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And next you are to note, That till the sun gets to such a height
as to
warm the earth and the water, the Trout is sick, and lean, and lousy,
and
unwholesome; for you shall, in winter, find him to have a big head,
and,
then, to be lank and thin and lean; at which time many of them have
sticking on them Sugs, or Trout-lice; which is a kind of a worm,
in
shape like a clove, or pin with a big head, and sticks close to
him, and
sucks his moisture, those, I think, the Trout breeds himself: and
never
thrives till he free himself from them, which is when warm weather
comes; and, then, as he grows stronger, he gets from the dead still
water
into the sharp streams and the gravel, and, there, rubs off these
worms
or lice; and then, as he grows stronger, so he gets him into swifter
and
swifter streams, and there lies at the watch for any fly or minnow
that
comes near to him; and he especially loves the May-fly, which is
bred
of the cod-worm, or cadis; and these make the Trout bold and lusty,
and
he is usually fatter and better meat at the end of that month than
at any
time of the year.
Now you are to know that it is observed, that usually the best
Trouts are
either red or yellow; though some, as the Fordidge Trout, be white
and
yet good; but that is not usual: and it is a note observable,
that the
female Trout hath usually a less head, and a deeper body than
the male
Trout, and is usually the better meat. And note, that a hog back
and a
little head, to either Trout, Salmon or any other fish, is a sign
that that
fish is in season.
But yet you are to note, that as you see some willows or palm-trees
bud
and blossom sooner than others do, so some Trouts be, in rivers,
sooner
in season: and as some hollies, or oaks, are longer before they
cast their
leaves, so are some Trouts, in rivers, longer before they go out
of
season.
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