Rainbow Trout, Bull Trout, and Grayling. 



85 



torals yellow, changing to red in 

 the breeding season. The dorsal 

 and caudal fins are generally red, 

 although sometimes blue, with 

 longitudinal bands or spots. The 

 cleft of the grayling's mouth is 

 small, with teeth in the jaw-bones, 

 palatines and vomer, but none in 

 the tongue. It is the absence of 

 bones in certain parts of the 

 mouth that causes these fish to 

 break away so frequently ; unless 

 the hook penetrates a bony part, 

 it is impossible to hold them. 

 The dorsal fin is a conspicuous 

 part of its structure. It extends 

 far down the back, and has from 

 thirteen to twenty-three rays. 



The grayling is widely distri- 

 buted over Europe, North and 

 South America. It multiplies 

 with great rapidity, growing to a 

 large size, in south country chalk 

 streams four pound specimens 

 being by no means uncommon. 

 The rivers in limestone districts in 

 the North, and the red sandstone 

 areas in Central England, hold 

 them. Like the roach, they are 

 unknown in Ireland. The angling 

 season opens and closes with the 

 coarse fish generally, as grayling 

 corresponds with them in breeding 

 habits. It has rapid recuperative 

 powers, however, and recovers 

 more quickly after spawning than 

 the majority of fish. Two-year- 

 lings or shetts that have not 

 spawned are in good condition as 

 early as June, both in sporting 

 quality and as a comestible. The 

 best time to go in quest of them 

 is when the trout-fishing has closed. 

 Then they are at their best, wear- 

 ing their scale-coated armour in 

 unsullied brilliance, and redolent 

 of the fragrance of the wild thyme, 

 from which their name is derived. 

 The rod, line, and many of the flies 

 used for trout constitute the ang- 

 ling equipment. It seems a strange 

 thing to expect flies on the water 

 when the frost hangs thick on 



the boughs and snow is sprinkled 

 over the landscape. But flies 

 there are for a certainty, and 

 grayling rise to them. It is not 

 always necessary or practicable 

 to offer exact imitations, size being 

 really more important than colour. 

 There are a few stock patterns 

 that the angler should be pro- 

 vided with, such as red tag, Wick- 

 ham fancy, red ant, and alder. A 

 score of others could be enumer- 

 ated, and every experienced ang- 

 ler has his own favourite list. 



Grayling frequent the deeper 

 parts of the river, or a shallow 

 close by, on which they come out 

 to feed. They will take the wet 

 fly as freely as the dry. Casting 

 straight across and working round 

 and down stream is the favourite 

 method of enticing them. On a 

 rough day, when alders are blown 

 on to the river, a big grayling fre- 

 quently rewards careful fishing, 

 and will be found close in to the 

 bank. Wading up stream and 

 fishing with a dry fly is a prefer- 

 able method. The best sport that 

 grayling give is obtained that way. 

 The taking power of the fish must 

 not be judged by the brown trout 

 standard. The latter rarely miss 

 the fly when they wish to take it. 

 Grayling miss with tantalizing 

 monotony. To the tyro this may 

 seem trifling, but acquaintance 

 with the anatomy of the fish ex- 

 plains the reason. The trout poises 

 near the surface of the water in 

 quest of fly, and has only to raise 

 its head to secure the ephemera. 

 The grayling rises from the bot- 

 tom, and the wonder is that it 

 manages to secure the fly as often 

 as it does. It is provided with a 

 very large air-bladder, connected 

 with the dorsal fin, which inflates 

 by erection and empties by de- 

 pression. In playing a grayling 

 the fin can be seen falling over 

 like a mane as the fish bores 

 down. When it comes towards 



