

THE GRA YLING. 1Q7 



by its small mouth, as well as by its known habits. 

 It is not a leaper, like the trout, but takes the fly 

 from the surface with merely an exposure of a por- 

 tion of its head. When struck, it makes a vigorous 

 rush, and, if it does not fight as long as the trout does, 

 it gives much resistance at the last moment by the side- 

 long movement it makes when being reeled in, which 

 is due to the size and curvature of its dorsal fin. It 

 inhabits only the coldest of streams, and while the 

 grayling of Europe is found in the trout streams, it is 

 not to be found there in Michigan. 



We have several species of grayling in America. 

 Two of these only are accessible to anglers, the Michi- 

 gan grayling, TJiymallus tricolor, and one at the head 

 waters of the Yellowstone, the T. Montanus. The 

 other species are Arctic. 



The Michigan fish is reported to grow to nearly two 

 pounds weight ; I never saw one that I thought would 

 weigh much over a pound, and I have taken them in 

 spawning season for the purpose of procuring their 

 eggs. Whether this fish will bear acclimatization to 

 other waters, I cannot say. I raised a few until a 

 year old at my former trout farm in Western New 

 York, and when I left them I opened the pond and let 

 them into the stream below, but none have ever been 

 taken there, as far as I know. It seems a pity to allow 

 this elegant fish to become extinct, as it will in a few 

 years in its limited habitat, and if opportunity offered 

 I would again try to domesticate it. 



