Ladies day
Posted: Thu Nov 30, 2017 10:38 pm
A good days fishing comprises of two things,one is getting to catch up with friends and the other is catching fish so choosing the river earn would give us plenty of chat time considering it’s past form.
Our two previous visits to this venue were dogged by bright sunshine and low water,not good conditions for catching grayling.i doubted this occasion would be any different considering the forecast was for bright sunshine with a north westerly breeze,don’t you just wish that for once the weatherman would get it wrong!!!
We arranged to meet up outside the bailiffs hut,where we could purchase our permits and have long lingering looks at the pictures of past captures that adorn the walls,some of which would make the eyes water more than the cold wind that greeted us on our arrival.
After exiting the ice box or bailiffs hut we quickly set up the tackle,had a natter and headed for the bridge that we would have to cross in order to reach the best bank and on crossing we were surprised by the river level,it was high with a slight peaty colour to it,but high water comes with a price,fast and deep,the river now resembled something that wouldn’t look out of place in North America and with beavers now introduced in this part of the country it had even more of that feel to it.
Rab and I headed up to the weir that would be our starting point while Fraser chose the pool immediately below.
Our swim was wide with slower water over the far bank,the main flow on our bank.
A red tag on a dropper about 12inches above a baited hook float fished would be the order of the day with all the shot bulked just above the dropper.i sensed the need to hold the float back in such conditions and the 5AAA float would work great in the main current.
Rab was fishing the same set up but Fraser just went with straight maggot.
We ran our floats down the crease between fast and slow flow but it was hard going with changes in current direction pushing the float in all directions,presentation not the best so Rab started to cast to the slower water on the far side but the fast water was dragging his float.
It’s hard to imagine how hard it can be for a river novice to understand how to control their float but after a few pointers he was fishing well,mending the line to stop the drag and holding back now and then.not long after,his float dipped and he was into a little sea trout,not the chosen target but a start and it was a hard fighter in the flow.
Now that he was fishing as well as could be expected in such conditions,I moved down to the next pool where Fraser was,but he had moved too so I now had the run to myself.again this was a big fast run but it slowed nearer the tail and I knew the fish would be there,it was just a matter of how they wanted the bait going through.after a few runs through and no bites I was beginning to wonder,I knew they were there,they had to be,so I decided that on the next run through I would hold the float back as much as I could in order to slow the drift and with a bit of concentration I managed to slow it down as much as possible while still keeping the shot near the river bed.at last the float slid under as a big grayling sipped the red tag.
The fish fought hard in the deep flow,holding in the current due to its raised dorsal,then turning and allowing the current to push it down stream,all the while putting serious pressure on the rod and line.once in the net what I thought was a two pounder turned out to be half that size but I don’t think a two would have fought any harder.with Rab and Fraser now approaching there was no better time to wander downstream.
On the way we saw half a dozen trees that had been cut down by beavers,I mean these were big trees and the gnaw marks looked like they had been done with a 4 inch chisel.we are talking big animals here.i think they are nocturnal creatures,so pointless in trying to spot one in day light.
The next pool would be where Fraser was to hook his first grayling of the day,a nice even flowing glide and he caught it about 40yds downstream of where he was standing,not a dream fish but at half a pound it’s his own pb.
Working down stream it was becoming noticeable that we were only catching one decent grayling from each run,I could only put it down to the fact other anglers were fishing the pools before us,that pattern continued for the rest of the day.
The fish were few and far between but the quality was superb,14 of the fifteen grayling were pound/pound plus,a better day than I was imagining on the journey up.
Unusually the weatherman got it correct and by the time I got home after standing in the cold wind all day,I was as stiff as a board but it was worth it.
Our two previous visits to this venue were dogged by bright sunshine and low water,not good conditions for catching grayling.i doubted this occasion would be any different considering the forecast was for bright sunshine with a north westerly breeze,don’t you just wish that for once the weatherman would get it wrong!!!
We arranged to meet up outside the bailiffs hut,where we could purchase our permits and have long lingering looks at the pictures of past captures that adorn the walls,some of which would make the eyes water more than the cold wind that greeted us on our arrival.
After exiting the ice box or bailiffs hut we quickly set up the tackle,had a natter and headed for the bridge that we would have to cross in order to reach the best bank and on crossing we were surprised by the river level,it was high with a slight peaty colour to it,but high water comes with a price,fast and deep,the river now resembled something that wouldn’t look out of place in North America and with beavers now introduced in this part of the country it had even more of that feel to it.
Rab and I headed up to the weir that would be our starting point while Fraser chose the pool immediately below.
Our swim was wide with slower water over the far bank,the main flow on our bank.
A red tag on a dropper about 12inches above a baited hook float fished would be the order of the day with all the shot bulked just above the dropper.i sensed the need to hold the float back in such conditions and the 5AAA float would work great in the main current.
Rab was fishing the same set up but Fraser just went with straight maggot.
We ran our floats down the crease between fast and slow flow but it was hard going with changes in current direction pushing the float in all directions,presentation not the best so Rab started to cast to the slower water on the far side but the fast water was dragging his float.
It’s hard to imagine how hard it can be for a river novice to understand how to control their float but after a few pointers he was fishing well,mending the line to stop the drag and holding back now and then.not long after,his float dipped and he was into a little sea trout,not the chosen target but a start and it was a hard fighter in the flow.
Now that he was fishing as well as could be expected in such conditions,I moved down to the next pool where Fraser was,but he had moved too so I now had the run to myself.again this was a big fast run but it slowed nearer the tail and I knew the fish would be there,it was just a matter of how they wanted the bait going through.after a few runs through and no bites I was beginning to wonder,I knew they were there,they had to be,so I decided that on the next run through I would hold the float back as much as I could in order to slow the drift and with a bit of concentration I managed to slow it down as much as possible while still keeping the shot near the river bed.at last the float slid under as a big grayling sipped the red tag.
The fish fought hard in the deep flow,holding in the current due to its raised dorsal,then turning and allowing the current to push it down stream,all the while putting serious pressure on the rod and line.once in the net what I thought was a two pounder turned out to be half that size but I don’t think a two would have fought any harder.with Rab and Fraser now approaching there was no better time to wander downstream.
On the way we saw half a dozen trees that had been cut down by beavers,I mean these were big trees and the gnaw marks looked like they had been done with a 4 inch chisel.we are talking big animals here.i think they are nocturnal creatures,so pointless in trying to spot one in day light.
The next pool would be where Fraser was to hook his first grayling of the day,a nice even flowing glide and he caught it about 40yds downstream of where he was standing,not a dream fish but at half a pound it’s his own pb.
Working down stream it was becoming noticeable that we were only catching one decent grayling from each run,I could only put it down to the fact other anglers were fishing the pools before us,that pattern continued for the rest of the day.
The fish were few and far between but the quality was superb,14 of the fifteen grayling were pound/pound plus,a better day than I was imagining on the journey up.
Unusually the weatherman got it correct and by the time I got home after standing in the cold wind all day,I was as stiff as a board but it was worth it.
