Sea trout

“ In addition to the positive fact of taking sea trout above tide water, it is to be remarked as a habit of all trout to ascend in summer to the cool sources of the springy brooks, and our common trout will invariably be found, after the warm weather is at its height, either in the rivulets that feed the ponds where they dwell in winter, or at the head-waters of the ponds. The sun’s rays are so powerful that they affect any sheet of open [44] water, especially the harbors and bays of the ocean, and the fish will not live there, but withdraw to cooler regions. ”

“ There are times when the salmon becomes unaccountably reserved, and will not condescend to reply to the line of invitation wafted to him by the angler across the eddies of the pool. It is then that the sea-trout is found to be a valuable substitute for his larger congener of the river, to whom he is only second in affording excellent sport. In casting for the trout it is advisable to use but one fly. Once, in the Saguenay, I used a casting-line with three flies attached to it, as for ordinary trout-fishing. ”

“ The trout are all floundering about, ready to take your fly the moment it touches the water. This only lasts for a short time, as they all leave the pool at the receding of the tide. I say nothing of sea-trout or salmon flies, which vary so much in the different lochs, rivers, and streams, that every angler should be able to dress them for himself. Any fishing-tackle maker will be happy to teach him for a consideration. He has then only to learn from an approved hand near, what flies are best for the loch or stream he intends to fish, and tie them accordingly. ”

“ The point of attack was on a tidal stream known as Tryon Creek. Some of the writer’s friends have grinned derisively when he has told them of the “sea-trout” of Prince Edward Island, and one listener opined that “weak-fish” were probably meant. Of course there are always a few people around who enjoy the rare delights of omniscience, and it is useless to offer information to such. But for the benefit of the uninformed and open-minded let it be said that in every tidal stream on the south shore of Prince Edward Island, the well-known, square-tailed, speckled trout are found. ”

“ The shade of the alders and the velvet pile of the mosses induce a fit of idleness; it is only the flycatchers, in great numbers, that are busy in the heat and glare, twittering as they hawk for insects, in notes that suggest robin redbreast on a winter day. By and by the clouds obscure the sun and we tackle our pools, with the result, for myself, of sea trout of 7 1/2 lb. and 3 1/2 lb., and a miscellaneous lot of a dozen and a half of brown trout whipped out on a small cast in the evening hour. ”

“ If one can continue further into the North-east, better fishing can be found in New Brunswick and Quebec than in Maine, although the trout of the Provinces are sea trout, a distinction which does not seem to me important. The trout of the Adirondacks are much smaller than those of Maine or New Brunswick, and now that the Adirondack country is overrun with visitors, one must go back some distance into the woods to find good sport. South of Pennsylvania, there is trout-fishing in the mountain streams of West Virginia and North Carolina. ”

“ They abound in trout, of the square-tail variety, and those who know them keep their secrets closely.
Sometimes a fisherman exhibits a basket of fish that astonishes all beholders. Big speckled beauties they are and in quantity sufficient to satisfy any one.
Some of the biggest of them may be "salters," fish caught near the mouths of the brooks that run into the sea and weighing all the way from a pound to two pounds or more. There is authentic information that trout weighing more than two and a half pounds have been taken from these Cape Cod streams. ”

“ The rainbow trout is a native of the mountain streams and lakes of the Pacific coast, ranging from the coast of Washington to San Diego, California. It was first made known to science in 1855 by Dr. Gibbons from specimens taken from Leander Creek, California. It is an extremely variable species, varying greatly in size, color, activity, etc. Those found near the sea spend much of their time in salt water, where living is easier and as a result they grow larger, lose their bright color and much of their activity. They usually return to fresh water with the salmon to feast upon their eggs. ”

“ Besides the salmon, several other migratory fish ascend Washington's rivers from the sea in breeding season; chief among these is the fighting steelhead, a large-sized rainbow trout. Two cutthroat trout are favorites of sportsmen: the coastal variety and the so-called Montana black-spotted trout. The blueback trout (salmo beardsleei) is found only in Lake Crescent, on the Olympic Peninsula. Also much sought are the silver trout, a fresh-water variety of sockeye, and the western spotted char, called the Dolly Varden trout. ”

“ Real distinctions are those permanent ones that no change of food and water can affect, nor the chance influence of a few shell-fish or a muddy bottom. There are distinctions between these trout and brook trout, of color, comparative size of different parts of the body, formation of the head and fins; but not more so than one often meets with in fishing any of the streams of Long Island that communicate with the sea, or even in the different streams of the wild woods. ”

“ Sea, lake, brook (brown or "mud") trout are found in such abundance in every part of the island as to exceed imagination. There are ponds (Newfoundlanders so designate even expansive lakes) lying within a mile or two of railway stations which are practically unfished. A telegrapher at Brigus Junction, east of St. John's, sallied forth on a June morning to one such lake and returned shortly after noon with fifteen dozen trout weighing half a pound to over a pound each. A Newfoundland trouter always refers to his catch in dozen lots. ”

“ That trouts are not more influenced by physical conditions than other animals is apparent from the fact that there are lakes of small extent and of most uniform features, in which [Pg 147] two or three species of trout occur together, each with peculiar habits; one more migratory, running up rivers during the spawning season, &c., while the other will never enter running waters, and will spawn in quiet places near the shore; one will hunt after its prey, while the other will wait for it in ambuscade; one will feed upon fish, the other upon insects. ”

“ By diving after him with the net the assistant would certainly not catch the fish and might tangle one of your other flies. The fish should be led into the net, and the latter kept as still as possible; he knows as well as you do what it is for, and if his attention is drawn to it will dart off as madly as ever.
The trout is admitted to be the most beautiful of all our fish; not so large or powerful as the salmon, he is much more numerous, abounding in all the brooks and rivulets of our Northern States. He lives at our very doors ”

“ Saw-mills were built, the streams were dammed up so as to be impassable for trout, and the trout eggs were buried under sawdust. Manufactories have poisoned the water of some rivers and others have been literally "fished dry." The [Pg 660] trout of any brook near a large New England town have a very poor chance of long life. All this is discouraging enough, but yet there are trout to be caught, as every New England boy knows.
The most famous fishing-places in the East are the Rangeley Lakes in Maine and the Adirondacks in New York. ”

“ The trout found in the Gila River drainage, originally thought to be a cutthroat, then a rainbow, has been recently described as a separate species. These trout, like the Arkansas River fish, remain as remnants in the headwaters. For the most part, the native trout have had a difficult time surviving in recent years because of the change in water and land use; the habitat has become exceedingly restricted. ”

“ Of course, trout, even if famous, are naturally temperamental. They will rise in dozens at unexpected times, just as they will refuse all temptations for weeks on end. An Englishman, and no mean fisherman, once went to Nipigon to show the local inhabitants how fishing should be done. A master in British waters, he considered the speckled monsters of the lakes fit victims for his rod and fly. He went out with his guides to catch fish, and after a few days among the big trout came back disgusted. ”

“ Within a few hours' ride, also, are trout streams in the southern counties of New York State and in Pennsylvania, although the former are so often visited that the fish have not time to grow large. The New England boy finds trout brooks in western Connecticut, in northern Massachusetts, and in the Cape Cod region, in northern New Hampshire and Vermont, and especially in Maine. Once, almost every stream and lake in New England contained trout. But forests were cut down, and some of the streams dwindled until they went dry in summer. ”

“ The trout is a retiring and harmless animal, except when he is aroused and forced into a combat; and then his agility, fierceness, and vindictiveness become apparent. No one who has studied the excellent pictures representing men in an open boat, exposed to the assaults of long, enraged trout flying at them through the open air with open mouth, ever ventures with his rod upon the lonely lakes of the forest without a certain terror, or ever reads of the exploits of daring fishermen without a feeling of admiration for their heroism. ”

“ The trout is a shy fish and the blundering sportsman who goes stumbling through the underbrush, who allows his shadow to fall upon the pool, or who in other ways announces to the fish lurking under the bank that he is present with homicidal intent often wonders why it is that the results are so small for the amount of effort expended. He may aver that the stream is barren of fish when the fact is that his own clumsiness is responsible for his lack of success. ”

“ In the early summer the trout sports in rapids and swiftly running water, and in midsummer finds a retreat in deep, cool, and shaded pools. In August and September the females gather about the mouths of gravelly brooks, whither they resort to make their spawning beds.
With age the habits of the trout change. When young they associate in schools and play together constantly, usually choosing parts of the brook where the bottom is muddy, in which, if startled suddenly, they bury themselves for safety. ”

“ There is a sudden tightening of the line, and at the same moment, a dozen yards ahead, a big yellow trout springs curved like a bow from the water, and falls back again with a heavy flop. He is on! An aged countryman on the point of the bay opposite, waiting to see if perchance his worm-baited rod will bob, has witnessed the plunge of my captive, and is all intent on the issue. ”

“ There are also streams wherein the water is at times thick and murky, and where the fish lurk about the bottom of the deep holes and eddies, and can not see the fly when it is thrown. In such places the bait has to be brought very close to their notice, and it must also be fresh, or frequently they will have none of it.
A fly rod for trout should be about fourteen feet long, seven ounces or thereabouts in weight, and should be fitted with a good reel that will let the light line, which is of silk or of linen fibre, run out freely, and then wind it again as quickly. ”

“ But to fling him into a canoe, to gasp and die and be thrown away, that is a different matter. That is a crime worse than stealing a man's lunch or his last dry undershirt, or even his whisky.
In the first place, kill your trout the moment you take him out of the water—that is, if you mean to eat him. If he is too big, or if you already have enough, put him back with all expedition and let him swim away. Even if he does warn the other trout and spoil the fishing in that pool, there are more pools, and then it is likely you have fished enough in that one, anyway. ”

“ As we stand on the rustic bridge above the "pill" gazing down into the smooth flowing water, dark trout glide out of sight into their homes in the stonework under the hatch. These are the fish that rise not to the fly, but prey on their grandchildren, growing darker and lankier and bigger-headed every year. Wherever you find a deep hole and an ancient hatchway there you will also find these great black trout, always lying in a spot more or less inaccessible to the angler, and living for years until they die a natural death. ”

“ In such mountain rapids, the trout always turn their heads to the current, and never gorge the bait till they have placed themselves lower down in the water; consequently, by pulling downwards, two manifest advantages are gained: the trout is often hooked without gorging, or even biting at all, and the current assists the fisher in landing his prize, which, in such circumstances, may be done in an instant, and at a single pull. ”

“ All this adds to the interest of trout-fishing by inducing the angler to acquaint himself with what the Natural Histories have to tell him about the various kinds of trout. Then the differences in one kind teach him to be observant and excite a curiosity as to the habits of the trout. Here the Natural Histories will fail him. Only by following trout brooks and tempting the larger trout of lakes, can he properly study the ways and curious moods of this cunning, timid fish. And even then, if he be modest, he will often confess himself sadly puzzled ”