Grayling Blues

[John Aston]

"I’m torn on the subject of approach. Fly might be more purist, but the history of trotting for grayling is a long and noble one."

I really don't go for this nostalgic upper class stuff. Why is fly "more purist"? There's a tv fishing programme called On the Bank, and a fly-favouring presenter is often featured walking into small rivers, unconcealed and sticking out like a sore thumb, and fishing for grayling with a bunch of fly-type lures on a short line dignified with some pompous name like "French Nymphing" and trotting it from a couple of metres above his waders to a couple below. Nothing wrong with that, but nothing to write home about, is it? Start stamping about in the canal or my local small river and see how many good roach you catch. And what does "noble" mean? And is catching grayling on the float more "noble" than catching chub and dace? Why? In my experience, grayling are relatively rare, but when they are present - I've caught them in the Dee, the Dove, the Derwent, the Don and the Trent - I've found they are onto your bait as fast as those daft trout they tend to live amongst. I like them as a species, and I'm sure lots of anglers have more experience than me of catching them, but I do find they get surrounded in some tosh. They're once, twice, three times a Lady........

Why sneer? French nymphing is a well recognised and effective technique and it's not called French for pompous reasons , but because the style originated in France. It's not for me - but neither is session carping or match fishing -and I don't look down on either , except to smile to myself about anglers of any stamp who take the sport and themselves all far too seriously .


Upper class stuff? You're tilting at long dead stereotypes there . Sure , some posh people fish - why on earth shouldn't they , in the same way as thee and me do ? We all have far more in common than we have apart and , having fly fished nearly as long as I have coarse fished, I love both but certainly don't elevate one above the other. I'd far rather trot for grayling but prefer to fly fish for trout , and I enjoy the challenge of catching dace and chub on fly every bit as much as I do trout. And I'm as happy lift method fishing for tench , wag 'n mag for roach or lure fishing for pike or perch .

I utterly loathe snobbery in angling - whether about species, method of choice or perceived class of angler. If anything ,inverted snobbery is even worse .

 

[no-one in particular]

Why sneer? French nymphing is a well recognised and effective technique and it's not called French for pompous reasons , but because the style originated in France. It's not for me - but neither is session carping or match fishing -and I don't look down on either , except to smile to myself about anglers of any stamp who take the sport and themselves all far too seriously .


Upper class stuff? You're tilting at long dead stereotypes there . Sure , some posh people fish - why on earth shouldn't they , in the same way as thee and me do ? We all have far more in common than we have apart and , having fly fished nearly as long as I have coarse fished, I love both but certainly don't elevate one above the other. I'd far rather trot for grayling but prefer to fly fish for trout , and I enjoy the challenge of catching dace and chub on fly every bit as much as I do trout. And I'm as happy lift method fishing for tench , wag 'n mag for roach or lure fishing for pike or perch .

I utterly loathe snobbery in angling - whether about species, method of choice or perceived class of angler. If anything ,inverted snobbery is even worse .

Except the morons, cretins and knuckle draggers who fish commercials. They are just utter peasants.

 

[John Aston]

That's me f****ed then, I have been know to sneak a few big perch and ide out of such places . River Test or commercial , dry fly or lobworm it's all part of the broad church of fishing .

 

[peterjg]

Grayling are stupid, as are trout! That's why you fly fish for them.

 

[nottskev]

Why sneer? French nymphing is a well recognised and effective technique and it's not called French for pompous reasons , but because the style originated in France. It's not for me - but neither is session carping or match fishing -and I don't look down on either , except to smile to myself about anglers of any stamp who take the sport and themselves all far too seriously .


Upper class stuff? You're tilting at long dead stereotypes there . Sure , some posh people fish - why on earth shouldn't they , in the same way as thee and me do ? We all have far more in common than we have apart and , having fly fished nearly as long as I have coarse fished, I love both but certainly don't elevate one above the other. I'd far rather trot for grayling but prefer to fly fish for trout , and I enjoy the challenge of catching dace and chub on fly every bit as much as I do trout. And I'm as happy lift method fishing for tench , wag 'n mag for roach or lure fishing for pike or perch .

I utterly loathe snobbery in angling - whether about species, method of choice or perceived class of angler. If anything ,inverted snobbery is even worse .

I can easily distinguish between the outlook on fishing in your posts and those which continue to garnish fish and fishing with out-dated class-infused nonsense about relative purity and nobility. What on earth do they mean in angling terms, beyond a patina of vague snobbery? (Since I make no such comment about your posts, your response is unnecessarily personal) That kind of language asserts, consciously or not, the superiority of certain fish, fishermen and methods implied by the very names "game" over "coarse" fishing. I don't find fishing for roach etc a rough and ready matter, nor do I find "coarse" anglers to be of unpleasant social texture. I'm afraid the whole "English Heritage" gloss spread thick over productions such as A Passion for Angling (more sacred cows) irritates me, too. It reminds me of John Major waffling on about warm beer and old ladies cycling to church - some imaginary Englishness located in the Golden Age. I find all kinds of fishing interesting, and enjoy a fair few myself. My point is not about fishing; it's about the implications of the language in which it is framed. Can you imagine anyone in the real world is talking about their last session in terms of its nobility and purity? As likely as talking about the sound of leather on willow in the latest Test Match. Fishing is intrinsically absorbing and soul-satisfying. It doesn't need to be adorned with the dead language of class.

 

[nottskev]

Except the morons, cretins and knuckle draggers who fish commercials. They are just utter peasants.

Lovely to see you Mark. Nipped in there with a bite on the ankle.

 

[fishface1]

To be fair - many coarse anglers are…. in name and nature.

As a pastime it does attract a fair few undesirables and, certainly in the Sarf, fly fishing is more likely in the middle classes. Mostly I believe due to the cost/access issues for the yoof.

But if you really want to see the dregs… fish a pier on a weekend evening.

;-)

 

[no-one in particular]

Lovely to see you Mark. Nipped in there with a bite on the ankle.

 

[John Aston]

Grayling are stupid, as are trout! That's why you fly fish for them.

Unlike such intellectual titans as perch , barbel or pike ? All fish are stupid - but all can be very easy or very hard to catch . Context is all .

 

[bullet]

To be fair - many coarse anglers are…. in name and nature.

As a pastime it does attract a fair few undesirables and, certainly in the Sarf, fly fishing is more likely in the middle classes. Mostly I believe due to the cost/access issues for the yoof.

But if you really want to see the dregs… fish a pier on a weekend evening.

;-)

Or tag onto a wreck charter when a space is available....???

 

[bullet]

Unlike such intellectual titans as perch , barbel or pike ? All fish are stupid - but all can be very easy or very hard to catch . Context is all .

Indeed, but I still reckon Grayling are the daftest, they're the only fish I've had two on at once ( on several occasions when nymphing) apart from Mackerel.

 

[Philip]

..I always thought Grayling had a sort of Aston Martin DB9 look about them...Lovely looking fish..

 

[bullet]

Nice colours but a bit dodgy in the mouth department, remind me of a Simpsons character somehow...

 

[no-one in particular]

I think snobbery and class is very much evident in angling still. A few weeks ago I went to visit a reservoir for no particular reason than I had never been there. Me and my mate who was driving wanted to go somewhere and it was a trip out in the country. I knew it had been a trout fishery once but did not know its present status. We pulled up into a car park and it said fly fishers club, the bailiff's cottage was on site and all heavily marked up with signs. I got out my mate stayed in the car as he was not interested but I wanted a look.
There were 4 people sitting beside a lake drinking coffee and one of them came over to me, looked like the bailiff, all aggressive and unwelcoming. Anyway to cut a long story short, I was not welcomed and told if I wanted to fish there look up the website. I was on best behavior and even stood upright off my knuckles but I think he noticed.
I did look up when I got home, £200 for 5 days fishing or £150 for 5 afternoons, boats extra. In June it was £250 and £200 respectively. It was a beautiful place the best in the southeast as advertised but only for the rich, not commoners.
To me there is something wrong in there somewhere; I cant quite put my finger on it, just a gut feeling.

 

[John Aston]

So you turn up at a signed, private fishery without an invitation and because they didn't roll out the red carpet for you , you decided to get offended ? What on earth has class to do with any of this , in 2022?

 

[no-one in particular]

So you turn up at a signed, private fishery without an invitation and because they didn't roll out the red carpet for you , you decided to get offended ? What on earth has class to do with any of this , in 2022?

Do be real, nothing to do with me expecting a red carpet, stop pushing and be sensible and consider the post properly. I was just a visitor looking at the place, I was actually more interested in the bird life, ospreys are seen here sometimes, not this time of year, but I just wanted to find out what was what. there was a car park, no sign actually saying visitors not welcome and what harm was it to anyone to go and have a look and ask and find out.
I think it has a lot to do with class and snobbery, historically if nothing else and the attitude was on show, at least that is what it seemed to me. And the ordinary working people are priced out of it.
And I was not offended, just made me think; that's all - Why should I be excluded from all this.

 

[no-one in particular]

No answers then, I will assume you have understood my post now and agree with me.

 

[sam vimes]

No answers then, I will assume you have understood my post now and agree with me.

Alternatively, Grayson hasn't been on line to reply.
For the record, I don't agree with you, though I doubt that will surprise you. I can't understand why you believe that you are somehow entitled to enter private property simply because you feel like it. I'd consider myself lucky to not get at least a good bawling at. Do you have a sign in your garden/front door saying visitors not welcome? Would you be happy if some random visitor invited themselves onto/into your property?

You may have a point about prohibitive prices. I certainly couldn't afford such prices. However, I simply accept that I'm some combination of not bright enough, not lucky enough and not hard working enough to be that wealthy and then get on with my life without it.

To equate wealth with class and social status doesn't make sense to me. There are plenty of wealthy knuckle draggers in this world and there are plenty of posh folks without the proverbial pot to pee in.

 

[nottskev]

We're unlikely allies Mark, but I get what you're driving at. Let me sketch in the circumstances that started the radicalisation that culminates in my shocking iconoclasm re. the Passion for Angling school of guff. As an eleven year old boy who'd recently joined the local birdwatching society and the junior wing of the Young Ornithologists' Club, I'd read that the woods around Eaton Hall near Chester - a vast spread, part of the property empire of the man regularly termed The Richest Man in the Country - had 53 species of nesting bird. I was out one Saturday morning walking down a path open to the public, bins around my neck, the Observer Book of British Birds in my pocket hoping to clock some of these. Following my nose, I evidently strayed off the area where plebs were tolerated, causing the Duke's antenna to twitch in Westminster (another of the places he happened to own, along with a large chunk of Cheshire) whereupon he sent out his goons to eject the interloper. A pair of chimps with shotguns appeared shouting questions at me. Who the f*** was I? What the f*** was I doing? Did I understand I'd better f*** off now or there'd be F***ing trouble? Pretty terrifying for anyone, let alone an eleven year old boy. It sowed a seed that grew into a lifetime's interest in issues like who owns the ground under our feet, how did they get it, how do they keep it. And why are so many people so deferential towards those whose superficial suavity is matched by a ruthless grip on their assets.

I don't do forelock tugging so I'm never drawn (and this is my general outlook, with no implication for anyone on FM) to stuff about people in exclusive places in exclusive company indulging in The Piscatorial Arts, noble, pure or otherwise. Anyone who thinks "class" is dead in the UK (again, aimed at nobody in particular) is, imo, indulging in wishful thinking.

 

[bullet]

That's not far off the going rate for any stillwater Trout venue, I wouldn't call it particularly overpriced. Most in my experience don't require you to pay for 5 days at once, however.
They've got considerable expenses such as replenishing the Stock Fish as there are plenty of folk who want a few for the pot, Bailiffing ( as you found out) and probably rental of the fishery, not to mention paying off the boats and motors.
There are some beautiful trout stillwaters down here where you can turn up and fish a day for about the same as a pub lunch and a couple of pints, there's no elitism of any sort, ( unless you include elitism as having to use the fly) and the people you meet on the bank will be as nice as anywhere, and very generous with help/advice.