FLIES AND FLY FISHING. 61 



"bottom-fishing near Ludlow, within the last twenty-five 

 years, that weighed four-and-three-quarter pounds. 



Grayling are quite as much, if not more capricious 

 with regard to flies than trout. If there are very few 

 flies on the water, you may occasionally kill with any 

 small fly, but let them be feeding on any QT& particular fly 

 and they will hardly ever look at any other ; and on 

 rivers throwing up many sorts of flies, the one that kills 

 one hour will do nothing the next ; a fresh variety having 

 become the favourite. They are also much more unanimous 

 in their times of feeding than any other fish, and it is this 

 last fact which constitutes the chief inferiority of grayling 

 in comparison with trout fishing. In the latter, even on 

 a bad day, you have always a chance of picking up an odd 

 trout or two, all through the day, and this enables you to 

 hope on, however bad your sport may be ; but when 

 flshing for grayling your sport is generally condensed into 

 an hour or two, the rest being almost, if not entirely, 

 blank. Of course there are exceptional good days when 

 grayling will rise nearly all day long, but these are rare. 



A drizzly, rainy day is generally good ; they also take 

 very well in damp, foggy mornings, especially after frost ; 

 they will rise at fly in a lower temperature of water than 

 trout, and if the water is in order and any fly out-, you 



