A frosty morning trotting for grayling on a local river

After last weekends success with grayling, I decided to try the same tactics on a different river. Chris had a similar idea, and we had soon hatched a plan to meet up on Sunday morning. From the response I got when I mentioned about meeting up at 6.30am, I can only assume he wasn't aware of such a time in the morning!

Anyway, after meeting up and walking to the peg I had the best start possible when I realised that line had been gently peeling off my centrepin for the last 150m of walking - at least I knew the way back to the car now.

The fishing was slow to begin with, but regular changes of pegs soon had us both hitting into the odd grayling or suicidal trout. Mr Vimes had 3 grayling to my 2, of a decent stamp as well, and vice versa with the trout. 

It was a good morning, hard work but a nice bend in our light float rods. And as for the scenery...

Grayling fishing with the pin after the first frost

I was on my way back from the lakes going over the pennines and I drove passed the river Greta and the upper tees, and saw signs to the upper swale, and I just started thinking about grayling, especially given the frosts. A few brownie points later I had my pass stamp for a few hours on the river, armed with a pouch full of maggots, float rod and centre pin and chest waders. A grayling trotter float, 3.2lb drennan float fish and size 16 Kamasan B911x finished off the rig.

After a few small trout, which were quickly photo's and released, I eventually hit into a very solid fish, clearly a grayling and a good one at that. What a fight on the centrepin, and I was chuffed once it was eventually landed at 1lb 10oz, my second best grayling to date...

Nothing else happened on this peg, so I wandered on.

 

The next peg was ideal, two separate flows of water causing a big crease in the current, which just shouted out to be trotted. 

 

Second cast and i had a fish on, another clonker and a long drawn out, twisting sort of fight. Landed, and at 1lb 8oz, another good grayling...

Next cast, same again, this time at 1lb 5oz...

It went quiet after that, so another move soon had me hitting into a very good grayling, this time at 1lb 9oz 

A final fish of 1lb 2oz rounded the short session off nicely!

I was a happy man!