before a 
white angler wet a line in an American trout 
stream, and here we are 1 A trout is a cannibal 
when it gets to be three years old, whether he 
is a native American or an adopted citizen, and 
it is only a question of which fish matures in 
the shortest time for the angler.” 
Mr. Mather has thus covered the ground so 
thoroughly, that I only wish to cite a few facts 
that have come under my personal observation 
from mr. Cleveland’s book. 
Courtesy Outing Pub. Co. 
to substantiate his arguments. Several years 
ago, Mr. E. C. Orvis, proprietor of the famous 
Equinox Hotel at Manchester, Vt., and an en¬ 
thusiastic advocate of fish protection and propa¬ 
gation, with some other public-spirited citizens, 
introduced the brown trout in ponds that were 
tributaries of the Battenkill River at Manches¬ 
ter. Not much attention was given the matter 
at that time, but later these trout got into the 
river and their growth was wonderful. Every 
year since then we have heard occasionally of 
an angler bringing in a brown trout that weighed 
from two to eight pounds. T hold that one of 
those brown trout in the Battenkill River is 
worth 200 of the fontinalis for increasing the 
fame of this stream, Last fall a brown trout 
was caught at Manchester that measured twenty- 
eight inches long and tipped the scales at over 
eight pounds. He was the most beautiful speci¬ 
men of trout ever seen in this section of New 
England. A similar one is now mounted and 
on exhibition at the fishing tackle establishment 
of C. F. Orvis in Manchester. I know of many 
anglers who would gladly come from as far away 
from here as New York, Philadelphia and Chi¬ 
cago if only they were certain of getting just 
one chance at those five to eight pound trout; 
whereas, they would not travel far for all the 
brook trout now in the streams. Another thing 
about the brown trout is this : If you plant him 
in fairly agreeable waters there he will remain, 
so that you can gO' to his pool year after year. 
Brown trout do not winder much, and at 
the end of the first year they are so large and 
independent that they pick suitable waters and 
hold the same against all comers. But on the 
other hand they are agreeable under ordinary 
conditions and will live in peace and unity with 
the fontinalis if the latter does not attempt to 
dispute fario’s sovereignty over the pool. 
For some time past anglers have complained 
to me that they are unable to catch the brown 
trout with rod, hook and line. They say he 
won’t take the lure or else he is too strong for 
their tackle. Of course they cannot catch him 
with the light tackle they use for six inch brook 
trout, but if they will go prepared for Salmo 
fario and get him when he is hungry, he will 
give them a fight long to remember. The trouble 
is the anglers have not studied the habits of 
the fario as they have fontinalis. The brown 
trout seems to adapt himself to his surroundings 
with perfect ease. Fie will grow at the rate of 
a pound a year for the first five years and is 
able to elude his enemies under all circum¬ 
stances. He can withstand drouths, higher tem¬ 
perature of the water and freshets much better 
than the brook trout. Fie does not seem par¬ 
ticular about his food. Most anything will do 
for him if only there is sufficient quantity to 
keep pace with his enormous appetite and won¬ 
derfully rapid growth. The complaint of some 
epicures is that the flesh of the brown trout is 
coarse. I have had a, brown trout and a brook 
trout compared in this respect. Each weighed 
over a pound. The meat was so nearly the 
same that it would require an expert to tell the 
difference. The source of this complaint arose 
from the fact that they were comparing the flesh 
of a brown trout of over five pounds weight with 
that of a fontinalis weighing a half pound. 
My argument for planting brown trout is this: 
On account of the rapid depletion of our forests 
the water sheds are being injured or destroyed. 
The result is the temperature of the water in 
late years is much higher in midsummer than 
formerly; abo we have more drouths and 
freshets. The forests acted as reservoirs and 
stored the water in the mountains so that it 
came down gradually and was not subjected to 
sudden changes either in quantity or tempera¬ 
ture. During the good conditions of old times 
the fontinalis thrived and bred in our mountain 
streams, but can he withstand the changes? I 
fancy not. but on the other hand I am quite 
sure the Y. fario readily adapts himself to these 
conditions; at any rate he has done so in the 
Battenkill River in Vermont. Long live S. 
fario! Let us hear from others on this sub¬ 
ject, as I am sure it is of vital interest to the 
angler, and I predict it will be the problem of 
future fish culturists. 
The question is: Owing to the ruthless slaugh¬ 
ter of the forests and the changes in the condi¬ 
tions of our streams, which trout is best to plant 
to get immediate results for this generation of 
anglers. Salvelinus fontinalis or Salmo fario? I 
vote for the latter. Harry Chase, 
