"The Mullet, when encircling seines enclose,
The fatal threads and treach'rous bosom knows:
Instant he rallies all his vigorous powers,
And faithful aid of every nerve implores;
O'er battlements of cork up-darted flies;
And finds from air th' escape that sea denies."
The opinion expressed of the harmless appetite of the Grey Mullet we have already seen reason to qualify; the fact of its being often the prey of the fly-fisher seems also inimical to such a conclusion. It is said to rise freely at the flies used for Trout, and even at the larger and more gaudy flies used for Salmon. Now though these showy temptations from the angler's cabinet are but combinations of hair, feathers, and the like, yet they profess to be imitations of living flies, and the eagerness with which the fish leaps up at the skilful mimicry, sufficiently proves how he would act if the filmy-winged insect itself were dancing on the smooth surface of the stream.
The excellence of the flesh of these fishes is generally acknowledged, and they are in considerable request for the table; they are in the best condition about the end of August. In the south of Europe a kind of caviare is made from the roe of the Grey Mullet. It is prepared in the following manner: the fish is opened, the roes taken out, washed, and salted. After having lain in salt for a few hours, they are subjected to pressure between boards, that the water may be expressed. They are then washed in weak brine, and exposed to the rays of the sun. As the operation takes place in summer, when the roe is just ready for deposition, the heat of the weather is sufficient to dry the caviare fit for the market in ten or fifteen days.
