156 AN ANGLER'S YEAR 



and then fall a prey to yellow duns on *00 hooks. But, 

 alas ! such occasions are rare. As to September trout,the 

 less said about them the better ; it seems a sin to kill 

 female fish in which the ova are already the size of 

 hemp seed at least. 



But October grayling are in the pink of condition.that 

 condition so graphically described by Charles Cotton. 

 As he very properly observes, " a grayling is a winter 

 fish." Poor old Izaak in his portion of the immortal 

 work is not so correct in his natural history, for he says 

 " He is a fish that lurks close all winter, but is very 

 pleasant and jolly after mid-April, and in May, and in 

 the hot months." That is to say immediately after 

 spawning ! It is not often that our ancient authority is 

 wrong, but this is indeed a blunder. He evidently had 

 but little personal acquaintance with the fish and in the 

 early part of his chapter has confused it with the Mai- 

 fisch, or Shad (Clupea alosa), or perhaps the Houting 

 (Coregonus lavaretus) which, although one of the 

 white fishes, is sold in this country to this day as 

 " Dutch Grayling " ; both these fish ascend rivers in 

 May, and either may be the fish referred to by Walton, 

 Rutty, and others as " Grayling." 



But enough has been said here on these points, and 

 we must return to the fish itself and how to kill him at 

 Hungerford. Anyone who would desire to study the 

 matters previously touched upon more closely should 

 read " The Book of the Grayling," by the late T. E. 

 Pritt, where an exhaustive chapter is given on the past 

 history of the fish and some ingenious explanations are 

 put forward as to the origin of the English names Gray- 

 ling (grey-lines) and Umber (umbra, a shade ; umber, 

 the pigment ; H umber, the river ; Umbro, a river of 

 ancient Italy). 



It is allowed by all modern authorities and certainly 

 by all grayling fishermen that in October, November, 

 and December this fish is in the pink of condition. In 

 order to enjoy the best of sport the grayling should be, 

 if possible, taken with the dry-fly. But for this form of 

 angling it is necessary that some kind of fly should be 



