Join Howard Colmer on a day's grayling fishing
Now, the title of this article may bring back memories of the BBC television series, A Passion for Angling. It was a delightful collection of six episodes documenting two men’s obsession, or possibly addiction, to fishing and sharing in each other’s achievements.
Alas a second series was never commissioned, nor has any other fishing programme recreated that feeling and, rather cliché, passion. For me, the Midwinter Madness episode was the highlight. The opening scenes comprised a river draped in freezing fog, surrounding trees covered in ice and steam rising off the water. The presenters, Bob James and Chris Yates, were initially searching for grayling. Even now, watching the opening sequence reminds me of my youth catching grayling and dace from a near artic River Itchen below Gaters Mill.
As you may have noticed from my previous article, I am obsessed with grayling. Had I been alive during Frank Sawyer’s era, I would have been seen as an eccentric favouring silver over gold. But for me, fishing for grayling evokes memoires of youthful trips to the river with friends, rods strapped to our bicycle frames and then squabbling over the best spot to fish.
It has been some time since I trotted a float for grayling and I now favour fly fishing for this charismatic species, predominately during late autumn and winter. Those cold, breath-freezing days with the landscape covered in ice, are all important cues to re-enlighten memories and awaken the senses.
My 2016/17 grayling season was opened on the most westerly river in England and with good friend Duncan Raynor. Duncan, and he will not mind me saying this, is a trout bum but can be persuaded to fish for grayling on occasions. Meeting up in a service layby adjacent to the river, he was first on scene and as always, wadered up, leaning on a bridge and peering into the crystal clear water below. Bridges and fisherman just go hand in hand. After a quick discussion, we were both off downstream in search of our first autumn grayling of the season.
Now being vertically challenged compared to the six foot plus frame of my companion, it was a struggle to keep up with his big strides down the river bank. Had Duncan finally seen the merits of grayling and could not wait to fish? As we all know, the simple pleasure and excitement of fishing gets us all.
We initially divided and fished two decidedly fishy pools, but to no avail. Grayling in this river are particularly sparse, and you have to work for them. They are not particularly big either, but this makes the challenge even more exciting and when rewarded, the satisfaction more profound.
Fishing Euro nymph style, we proceeded to share a rod upstream where I caught my first grayling on a black and purple nymph at the tail of a deep pool. Back slapping and hand shakes followed before photographing the fish in the splendid autumnal colours.
Duncan also had a beautifully marked grayling towards the upstream boundary, and before long our day was coming to a close. Early autumn by the river can be a wonderful experience, with last autumn being particularly colourful and resplendent.
Winter grayling fishing is my particular favourite, but alas trips this season have been rather scarce. Cancelled sessions due to work commitments, poor weather conditions and unexpected events have limited my winter fishing to a single, uneventful trip to the Exe in January.
As I write, we are into the last remaining days of the season, but my grayling flies having already been stored. However, during the close season fly boxes will be replenished and new patterns tied in eagerness for June 16th and the winter season ahead.
But in the meantime, the 15th March approaches and my attention will soon turn to trout. A worthy substitute if ever there was.