144 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 



Grayling take the wet or dry fly whether floating on or 

 slithering along the surface, whether being drawn through 

 or allowed to float down under the surface. 



On the head waters of the Vistula and the Dniester, the 

 fly fishermen have a peculiar method of presenting the fly 

 to the grayling. They use a long light rod, and, attached 

 to the end of their line, a light but strong piece of split 

 bamboo about seven inches in length ; they fasten the line 

 to the middle of this bamboo, to each end of which is secured 

 a piece of gut three inches in length, on each of which a 

 fly, either natural or artificial, is fixed. The method of 

 fishing is to keep as much as possible out of sight, and 

 suspend the seven inch split bamboo just above the water, 

 so that the two flies slither along the surface. By moving 

 along the bank, either up or down stream, the flies are thus 

 presented to the fish, and with a considerable amount of 

 success. I did not see enough of the method to warrant my 

 recommending it in place of the dry fly, but it shows that 

 grayling are not easily put down. 



The mouth of the grayling is not only smaller, but it 

 is less tough and more easily damaged, than that of the 

 trout, consequently a generally more delicate manner of 

 playing the grayling is necessary. So long as a grayling 

 when hooked is on the upstream side of the fisherman, there 

 is little danger of the fly breaking away from its mouth, but 

 should the grayling get below the fisherman and thus be 

 able to take advantage of the strength of the stream, he will 

 not only show considerable fighting qualities, but is far more 

 likely to break away. He is more easily hooked, I think, 

 than the trout, but also more easily lost on this account ; 

 he certainly feeds on smaller varieties of insect life and more 

 frequently on the larval than on the flying state of these 

 insects. 



The best time in the day for grayling fishing during the 



