Pick 'n' Mix - Grayling Style

Doing this job, i.e. running a fly shop, is the best job in the world - it's something I've always wanted to do and I love every minute of it.

From researching content for emails to having a say in the design (and thorough testing) of new fly patterns - it really is a dream come true for me.

I hope that my (sometimes all too regular) emails convey some sense of the love I have for fly fishing.

Walking into our office/warehouse every day is just like entering a sweet shop tailored to fly angler's tastes.

The only feeling I can relate it to is one from my (much) younger days, standing gazing at the Pick 'n' Mix in Woolworths - yes, I do have a sweet tooth!

In a bid to try and put those feelings into words:

"It's pure bliss, an exhilarating mix of excitement and anticipation. Your heart races as you stand before towering shelves, each holding a treasure trove of delights. You're overwhelmed with choices, but that's part of the fun. The colourful wrappers, weird names and shiny foil beckon you to explore and discover new favourites to try out the next time you're on the water."

In an effort to try and re-create the above - so you can experience it for yourself - all be it in a digital/online world, I've come up with an idea for the 'Fly Pattern Pick n Mix' (I know we're not the first to do it)!

Essentially, I've put together all of our best Grayling patterns on one secret page - which is only accessible to our email community by clicking any of the green buttons contained within this email.

All you need to do is fill your virtual pink and white striped bag (i.e. your shopping basket) with a minimum of 10 flies, in any combination/quantity, and I've set our system to automatically apply a 15% discount to them.

That means you can grab yourself 10 of the most successful Grayling patterns from only £12.75 - and that includes FREE delivery!

Here are just a few of the patterns included:

 

However ...

If you would like us to do all the hard work for you, then there's always our Specialist Grayling Selection - which we've just restocked - it's a selection of 20 of the most successful Grayling flies for only £27.49:

Our Specialist Grayling Selection is a selection of 5 of the most popular patterns of grayling flies (4 nymph patterns and a specialist Grayling Dry Fly), in total there are 20 flies supplied in our eco-friendly packaging. All of these patterns are tied using the highest-quality barbless hooks, in sizes 14 and 16.

Our specialist selection includes:

• Grayling Witch - The most recognisable dry fly for Grayling. A pattern with a long white hackle, peacock hurl body and red Antron tail. The definitive Grayling dry fly. Our selection contains two each of sizes 14 & 16.
• Jennings Grayling Pinky - A nymph with a gold tungsten bead and a scraggy pink body interspersed with holo fibres, which is especially successful with Grayling. Our selection contains two each of sizes 14 & 16.
• Pink Tag Jig - A classic grayling nymph with a gold tungsten bead, dubbed body and pink Antron tail, which is especially successful with Grayling. Our selection contains two each of sizes 14 & 16.
• Purple Nasty - A nymph with a silver tungsten bead, black segmented body and violet thorax which is especially successful with Grayling. Our selection contains two each of sizes 14 & 16.
• Hackled Olive Jig - A nymph with a gold tungsten bead, olive dubbed body and long hackle, especially successful with Grayling. Our selection contains two each of sizes 14 & 16.

This selection is available now for only £27.49 (that's a 20% discount on buying the flies individually), click any button or image above to view the flies in more detail.

*** Stocks are very limited of the Specialist Grayling Selection - we ran out last time, so you will need to be quick! ***

Go on, you know you want to!

 

The River Master Series ...

Here's an excerpt from our 'River Master - Grayling' series which we launched last year. In this piece, I talk about the vagaries of fishing for Grayling in Autumn:

AUTUMN FISHING FOR GRAYLING

Autumn is all about searching for the fish as they will be spread around the river and generally living in very small groups – use a searching method. During Autumn, you will either be fishing very small dry flies or nymphs. I will not explain the dry fly method, as there are numerous other posts on the subject, but I will discuss a few of the basic nymphing method for Grayling.

Nymphing Methods

It’s important to note that when nymphing, you have to be quite methodical and logical when fishing the river. I’ve always found the best way to do it is to imagine the river is split up into a number of lanes (just like a motorway):

• Always fish the lane closest to you first from the bank before wading into the river (you’ll be amazed at how many fish you catch that you would have just waded through!).
• Once you have fished that lane, step into the river and fish the next lane out.
• Then repeat (assuming it’s safe to wade into the middle of the river).
• Once you have fished the width of the river as best you can, carefully wade back to your starting point take a step upstream and repeat the whole process again.

It’s always better to cast into each lane quite a few times and let the nymph(s) do their work, generally though if there’s a fish around it will take the nymph within the first couple of drifts.

Searching Rigs (Dry Droppers & Duo)

The best searching rig is the Dry Dropper (it’s called a few different things – New Zealand, Duo etc). It is essentially a bushy dry fly (or yarn indicator) with a nymph suspended underneath it. You’re using the fly/yarn indicator to detect when a fish takes the nymph. This method is great in pocket water (i.e. behind large rocks and through riffles). When fishing this method, I find it best to have the distance between the nymph and the fly/yarn indicator about 1.5 times the depth of the water you are fishing. This way you know you will be somewhere near the bottom. Again the golden rule is “if you’re not getting snagged on the bottom every once in a while, then you’re not fishing deep enough!

Playing A Grayling

When playing a grayling, keep the rod tip low, this keeps the fish deep (where they’re happy). Play the fish until it is upstream of you, then as the river brings the fish towards you, raise it in the water column and direct it into the net. Once a Grayling is near the surface it will start to thrash about, this is where most fish are lost.

The above is just a sneeky peek at the content in our free 'River Master' series of blogs - click the button below to view them all:

Tight lines & keep safe - it looks like it's going to be a wet one!