A DAY ON THE DOVE. 255 



twentieth by no means infrequently proves successful. 

 The accredited theory is, that the constant passage of 

 the lure acts as a sort of ground bait in exciting the 

 attention of the fish. Be it so or no, the fact remains 

 that grayling are thus to be taken when not exactly 

 upon the feed, and more especially the larger fish. 

 Frosty nights and genial days bring the flies upon 

 the water, and the delicately fastidious grayling upon 

 the rise in a thoroughly healthful style ; and if the 

 angler fails then to do considerable execution, the 

 fault most assuredly lies at home. One of the best 

 day's grayling fishing we ever experienced was on the 

 Dove, a few miles above Uttoxeter. The water's 

 surface was plentifully besprinkled with the October 

 shades of the Iron Blue, every grayling upon the 

 length seemed to have left its accustomed haunt in the 

 bed of the water to feed upon them, and as these 

 fish, in the lower portions of the river, predominate 

 largely over the trout, the few rods that happened to 

 be out were doing heavy work when once furnished 

 with presentable "artificials." Two fish were now and 

 again taken at the same cast. This scene was pro- 

 longed for several hours ; a sudden atmospheric 

 change, however, finally caused the almost instan- 

 taneous retreat of the flies from the water's surface, 

 the repast of the fish and our sport being as suddenly 

 brought to an abrupt conclusion. The produce of a 

 couple of neighbouring rods were to be enumerated 

 by the dozen ; not only their basket, but their empty 

 provision receptacles were filled with silvery grayling 

 of all sizes upwards of half-a-pound. For our own 



