Monday 31 October 2016

Exit the King Enter the Lady

Returning a hen fish (approx. 11 lb) 
With the season now over for that magnificent King of fish on the river Eden(close season 15th October - 14th January) we are now turning our attention to the Lady of the Stream, i.e. the Grayling fishing, and hopefully some consistent low water (for a change) throughout the winter months. However, although the salmon fishing continued on the slow side over the last couple of weeks, we still managed to catch a few good fish regardless, and a big thank you goes out to you all (both salmon & trout anglers alike) for some great company on the river bank this season!. 

A 9lb Cock fish for David
Don't worry, all you salmon anglers out there, as the river Eden season starts again on January 15th, (not too far off) and if the last three years are true to form, then we are once again looking forward to a good Spring run. This has previously presented us with some excellent opportunities, affording us the chance to catch some very fresh fish indeed and it will be very interesting to see if this trend continues. I for one will be keeping a close eye on this!

A recent Eden Grayling in the net
That said, now on to the Grayling fishing, and if the forecast is correct we are looking forward to some great weather over the next couple of weeks, so we can get out there and explore this exciting addition to the fly fishing season. In fact we have literally wasted no time as we have already tapped into this excellent resource as you can see from the accompanying pictures. 

An exceptional tail on this one!
Yes, as the weather becomes a little colder, (with an early morning frost or two) we look forward to some real success with heavy nymphs, fished as close to the bottom as possible, (which can be very enjoyable) but whilst conditions remain relatively nice, (and a bit warmer) which they are at the moment, then the dry fly should definitely not be overlooked, (which is often the case) or better still, north country spider patterns, anchored with a small nymph on the point can also be very effective. 

Returned to fight another day
The latter is the method we have been using recently, which in the present conditions has certainly out fished the heavy nymph approach, and in all fairness, when conditions are right and you do get the opportunity to adopt this method, it can also be very satisfying to say the least. 

As a few of you have expressed an interest in the Grayling sessions, I know we will be out again soon, trying to get a few more fish, and hopefully some more great underwater shots like the one I took above, so watch this space!