32 ENGLISH LAKE DISTRICT FISHERIES 



THE CRAKE 



The river Crake is the effluent of Coniston Water. 

 Flowing through the Crake valley, it joins the 

 Leven estuary at Greenodd. It is a fairly good 

 trout-stream, with the qualification that the trout 

 are shy risers. This is probably attributable to 

 the great purity of its water, at least in the higher 

 reaches. It is an early stream, and the trout 

 are invariably in good condition when the season 

 opens. The Crake is perhaps less like a mountain 

 stream than any other in the district. It runs at a 

 low level, flowing through fertile ground ; and its 

 wealth of bottom feed probably has something 

 to do with the fact of its trout being shy feeders. 

 The trout rise but little during the day, and this 

 becomes more marked as the season advances. 

 The spring months are the best for fishing, and 

 the trout are then less shy than later. The best 

 fishing is had at night with winged-flies. Apart 

 from this, hackle or spider flies are used ; and 

 the following dressings prove the most useful : 

 Woodcock, corncrake, teal, mallard, snipe, brown- 

 or wood-owl, partridge and grouse. The flies 

 should be dressed on No. 2 or No. 3 hooks (Kendal 

 size) ; and, for summer fishing at least, fine gut 

 is indispensable. Spinning the natural minnow 

 proves a killing bait. 



The first spate in July or August brings up the 

 sea-trout, the earliest salmon coming about the 

 same time. Here, as elsewhere in the district, 

 sea-trout fishing during the day is a comparative 

 failure, although good takes are had at night with 

 rnort-flies. The favourite among these is that 

 dressed from the brown- or wood-owl. A few 





