Monster Grayling
Not another brown trout! Perhaps not, maybe it's a chub, it's certainly feels big, going well but what the hell, let's give it some stick! Oh My God! It can't be, it is you know! No, hang on, this is stupid. Bloody Hell! It's a grayling, it's a monster!
Such were the thoughts racing through my mind as I realised the stunning creature I was playing was probably the fish of my lifetime.
The Lower Itchen had been on fine form this early November day with plenty of grayling from a few ounces up to about 1lb 12oz plus a fair sprinkling of brown trout and its travelling cousin the sea trout. But this fish was in a different league and I was beginning to shake!
Now, I consider myself to be an average all-round angler who has been fortunate enough to catch a few decent fish over the years and someone who now does not get too uptight about my fishing (not so a few years ago as I now realise I was probably a right pain in the rear and used to take things far too seriously). But as this fish twisted and turned in the gin clear waters of this southern chalk stream I was transported back to my youth and all the old fears of “please don't come off now” resurfaced with a vengeance.
Why are chalk streams so damn clear?
You can see everything that's going on, every twist and turn, every dive, every frond of weed, every potential fish losing snag! Spectacular and very worrying at the same time! Stupid thoughts raced through my mind, did I pinch the shot on too tight and it's a barbless hook, why do I use barbless hooks? All the while, I caressed the centrepin and inched this beauty closer to the net almost as though on auto-pilot. Maybe that's experience kicking in but I can tell you I was shaking like a leaf!
Eventually it broke surface and rolled over a couple times. It looked huge, bigger than any grayling I'd ever seen before, certainly well over 2lbs. And then it was in the net! Not sure how, but there it was, secured in the safety of the mesh and I let out a very audible sigh of relief.
I actually left the fish in the net for a while as I collected my thoughts and breath. Maybe it's not that big after all, obviously a good fish but perhaps not that big! Unfolding the mesh revealed a true monster! No, not a monster, but a superb looking grayling of a size I'm not familiar with! It was huge.
I think I yelled at Claudia, my companion for the day, and I apologise for any profanity, to come and have look at this! I knew it was way over anything I'd caught before but was more than a little shocked to see the scales go past 3lb and eventually settle on 3lb 5oz. That was one very big grayling.
Several photos were taken but looking at them now, I have to say they do not do the fish justice. With hindsight maybe I should have taken a few more but we were both more than pleased to see the fish swim away fully recovered.
Even as the fish swam away and obviously well pleased with such a specimen, it was not until a couple of days later that I realised just how significant that grayling was. For some reason I thought the record was 5lb+ but then discovered it was just over 4lb and the Lower Itchen best was 3lb 1oz. I then questioned the capture, was it really that big?
Well, I'm pleased and proud to say yes I did catch such a fish. It was a big and beautiful grayling and I doubt I'll ever catch such a specimen again.
If I can do it, then there's hope for us all!
Nigel (ACA, SAA)
