Grayling.—­The only other member of the salmon family in England which gives much sport to the fly-fisher is the grayling, a fish which possesses the recommendation of rising well in winter.  It can be caught with either wet or dry fly, and with the same tackle as trout, which generally inhabit the same stream.  Grayling will take most small trout-flies, but there are many patterns of fly tied specially for them, most of them founded on the red tag or the green insect.  Worms and maggots are also largely used in some waters for grayling, and there is a curious contrivance known as the “grasshopper,” which is a sort of compromise between the fly and bait.  It consists of a leaded hook round the shank of which is twisted bright-coloured wool.  The point is tipped with maggots, and the lure, half artificial, half natural, is dropped into deep holes and worked up and down in the water.  In some places the method is very killing.  The grayling has been very prominent of late years owing to the controversy “grayling versus trout.”  Many people hold that grayling injure a trout stream by devouring trout-ova and trout-food, by increasing too rapidly and in other ways.  Beyond, however, proving the self-evident fact that a stream can only support a given amount of fish-life, the grayling’s opponents do not seem to have made out a very good case, for no real evidence of its injuring trout has been adduced.

Char.—­The chars (Sahelinus) are a numerous family widely distributed over the world, but in Great Britain are not very important to the angler.  One well-defined species (Sahelinus alpinus) is found in some lakes of Wales and Scotland, but principally in Westmorland and Cumberland.  It sometimes takes a small fly but is more often caught with small artificial spinning-baits.  The fish seldom exceeds 1-1/2 lb in Great Britain, though in Scandinavia it is caught up to 5 lb or more.  There are some important chars in America, fontinalis being one of the most esteemed.  Some members of the genus occasionally attain a size scarcely excelled by the salmon.  Among them are the Great Lake trout of America, Cristinomer namaycush, and the Danubian “salmon” or huchen, Salmo hucho.  Both of these fish are caught principally with spinning-baits, but both will on occasion take a salmon-fly, though not with any freedom after they have reached a certain size.  An attempt has been made to introduce huchen into the Thames but at the time of writing the result cannot yet be estimated.

Pike.—­The pike (Esox lucius), which after the Salmonidae is the most valued sporting fish in Great Britain, is a fish of prey pure and simple.  Though it will occasionally take a large fly, a worm or other ground-bait, its systematic capture is only essayed with small fish or artificial spinning-baits.  A live bait is supposed to be the most deadly lure for big pike, probably because it is the method employed by most anglers.  But