Sea Trout Fishing

Next to the salmon ranks in value for sport the sea trout. Of these there are two kinds: 1st, The salmon trout (Salmo trutta); and 2nd, The bull or grey trout (Salmo eriox). The former is much the better fish for sport and for the table, the latter being coarser for the table and rather shy of the angler's lures. Sea-trout abound in several rivers in the north, and many are taken in the tributaries of the Tweed and other northern rivers; but they are perhaps more abundant and show better sport to tne angler in some of the western Irish waters. The salmon-trout usually average below 4 lb each, perhaps from 1 to 2 lb being the prevailing size, though now and then much larger fish are taken. The bull-trout often runs up to a far greater size, and fish of above 20 and even up to 30 lb are not very uncommon. The salmon-trout, called in Ireland the white trout, and on tweed and the northern rivers the herling or silver white, is a smart, bold-rising fish; it takes freely at times, and plays with wonderful agility, frequently when hooked springing from the water like an acrobat many times in succession, and trying all the angler's skill to bring it into the basket. In lakes they frequently abound in profusion, and a hundred weight of them, and sometimes more, are or have been often taken in one day. the tackle, of course, is lighter than that used for salmon, and somewhat heavier than is used for the common trout. The flies are also of a size between those used for the other two; bodies of claret, yellow and orange, green, blue, and black, either of silk or fur, are the favourites. In Ireland, they prefer a mixed wing, chiefly made up of fibres of yellow, red, and green parrot, with bustard and other dark feathers; the hackles being suitable. In Scotland they prefer plain wings of drake, teal, woodcock, and the black and white tip from the wild drake wing; but the fashion of the dressing is not a very important matter, so that the colour is right. At times sea-trout rise very badly, and the angler will get a number of rises, but succeed only in hooking a very few fish; but when the fish are taking well, few branches of the sport show better amusement than a day's sea-trout fishing. They also, unlike the salmon, take a spinning bait well while still in the salt water, and many are thus captured in the estuaries and salt-water lochs of Scotland while they are making their way to the mouths of the rivers up which they eventually would run to deposit their spawn.





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