THE HABITS OF TROUT.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14281, 1 August 1908, Page 14

THE HABITS OF TROUT.

Slß,—ln your issue of Thursday last Dr H. A. do Lantour, in answer to my former letter, itociwcs mo of ignora-nce regarding tho habits of our brown or Tlmmes troirt, uju] then prorocds to enlighten mo by describing their origin and former habite. Ho aJfo explains that after being sewageJocfel for a long period theso trout, after twing acclimatised in Now Zoukuid, have revived their old instinct to go to sea. This is nothing new to the average angler, and I presume that he will admit that the pisiotioe of taking ova from sco-run fish and distributing the fry hatched from thai oia in our inland rivers will materi. assist the revival of tJiat instinct. He then stausi that afer hanging about in harbours, waiting for rain antl floods, the trout then, in great mmiliens, a.socnd our rivers, a.n-d, after spawning, being in a, feeble awl emaciated state, they drop down to the sea and wait unii'l spring, when the enonges and whitebait ascend Uie rivers, and at tliat time the trout come up again fat and in good condition, and remain during the spring' awl summer xiioiitlm, affoiding excellent, sport to I lie genuine angler. This theory, I admit, may apply to tidal waters, to which, apparently, Dr de Lautour's experience has been principally confined. Can he say that he ever caught, during the fiahing season, a bright, silvery trout, fresh from the sea, at any great distance from tidal waters? From many years' experience I have arrived at the conclusion that fry hatched from ova taken 'from the Leith Stream, or other local waters, and distributed in livers such as the Pomahaka. and its tributaries, aoi of do value whatever to

local anglers. It is well known that during the mouths of June aiul July fish from the eca, in great numbers, run up the Pom&haka to spiiwn, and that, after spawning. tlicy roturn to sea and remain in tidal waters during l tlie whole fishing 6oason. In proof of this, almost every season spent fish, weighing from 6H) to 161b, get stranded, and arc sccurcd with gaff or pitchfork, but never, so far as I know, has one been taken with rod and line.—l am, etc., Tapantii, July 27. Akgleb.