I08 THE BRITISH ANGLER'S LEXICON. 



bright gravelly-bottomed streams, and will not thrive in 

 muddy ones. It spawns in April and May, and comes into 

 condition about the time that trout are out of season- 

 October and November. It is greatly esteemed for the 

 table, and is better used when fresh caught ; its flesh has a 

 flavour of thyme, hence its generic name. 



Grayling 1 Fishing 1 begins just about the time trout 

 and salmon fishing is over. These fish are caught prin- 

 cipally by artificial fly, but they are fond of a worm or 

 maggot ; they are seldom caught with the minnow, but 

 much fished for with an artificial grasshopper a special 

 lure for them made by lightly leading a No. 7 or 8 

 Limerick hook, wrapping green worsted over it, and 

 forming yellow rings on the body with silk or gold tinsel. 

 The hook is baited with a few gentles, allowed to sink, 

 and then drawn about with short jerks as in spinning. 

 A small quill float is attached to the line to let the angler 

 know when the grasshopper has touched the bottom. 

 Strike firmly when the top of the rod bends ; but be 

 cautious, as the mouth of the grayling is not as tough 

 as that of a trout. It is considered amongst high-class 

 anglers that grayling should never be fished for with any 

 lure but the artificial fly. The flies used for grayling are 

 similar to trout flies ; perhaps a shade brighter in appear- 

 ance. Grayling seldom go over three pounds in weight. 

 They are not so shy as trout, and therefore concealment of 

 the person is not of such importance. They do not as a 

 rule take a good hold of the fly hook, therefore the play 

 should be gentle, giving them plenty of liberty ; they often 

 make a last violent effort to escape the landing net. Worm 

 fishing is a very deadly method of taking grayling and 

 .greatly practised in the Yorkshire streams, the angler using 



