THE GRAYLING. 



" I wind about, and in and out, 

 With here a blossom sailing, 

 And here and there a lusty trout, 

 And here and there a grayling." 



Among all the species of the finny tribe that furnish recreation for 

 the angler, no other perhaps is so ethereal and dainty, so graceful in form, 

 fin and outline, or so delicate in tints, as the grayling. In the waters of 

 the United States — principally in the streams of Michigan — the rise and 

 fall of the grayling has been remarkable, the species having risen rapidly 

 in public estimation with a proportionate falling off in supply since angling 

 writers first described and eulogised the American variety, about i860. 



The scientific name, Thymallus^ applied to this species of the family 

 SalmonidiE, has reference to the odor of thyme, so marked that in England 

 the grayling is called " the flower of fishes." The Michigan variety sel- 

 dom weighs more than a pound and a half, but the elegant form, the 

 delicate shades of silver gray, olive brown and pale blue, and above all the 

 magnificent dorsal fin, rising to the height of two inches, extending in its 

 curved outline about one-fourth the length of the fish, and dotted like a 

 waving banner with purple spots surrounded with greenish tints — com- 

 bine to make the grayling a thing of beauty. 



The great dorsal fin is the chief mark of loveliness, and the general 

 appearance of the fish is thus described by a prominent ichthyologist : 

 " The sun's rays, lighting up the delicate olive-brown tints of the back and 

 sides, the bluish-white of the abdomen, and the mingling of tints of rose, 

 pale blue and purplish-pink on the fins, display a combination of colors 

 equalled by no fish outside of the tropics." 



The range of the grayling in the United States appears to be limited 

 to Michigan and Montana, while the Arctic species is comparatively abun- 

 dant^in the polar region. In Michigan the fish have diminished at an 

 alarming rate during the past fifteen years, so much so that fears are enter- 

 tained that it may be exterminated if better measures are not adopted for 

 its protection and propagation — the latter being difficult to accomplish, 

 as the best fish culturists fail in this branch of the work. 



In angling for this dainty fish the tackle and methods are almost iden- 

 tical with those used in trout fishing, and the grayling in many instances is 

 found in the same streams with the brook-trout. The American book of 

 the grayling is yet to be published, but when it appears, if prepared by an 

 enthusiastic and practical angler, the work will prove a welcome addition 

 to the library of the fly-fisher. 



