TACTICS FOR GRAYLING WHEN HOOKED 247 



trout. My own experiences are very much the 

 reverse of this, for I consider that when the fish 

 are of good size, and the river is well stocked, no 

 fish can possibly afford better sport. Equal pre- 

 cision and delicacy in casting are requisite, and, 

 being extremely tender-mouthed, grayling require 

 more careful handling when hooked than trout. 

 They may not fight quite as fiercely, but they 

 can give the angler a considerable deal of 

 trouble before he gets a chance of bringing 

 them to net, their large back fins acting as a 

 kind of screw, and causing them to spin to such 

 an extent that, when the hook is taken out, the 

 gut will often be found to be twisted up like 

 whipcord. At times, when in full condition, the 

 play of a grayling is in nowise inferior to that of 

 a trout ; and I have known them spring out of 

 the water, though this is not often the case, as 

 boldly as any trout. I have often been taken 

 forty or fifty yards down- stream before I have 

 been able to turn a grayling, when it has been 

 well-conditioned. It is necessary to use small 

 flies and the lightest possible tackle for grayling- 

 fishing, and so the difficulties of landing a fish of 

 any size are considerably increased. 



Grayling spawn in March and April, and are 

 fully recovered in August. November, December, 

 and even the beginning of January, if the weather 

 is at all favourable in the latter, are the months in 



