Grayling -Techniques, Flies etc. Third Part. So, enough suspense building, what do I actually do? Quite simple, I use a heavier line. I never need to cast more than thirty feet, and so I simply use a thirty-foot piece of #6 weight fly-line. I have no trouble at all hurling leaden monstrosities with such a line, and as I never have more than thirty feet of line out, the rod has no trouble handling it either. I have even used a piece of #8 weight line on a #3 weight rod without any problems at all. So why not use a #6 weight rod to start with? I hear you asking. Because that is not the same thing at all. If one fishes heavy flies on light tippets, then one must perforce use a light rod, as otherwise the rod will simply not provide enough cushioning effect, and the fish will break you. One may use 2 lb tippet on size six long shank woolly buggers with impunity, as long as the rod is light enough to cushion the fight of the fish. One must indeed constantly check the knots on such a leader, and also change the tippet at the slightest sign of abrasion, or after a hang-up etc. But it works perfectly well. Standard tapered leaders are useless for this type of fishing. One may use the butt of such a leader, but it must be modified, usually by adding a much heavier butt. We need a good length of light line in order to get down deep quickly, notwithstanding the very heavy fly, in order to stay in the "strike zone" as our American friends say, and a normal leader will not allow this. "Oh dear!", I hear some of you mumbling, "That does not sound much like the fly-fishing I know and love". At this particular point in time, one is bound to decide, does one wish to fish? Or does one wish to catch a few as well? Preferably large ones! For those of you already sickened by this philistine approach, then cease at once I beg you. Because it gets worse! Most people go and buy a fishing rod somewhere, for any number of reasons, and then start trying to get the rest of the tackle they are of course then also obliged to buy, to match it in some way. This very rarely works, and is the main reason why many have awful trouble catching fish. In this particular instance, we require absolutely specific flies and leaders, in order to attain our objectives. All the other gear used is a direct result of this. If you want to try these methods on a #6 weight rod, then go ahead, but they will not work anywhere near as well. So, we have our fly, preferably the size six long shank weighted green tailed woolly bugger already mentioned. Other flies may be used, but this one works perfectly, and is easy to tie. Because such grayling are large, solitary, and territorial, they are also often cannibalistic. "Not the beautiful ´Lady of the Stream´", I hear some exclaim, "how can this be?". But I assure you it is indeed the case. Large fish need more food to support them, especially if they wish to keep growing. As a result, they are bound to concentrate their efforts on larger food items, as the energy returns from insects, unless they are in massive abundance, will not even keep them alive. This is why a woolly bugger is attractive to such a fish, it is large, it moves, and it looks like a nice juicy meal. In most fish, such an object, when presented correctly, will trigger a response of some sort. In larger fish, usually an attack or feeding response. So it is with large grayling. Even small fish will often attack such a fly with abandon. We have our fly, our rod, our piece of line, and we are about to assemble our leader. Normally I use up to nine feet of 3 lb breaking strain nylon. Just ordinary nylon as sold on the hundred yard spools in any tackle shop. I do like Maxima, but I don't get heart failure if I have to use something else. I don't bother with "double strength", "Fluorocarbon", or all the other stuff which is now available, as it offers me no particular advantages. Depending on the depth of water I wish to fish, I tie this long fine tippet to a leader ring, and thence to a heavy, short, steeply tapered butt. This is easy and quick to do, and is very quickly changed or adjusted at will. If one wishes, one may use an indicator as well, but I don't, I rely on watching the end of my line, or on "feel", depending how I am fishing. Casting this rig as required needs a little practice. I have heard this particular cast described in a number of ways, but I call it the "tuck" cast. The idea is to cast, and then stop the line, so that the fly starts to fall vertically as it comes back towards the caster. It will plop in, and sink almost vertically, and very quickly. Which is exactly what we wish to achieve. Even very deep and quite fast water may be fished properly in this manner. Usually I dead drift the fly through a likely run at least once. If nothing occurs, I move it! Usually the move does the trick. The move can be anything from a couple of twitches, to actually retrieving the fly upstream. The hits are of course unmistakable in such a case, and the fish is nearly always well hooked. It really wants that fly, and makes every attempt to obtain it. Then the fun begins! Large grayling are very powerful fish, and fight like demons. Unlike trout, and some other fish, they will not run for cover, into weeds etc, but slug it out in the open. Even in small confined pools, the fish behave in this manner, and so one simply has to hang on, and fight the fish in the normal manner. Basically, grayling love highly oxygenated water. Large grayling will normally be found in deep pools, usually under trees or near obstructions, especially after waterfalls, the deep tails of streamy bubbly runs and similar. So all you now need to do, is go along and simply prospect in such places. You may be extremely pleasantly surprised. I do hope so. All very well you say, but you don't want to use gear and flies like that to catch large grayling, you would prefer to use more "normal" gear and catch the smaller ones. Oh very well, but you will have to wait for the next article to hear about that! Of course you can also use the woolly bugger described on "normal" gear and leaders, and it will catch plenty of fish, although not quite as many, and not as many very large ones. For a time, fortunately short, rather early on in my long and chequered angling career, I was an adherent of the so called "exact imitation" school. I imitated, or tried to, everything I read, from hats, to rod, to reels, and a lot of other stuff besides, but I drew the line at trying to exactly imitate flies! Most of the obtainable books at the time, concerned chalk stream fishing, and much of the information therein contained was rather useless to someone who fished North country rivers and becks. In most cases, three dry flies will suffice for practically any eventuality on such streams, and carrying more just wastes space. Mind you, I carry a large number of flies nowadays, but I know what they represent and when to use them, and I do so because I enjoy doing so, and not because I feel I have to. I remember the first time I used a dry fly in the presence of an old acquaintance on a beck we were fishing. After watching me messing about for a while with floatant, false casting it, and all the usual hanky-panky with amadou etc... My acquaintance strolled up to me and said, "Just spit on it lad, that´ll sink it". I did not bother even trying to explain. Most anglers, indeed probably all, go through various phases as they progress in their fishing careers. One of these is often the compulsion to carry enormous numbers of flies. This is invariably contra-productive, as at the beginning, they have no idea when or how to use them. I remember struggling to memorise Latin names of various insects for quite a while. Rather a useless exercise, as it did not help me to identify the actual insects any more accurately. It is only later that such knowledge became of practical use. Asked by a friend of mine on the stream to explain what my "Weighted Green-tailed Woolly Bugger" was designed to represent, I simply replied "Fish food". he was not impressed. He asked me what I thought the fish took it for, and was equally unimpressed when I replied "I have no idea, but they take it well!". "Well, what does it look like to you?" he persisted. The reply to this got him somewhat agitated, as I said "It looks like a weighted green-tailed Woolly bugger to me". ( my weighted flies have a small spot of red varnish on the head, so I know that they are weighted). With many of my weighted flies, this red varnish is indeed somewhat superfluous, as I would simply need to drop them, and listen to the earth shudder from the ensuing impact.

Really enjoyed reading your very informative, down to earth and amusing article Mike. Thank you!