First Grayling outing of the Autumn

[John Keane]

I will be doing a bit of trotting for the ladies on the Dee (Wales) next week.

As it’s above the Horseshoe Falls maggots aren’t allowed, but I think I might try taking some cooked long grain rice to feed sparingly and fish a couple of artificial maggots on the hook.

I will also be taking worms and some blokes I know feed and fish sweetcorn but I’m not that keen on that idea.

Got a nice vintage J W Young Trudex to use and also an old Abu 506 that I’ve been waiting to try out.

Looking forward to it with boyish anticipation!

 

[tigger]

There are some large grayling in that river....good luck!

 

[bracket]

I live five minutes away from the Frome. The grayling season begins 1st of November and I will be on the bank at first light. Pete.

 

[Molehill]

I've had two trips this month, trotting maggots on Wye and upper Severn. Plenty of fish but all small and still spread out in the shallower, running water. A fish or 3 from a swim and then move.

Thinking the big floods last week may have shifted them more into winter quarters and bunch them up a little. But only theory and I know how reliable my theories can turn out to be.

 

[flightliner]

I was on the Don greyling fishing Friday gone .
Trotting maggots with my old Trudex as you intend John.
TBH I much prefer my old Mitchell match, far more efficient but that said I still enjoy the pin from time to time.
My day was bountiful , glorious sunny day, lots of decant fish after a surprising slow start but a move to some shallower, faster water soon put things right with a tally of some 28 fish.
Hope you have a good day John, those greyling are something else!!

 

[John Keane]

Really antiquated rule about no maggots above the Horseshoe Falls on the Welsh Dee, but the old Blackbird’s Fancy should do okay. Shame I couldn’t get hold of any brandlings though.

 

[John Keane]

Had a good day out on the Dee, grayling fishing.

Fished with 13ft Drennan Matchpro Ultralight rod, Trudex centrepin, 6BB shouldered stick float and small worm.

Had great sport with 8 grayling and 4 trout. Trudex is 4” dia so it was a bit of a pain winding back after a 50yd trot, and batting it back wasn’t much better!

After lunch changed to an Abu 506 which made casting and retrieving much easier but the line tended to bed in a bit after each fish. Hope I don’t get anything really big on it as the drag is s**te!

Biggest grayling around a pound, trout around 8oz.

Back for another go on Wednesday.

 

[ieh]

Sounds like a nice day out John. Good luck on Wednesday.

Ian

 

[markcw]

Really antiquated rule about no maggots above the Horseshoe Falls on the Welsh Dee, but the old Blackbird’s Fancy should do okay. Shame I couldn’t get hold of any brandlings though.

You are not far from a good supply of brandlings, Remember the garden centre we met at for the Shimano beastmaster ? around the corner from there is a riding school, they will let you forage for as many as you want, and you can take the horse **** away with you as well if you want to.

 

[John Keane]

Went again yesterday and did okay, with half a dozen nice grayling. Leaves in the river are starting to be a minor problem.

Found a great run where I could get in up to my backside and do long, straight trots and stay in direct contact with the float. I only have 60 yards of line on my Abu 506 but the limit of my vision (in the light conditions) was around 40 yards. All the fish I had were at longer range. My mate was having a break for a butty further down the bank so he was spotting for me and when I couldn’t see the float he shouted “STRIKE!” when it went under. This tactic brought the two best fish of the day at around 1.5lb each. It did feel rather Mr Crabtree though with me being a very old and doddery “Peter”.

The line on the Abu tends to bed in after a good fish making the next run down the pool a bit jerky with having to constantly feed it by hand. A fishless trot sees full mobility restored but I think the ‘pin is a nicer way to fish if you don’t need to worry about casting distance and don’t mind the long retrieve time.

 

[nottskev]

Went again yesterday and did okay, with half a dozen nice grayling. Leaves in the river are starting to be a minor problem.

Found a great run where I could get in up to my backside and do long, straight trots and stay in direct contact with the float. I only have 60 yards of line on my Abu 506 but the limit of my vision (in the light conditions) was around 40 yards. All the fish I had were at longer range. My mate was having a break for a butty further down the bank so he was spotting for me and when I couldn’t see the float he shouted “STRIKE!” when it went under. This tactic brought the two best fish of the day at around 1.5lb each. It did feel rather Mr Crabtree though with me being a very old and doddery “Peter”.

The line on the Abu tends to bed in after a good fish making the next run down the pool a bit jerky with having to constantly feed it by hand. A fishless trot sees full mobility restored but I think the ‘pin is a nicer way to fish if you don’t need to worry about casting distance and don’t mind the long retrieve time.

Good story. Have you thought of putting your fishing reports on the HDYGO thread with all the others?

 

[kenpm]

The Grayling like the red dyed strawberry corn I found out by accident on the Dee.
I went with what I thought was a tin of normal corn that the label had fallen off but when I opened it realised it was red,had a great day so I started taking both normal and red and the red outfished the yellow every time.
Came home with red fingers instead of the more usual bronze.

 

[John Keane]

The Grayling like the red dyed strawberry corn I found out by accident on the Dee.
I went with what I thought was a tin of normal corn that the label had fallen off but when I opened it realised it was red,had a great day so I started taking both normal and red and the red outfished the yellow every time.
Came home with red fingers instead of the more usual bronze.

I didn’t get a bite on corn and both my mate and I did well on small dendrobaenas of around 2”.

 

[iain t]

2 points. The reason for the line bedding in on the 506 is caused by having too much line on the spool. 50 to 70 yards of line max load on the spool. This will stop the line bedding in.

Next point. Who the hell made a rule of no Maggots. Stupid rule. Does the ban include Casters as well

 

[flightliner]

Had great sport with 8 grayling and 4 trout. Trudex is 4” dia so it was a bit of a pain winding back after a 50yd trot, and batting it back wasn’t much better.

Trudex are a lovely old reel but the stem fixing it to the rod is far to short for efficient trotting.
Trying to feed line off one to engage a suitable rate of line output is pretty arduous on the thumb.
I much prefer using mine on a canal where little distance is req'd if all I'm doing is fishing just over the marginal shelf, other than that mine only gets an outing on a very rare occasion.

 

[tigger]

I have a trudex and a rapidex, no prob's casting or trotting with the trudex. What makes me leave it at home is the lack of holes in the faceplate for winding in and the very narrow drum. The rapidex is no good to wally cast with due to it having a caged drum. I keep them because they where brand new until I used them and they are nice to own.

 

[John Keane]

2 points. The reason for the line bedding in on the 506 is caused by having too much line on the spool. 50 to 70 yards of line max load on the spool. This will stop the line bedding in.

Next point. Who the hell made a rule of no Maggots. Stupid rule. Does the ban include Casters as well

1) I’m well aware of keeping the line level on 506 spools low and mine only has 60yds on it.

2) River Dee is a water supply abstraction river and has had a rule of no maggots above the Horseshoe Falls in Llangollen for as long as I can remember. Unsure about casters but my instinct would be that it’s a “No”.

 

[John Keane]

Trudex are a lovely old reel but the stem fixing it to the rod is far to short for efficient trotting.
Trying to feed line off one to engage a suitable rate of line output is pretty arduous on the thumb.
I much prefer using mine on a canal where little distance is req'd if all I'm doing is fishing just over the marginal shelf, other than that mine only gets an outing on a very rare occasion.

Flogged the Trudex for £60 on eBay and just acquired a lovely, mint JW Young Purist II 2501, with optional lineguard, also from eBay. No nice box or paperwork but for £140 I’m certainly not complaining. Not a mark on it, spins freely with no spool wobble. Always aspired to a quality ‘pin and now I got one!


.

 

[philc]

Hi. Hope you don't mind me asking, but did you get to fish the 1st Nov? if so how did you get on?
just i live a stones throw from the Frome also & was hoping to fish East Holme this weekend if the weather behaves.

 

[Mark Wintle]

2) River Dee is a water supply abstraction river and has had a rule of no maggots above the Horseshoe Falls in Llangollen for as long as I can remember. Unsure about casters but my instinct would be that it’s a “No”.

No maggot rules are almost always to do with preventing the capture of salmon parr. I don't know of any river supplying water for drinking with a maggot ban although some water reservoirs still have groundbait bans.