Encyclopaedia Britannica > Volume 3, Anatomy-Astronomy

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ANGLING.
Argling. rate strength, they afford excellent sport; but the gene-
■^"v^-'ral method of fishing for them is almost as well adapted
for catching sharks as trout; the angler being apparently
more anxious to have it in his power to state that he had
caught a fish of such a size, than to enjoy the pleasure of
the sport itself. However, to the credit of both parties, it
may be stated, that the very strongest tackle is sometimes
snapped in two by its first tremendous springs. The or¬
dinary method of fishing for this king of trouts is with a
powerful rod, from a boat rowing at the rate of from three
to four miles an hour, the lure a common trout from four
to eight inches in length, baited upon six or eight salmon
hooks, tied back to back upon strong gimp, assisted by two
swivels, and the wheel-line coarse and strong. Yet all this,
in the first impetuous efforts of the fish to regain its liberty,
is frequently carried away for ever into the crystal depths
of Loch Awe!
When in their highest health and condition, and in¬
deed during the whole of the time in which they are not
employed in the operation of spawning, these fish will
scarcely ever rise at a fly. At these periods they appear
to be almost entirely piscivorous ; so, with the exception of
night lines, baited also with trout, trolling is the only ad¬
visable mode of angling for them. The young, however,
rise very freely at ordinary lake-trout flies, and are general¬
ly caught in this way from one to one and a half pound
weight. They occur abundantly near the outlet of the lake.
These great trout are found in Loch Shin, Loch Assynt,
Loch Loyal, and other northern lochs. We have there
trolled for them successfully with salted sprats, the bright
silvery lustre of which seemed attractive in those dark
waters. Their spawning period corresponds to those of
salmon, that is, it commences in autumn, and continues
through the earlier portion of the winter; and at this time
their instinctive tendencies are so far changed, that they
will rise eagerly at large and gaudily dressed salmon-flies,
and may be either angled for from the banks, or trolled with
a cross line. They spawn in rivers, but do not ascend so high
as either salmon or sea-trout, and they never descend either
into or towards the salt water, although an occasional strag¬
gler has been taken in the Awe, at some distance down the
river. In Loch Shin, they ascend the streams which flow
into the loch, but are not known to enter that which flows
from it. When in good season, and in their strongest con¬
dition, they appear to roam indiscriminately through every
part of the loch, though there are certain spots which may
be more depended upon than others, and where an ex¬
perienced angler will have little difficulty in hooking one
of these fine fish. To their great strength we may ob¬
serve that they add unequalled rapacity ; and after at¬
taining to the weight of three or four pounds, they ap¬
pear to feed almost exclusively on smaller fish, and do
not spare even their own young. A small trout of this
species, not weighing more than H lb., will often dash at
a bait not much inferior to itself in size ; and instances
are recorded of larger fish following with eager eye, and
attempting to seize upon others of their own kind after
they had been hooked and were in the act of being land¬
ed by the angler. It is probably on account of this
strong manifestation of a more than usually predaceous
157
^sa/moferox ^ has named the species Angling.
When in perfect season, and full-grown, it is a very
handsome fish, though the head is always too large and
long to be in accordance with our ideas of perfect sym-
metry m a trout The body is deep and thickly formed,
and all the members seem conducive to the exercise of
great strength. The colours are deep purplish brown on
the upper parts, changing into reddish gray, and thence
into fine orange-yellow on the breast and belly The
whole body, when the fish is newly caught, appears as if
glazed over with a thin tint of rich lake-colour, which
fades away as the fish dies, and so rapidly, that the pro¬
gressive changes of colour are easily perceived by an at¬
tentive eye. The gill-covers are marked with large dark
spots ; and the whole body is covered with markings of
different sizes, and varying in amount in different indivi¬
duals. In some these markings are few, scattered, and of
a large size ; in others they are thickly set, and of small¬
er dimensions. Each spot is surrounded by a paler ring,
which sometimes assumes a reddish hue; and the spots
become more distant from each other as they descend
beneath the lateral line. The lower parts of these fish
are spotless. All the fins are broad, muscular, and ex¬
tremely powerful; and it is from the number of their
bony rays that the specific characters which distinguish
this species from the common trout (sahno fario) are the
most easily and accurately evolved. The dorsal fin is of
the same colour with the upper part of the fish; it is
marked with large dark spots, and contains fifteen rays,
which number exceeds by three that which characterizes
the common trout. The caudal fin is much larger and
more fleshy. The pectoral, ventral, and anal fins, are
very muscular on their anterior edges, and of a rich yel¬
lowish-green colour, darker towards their extremities.
They contain respectively 14, 10, and 12 rays, whereas
the numbers in the corresponding fins of the common
trout are 13, 9, and 11. The tail is remarkable for its
breadth and consequent power. In adults it is perfectly
square, or might even be described as slightly rounded
at its extremity : in the young it is slightly forked, and
appears to fill up gradually as the fish advances in age.
In the common trout, on the contrary, the forked shape
of the tail is a permanent characteristic.
The flavour of this great lacustrine species is coarse
and indifferent. The colour of the flesh is orange-yellow,
not the rich salmon-colour of a fine common trout in good
season. The stomach is very capacious, and on dissec¬
tion (differing singularly in this respect from the salmon)
is almost always found gorged with fish.
We have bestowed a somewhat lengthened notice on
he species above described ; but we doubt not that the
obscurity of the subject will not only plead our excuse, but
render the information now given highly acceptable both
to the sportsman and the naturalist. It is certain that a
more attentive examination of the finny tribes which in¬
habit our lakes and rivers would bring to light several
new species, and more clearly illustrate the history of
others which are still involved in darkness.1
1 he gigantic species of the Swiss lakes, one of which,
wit I ti' > l'SC<i 68 once killed two trouts in Loch Laggan, which weighed 12 pounds each. These were probably of the same species
■ . ^ great trouts of Loch Awe. . In that magnificent chain of English lakes of which Windermere is the chief, and which in-
V.1 e,s r®ssmere and Jtydal, we think the species not synonymous with the salmo ferox of Jardine. The lake trouts, properly so
t , ^ ’ j! , lese beautiful waters, when full-grown, seem to range from three to five pounds, and have in one or two rare instances been
W-0 L 16 W v* • 1 S1X an(^ even e'ght pounds. Those of Ullswater, again, which does not belong to what we have denominated the
_ iiK ermere chain, correspond more nearly in size and other characters with the species found in the lakes of the Scotish Highlands.
e would particularly recommend to the attention of sportsmen the great fresh-water river trout, or bull trout as we believe it is
some imes called- Ihis is regarded by some anglers as an aged or overgrown individual of the ordinary kind [salmo fario); and by
o ers, especially when found in the autumn, as a lake trout which had left its more usual haunts for the purpose of spawning. The
curacy ot the latter opinion is, however, interfered with by the occasional occurrence of this variety in such unambiguous situ&-