THE GRAYLTNG. 173 



teresting. They spawn in April or the beginning of May, 

 depositing their roe amongst gravel at the tails of swift 

 currents. They are more gregarious than many other 

 fish, much more so than trout. They show a disposition to 

 a kind of migration, appearing first in one part and then 

 in another part of a river in greater abundance, and they 

 have a general tendency to drop gradually down a river. 

 Unlike their relatives of the Salmonidce family they seldom 

 jump out of water, and evince no wish to surmount natural 

 or artificial obstructions, for I suppose the very good 

 reason that they could not if they would. General obser- 

 vation and experience leads to the conclusion that as a 

 rule trout and grayling do not thrive well together in the 

 same water, the trout getting the worst of the partner- 

 ship and decreasing in numbers as well as deteriorating in 

 quality. This is very noticeable in some of our best gray- 

 ling waters. Some persons say that grayling are a very 

 pugnacious fish, and really worry andharass the trout. They 

 are bottom feeders to a much greater extent than trout, but 

 unlike the trout will come up through many feet of water 

 to take a fly. The tenderness of their mouths is another 

 characteristic of grayling. Almost the only bait which a 

 grayling will not take of those which a trout will is the 

 minnow, though Izaak Walton has a note to the contrary. 

 A grayling is a less timid and wary fish than the trout. 



" Pink " is a local name given to fish one year old, 

 " shot " or " shut " to fish of two. As " pinks " they 

 have neither lateral lines visible nor spots. As "shot" 

 they have spots, but the longitudinal lines are but faintly 

 discernible. Grayling do not spawn till their third 

 year. 



Grayling do not take flies so early in the year as trout 



