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CHAPTER XII. 

 RAINBOW TROUT, BULL TROUT, AND GRAYLING. 



RAINBOW trout (Salmo widens) have 

 been imported from America and 

 have found their way to England. 

 They are hardy fish, which pro- 

 pagate freely and flourish in lakes 

 and sluggish water, where brown 

 trout would not thrive. In shape 

 they are similar to fario, differing 

 in colour and the fineness of the 

 spots, which are thickly dotted 

 over the sides and fins. An iri- 

 descent hue runs down each side, 

 which gives the fish a rich and 

 beautiful colour. It is an ex- 

 tremely game fish, playing harder 

 than a brown trout, and in many 

 respects equal to a white one. 

 They feed ravenously, and take 

 the fly under water. They run to 

 a large size, particularly in New 

 Zealand, but five and six pounders 

 are common in England. They 

 will take a larger fly than farios, 

 especially if well sunk in the 

 water. Trolling the fly is a 

 favourite method of catching 

 them. They are restless fish, 

 hard to harbour, often running 

 down stream for miles and dis- 

 appearing in the sea. 



BULL TROUT (Salmo Eriox). 



The bull trout is less known to 

 anglers than other Salmonida 

 species. They are similar in 

 habits to salmon, and are only 

 found in rivers which the latter 

 frequent. Their sporting qualities 

 are different, as they do not take 

 the fly when they return from the 

 sea, and are in the best fighting 

 condition. They rarely fall victims 

 to any lure, except a bait such as 

 a lob-worm. After a short sojourn 

 in the river they will rise to the 



fly, and patronize a phantom or 

 Devon minnow. I have caught 

 them in the Tees while spinning 

 for salmon, and although it was 

 well within the season, they had 

 grown coarse and unshapely, and 

 black as shoe-leather underneath, 

 evidently from lying and routing 

 in the gravel. In perfect condi- 

 tion they resemble Salmo salar in 

 shape and appearance. Their 

 scales are smaller, and they are 

 thicker in the neck and shoulders, 

 and shorter in the lower jaw than 

 salmon. After remaining in the 

 river some time, the head changes 

 to an olive-brown colour, and the 

 body red or yellowish brown ; 

 they run from a couple of pounds 

 weight up to twenty. 



They are dogged fighters, their 

 thick-set shape giving them excep- 

 tional staying power. One gener- 

 ally finds them when in quest of 

 nobler game, which possibly dis- 

 counts their value from an angling 

 point of view. 



THE GRAYLING. 



Everything that has been said 

 of the modes of wet and dry fly- 

 fishing equally applies to the 

 capture of grayling (Thymallus 

 vulgaris). A good deal, how- 

 ever, can be said of the fish 

 itself. Although they occupy the 

 same streams and feed on similar 

 food, they differ materially from 

 trout. The grayling's back is 

 greenish-brown, and shading off 

 into grey on the sides. Under- 

 neath it is a silvery hue. The 

 head is yellow on the sides, and 

 spotted black. The pelvic and 

 anal fins are tinted violet, pec- 



