Trout and Grayling will eat just about everything that swims in a river at some time in their lives. Part of the fun of fly fishing is trying to work out ‘what’s on the menu’ on the days that you’re on the river. Not all fishermen it seems, are so keen to battle with this recurring conundrum. Some are happy to whip the fish into a feeding frenzy or simply present them with something so big and appealing that they just HAVE to eat it. Is it skilful? Is it sporting? Does it matter? To me, yes!

 

Todays combination of a free day, good weather and a clear and rapidly dropping local river had me out the door immediately after chores.
Unfortunately, several other club members were of the same mind. I bumped into three other fishermen on a stretch that is no more than 3 quarters of a mile long. To add further insult, they were all “Trotting” for Grayling and as such, were all throwing in handfuls of maggots to get the fish feeding. One gentleman was even baiting up a swim for later!

 

Coarse fishing is of course, allowed by the club and there are only a few die-hards (fools) who persist in making life difficult for themselves with small bendy rods and bits of fluff and tungsten. I am of course, one of them and as all of my usual swims were “well trotted up”, me and my single nymph were up against it!

 

Now I like a bit of Trotting myself but I tend to use flies and restrict it to days when I can’t get into the river Dee because it’s running too high and coloured. Here though, I’m not so sure. One of todays ‘Trotters’ referred to a fish he’d caught several times as a ‘Mug fish’, so I further question the appeal of this method on such a small and intimate river.

 

My mood worsened when I found yet another hideous bat trap. With its barbed treble hook and ridiculously heavy nylon, it guaranteed certain death to anything that might get hooked by it. Possibly left behind by poachers but with rumours of a Sea Trout run, there are now people wielding 12 ft salmon rods around on this tiny little river in the middle of the night! Again, they have the right to do so but personally, I prefer a more genteel approach.

 

On a more positive note, I did meet a gentleman who 30 years ago, was instrumental in introducing Grayling to this lovely river and although I didn’t manage to catch one of them today, I did have some lovely Autumn Trout. Fishing can at once enrage and calm.

To sum up the day in the words of the great and oft quoted Vinnie Jones, “It’s been emotional!”