AUG. 4, 1893.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



95 



WHITEFISH AND GRAYLING. 



The illustration of Williamson's whitefish -will be 

 welcomed by many anglers who have found it difficult to 

 recognize at sight the differences between the grayling 

 and the whiteiish of the Rocky Mountain region. The 

 whitefish has no teeth, but the grayling has well devel- 

 oped teeth in the jaws. The large back fin of the white- 

 fish has about twelve raye; that of the grayling has 

 about twenty; the color of the adult whitefish is bluish 

 above, pilvery below; the grayling has many small black 

 spots on the front of the body and the back fin is gorg- 

 eous with i-ose-colored lines and green spots. 



Williamson's whitefish inhabits clear streams and 

 lakes from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific; it is 

 common also in tribu- 

 taries of the Saskatche- 

 wan. The figures ac- 

 companying these notes 

 were copied from Com- 

 missioner McDonald's re- 

 port on the establishment 

 of fiahcultm-al stations 

 in the Rocky Mountain 

 region and Gulf States. 

 The presence of parr 

 marks in the young 

 whitefish was made 

 known by Prof, Ever- 

 mann and is of the high- 

 est interest. 



Judge L. B, France, 

 who has given a graphic 

 account of fishing for 

 the whitefish in "Mr. 

 Dide; His Vacation in 

 Colorado," stated inFoE- 

 PST AND Stbeam, July 

 80, 1891, that he has seen 

 fish of this kind weigh- 

 ing 31bs. Our illustra- 

 tion is one-half the length of an 

 adult specimen. The whitefish, 

 according to Judge France, has 

 an odor similar to that of the gray- 

 ling. He says it "is an excellent 

 food fish, rises readily to the fly 

 and makes a good fight, although 

 it keeps below the surface as long 

 as possible when hooked." It 

 spawnn in the fall. 



"Livingston," in Foeest and 

 Stream, Aug, 6, l89l, describes 

 the whiietibh as lying sluggish 

 with heads up stream, agreeing 

 with the observation of " Big 

 Horn." He found an abundance 

 of whitefish in the Gallatin, one of 

 the forks of the Missouri, in Mon- 

 tana, "H. L,," in our columns 

 Aug, 13, 1891, mentions "a fine 

 place for taking whitefish in the 

 Madison, at the upper end of the 

 Upper Madison Canon." 

 With grasshoppers for 

 bait his party caught 

 about a bushel in about 

 an hour's time. They 

 found horseflies a killing 

 bait also, taking a fish as 

 soon as the fly struck the 

 water. 



The food of the white- 

 fish consists of small 

 crustaceans and insects. 

 As a table fish it is con- 

 sidered ecxual to trout 

 and grayling. As a 

 fighter "H, L." found it 

 as strong as the trout, if 

 not stronger, and in- 

 clined to hang to the 

 bottom of the stream. 



Writing of the English fish, Dr. Day states: "It pre- 

 fers clear streams, in which there are a succession of 

 sluggish pools and shallows, with sandy, gravelly, or 

 loamy beds, rocky or stony bottoms being unsuitable. 

 The larger ones seem to resort more to the deeper and 

 quiet spots, the moderately-sized and small ones to the 

 shallows, taking their post behind a rock or a bunch of 

 weeds. Although clear streams are preferred, still a 

 moderate or cold temperattxre of the water seems to be of 

 more consequence, but too much cold or too much heat 

 are asserted to be equally fatal to it." 



The Michigan grayling frequents spring-fed rivers with 

 sandy bottoms of about .52°, In Montana and Alaska it 

 abounds in rapid, rocky rivers and in lakes. In the Gal- 

 latin the temperature often rises to 60% In northern 



The Grayling (Thymallus signifen. Auult. 



The Grayling {ThymaUii.s mjnifer). \'oung. 



Williamson's Whitefish [Coregonus willimiisoni). Adult, 



The Graylings. 



About six nominal 

 kinds of grayling have been re- 

 corded from the temperate and 

 Arctic parts of the northern hemi- 

 sphere. Perhaps these really 

 represent only three well-defined 

 species, and of these we are con- 

 cerned only with the common form 

 of the British Islands and Con- 

 tinental Europe, the grayling of 

 Michigan, and the wing-finned or 

 Back's grayling of far northwest 

 America. 



Thymallus, the generic name of 

 the graylings, was given because 

 of a fancied resemblance of the 

 odor of the fish to that of the 

 water- thyme; although some au- 

 thors trace a still stronger resem- 

 blance to that of the wbirl-a-gig 

 (Gyrinus nalator). Grayling, 

 probably a corruption of gray lin 

 or line, relates to the horizontal 

 lines along the body. The E quimau name for 

 northern species, Eeu'loohpowaJc, denotes wing-like 



The European grayling inhabits the fresh waters of 

 central and northern Europe, in Eogland it lives in 

 streams and does not enter the sea, but in Scandinavia it 

 occurs in laiies; it is found also in the North Sea, C^tte- 

 gat and Billic. Our American species are known from 

 Michigan, the headwaters of th ^ Missoun, and from the 

 region northward to the Arctic Circle in British America 

 and Alaska. Richardson found it abundant in rocky 

 streams of the primitive country north of the 62d parallel 

 of latitude, between Mackenzie's River and the Welcome. 

 According to "Kelpie" U frequents the Hersey, Pine, 

 Manistee, Pigeon, Sturgeon, Au Sable, Maple, Black and 

 other streams of Michigaii, In Montana it is common in 

 the G illatin, and occurs also in the Jefl'ereon and Madi- 

 eoQ. Prof. Evermann took it in Red R:)ck River, Beaver- 

 head. River ^ and in th® Gibbon at its junction with the 

 Firehole, also in the stream formed by Horsethief Springs, 



Wilha5ison'.s Whitefish {Coregunus udlliamsotd), YouNti. 



the 

 fin. 



America, according to Richardson, "it is found only in 

 clear waters, and seems to delight in the most rapid parts 

 of the mountain streams. In the autumn of 1820 we ob- 

 tained many by angling in a rapid of Winter River, op- 

 posite to Fort Enterprise." 



The graylings eat insects and their larv», small mol- 

 lusks, also water flea=?. The larva of the caddis fly is a 

 favorite food of the English grayling, and it takes along 

 with the larva pieces of stick and stone attached to it. 

 Beetles and spiderg are also eagerly sought for, while in 

 the West grasshoppers and crickets form part of the food. 



The spawning season and spawning habits of the 

 American and European species are so nearly alike that 

 I quote from Dr. Day the following account of the Eng- 

 lish species: 



"It generally spawns on the shallows in April or May, 

 or even earlier, while at a little distance the eggs some- 

 what resemble frog spawn. Fish under half a piuud 

 -weight do not appear, aa a rule, to spawn, rendering it 



probable that they do not commence to do so until their 

 third season, or possibly the fourth. The ova are smaller 

 than those of the trout [Salmo fario], and transparent, 

 while the interior may be white, opalescent, cornelian 

 color, or even deep orange. The eggs are deposited on 

 the gravel near the tails of shallows, and in shallow nests 

 or redds, like thw salmon, trout, or char, but not to so 

 great a depth. Neither do these fish attempt to pass up 

 to the heads of streams for breeding purposes, but select 

 shallow localities near where they usually reside, and 

 where females may be seen waited on by two or even 

 three males. The ova are more delicate than those of 

 the trout or char, and it has been remarked in Hereford- 

 shire that should a severe frost occur during their spawn- 

 ing season, the succeeding year's supply of young fish 

 appears to be deJeteri- 

 ously aft'ected. The body 

 of the embryo is visible 

 in the egg on the ninth 

 day, and usually hatches 

 from about tbe twelfth 

 to the twenty-fifth day; 

 few days elapse between 

 the appearance of the 

 eyes of the embryo and 

 the eggs hatching. The 

 young when hatched 

 must be kept in very 

 pure water, for that 

 which is suflaciently 

 good for a trout ale v in 

 is not always suitable for 

 grayling. At the hatch- 

 ing time the egg shells 

 should be at once re- 

 moved, as they are found 

 to be very deleterious. 

 About the end of July or 

 commencement of Aug- 

 ust the fry are about 4 

 or .5in, long. In aquaria 

 it has been observed that young 

 salmon or trout will readily eat 

 young grayling." 



The graylings are capricious in 

 their movements, but are bolder 

 than trout, and on account of their 

 tender mouths it is difficult to 

 land them. The habit of boring 

 with head upstream when hooked 

 in order to get to the bottom has 

 been observed by all who have 

 fished for them. The rise is often 

 unexpected, and when the natural 

 fly is being taken freely, the arti- 

 ficial fly will often be refused. 

 The fish will often rise repeatedly 

 at the same fly unleFs touched by 

 the hook. Richardson, in his 

 early account of fly-fishing for 

 grayling, said: "This grayling 

 generally springs entirely out of 

 the water when first struck with 

 the hook, and tugs 

 strongly at the line, re- 

 quiring as much dex- 

 terity to land it safely 

 as would secure a trout 

 of six times the size." 

 Pennell vfTote: "Gray- 

 ling seldom take the 

 minnow, either natural 

 or artificial, or the 

 worm." ' K^lpie" ttlls 

 that he has seen it 

 caught vriih worms and 

 ev^n with pork. In 

 American stn ams the 

 fi<h rises well to the 

 black, brown, gray and 

 red hackles, "Kelpie" 

 found brown or gray 

 gnats taking in early 

 summer. Among the 

 favorite grayling flies 

 are the Abbey, Montreal, 

 professor, royal-coachman, Lord- 

 Baltimore, grizzly-king, green and 

 yellow grasshoppers, and yellow- 

 sally. There is no coyness about 

 the fish, for it rushes at the bait 

 and returns until hooked. 



The characteristic black spots 

 on the sides vary greatly in 

 number. Prof, Evermann found 

 twenty-five on one side and 

 eighteen on the other side of the 

 same fish. He has called atten- 

 tion also to tbe presence in young 

 examples about i^irt long, of nu- 

 merous steel-blue blotches along 

 the sides resembling the parr 

 marks of younjr trout, salmon 

 and whitefish. These are clearly 

 shown in the figure of the yotmg 

 accompanying this descriijtion, 



The writer has continued to 

 write of the American graylings 

 as representing two well-marked kinds, vVith this, how- 

 ever, Dr, Jordan disagrees and he considers the Alaskan 

 form identical with that of Michigan, My reason^ for 

 using distinguishing names have been previously stated 

 in Forest and Stream, and I have nothing new to add 

 now. The Alaskan fish appears to have a much higher 

 dorsal fin, a wider space between the eyes, a shorter lower 

 jaw and fewer gill-rakers. By comparing ourfirat figure 

 with that of the Arctic grayling in Goode's "American 

 Fishes," page 485, the reader will observe some of these 

 points of difference. One of the greatest difliculties in the 

 way of studying these fishes is the lack of large series of 

 specimens of the Alaskan grayling; perhaps intergrada- 

 tion may be shown when sufficient material is at hand. 

 With the present specimens, however, the characters 

 noted should receive due consideration. T. H. B. 



Send us a postal card new/ note of fishings where to 

 fish, or fishing incident. 



