Xmas Grayling - The Hard Way!

I am officially, heartily sick of wet weather and English winters like this current one. How on earth is one to justify deploying a hip flask containing something warming in the absence of frost and near-zero temperatures on a day's grayling fishing? On a more serious note, it has been a pretty miserable last few months (and Christmas) for those in parts of the UK affected by the severe and life-threatening flooding.

My Christmas on a personal level was peaceful and enjoyable. Sadly, a planned trip north of the border had to be postponed as we realised we had insufficient time to justify a 24 hour round-trip for the sake of a three-day stay. This left Mrs. Fisheswithfly&walkswithborderterrier and me with Ellie and Hamish as Christmas companions, remaining at home. This also meant that I could schedule in a grayling day on the Itchen during my time off before New Year.

So, on Thursday I headed to my favourite stretch of the Itchen, more because I'd booked and paid for the fishing than that the day invited one to angle "on the fly". A grey, overcast morning was bad enough but when the rain started pouring as I arrived at the beat, I realised that the wind was also gusting very strongly and regularly. This was not going to be easy fishing, as I was pig-headedly intent on fishing a "duo" rather than a heavily-weighted nymphing "rig". Having said that, most of the beat suits the duo, but the weather may have rendered nymphing the better option.

The water lacked its usual gin-like quality, clarity-wise, while the gusting wind and low light levels combined to make sight fishing impossible. There was also a nasty, chilly "edge" to the wind which rendered it far from pleasant to be outside, and I cast my mind back to the roaring wood burner and range of single malts that I'd left behind.

A-prospecting I went; I could make out the gravelly patches in between the weed beds, and - wind permitting - I targeted these areas. Usually successful flies like the RNPTN and others attracted not a touch; in fact, my Parachute Adams attracted some offers from rising fish, which were actually withdrawn before I could respond. These were, I suspected, grayling rather than out-of-season trout.

I decided to abandon my usual nymphs, and instead go for something a bit "blingier". Again, my camera and photography skills fail me but I think you'll get the idea of a light coloured, tungsten beaded quill bodied nymph.

Complete with a "red neck"!

Anyway, this went on about 4ft of Stroft tied to the eye of the Para Adams, rather than the hook bend. I was now at the point of being cold, dispirited and a little desperate to catch at least one grayling in December (although this was only my second trip).

Lo and behold, within my first few casts at the end of a drift as I was lifting out to recast I felt some resistance. Without a doubt, the ol' inadvertent "induced take" had saved the day and I found myself attached to a respectable-sized grayling. I cannot tell you how pleased I was to see something piscine had eaten my nymph, and to have some return to show for my morning's effort!

Not a monster, but Xmas grayling nonetheless.

I can't quite recall exactly how I was holding the fish to produce the above shot, but the fish obliged with another snap of the release back into the wild.

Wild? It was livid!

This picture gives some idea of how discoloured the water was - normally a shot like this would really show the gin-like clarity - or vodka-like, if that is your preferred tipple! Anyway, once again I'm left to admire the colouring of the grayling and I am determined to get a better camera with which to do them justice.

Breathing a sigh of relief, at this point I tackled down as I was due for a visit from my son and daughter later in the afternoon. As I walked back to the car, the wind was dropping, the sun was breaking through, and I spotted a number of grayling on the fin. Resolutely, I kept walking and resisted the urge......

Tales from the Riverblank and a Malt Moment

I'm a big fan of employing the services of professional fly fishing instructors. About a year ago now, courtesy of a referral from Darren Lewis, I had the pleasure of making Jim Williams' acquaintance. Jim helped me a lot with regards to improving my casting, introduced me to fishing the "duo" method and nymphing with indicators..

Earlier in the week, Tuesday to be precise, I returned to Wherwell with Jim to enjoy another day of guiding and instruction in the art that is fishing for winter grayling on a Hampshire chalkstream. Wherwell is one of southern England's premier grayling fisheries and draws anglers from near and far, although on Tuesday we had the place pretty much to ourselves bar a couple of other well-insulated souls braving the cold.

Jim's blog on the day's proceedings accurately journals the challenge we were presented with. We stayed highly mobile, looking for any sizeable fish to target, but struggled to find any worth a cast for much of the time. We had an opportunity, though, to brush up on a variety of different approaches and for some further, slightly more advanced, casting tuition. It is interesting to cast one's mind back a year and conclude that Jim doesn't stand still. His attention to detail is exemplary, and he continues to evolve and improve the techniques that he teaches.

I've taken away some "homework", to do with a particular nymphing rig, which I will tuck into over the Christmas break. Some very good tips and hints were exchanged - well, Jim gave them to me - about not needing to set up two rods but still being able to change rapidly from duo to nymphing and back again  with the least amount of fannying around. I'm sure that, left to my own devices, I'll be able to reintroduce an element of unnecessary "fannying", as is my way............

Whilst we "blanked" in terms of grayling, contact with fish was made. One brownie in the morning, clearly a stockie, meant that we could relax a little. Shortly thereafter we did spot a decent grayling - the picture of me kneeling down on Jim's blog isn't in supplication to the River Gods but trying to avoid my shadow spooking a lunker.

The early afternoon was mainly remarkable for the swan fighting, resulting in the death of the weaker of the two combatants. I was struck on the one hand by the brutality of this, and I have no idea whether this was a territorial dispute or some kind of "love triangle", but on the other hand reflected on nature's "survival of the fittest".

Shortly after the swan murder I found myself in possession of a seriously bent rod with a seriously big and angry trout having eaten my fly, but the violent head shaking must have created enough slack for it to slip the hook, and t'was lost.

Later in the afternoon my mood was lightened by an enthusiatic take on the nymphing rig from a beautiful wild brown of about half a pound. As well as putting a really respectable bend in my rod for a fish of that size, it made me smile to see a wild fish on a stretch of river where one only usually encounters stocked trout.

The latter part of the afternoon was spent nymphing in deep pools, which produced a couple of takes that didn't stick, no excuses - my bad. Eventually we lost the light and had to pack it in and depart. I know that Jim felt it was a disappointing day as we really struggled, but we weren't the only ones to find Wherwell a challenge this week.

So, next weekend I'm back on that delightful stretch of the Itchen, with another day lined up in between Christmas and New Year. I also have a rather interesting selection of malt whisky to sustain me through the festive period and beyond......omitting the word "single" as Monkey Shoulder is actually a rather good blended malt.

Aperitif through to after dinner/ book-at-bedtime

Wishing everyone a peaceful and joyous Christmas and a prosperous New Year, as this could be the last entry for 2012.

Allt Dearg Burn - Small Stream Trout and Wonderful Malt!

I had a pretty ropey trout season, as referred to previously. The weather was poor last summer, and seemed to be especially so whenever I attempted to wet a line. This was frustrating, but I had one highlight that sustained me through to what's proving a decent grayling season so far, and I thought I'd share this. With Christmas approaching, and not everyone interested in grayling, I hope this will amuse and entertain on a cold winter evening.

It's become a tradition that my wife and I holiday in Scotland. Following a visit on honeymoon to the Isle of Harris in 2007, we'd been back each year since. Now this is a long way from the New Forest and since 2008, in possession of at least one dog, copious amounts of wet weather gear, walking boots and fly fishing tackle, we've driven there via the Isle of Skye and a ferry crossing.

This year was different, with my mother and father-in-law having moved from The Lizard in Cornwall to Edderton, near to Bonar Bridge, Dornoch Firth and the marvellous Balblair distillery. We would be going to stay with Ted and Judy instead of making our annual visit to Harris for our holiday this year, and I was intrigued to hear that not only did a burn run through the newly-acquired former croft, but there were trout in it.

As the end of August approached, it was time for us to acquire a new roofbox, work out how to attach this to our Mini Countryman, fill it (and the rest of the car) full of "stuff", load up the dogs and head north. This would be a 12 to 13 hour drive on the Saturday of the August Bank Holiday weekend, but for me the distance travelled is part of the attraction of Scotland. The wilderness feels special for someone like me that works in the City of London and lives in a fairly populous neck of the woods.

"Ted and Judy's burn" is the upper reaches of Allt Dearg - which the Balblair distillery uses as its water source. Reports indicated one or two points at which the burn would be fishable, and I was particularly intrigued by the "bridge pool", being not only the most accessible but also the "troutiest" part of the whole beat.

Invitingly trouty - looking upstream

..it's behind you! The view downstream

As a small stream "novice" I decided to focus on this pool as I had seen splashy rises plus a few other signs of fish in residence, and the remainder of the beat was quite overgrown. In the picture below, my rod is pointing roughly at where I'd seen fish rising and this was the main area I would target with my flies.

The "Bridge Pool" - a rod's eye view - early September

I was looking forward to using my Greys X-Flite 7ft 6in 3wt, which would be eminently suitable for this pool.

For most of our stay the water levels were healthy and a reasonable flow of current through the pool suggested different approaches. The best part about this was having a trout stream 200 yards from the front door, and being able to grab my rod to head out for half an hour of fishing before dinner.

My first attempt was on just this basis - time to kill before dinner. So I set up, attaching a 7.5ft tapered leader, and for some reason selecting a blue winged olive. It just spoke to me from the fly box, so on it went. I suspected that presentation would be more important than an exact imitation, and I was proved right. I was able to get a nice, drag free "drift" under the overhanging branches and into the corner of the pool, and after a couple of rises and false alarms, the olive was taken and I gently landed and released a wonderful little trout of a few inches.

I can honestly say I've never been as delighted by a fish coming to hand, and being able to walk back up to the house for a glass of wine, with fishy tales, and one of Judy's awesome dinners to follow.

As I grew in confidence, I fished other parts of the pool. Roll casts up to just short of the bridge proved successful, as did on other occasions attaching a red necked PTN  to the bend of the dry fly and fishing a "duo". This method proved effective one evening with three fish taking the nymph in the space of 15 minutes - I packed in after that as I figured the pool needed a rest.

All part of the small stream experience?

On the one hand, I'm sad that I didn't get at least one picture of these wee trout. I was more intent on getting them swiftly to hand, unhooking and releasing them quickly. So, the only photo I have of something I "caught" is the one above, which my wife took. I am pleased to report that flies and tippet were all safely retrieved.

Towards the end of our holiday, there was little rain so the water dropped and the flow lessened. I'd had my fun with the "bridge pool", but was able to spot a larger tout (probably all of 8 inches!) skulking under the bridge. Who knows, maybe next time I'll catch a monster....

By the way, if you've never tried Balblair but you like your single malt soft, flowery, honeyed and heathery, then it is highly recommended. A nice Christmas treat!

Hamish at One Year Old (belatedly)

Well, back to Border Terrier-related matters for the moment. Hamish last made an appearance in April - Easter, if I remember rightly - at 6 months old. As the title says, in a slightly dilatory or (some might say) downright tardy fashion, here is a short entry about The Boy. A year and a bit old now, but what a handsome young buck he's turned into.

Post- wash n brush up, Ellie still being dried

Currently, Hamish is undergoing extra training to try and ensure he doesn't run off when out on walks. We've lost him two or three times, now, and have been reliant upon some kind people to take charge of The Lost Boy and see that he was safely returned.

Hamish and Ellie continue to get along really well, and we are all a little spoilt living where we do, in the New Forest area. Being not too far from the coast, we have variety in our walks but usually default to the forest.

On the prowl!

The training is going well with Hamish. He is an attentive soul now, and his recalls are so good so often that copious amounts of treating are the result.......

Big dog!

This last picture, whilst not being of the greatest quality, serves to illustrate that Hamish has finally grown into his paws. He is quite big, and leggy with it. Ellie looks quite petite alongside him. Oh, and Ellie continues to be Ellie, the most balanced, loving and low-maintenance of dogs.

We retain hopes that Hamish will be so, too, one day.

To finish, sadly we received news that Marley - of twitter, blogosphere and general all-round  good eggedness - passed away this week. Our thoughts are with Marley's family at this time, and it is hard to put into words the amount of pleasure that we've derived from one Border Terrier's tweeting and blogging over the last two years or so. Rest in peace,  @marleyterrier, and God bless your hoomans.