Elusive Grayling 'Test' Us

It was time for our annual pilgrimage to the famous river Test so we battled our way through the Cotswold snow and ice down country to beautiful Hampshire. The sun had just risen as we arrived and the beautiful wisps of mist were swirling above the river as we chose swims. Martin headed straight for a well-known deep hole that he hoped harboured Pike. Andy passed by him to a rumoured big Roach swim and having bid them 'tight lines' I ambled upstream to a lovely fast glide between fallen trees. I travelled light as mobility is important when trying to find Grayling.
The freezing overnight temperatures meant sport was sporadic but eventually the float sank and the centre pin sang to the tune of a stunning hard fighting Brown Trout. Several more out of season Salmonids followed and although they weren't the target species they were good fun on light tackle.

Several swims were tackled but sadly the Grayling remained elusive, plenty of Trout were up for a maggot or two mind.

Martin fared slightly better on the Grayling front. Using corn he landed three of the target species but was still plagued by the inevitable Trout or two. A couple of times he got exited by movement in his Pike float but sadly they were Trout too!

We will no doubt return next year but hopefully next time the lady of the stream will be more obliging.
Happy New Year to one and all.

River Test Grayling plus the Inevitables

The sun had just risen over the horizon as Martin and I pulled into the car park following our long journey South to fish the Hampshire Test. It was time for what has become an annual pilgrimage to the mecca of Trout fishing however our aim was to plunder the stocks of Grayling that live among the spotties.

The Test is a truly stunning waterway and despite yesterdays torrential downpours it was reasonably clear with just a tinge of colour-perfect conditions. It is truly amazing the different depths of each swim in this river. I began the day in an old favourite spot that is only three feet deep but the weed, which should be long gone by January made trotting impossible so I moved upstream to a swim that was over nine feet deep. With the freezing cold overnight temperatures I fancied some fish could be holed up in the deeper water.

I wasn't wrong and soon enough good numbers of Grayling fell for the maggot hookbaits up to a biggest of 1lb 4oz.

Inevitably Trout were attracted to the loose feed and it didn't take long for the thrashing Salmonids to clear out the swim.

 One interesting visitor to the swim was this Little Grebe, that is their imaginative name, nothing to do with their size and the first I have ever seen/identified- thanks to Google.

A move down stream became imperative and I focused my attention on a lovely long glide close to the confluence of main flow and backwater.

Again plenty of Grayling were landed up to a pound but after a while they didn't get much of a look in as a procession of Trout were landed. To be fair they were good battles on light tackle.

Quite a variety of good looking Brownies with one Rainbow thrown in for good measure. I lost count of the total number of fish caught but it was well over sixty. A great days fishing and a lot more fun than a commercial Carp-filled puddle, Cannot wait until the next visit.

A Test-ing Start

What better way to start the new fishing year than a trip to a premier English Chalk stream namely the river Test. Our anticipation was high as we made the two hour journey into deepest Hampshire fuelled by our memories of a wonderful visit last year jam packed with Grayling and Trout aplenty. Sadly as can often be the case the sequel was not a patch on the original.
On arrival the river looked in prime condition but the heavy overnight rain and its continuation throughout the whole day soon coloured it up and the fishing deteriorated rapidly with the ever increasing loss of water clarity.
Having said that both Martin and I still caught fish, the odd small Grayling and some good conditioned Trout fell to our trotted maggots before lunch.

Now I know they are out of season and there will be a few that think it is a travesty to catch these fish on maggot but I must say I really enjoy it. When the Grayling have not read the script Trout provide thrilling sport on light tackle. They fight hard often leaping clean out the water and as long as they are looked after swim off none the worse for wear.

The only other entertainment on this dull dark day was a friendly little Jenny Wren that flitted around the swim even getting brave enough to land at my feet for a quick feed on the spilled maggots. I have spotted these birds many times before but usually only in fleeting glimpses and never in such close quarters.

A bright point in an otherwise dull day.

2013 Review, 2014 Plans.

Another year has flown by and whilst fishing will never take a back seat in my life there has been occasion when it has been a struggle to fit it in as much as I would like. In fact I did well to fish as much as I did as 2013 saw us finally get planning permission to start to build our dream house(estimated completion March) as well as the birth of our third child, Grace Josephine. My wife is very understanding though but she will never completely understand my angling addiction.
This year has not been easy on the fishing front but there have been some good days and five new personal bests landed, mostly Game fish.

2013 Review

January

I started the year pretty much where 2012 finished, landing double figure Rainbow Trout and teaching myself how to tie flies.

My first pb of the year was this battered old Chub weighing 5lb 12oz. A real old warrior that would have been a 'six' a few years ago but it made a difficult cold day bearable. It fell for my favourite Chub bait cheese paste and was the only fish of the session.

February

A tough month, cold and wet and my results reflected that, a few Dace and Chub landed but nothing special.

March and April

Another couple of tough months, I caught Roach, Rudd, Carp, Perch and Trout but again not worth writing home about.

May

At last the weather changed, I took the kids out for some fun fishing and my Tench campaign started for the year.

I also landed a surprise 13lb Pike while Tench fishing, it took a liking to my worm hookbait and luckily did not bite through the 8lb hooklength and amazingly the size 14 hook held firm as it thrashed and tail-walked around the swim.

June

The Tench campaign continued and included the best of the year weighing 8lb 13oz.

My focus changed to Barbel but also included the inevitable Chub but they are not a nuisance when they include a new pb, so nearly a 'six' but just short at 5lb 15oz.

I also enjoyed a venture down to Avington Trout fishery where I met up with an old friend I had not fished with for over 20 years, the Trout were stunning, scenery spectacular, ticket costly!

July

More Barbel fishing but also my third five pound Chub of the year. On some rivers you could expect 'fives' fairly regularly but they are rare locally to me so I was pleased with the hat-trick.

August

Concentrated mainly on Barbel landing a couple of doubles in amongst several fish.

September

A month of exclusive predator fishing starting with a fifty pound plus Blue Shark and finishing with a 3lb 2oz Perch from the river, my favourite capture of the year.

October

Favourite session in October was a trip to the Wye catching Trout, Chub and Barbel. A stunning river that I hope to explore a lot more of in 2014.

November

An adventurous month where the only line I cast was into the Hampshire chalkstreams, the Test and the Itchen. Landed lots of Trout, Grayling and Sea Trout including personal best Brown Trout and Sea Trout.

December

The highlight was another long distance Grayling trip which finished the year on a high, a 2lb 1oz Grayling being the last fish of 2013.

2014 Plans and Targets

Monotonously I am still chasing a double figure Tench and come the spring that will figure highly in my fishing. A twenty pound Pike is another long term ambition that I will also try to satisfy. My Piking has been neglected over the last couple of years.
I can see the fly rods getting a lot of use this year also and more coarse fish targeted that way.

Happy New Year to one and all, tight lines and screeching reels!!!

Big Welsh Grayling

Afon Irfon

Our final session of the year was another far flung Grayling chasing sortie into deepest darkest Wales. The Afon(river) Irfon starts life on the upper slopes of Bryn Garw(rough hill) in the Cambrian Mountains and flows through the Abergwesyn valley until it meets the River Wye at Builth Wells. It is a spate river that rises and falls rapidly but the majority of the time it is crystal clear, bounded by woodland and has many rapids interspersed with some tempting looking pools and runs. I have fished it a few times now and it has never disappointed me, the fishing is excellent and the scenery stunning.

This trip had to be booked a few weeks in advance which is always a risk, our timing could be out and we could end up being faced with a raging angry tea-coloured torrent or the weather at this time of year could make the long trip impossible. This time we were lucky. The river was swollen three days ago but it had now dropped to almost it's normal level and the clarity was returning. The weather forecast was sunny and dry.
Martin and I set off at 5am, there had been a really harsh overnight frost, the roads were fine where the gritters had been but we still had to take it steady. We arrived in Builth Wells at first light and grabbed some refreshments. The stretch we were fishing is about three miles from Builth up and down a narrow little country road. As we came down the first sharp incline the van started to gather speed. I touched the brakes gently, the wheels lost their grip and we started to slide. I tried to ground the vehicle up a verge on the left hand side but this only succeeded in flicking the back end out and we entered into a full on spin. With the van bouncing off one verge then the other we rotated a full 720 degrees before I managed to straighten it out again just before the bridge at the bottom. Thankfully neither of us were hurt and there was minimal damage to the van.
With the small bridge negotiated we pulled into a lay-by next to another van. The driver was also an angler on his way to Linear but he had skidded down the other side of the hill and thought better of it. He had been watching us coming down the hill with the headlights going round and round, it must have looked hilarious.
From hereon in we had a choice, sit in the van and wait for the road to defrost or slide our way up the hill (on foot!) to fetch grit salt to help it along. The three of us set off and within 3/4 hour we had both slopes gritted enough to finish off our journey. After a slight detour (wrong turning!) we finally arrived at the river well after sunrise.

Abergwesyn Valley

A roving approach trotting maggots was the order of the day but we struggled to either find fish or get them to feed and after a couple of hours we were biteless. Martin was upstream, trotting the sedate edge of a stunning pool when finally he struck into a decent fish. After rolling around and leaping clean out of the water several times the fish finally succumbed and he put the net under a quality Sea Trout of a couple of pounds. Not the target species but it was good to see a fish.

I decided to head downstream to where the water was calm and deep. I figured the bright light and overnight temperature had forced them into that area. I remained biteless for another hour and I was sure fish were in front of me so I turned to desperate measures. I set up the feeder rod-I know it is sacrilege but blanking was not an option after the arduous journey we had undergone to get there!
Within twenty minutes I finally struck into a bite and landed a 1lb 3oz Grayling, a welcome fish but the target was a 'two'.

1lb 3oz

Next cast produced another bite which as soon as I struck felt different. I was using a very light hooklink and putting as much pressure on as I could in the fast flow but the fish was using it's oversized dorsal fin to great effect and at one stage we reached a stalemate. Then gradually the fish started to come towards me, inch by inch. After what seemed an age I slipped the net under the biggest Grayling I have caught for quite some time.

2lb 1oz

On the scales it went 2lb 1oz and equalled my previous personal best for the species.
The rest of the day passed without any more fishy interruptions. This stretch is normally prolific but was decidedly difficult this time. Hopefully the lack of action was down to the conditions and not the creatures that made these tracks that we found!

Surprises on the Itchen

Our successful sortie on the river Test gave us a hankering for some more chalkstream action so we booked a day on the Test's shorter cousin the river Itchen. Like the Test the Itchen is a predominantly Hampshire river rising from the chalk aquifer at the Hampshire Downs then flowing some 28 miles through Winchester before joining the Solent in Southmpton. Most of the river has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest due to the presence of seven species which are Brook Lamprey, Salmon, Otters, Bullheads, White-claw Crayfish, Souther Damselfly and Water Crowfoot. The water quality is superb and must be to support these species. 

Dave arrived first having stayed locally overnight and was just finishing off setting up when we landed. He was doing things the right way, split cane rod and centre pin reel. His target was the same as mine, Grayling but Martin also had a hankering for some oversized Chub which inhabit this stretch alongside the ubiquitous game fish.

We would all begin by trotting floats although some would fall by the wayside and end up chucking out feeders later in the day, sacrilege!

My own set up was simple, 13 foot float rod, fixed spool reel, 5lb line straight through (possibly a little overgunned but you never know what might turn up!) to a strong size 18 hook plus a bucketful of red and white maggots. The approach would be a roving one searching as much water as possible before picking the best swim possible for the last couple of hours of light. This river was new to me and I wanted to fish as much of it as I could in the little time we had available.

The first swim I tried drew a blank but the next one produced a Grayling first trot and the another straight after, both around the pound mark. My Grayling photos are always net shots even if someone is close by to help. They fight as well on the bank as they do in the water and are so wiry that holding them is nearly impossible. It just causes them too much stress and then they end up belly up in the water, pointless trying, they are too delicate!

The fishing continued along that vain taking fish from each swim including some cracking but out of season Brownies. I was really hoping for big Grayling but they were all around the pound mark, the Trout tending to be bigger going to about two pounds in weight.

An interesting aside for me was the Sea Trout. I have never caught any Sea Trout before so an instant personal best was achieved with my first one, weighing twelve ounces. They are impressive battlers going mental when they are hooked but they can quickly ruin a swim for any subsequent fish!

Several more Grayling and Brownies were landed before my mobile rang, well it rang three times before I answered it, I hate my phone with a passion when I am fishing! Turned out to be Martin who had a Salmon in the net that needed photos and weighing. 5lb of stunningly coloured male Silver tourist had fallen for double red maggot.

With the Salmon returned lunchtime was upon us and classy Dave continued his 'doing it the right way' theme as he helped himself to a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon with his sandwiches and bathed in some welcome Winter sunshine,

and a cheeky Robin helped itself to Martin's maggots while his back was turned.

The other boys had dropped down to the lower end of the fishery by the mill race but it turned out not too successful meanwhile I went back upstream to Grayling country. I steadily fed a lovely looking run and after about ten minutes I hooked into an absolute nutter of a Sea Trout that gave me the scrap of the day. Twice it leapt clean out of the water and I ended up walking 30 yards downstream to net it. The flow in the swim was powerful enough to rip the hook out if I had tried to pull it upstream.

Another new pb at 1lb 8oz and another Trout destroyed swim so I decided on one final move. A cracking swim I had dropped in earlier where the main flow was pushed under some trees on the far bank. I landed several more fish including Grayling, Trout, Sea Trout and a bonus Chub of about 2 1/2 lb. I trotted until I could not see the float any more.
A stunning sunset provided a fitting finale to another great day of chalk stream angling, cheers.