Tactics for catching Grayling
Czech Nymph
To fish for grayling successfully it is important to recognise that there are basic fundamental differences to trout fishing.
- Grayling shoal, where there is one, there are more; unlike trout who are solitary creatures.
- Grayling lie on the bottom and rise up to intercept flies on the surface. Hence their take is very quick, trout lie mid stream therefore their take is more leisurely.
- Trout lie close to the bank; grayling tend to lie near the middle of the river.
- Grayling have small hard mouths, which are used to grub on the riverbed; therefore your size of hook should vary from 14 to 22.
All trout fishing techniques are effective, dry fly, wet fly and nymph. The dry fly/nymph can be combined, tie a nymph on the point, a dry fly on the dropper; the dry fly acts as an indicator for the nymph and also catches fish. There is a specialized technique, known as Polish or Czech nymphing; this involves trotting heavy nymphs at close range.
Bait fishing with a float is a very enjoyable way to catch, use brandlings or maggots on size 16 hooks.
One thing to remember the colder it is, the deeper the grayling lie!