GRAYLING FISHING. 1 39 



The mouth of the Grayling is exceedingly tender ; and 

 consequently both striking and playing, the fish requires 

 to be handled carefully. For the same reason, and also 

 from the peculiar character of the banks, a net is 

 almost a necessity in Grayling waters. The light 

 pocket-net described in the chapter on tackle, will be 

 found the most convenient for the purpose. 



Grayling but seldom take the minnow, either natural 

 or artificial, or the worm. The three most killing ways 

 of fishing for them being with the artificial fly, with the 

 artificial grasshopper, and by float-fishing with gentles. 



Fly-FiSHING. 



Fly - fishing for Grayling begins In earnest in 

 August — that is, about a month earlier than either the 

 grasshopper or gentle fishing — and continues through 

 September and October. Fair bags may not un- 

 frequently be made as late as November, but a warm 

 day, and the middle hours of it, are then desiderata. 

 Indeed, as soon as the weather becomes cold, the 

 warmest hours of the day, say from 12 till 2 or 3 

 o'clock, will usually prove best for the fly. The flies 

 locally used for Grayling fishing are not quite so 

 numerous as those for Trout — the only reason being, 

 I believe, that the localities themselves are fewer ; but 

 still the Grayling fisher's repertory will commonly con- 

 tain from ten to twenty varieties, good and bad, the 

 greater part of which are wholly unnecessary, and in their 



