Fishing4fun’s Gaz Malham takes us for a day after grayling on northern rivers.
River Tees There’s a nice short stretch of free water on the Tees at Hurworth, a place which is well known for its grayling fishing. The plan for the day is to fish around a long gravel run which dominates the stretch. Grayling need very oxygen-rich water and gravel runs provide plenty of it so it looks a good area and there are a lot of fish topping just before the faster water confirming this. “You can tell they are grayling,” says Darryl, “they make a messy splash.” This might sound a bit crazy but they are really a bottom-feeding fish and their down-turned mouths mean they have to turn awkwardly in the water to take food from the surface.
He sets up two rods for the session, both 13” float rods with very light, soft actions. The first is coupled with a small cane stemmed 4 x No.6 stick float shotted with a string of No8s, and a barbless size 20 Preston PR23 is attached to a 0.10 hook length. A barbless hook is important when targeting grayling, as they have quite a hard mouth and a barbed hook will often not penetrate properly. Because of the ‘kiting’ nature of the fish when it is on the hook, this leads to a lot of fish getting off. The second rod is set up with a small alloy stem stick and a bulk of No8 shot and 3 No8 droppers. The hook again is a PR23 tied to an 0.12 hook length , this is for fishing the faster water in the gravel with the alloy providing stability.
This is followed by a couple of small brown trout, an occupational hazard when grayling fishing, but no more ladies so he moves downstream 30 yards or so and finds a slightly deeper clearer run which produces a couple more grayling (and a few more trout!) Darryl doesn’t bother loose feeding anything in this fast water, ‘there might only be one or two fish in each hole and you don’t want to risk upsetting them’ he says. Its then up to the deeper pool, well two and a half feet deep to be precise, where it seems there’s a lot of fish to be had. Its easy to get down into the slower water here and Darryl elects to wade in so he can follow the fish around the pool.
The lighter cane stemmed stick float comes into play here in the slower water which can be held back in a more gentle manner. He feeds just two or three maggots every few minutes whilst working the float slowly down the swim. A couple of fish come on the first few runs on the inside of the pool then nothing, wading a few feet further into the river gets another fish, this goes on until he is almost mid river and running the float towards the opposite bank.
Predictably, the fish start to dry up, although there are still fish topping frequently they just don’t seem to want to take a bait below the surface, Darryl reckons he might catch more with a fly rod today! In reality autumn is not the best time of year to be fishing for grayling, as the leaves fall from the trees so do the bugs and spiders that cling to them, more often than not they become preoccupied with these.
To make matters worse a father and son dressed in bright white tops turn up on the opposite bank and start skimming stones right across the river, one of which is a bit too big to be skimmed and lands in the water with a big splash a few feet away from Darryl! They clear off after a few nasty looks and another small grayling succumbs about ten minutes later. It starts to look ok again but then a group of ‘youths’ turn up and decide to start wading around, fully clothed, up to their waists in the river, its late October and the water is freezing! This pretty much kills the fishing, so much for a quiet day by the river. At least there’s a lesson learned- don’t go fishing on public areas of river in the school holidays! So we call it a day after 10 small grayling to around half a pound and look forward to a trip to the little River Nidd in Yorkshire.
He takes us up to the top end of the stretch where there is a short gravel run, surrounded by trees and with the babbling sound of the water it looks and feels idyllic. Just one rod is set up today, again a light soft-actioned match rod with a small Dave Harrell lignum stick float taking just six or seven No8 shot. Darryl had noticed when walking upstream that the topping fish were all along the far bank, although the river is only 30 feet wide or so, the extra weight in the lignum would aid casting in tight spots. The hook is again a PR23 but this time in a smaller size 22 with an 0.08 hook length.
“When I came here years ago you used to get a lot more bites on really light gear, in fact we used to use 3/4 lb perlon hook lengths” says Darryl. Working the swim for 20 minutes proves biteless but just as he’s thinking of moving on the float quickly dips and he strikes into the first fish of the day, a couple of minutes later a stunning grayling nudging a pound comes to hand. ‘That was probably the only fish in the swim’ he says and a few more biteless minutes confirm this. Heading down stream he has 20 minutes in a spot where we had seen a few fish rising on the way down. There are a few bites to be had here but only from trout, which flap about but don’t run when hooked despite being a decent size, of around a couple of pounds.
He works his way right down to the bottom of the length where the river is a bit deeper and finds a swim that is positively alive with topping fish. Casting over towards the far bank gets a big stockie brownie almost straight away but a few more chucks later and a fish is on that doesn’t splash and thrash around which can only be a grayling. Not quite as big a fish as the last one at around 12 ounces but a lovely example of the ‘lady of the stream’ with the beautiful blue-grey tinge across its back. This proves to be the second and last grayling of the day as the light starts to fade, not a busy day but never the less its good to be out in such pleasant surroundings catching one of the prettiest fish around, makes a change from Woodlands!
So as the weather is getting colder and bites from the usual suspects are getting harder to come by why not have a go for a few ladies, get it right and you can have good fishing on the coldest of days.
Top Spots for Grayling Fishing
Upper River Tees- Free fishing available at Hurworth Place and Barnard Castle, Thornaby AA and Ferryhill Anglers both have water available on yearbooks.
River Swale- Leeds AA water at Catterick is available on a day ticket on the bank or a yearbook, 1 ¼ miles of river with a few big grayling to be had.
River Nidd- Free fishing in the centre of Knaresbourgh and lots of day ticket water available above the town.
River Wharfe - Grayling can be found as far down as Boston Spa but they reside in greater numbers farther up Wharfedale. Leeds AA have four miles of the river at Pool which is well worth a look, day tickets can be obtained at the petrol station in pool.
Top Tips for Grayling- Use barbless hooks, they provide better penetration and actually provide a better hold than barbed hooks.
Look for shallow gravely ‘bubbly’ runs that are well oxygenated during mild spells and deeper pools when the weather is really chilly.
Keep moving until you find the fish, sometimes you might land on quite a few fish in one spot but more often than not you will only get a couple from a swim at the most.
Keep feeding to a minimum of two or three maggots every few chucks at most. Sometimes it is better to feed nothing at all.
Grayling are a very oxygen-hungry fish and wear themselves out when hooked, as such the better stamp fish need to be released carefully back into the water in a similar manner to barbel. Hold the fish by the tail pointing it upstream, supporting it under its belly if needs be, and wait till you feel it getting its strength back then gently let it go.
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