From French Pinkies to Floating Fancies — Grayling From The Top

On Tuesday, we served a specialist Grayling dessert underwater with the French Pinkies. Today, we’re taking the sweet trolley to the surface.

Grayling are my favourite species, and what better way to tempt one than with a dry fly?

You know that little swirl you see mid-afternoon in autumn — the one that makes you question whether anything is actually hatching, or if the river is just teasing you?

That swirl has a name. It’s Grayling being Grayling — just casually sipping midges and tiny olives.

My most successful Grayling dry fly is the Parachute Adams - It's not fancy and not French. But devastatingly consistent. The white (or vivid yellow) post is easy to track, the profile sits in the film (not on it), and the silhouette covers a lot of naturals — small olives, midges, even the odd drowned gnat. It’s the one dry fly I’d happily fish all afternoon when the rises are fiddly and the takes are polite.

Originally tied, in 1922, by Leonard Halladay and named after his good friend Charles Adams. The image above is taken from a fantastic book called, Tying Catskill-Style Dry Flies by Mike Valla, where there is a whole chapter dedicated to the Adams - if you are into rolling your own flies, this book is a worthy investment - we take lots of inspiration from it.

Why The Adams Works:

• Versatile Silhouette: Adams-grey body + parachute hackle = “generic and natural” that fools picky risers.
• See The Take: That white or vivid yellow post helps you track the fly in glare and low light.
• Right Sizes: 14 & 16 cover most autumn surface snacks; drop smaller if they’re sipping midges.

Dry Fly For Grayling:

• What They’re Sipping: As the leaves start to fall, expect BWOs and midges to drive most surface activity; go small and sparse when rises are tiny.
• Why A Parachute Adams? It's a proven all-rounder that matches multiple small upwings/gnats and stays visible via its post.
• How Small Is “Small”? Don’t flinch at size 18 or 20 on slow water days — big Grayling will still readily take them.

Yes - Grayling will rise to a dry in late autumn. In fact, that faint swirl you see on a still November afternoon isn’t wishful thinking; it’s a Grayling quietly sipping something tiny off the surface.

They’re selective, they're fast, but not impossible. What they want is consistency: a small, natural-looking fly that drifts dead true, with no drag or disturbance. And nothing does that better than a Parachute Adams.

Because it rides in the surface film rather than sitting on top like a cork, it perfectly imitates those half-drowned olives, midges, and tiny upwings that Grayling love to snack on when the light’s low and the river’s cool.

Fish it when you see gentle dimples or small rings in slower glides, usually late morning to early afternoon, once the sun’s had time to warm the water a touch. They’ll often feed in the same rhythm for 15–20 minutes - just enough time to help you forget your toes are freezing.

To take away the guesswork - as far as fly selection goes - I've put together the most successful Adams patterns I use into specific selections. There are only 2 to choose from, all depending on size:

Adams Selection - 12 flies in total, includes Indicator Parachute Adams & Original Parachute Adams, 3 each of sizes 14 & 16 - delivered for FREE and only £16.00 for the full selection (£19.80 when bought individually)

Micro Adams Selection - 12 flies in total, includes Indicator Parachute Adams & Original Parachute Adams, 3 each of sizes 18 & 20 - delivered for FREE and only £16.00 for the full selection (£19.80 when bought individually)

or;

All of the above patterns and sizes are available individually for only £1.65 each.

These are the only two Adams patterns which I use - I just vary the size from a 14 to a size 20 (when the going gets really tough)!

Indicator Parachute Adams - Tied in the parachute style (with the hackle wrapped horizontally), with a vivid yellow sighter post and in the original Parachute Adams body colours. Available in sizes 14, 16, 18 & 20.

Parachute Adams - Tied in the parachute style (with the hackle wrapped horizontally), with a white sighter post and in the original colours. Available in sizes 14, 16, 18 & 20.

*** Just a gentle reminder that all our products are shipped FREE OF CHARGE to anywhere in the UK ***

Before you start waving that Parachute Adams around, it’s worth remembering that catching Grayling on dries is all about finesse, not force. You can’t just chuck and hope. The right setup makes a huge difference — not because the fish care what rod you use, but because presentation is everything. A balanced, delicate rig keeps your fly drifting naturally, your line under control, and your sanity intact when the takes are so soft they barely ripple the surface.

Here's what I use - I hope it could work for you:

Rod: 9ft (or 10ft) #2 or #3 — something light enough for finesse, but with reach for delicate control.

Leader: Start with a 9ft tapered leader and add 2–3ft of 6X or 7X fluorocarbon tippet. That gives you a total leader of around 12ft — long enough for a subtle presentation but still manageable. If you’re fishing in really skinny or flat water, extend it to 14ft for the ultimate stealth approach.

Tippet-to-fly knot: Keep it simple — an improved clinch or Orvis knot. Keep the tag ends trimmed really close so nothing glints in the sunlight.

Presentation Tips:

Cast across and slightly upstream so the fly drifts naturally ahead of the leader — Grayling have sharp eyes and don’t appreciate a tippet shadow over their lunch. 

Use micro mends — tiny upstream flicks of the rod tip — to keep drag off the fly. In calm glides, even the smallest bow in your line can pull the Adams off course and kill your chances.

And when you see that rise… pause just a heartbeat before lifting.

Grayling often sip the fly and turn away before you feel anything. A smooth lift, not a strike, is the key — think “firm handshake,” not “uppercut.”

When to Use Each Size Fly:

• #14: The best all-rounder for late morning when midges and olives mix.

• #16: Your afternoon fallback — slightly smaller footprint, great in clear light.

• #18–#20: For those infuriating sipping fish that ignore everything else.

When in doubt, start bigger so you can see it … then downsize until they can’t resist.

 

Tight lines.