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FEEDING HABITS OF BROOK TROUT Fisli Is a Cannibal by Nature but Can Exist on Insects and Water Refuse It is quite generally held among anglers many of high repute that the brook trout is not cannibalistic that it is the cleanest feeder among the fishes that it will feed only on insects and now and then on minnows The truth of the matter is that the brook trout will feed on minnows and almost the exact fare of the other trout the salmon trout if occa ¬ sion permits There are brook trout in certain small streams that have no minnow life where the brook trout through circumstances are forced to make their living from feeding on insects and such larval life as the stream bottom affords Brook trout that feed on small live fare and insects are always identified by their length which is never great Then again brook trout in large streams where the minnow fare is abundant are found to attain to great weights Some of the brook trout of the Nipigon region are examples Are we to believe that these eight and often tenpound brook trout have grown to that size from feeding exclusively on insects If that were the case the amount they would need to sustain them would be judged by the bushel basket measure and they would be feed ¬ ing along the surface all the time which is not true for the surface could not possibly provide aven a portion of a meal for such great bodies Nevertheless the impression has jone around that brcok trout feed exclusively on insects which is an illusion Furthermore cannibalism is also recog ¬ nized in the brook trout as well as in many other fisli species Says the writer of the condition in certain trout ponds pondsThe The different sizes have to be kept separate for because of the trouts cannibalistic tendencies tiey can find no more delectable dainty than a meal f one of their kind
