Grayling On The Rise

After some recent heavy rain it was going to be a close call as to whether the planned fishing on the River Wye & River Irfon was going to be a bit of a struggle. Myself and fellow club member Nick had arranged to visit both these rivers on Saturday and after walking along both rivers on Friday evening I was hoping that some of the colour would drop out overnight.

When we met in the morning the Irfon was looking almost perfect but the Wye was still carrying quite a bit of colour but the level was was OK to enable some relatively safe wading on the gravel areas.

The plan was to fish the Irfon first then head to the Wye in the afternoon giving it a chance to improve a little...those plans went out the window when we spotted rising fish in one of the pools we were observing on the Wye, too much temptation to resist so we carefully waded in and began to pick off the rising fish one by one. It turned out to be quite a large pod of Grayling and on a big river like the Wye this could be in excess of a couple of hundred fish.

We later headed on to the River Irfon where the Grayling were also eager to feed of the surface and dry fly tactics were again taking many of the Grayling...Grffiths Gnat & Caddis patterns doing most of the damage.

Sunday afternoon I returned to the River Irfon but this time a fair bit further upstream and found the river in perfect autumn condition after a heavy frost overnight, Grayling were again willing to take flies off the top so I started with a size #18 Griffiths Gnat which had been very successful the day before but the Grayling were reluctant to take it so I switched to a caddis pattern tied by Nick and given to me the day before.

It seemed to make the difference with many decent sized Grayling finding it irresistible. It floated extremely well in the faster turbulent water and Grayling were taking it with some aggression.

A very successful weekend on rivers that a day before would have been almost impossible to fish.

Memorable End To The Season

I was itching to get back to some small stream fishing after a few weeks of flooded rivers and other commitments that keep me otherwise occupied. I had to visit Fishtec in Brecon early on Saturday morning and decided to fill the rest of the day indulging in my favourite passion.

I choose to target a small Usk tributary that I'd never fished before although I had previously walked along parts of it and spotted fish rising fish so anticipation was high. Conditions were absolutely perfect with plenty of water still in the river after the recent floods.

This river had everything I liked in small stream fishing...fast riffles, deep pools, plenty of cover and as I soon found out a good concentration of wild brown trout.

Nearly all of the likely looking places yielded some pristine wild brownies with some fish measuring up to 15". Moving up stream was slow due to the sheer amount of 'fishable' water and the willingness of the trout to take what I offered.

The trout were some of the prettiest I've had the pleasure to catch with many red spots and also bright red markings on the tip of the Adipose fin and the lower side of the Caudal fin.

After working my way through a few different fly combinations I settled on a duo method comprising of a #18 klinkhamer with a #16 tungsten bead head pheasant tail nymph below fished at depths between 12"-36" depending on the depth of water.

All this as well as a spot of Grayling fishing on the River Irfon and a short spell Salmon fishing on the River Wye (no hook ups unfortunately) made for a very memorable weekend.

To stock or not?

Recent outings have been based around the Rivers Wye & Irfon mostly fishing the 'French Nymphing' style, last weekend I choose a more gently flowing stretch of the upper River Wye and after seeing a few fish rising I opted for the Duo approach fishing a caddis for the dry with a tungsten beadhead nymph below.

I started connecting with quality fish immediately but here's the problem (and the reason for this post) the majority of the fish were stocked fish and of a really poor quality with little fight in them due to the lack of properly formed fins.

A couple of the stocked fish suffering from deformed fins

I have fished this bit of water many times but never encountered such a glut of 'stockies' in fact this is normally a very productive area with lots of natural fish to catch (I once caught 50+ fish here including Grayling, Trout & Dace!). I did manage to also hook a few of the natural residents but felt they were struggling to compete for the offerings.

My point really is: what is the purpose of introducing so many of these large stock fish to a relatively healthy river when they are obviously going to be competing for most of the natural food normally taken by the wild population.

Small...but beautifully formed wild Brown Trout

The enjoyment level from an angling point of view is very short lived and you end up trying to find ways not to catch them...with an eventual exit from the river in frustration. Fortunately the stocked fish do not seem to stray to far from the place they were introduced so I will now target the areas well away and get back to nature.

A French Lesson

I often hear about new techniques or methods in fly fishing that I feel I should perhaps look a little bit deeper into, well 'French Nymphing' was definitely one of those things.

Having witnessed its effectiveness recently during the Commonwealth Fly Fishing Championships I decided it was time to put it to the test. I purchased the necessary bits and pieces and read what information was available on the Internet...most of which was obtained from The FlyFishingPoint website which is a great starting point for anyone interested in learning more about this style of fishing.

A long rod with a soft action is key to maximising the potential and my 10' 6" #5 was perhaps one or two AFTM ratings too high (going by the number of bounce offs I had), but enabled me to get to grips with the concept.

Target rivers last weekend were the River Irfon & the upper River Wye both in desperate need of some water...both perfect to test the French Nymphing technique. I fished 2 small tungsten head nymphs (#16/18) on a 1.5 metre long tippet which was separated by the hi-viz braided indicator from the 9 metre long tapered leader.

Ideal water to try out 'French Nymphing'

I was nothing short of shocked how this method caught fish from water that you could easily ignore and out of a total of three sessions (including one of my best ever Wye Grayling catches) the results have confirmed to me that this can be a deadly method.

One of two double 'hook ups'  I had from the River Wye

As with all styles of fly fishing it has its day, this is possibly not really a method for slow moving water or small stream fishing with over-hanging trees and snaggy riverbeds...but on its day it will out score most other conventional fly fishing disciplines. Give it a go and see for yourself.

New Zealand In Herefordshire

Approaching this small river in Herefordshire I could tell that my tactics for this Sunday afternoon were going to need a little thought.

I've not seen the River Lugg as low as this for a long time and as I walked downstream I could see that there were plenty of fish in the faster, more oxygenated water but were all nervous and darting for cover at the slightest sound or movement.

The 'New Zealand' style of fishing is basically where a small nymph (#16 or smaller) is tied on to a length of line around 12"-24" long and then tied to the bend of the hook on a dry fly (Klinkhamer works extremely well). The dry fly helps to support the nymph and also acts as an indicator to detect the slightest of takes.

There is a well written article here

Under such situations where the majority of the water is 2ft deep or less this method is deadly because it creates the minimum amount of disturbance and as long as your approach is with stealth the fish will readily take both nymph and dry.

I ended with good quantities of both Trout and Grayling, although I have always found that most of the 'Moms & Dads' of the Grayling world tend to lie in the deeper water where a totally different method is called for...I shall hopefully return soon to try and tempt one or two to give themselves up.

River Edw - Hergest Beat

Saturday saw yet another small stream ramble on the River Edw - W&UF beat R13. I have a bit of a soft spot for this river due to the exceptionally pretty location and the abundance of plenty of small fiesty wild trout.

With low, clear water every moment again had to be delivered with stealth but that in itself is part of the enjoyment of the day when the reward is a hard fighting fish.

This well marked trout was as big as they got.

The larger fish this little river holds were definately not showing themselves and will wait for a little rain to bring more colour & water before having the confidence to feed during the day.

Female - Calopteryx virgo - Beautiful Demoiselle

Small Stream Overload

Last weekends excursions were based solely around fishing small streams. First up was an early morning start on the river Clun in Shropshire, one of my favourite little rivers due to the fact that it holds a good head of both wild brown trout & grayling allowing for all year round fishing.

The river was holding a little colour after the recent rain which gave the fish that little more confidence to feed freely in the open water. With fish rising from the off the dry fly or duo approach is always a safe as was the case for much of the time, with only a couple of quite moments before I had to retire for a midday fishing meeting at a local hotel.

After the meeting (and a spot of lunch washed down with a cool cider) I headed off with fellow club member Steve to fish another stretch of the same river plenty of rising fish again generating a decent amount of sport right up 'til dusk. The long day ended with a drive to Mid-Wales ready for my next 'small stream' encounter.

River Clettwr

This was one I'd planned on doing for a while now after walking part of the stretch previously I finally got round to setting a day aside to tackle this wild and rugged small stream.

This is a Wye & Usk Foundation beat that is described in the passport booklet as the following: "This is real mountain stream fishing and a challenge to the most hardy. It can be, however, extremely rewarding to those willing to try! Pure escapism, you won’t know the joys of this stream until you have fished it. Go with a small brook rod and be prepared for a climb". Well I would say that sums up this beat quite well although I would also add that if you intend to fish the whole beat allow yourself a full day, it really is a challenge to get to the end of this beat (and also to find your way back!).

The majority of the stretch runs through a deep valley gorge and is constantly cascading down steep inclines which create dramatic waterfalls and deep pools stuffed full of wild brown trout.

The water is crystal clear and the fish are ultra wary so stealth is key to connecting with these fish. It can't be stressed enough how important this is, most of the false casting is kept to a minimum and normally performed knelt down or squat on a boulder to keep a low profile. If you spook these fish then you might as well carry on to the next pool.

The day was an adventure from start to finish and I eventually returned to the car feeling totally drained but with a sense of achievement that I was able to conquer the fishing and terrain of this beautiful bit of water.