First Grayling Of The Winter

[Paul_D]

I caught my first Grayling of the Winter on the stick today. There's always something special about catching them but the first of the Winter is always a bit special. She wasn't big, about 8-9 ozs or so and I didn't get a good look at her as she flipped herself back into the water once unhooked but she appeared to be in pristine nick. I do love wading and trotting when the temperature drops!

[Bradford Angler]

There are some absolute crackers coming out of the Gravel pits at Eland at the moment . .

The Calder is cleaning up and Grayling are now more common than Bream . . some real specimens coming out . . . upto 20lb a session on the stick plus trout . .

 

see it is not too far from you either

[Paul_D]

I've never fished the Calder before Bradford, do I take it we're talking Bradford No.1 water here?

[Andy Macfarlane]

Get a couple of bags of frozen sweetcorn. These bags are pretty cheap so it won't break the bank.

Allow them to defrost and then blend most of the corn down to a loose mash, not too fine. Add a few squirts of Van Den Eynde Liquid Corn and use this too feed the swim you intend on casting at. Keep some of the frozen corn aside for loosefeed.

Fling a couple of handfulls in and sit back for 5-10 minutes before putting your bait at them. You could also offer a few freebies at this time.

Use the stuff from the tin for hookbait as it holds the hook a little better and tends to look shinier and more attractive.

[Paul_D]

Ah the old Trout eggs imitation eh Andy? I was going to give Sweatcorn a go on the Ure after we've had some decent frosts.

[Andy Macfarlane]

Heres one I wrote last year. I've tidied things a bit since my computer punctuation was even worse than it is now .

 

When I was a dedicated Trout angler I used to long for the season to commence once more. When the tension became all consuming I would head out to a water near Kilmacolm, somewhere between Glasgow and Greenock.

There is a fine little stream called the Gryffe in Kilmacolm and the winter Grayling fishing is second to none. The scenery is fairly hard to beat for a town not 15 minutes from Paisley.

This stream is quiet during the season for the most part so fishing during the Winter could be a lonely affair. Fair do's...I like things that way.

Armed with a fly-rod set up for light trotting and a 12 foot match rod rigged with the lightest of stick float set ups, I would head out over the frost bitten fields in search of some suitable runs.

The Gryffe is a fairly fast little stream that dips into dark, mysterious plunge pools and swings round corners and under bushes at a decent clip. As long as you fish the fastest bank or the middle of a run, you would always produce at least one of these fine looking ladies.

Maggots would be introduced to a run 2 or 3 at a time over 20 minutes or so whilst keeping well out of sight. Not one single cast would be had until I was satisfied the fish had the general feeding pattern worked out.

Fingerless gloves would help with casting and the dextrous touch required for lifting and lying the bait every couple of inches along the gravelly bottom.

Bites would be infuriatingly shy at first but as the continuous pattern of freebies ensued the bite rate would pick up. I have watched through sunglasses, the Grayling gathering from seemingly nowhere, to the top of the run, jostling for position in a competition to grab the best offerings.

Usually I would try to take as many fish from the bottom as possible using the trotting set up. A flick with a fast sinking fly line and 5 foot of 2 Lb break and 3 BB's was the order of the day. I would get the bait down quick and set the shot so as the lightest of lifts would set the bait on its downward journey again. Lowering the tip would see the maggots wiggling on the spot once more.

Grayling can be notoriously shy at times but once induced on a feeding frenzy, it is hard to see where this reputation comes from when their ability to jump on the hook one after the other in some sort of strange suicidal pact comes into play.

Don't get me wrong. All it takes is for one fish to see you or one noisily landed fish crashing around or for a boot to scrape the gravel at the side of the stream and they would retire to thier hiding hole. Once there, it is very hard to tempt them back out and a journey home may seem like the best option.

It was quite possible on a good day to take 12 or so fish from the same pool over a couple of hours, that is, if you sat still long enough with your assets freezing.

When the fish were not willing to show themselves, the match rod would come out to play. Sometimes when the fishing was slow I would use the little clear Carp wagglers used for stillwater fishing as these offered very little resistance and coloured floats can spook fish all day long.

I would again feed the pool lightly, then drop the float straight down into the head of the run with a single maggot on a size 20 hook. More often than not the float would travel all the way to the bottom of the run before dipping confidently under the surface. This action could be performed again and again leading me to believe the Grayling were following the bait from somewhere further up the run. Maybe they wanted to inspect these freebies but gobbled them down once they realised they would disappear into the next patch of fast flowing water. Im not sure but I could'nt see a dozen or so fish couped up at the tail end of the pool.

I always thought they fought rather elegantly. Hard and determined but without the erratic leaps and misdirected crashes that a hooked Brownie often displays. I think it is when the huge multicoloured dorsal fin stands up proudly in defiance and turns the fish side on into the current that shows the Grayling to be a wise and worthy contender. Even in the Winter they are quite able to string a fight out for what seems like an eternity.

I usually returned all the Grayling I captured but if the numbers reached the teens, a fish would definately find its way to the dinner table. A fine eating fish I always thought but too rare in numbers to make a habit of.

I have not fished for Grayling in quite a while but all this talk of Winter has me buzzing again. Although I am now a Piker at heart, I find all that tea making a little demanding so the Grayling may see me creeping around again once more when the frost sets in.

Ahhhh....almost makes you look forward to less favourable weather.

[Alan Pearce]

I spent a wonderfull day on a Southern chalk stream two weeks ago long trotting for grayling. The river was low and clear following a few days of frost. Most of the grayling were hold up in the few deeper bends and we had a field day. Between two of us we had approx 120 fish half of which weighed over the pound mark, plenty of big one's and four over two pounds. Constant steady little and often feeding with maggots and corn was key,plus keeping our distance from the shoals and depending on the long trot to avoid disturbing the other fish present. Hook a fish, bury the rod top and wind the fish clear of the shoal, before playing it to the net, was the order of the day. Great fishing, centre pin reel, match rod, 3lb main line well greased with a 2lb hook link and 4 swan shot loafer float - magic.

 

Alan.