GRAYLING FISHING. 101 
to keep up the head of the worm, fasten a single swan shot 
about twelve inches above the hook, and your tackle is com- 
plete ; the best worms to employ are the small red ones 
always to be found in old rotten manure, and they should 
be kept ready for use in damp, clean moss ; insert the point 
of the hook a little below the head of the worm, and thread 
it on, up to the projecting bristle, which will keep it in its 
place ; leave the tail of the worm hanging loose ; the bait 
must be swum about six inches from the bottom of the river 
by means of a very light cork or quill float, the angler wad- 
ing carefully up stream, and trying every eddy or likely 
haunt for grayling within his reach; as soon as ever the 
float gives the slightest indication of a bite the angler must 
strike at once, gently but firmly, playing the fish out in the 
water which he has previously fished through. The arti- 
ficial bait known as the “ grasshopper,” and which is such 
a deadly lure on the tributaries of the Severn, does not 
seem to “take” on the Yorkshire streams. I have tried 
it on several occasions, but with no results. J must not 
forget to advise my readers to give a gentle strike at the 
end of each swim when fishing the worm for grayling, as 
very frequently the fish will take it very quietly just as the 
bait rises from the bottom, and then the above-named pre- 
caution generally results in the capture of the fish. 
To myself, and no doubt to many other brothers of the 
angle, autumnal grayling fishing has a peculiar charm ; the 
calm declining days of September and October, when the 
sun sheds his warm rays over the golden stubble fields and 
the gorgeous ruddy tints of the fast changing foliage ; the 
soft murmur of the stream, with ever and anon the silvery 
gleam of the shadowy grayling as he rises at a passing fly ; 
: the slender rod, the gossamer tackle, with the smallest of 
artificials attached, all tend to make up a most enchanting 
picture of the gentle art, especially to the eye of a born 
angler ; just in the same manner as the sportsman of another 
