Bass, Pike, Perch, and OthersHenshall, James A. (James Alexander)
Science
Bass, Pike, Perch, and Others
Henshall, James A. (James Alexander)
Fishes; Fishing
As the English grayling grows only to half of the weight of the trout,
it suffers by comparison when killed on the heavy rods of our English
brothers. Their assertion, also, that the grayling has a tender mouth,
and must be handled gingerly, is another fallacy, inasmuch as it has as
tough lips as the trout, but the smaller hooks of grayling flies do not
hold so firmly as the larger and stronger hooks of trout flies.
It must not be supposed that the grayling is not a leaping fish because
it takes the fly from beneath the surface of the water. On the contrary,
in its playful moods it may be seen leaping above the surface the same
as a trout, and moreover it breaks water repeatedly after being hooked,
which the trout seldom does. It puts up a stiff fight also beneath the
surface, being much aided in its resistance by its tall dorsal fin. It
is no disparagement, then, to the gamesome trout, to declare the
grayling its equal when of similar size and weight.
Grayling fishing has been practised in England for centuries. In
addition to fly-fishing, swimming the maggot, where a tiny float is
used, is a common method. An artificial bait, called the grasshopper, is
likewise employed. While grayling are taken during the trout season, in
spring and summer, the most successful season seems to be from September
to December, when they are at their best, both as to gameness and
condition.
With English anglers the universal practice is to fish up-stream, as the
fish are not so apt to see the angler, and that plan undoubtedly has its
advantages in the clear and shallow streams of England. In fishing for
grayling, however, it is advised by some of their best anglers to cast
across the stream, instead of above, and allow the flies to float down.
No reason is given for this deviation from the generally accepted method
with trout; but I imagine that as grayling lie on the bottom of deep
pools, it has been found by experience that they are not so apt to see
the angler as other species in mid-water or near the surface, especially
in the clear chalk streams.
In America, the streams being deeper, the necessity for fishing
up-stream is not so apparent. Fishing down-stream is by far the best
plan, for obvious reasons, if the angler wades slowly and cautiously, so
as not to roil the water. The principal reason is that one's line is
always straight and taut in swift water, and the flies can be more
easily controlled and floated down over the fish, which always heads
up-stream. Upon hooking the fish it can be drawn to one side, whereby
the other fish in the pool are not much more alarmed than in the case of
casting up or across. Casting across seems to be really a concession to
the advantage of fishing down-stream.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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