lose season for trout. They seem
to thrive best in chalk streams, but there are no doubt many waters
which would carry a good head of grayling which at present contain only
trout. They probably do much less harm than most of the coarse fish
constantly found in trout streams. The great crime attributed to them is
that they eat the spawn of the trout, but I am inclined to think that
the harm they do in this way is much over estimated. They spawn at a
different time and would not be likely to frequent the spawning places
at the same time as the trout. I have no doubt that an infinitely
greater proportion of trout ova are eaten by the trout themselves than
by grayling in rivers which contain both fish. Chalk streams and those
rivers with gravelly bottoms and with alternate shallows and pools seem
to be the most suited to the grayling.

Among coarse fish the rudd is one of the best from the fly-fisher's
point of view. It takes the fly readily, is very prolific and very easy
to introduce. It thrives remarkably well in ponds which contain a good
supply of food. Its fry serve as excellent food for other fish,
particularly trout, but I have known cases where it increased rapidly in
a pond at the expense of the trout. It can, however, be kept under by
judicious netting.

The dace is another fish which gives sport to the fly-fisherman. It will
not thrive in ponds. In some rivers, however, where trout--brown trout,
at any rate--will not thrive, the dace does very well. In the case of
the Sussex Ouse this is most remarkable. Little more than ten years ago
there were no dace in that river, now it swarms with them. Their
presence is attributed to the fact that some dace, brought there as
live-baits for pike, escaped destruction and established the present
stock. Sluggish and muddy rivers seem to produce the best dace. Chubb,
which also possess many points to recommend them to the fisherman, will
also do well in such rivers.

To those who enjoy bottom fishing and possess a pond, even a small one,
I can recommend no fish more highly than the king-carp. It is a much
bolder-feeding and gamer fish than the common carp, and is just as easy
to introduce. While dealing with carp I may mention that the goldfish,
when introduced into a suitable pond, grows to a very large size. I have
caught them over a pound in weight.

The perch is a very prolific fish, and will thrive in ponds with a very
small stream running into them, and in sluggish r