The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1897-05-07
THE voRAcIoUs ToGUE.
f. P. Noera, Waterbury, OF

A Big Trout That Preys on His Cousin,
the square-Tail Trout, in Maine
Lakes.
1.-THE square-tail of the Maine lakes is
merely a large variety of brook trout,
with all the red spots and other mark
ings that characterize that beautiful
fish," said a New York man who spends
his summers in Maine. 'In the spring
at the going out Of the ice, he comes to
the mouth of the streams that empty
into the lake, and often goes up them
as far as the water continues deep
without rapids difficult to ascend. AS
the water gets warmer, about the list of
June, the square-tails scatter to deeper
water, preferring localities opposite the
mouths of streams which bring them
down food, or the neighborhood of
springs yelling up from the bottom of
the lake. They feed near the shore,
and will rise to the fly during the whole
season of open water. They will take a
bait of worms or grasshoppers at every
season of the year, and are voracious
devourers Of minnoWs They live anna
cably with the black bass, with which
so many of the smaller lakes of Maine
| were stocked twenty years ago. They
may be caught by trolling, being at
tracted by the wake of a boat in mo-
ton and successful mode of angling
for square tails in spring and early
summer at Moosehead is to fish from
the rear of the log traits being towed
| by steamers across the lake.
"Quite another sort of fish in his ap-
pearance and habits is the laker' trout,
also called the 'togue.' He has none of
the bright markings of the square-tail,
his head is heavier, with an UNDERLYING
| jaw and formidable teeth, and his tail
is sharply forked. He is never found
in streams, and habitually lives near
| the bottom in the deepest parts of
lakes. His color varies from a tint as
| light as that of a speckled trout, to a
hue almost as dark as that of a black
| bass, according to the prevailing color
of the bottom of the lake and the depth
of water in which he lives He is a
big fellow sometimes attaining a
weight of twenty-five or twenty-seven
pounds, while the square-tail has rarely
been caught of a weight above five
pounds. The laker is as savage as he is
*
square, tail when he gets the chance.
The square-tail is the more agile swim
mer and, in open water, can usually
keep out of the way of his enemy; so
| the laker's aim is to drive him into a
cave, or among rocks or shadows where
he can close in and cut off his retreat.
Padding my canoe along the eastern
shore of Moosehead Lake, above Kineo,
one afternoon, in passing little cove I
saw a cOmmotion in the water. 1t was
J caused by square-tails, who were dart
! ing to and fro near the surface, often
! Ieaping clear of the water with jumps
such as I never saw speckled trout
make before. ] padded a little nearer,
and then I saw the cause of their
strange behavior. Several big Takers
were chasing them up, and as square
| tail would fetch a great leap from the
water I could see following him. just
peeping above the surface. the nose of
| the great deep water fish waiting to
! snap him up when he struck the water
again. I saw two or three of the
| speckled trout seized and carried under
out of my sight. As he grabbed them
! and turned to go down the laker would
show the whole length of his body with
/ its sharp back fin and tail tiukes, and it
made me think of sharks. I have seen
dolphins at sea chase uD flying fish in
! just the same way. 1 hadn't time to
stop but a few minutes to watch them,
so I don't know how long they kept the
game up, but it was great sport for the
lakarS