Thymallus Time

I was intending to fish further up the Wharfe, but other matters had delayed me so I compromised. I'd not fished for grayling here, but had caught the odd when trotting for dace and a few others had told me of good catches when you find them.  By the time I'd got to the river the sun had poked it's head out and I would be facing straight into it. My clip-ons, along with the action cam and neoprene socks were still at home on the kitchen top where I'd pit them to remind me to take them with me. There were half a dozen red kite sailing about on the chilly downstream breeze as I got to my swim. I spent a good while trying to get a photo with the phone, but just couldn't get close enough to get them. There were, though, a few snowdrops fighting their way up through the flood debris.

The tactics were to be the same as yesterday. A size 18 under a 3.5g loafer as this works well in swims between two and six foot and easy to adjust the depth of when roaming. This time I got the correct reel with the lighter line on. Bait was red and/or yellow maggot(s). A lot of people recommend red when fishing for grayling, but I've found days when yellow has worked better. I started off fishing a quick run down the inside. When this didn't produce I waded out to a deeper run further out. This produced a little grayling to double yellow maggot. I then waded back to get my landing net as trying to bring fish to hand with a 15' rod is not always easy as you lose some control as you raise the rod towards vertical. Three more, of the same rather small size, followed before things went quiet. The next swim produced nothing after half an hour so I stopped for a spot of lunch and to warm my toes up.

After lunch, in a different swim i again tried the faster inside line for a while before wading out to fish the faster current near the far bank. Second trot down I was in and it was something heavy. Initially a steady wind of the reel had it coming towards me hugging the bottom. It then headed back down stream, slowly and deliberately before kitting across the river. It had to be a barbel as it headed behind a downstream willow. I assumed it was now snagged as it didn't want to move. I paddled back across the river and then downstream past the tree to find it satin a patch of dead vegetation. I could see the double maggots next to the stripey tail of a nice double figure pike. As I inched towards it it started to move again, as it did it transferred the hook to the vegetation and swam off. It had shown me how far the Greys rod could bend, but I don't think I could of landed it even if the hook had stayed in. It had sum some thirty yards down and across with out me having any real control over it.

I paddled back to the swim as I couldn't get back up the bank behind the tree. despite all the cuffuffle, or maybe because of it, a pod of grayling ha moved into the swim. Slightly large than previous and preferring red to yellow. Eight fish followed over the next three quarters of an hour. I was one of those swims though. Half a dozen trots would go along OK, the next half dozen would pick up leaves or twigs from the bottom. I gave up when it went quiet and I could no linger feel my toes. Also the sun had dropped behind the trees making the breeze feel even colder.

I must say I'm quite pleased with the Greys. The tip is soft enough to stop grayling being bumped off even though I was using barbless hooks. I'll have to have a go with a heavy, five or six swan avon to see if the tip collapses when striking, but that's for another time.