Grayling are a species that has continued to gain popularity amongst anglers the past few seasons and it is easy to see why, they feed in most conditions, can be caught on a range of tactics and they look incredible!
Tim Williams was fishing the upper reaches of the River Severn last weekend and caught a remarkable grayling that 'left him shaking'.
"Itching to get out with the fly rod on the river bank on holiday Monday, I checked the river water levels on the upper Severn online and saw that they were at a nice height after some much-needed rain," Tim told us.
"When I arrived at the river, it looked promising, with fish sipping bugs off the surface. I first targeted the fish with a dry fly approach, which turned out to be great fun, before switching to nymphs," he added.
"My setup included two nymphs: a dropper and a point fly. I had a 3.5mm tungsten bead hare’s ear on the point and a pheasant tail on the dropper."
As Tim moved upstream towards some deeper pools, he just felt as though a few bigger fish were present. Slowing down the fly and making regular cast to cover the water he was soon rewarded with a take.
"Watching my indicator just above the water surface come to a stop, I set the hook and felt a fish had taken it. At that moment, the fish took off upriver, and my reel screamed as the line ran out."
"My first instinct was that I had hooked a big brown trout, as it stayed deep for what felt like minutes."
"Once I managed to get its head up and to the surface, I realised I had a monster grayling on the end of my line."
"Panic, excitement, and fear of losing it all set in big time. But finally, the fight was over, and as I pulled it over the net and lifted it, I saw a fish I had always dreamed of catching—something I never thought would happen, but it did," Tim recalled.
"After taking a quick picture, I safely released the fish to fight another day. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any scales with me, but it was undoubtedly a heavy fish."
"I sat on the bank, shaking from what had just happened, and took a few minutes to let it all sink in. To everyone who fishes, keep hitting the water—you never know when something like this will happen," he said.
A PAIR OF THE BEST POLARISING GLASSES CAN MAKE SPOTTING FISH SO MUCH EASIER.
