THE GRAYLING. 307 



And now as to a few notes as brief as possible in reference to fly- 

 fishing for grayling. Always throw down stream or across, because the 

 fish is very probably, unlike the trout, waiting for the fly, having seen 

 it from afar. Do not, therefore, be in a hurry to make your casts ; be 

 deliberate, and, above all, be watchful and ready. The grayling often 

 takes its food below the surface ; indeed, it is often necessary and 

 always for the larger fish is it so that the bait sink some six or more 

 inches ; the angler in such a case must and can only trust to his sense of 

 feeling. The cultivation of this sense is very desirable in a grayling 

 fisher. Strike with a sharp yet not violent wrist motion, and play your 

 fish "as if you loved him," lest he break away like the fox in the fable, 

 leaving a part of his anatomy behind in the case of the grayling its 

 lip. The fragility of the jaw of this fish is indeed astonishing, and the 

 very gentlest and most skilful handling is usually absolutely necessary. 



Curiously enough, "Piscator," in the " Practical Angler," dissents 

 from this, and says : " Grayling is not, as is generally stated, the most 

 tender-mouthed of all fishes, an opinion I certainly once entertained of 

 him upon the authority of others, until a more intimate acquaintance 

 with the subject has convinced me such is not the fact." This author is 

 wrong, however. 



Mr. Francis says, in reference to the fish's habits in taking the bait on 

 the surface and below it, " he has always one of his lozenge-shaped eyes 

 on the top of the water as well as at the bottom." It matters, therefore, 

 little what the water is like. There is ever a chance for the grayling 

 fisher. 



Jesse also corroborates the idea of allowing the bait to sink some- 

 what. This is what he says: "You will always see any person who 

 is a stranger to grayling fishing, and I may add many who have 

 fished for them all their lives, when the water is very low and clear, 

 immediately betake themselves to the streams and curls, from the idea 

 that the fish will see your line in the dead water. Let them do so ; they 

 will perhaps catch a few trout, and some shett grayling. But go your- 

 self to a deep, dead part of the river never mind if there is no wind, or 

 if the sun is hot use the finest gut you can procure (even if you give 

 a guinea a knot for it), and two flies, and when you have thrown your 

 line as light as gossamer, let it sink for Sin. or lOin. You will not see 

 a rise, but a slight curl in the water, which by a little practice you will 

 understand quite as well, and when you strike you will have the pleasure 

 of finding a pounder or more tugging away at the end of your line. 

 This is the real secret of grayling fishing, and -have often filled my 

 basket, while eight or ^en other fishermen on the water, using the very 

 same flies, have not managed to kill a decent dish amongst them all." 



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