SEVENTH DAY.] . GRA YLING. 179 



mixture of which with the moist warm air above the 

 river this phenomenon is produced. I see some yellow 

 flies beginning to come out ; they have already felt 

 the influence of the warm air; and look, a fish has 

 just risen opposite that bank, and he rises again ; let 

 us prepare our tackle. 



POIET, What flies shall we employ ? 



HAL. I recommend at least three ; for the grayling 

 lies deeper and is not so shy a fish as the trout ; and, 

 provided your link is fine, is not apt to be scared by the 

 cast of flies on the water. The fineness of the link, 

 and of the guts to which your flies are attached, is a 

 most essential point, and the clearer the stream the 

 finer should be the tackle. I have known good 

 fishermen foiled by using a gut of ordinary thickness, 

 though their fly was of the right size and colour. 

 Very slender transparent gut of the colour of the 

 water is one of the most important causes of success 

 in grayling fishing. Let me see your book : I will 

 select a fine stretcher. Now, for the lowest fly, use a 

 yellow-bodied fly, with red hackle for legs, and land- 

 raiTs wing; for the second, a blue dun, with dun 

 body ; and for the highest, the claret coloured body, 

 with blue wings; and let your first dropper fly be 

 about three feet from the stretcher and from the 

 other dropper, and let the hanging link which attaches 

 them be 3| inches long. 



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