Feedback & Reports

5 x grayling 15-18 inches on various dries. Rained pretty well all day but the river level never moved. Quite early on DB was prospecting with a JG Emerger and took a superb cock grayling of 18 inches. Not long after, I found another taking olive duns trapped in a seam and got it to take a Grayling Steel Blue. That proved to be an almost identical 18 inch male fish, with shoulders like a bull. We both agreed that it didn't much matter what happened after that. In fact the fishing proved relatively difficult for the rest of the day; we got three more grayling of 15 inches but they seemed to be individuals rather than part of a shoal. Plus some out of season trout to 13 inches.

5 Grayling

Another warm day with little wind to bring down the leaves. Only the odd rise, a few sedges around and lots of needle flies. Caught lovely trout at 42 cm, it put up a great struggle, and one grayling 40 cm, both on floating black klinkhammer. High visibility fly because the sun was a nuisance for the LH bank. This beat could do with some trimming of canopy to provide more access.
The bull is still in the field, very quiet. A cormorant turned up again at the same spot where there were fish rising. I have a distinct impression now that there are fewer grayling aroung. A most enjoyable day nevertheless.

1 Trout, 1 Grayling

River still high and coloured but dropping during the day. Three anglers fished hard all day for 5 small trout, but in the last hour managed three decent grayling to 1lb 8ozs, all taken on a large dry sedge.

5 Trout, 3 Grayling

Quite a slow days fishing in reasonable conditions. Grayling difficult to locate, except when they were rising, which was not very often. Two of us managed 4 grayling between 12" and 14", 7 smaller trout to 11" and one cracker of a trout of 15", caught on a heavy nymph fished deep and slow through one of the deep pools. The bull is quite a large one and is free roaming between fields 4, 5 and 6. During the morning, the lambs in the field on the other bank got quite excited. One of them jumped into the water, closely followed by two labradors. The lamb was swimming around the pool, with the dogs trying to grab it by the back of the neck. I chased the dogs away, and the lamb climbed out on the wrong bank. Coincidently, there were two recently drowned lambs further down the beat. With the army sounding like they were prepating for WW3, it was an eventful morning.

7 Trout, 7 Grayling

River levels and colour excellent. Not much rising at first till about 11.00, then a few showing. Hooked fish on on dry grey sedge which put up a great struggle - a superb grayling about 2lbs. It took ten miutes of holding in current for the fish to recover but eventually it swam off strongly. This was to prove the only fish of the day. I found patch of rising fish lower down but could only touch a few. By now the sun from a cloudless sky had put the fish down. A cormorant came flying beneath the tree canopy like a flying fortess, saw me, pulled joy stick back and soared up. A bit later a merganser turned up for its supper, also obviously knowing where the fish were. It adds to my impression that predation is high this saeson.
Altogether an enjoyable and instructive day. By the way there is a large charolais bull in field no,5. Its calves and harem are there too. It got a bit restless and snorty when I walked close to it. Lovely beast, I told it!!

1 Grayling

A still, cloudy autumn day with the Cilmery guage at 0.43m. Very little fly, apart from a few small olives, and hardly a rise. Had taken six grayling in peaceful tranquility until early afternoon, and then nothing. Might it just be possible that that might have had anything at all to do with the disturbance caused by the slow passage, and then the stopping, of six large trespassing canoes, complete with noisy youngsters and their leaders, that appeared at that time? Grayling all from 14-17" and all bar one taken on a small, dark olive emerger. The other taken bugging on a flashback PTN and it weighed nearly 2.25lb. Where are the smaller fish these days? Hiding from canoes maybe! Went home earlier than intended - I can't imagine why!

6 Grayling

Water level had subsided and cleared from yesterday. Lots of small fish rising but untouchable. One 10" brown trout caught (and released) on CDC nymph in a riffle. River was full of fry.

1 Trout