178 



MAKING A FISHERY. 



Conditions 

 under which 

 grayling 

 thrive. 



Tvho has taken the trouble to examine the weeds 

 and mud in the bed of a South-country chalk 

 stream seriously doubt there being an enormous 

 superfluity of food in the form of Crustacea, 

 molluscae and the larvae of EphemeridtBj 

 Perlidce, Sialidce, Trichoftera, &c, above any 

 possible, not to say probable, requirements of 

 the fish contained in the river ? Some fisher- 

 men declare that they hate grayling and 

 grayling fishing. For them there is no 

 salvation, except to rent water not containing 

 Salmo thymallus, and refrain from introducing 

 them. 



Before determining to introduce grayling into 

 a stretch of water, it is necessary to consider 

 whether they are likely to thrive and increase. 

 It may be well to recapitulate briefly the 

 natural conditions required in a stream to give 

 a fair prospect of success in the experiment. 

 Grayling, to be in perfect condition, require 

 bright, sharp gravel shallows on which to spawn 

 and to clean themselves after spawning. They 

 must also have comparatively still deep places 

 in the water, to which they retire after spawn- 

 ing, and in hot weather, or when scared from 

 the shallows. They do well in hatch holes, and 

 rise far more freely than trout in such places. 

 They are moderately hardy, and can bear, with- 

 out deleterious results, a considerable variation 



