The FM Grayling Day, Feb 07

The FM River Itchen Grayling day fished 24th February 2007

Nigel’s Diary of the Day

Owing to the success of the inaugural FM Grayling Day on Berkshire’s Upper Kennet in November of last year, I decided to organise another event, this time on the Lower Itchen Fishery just north of Southampton so hopefully more of us could experience fishing for what must be one of our most beautiful and sporting fish.

An Itchen grayling for Nigel Connor

Poor conditions
Conditions had been perfect on the Kennet despite the worry that lack of rain over the summer and autumn would leave the river levels low. The worry this time was just the opposite. Regular rain from Christmas onwards had pushed levels way above the winter average and coloured the usually clear water. The fishery had provided some good nets to the Angler’s Net Fish-In the week previously as levels fell a little and some of the colour had come out of the water. Rain midweek meant that when we arrived at the fishery those levels were back up and even worse the river was the colour of milky tea. Grayling are sight feeders and do not feed well in murky water.

High hopes
Optimism was high despite the conditions. None of us had fished the river before so the anticipation that comes from fishing an unknown river made up for the possibility that it could be a struggle. The owners of the stretch had kindly given us the run of the their fully fitted out fishing lodge for breakfast. If you ever wonder what the trout and salmon boys get for their money then here was the answer. The house looked straight out onto the river and you could literally fish from the window.

Fortified by bacon butties and tea we set off up the river. The stretch is over two miles long although some of it was off limits to bait anglers to protect over wintering trout. There was still plenty of room however and it was difficult to keep track of what was caught. As we met up again for lunch it was clear that we had all struggled with the conditions. Grayling had been caught though with Andy Nellist showing off his trotting skills to land a 2lb 2oz beauty on bread. Star of the morning however was Sash, who despite not having a grayling river within a 100 miles of him, had taken a brace of 2lbers and several chub from the pacier and shallower top end of the fishery.

Some good fish were caught
Whether the river became clearer, or perhaps because we all got used to its demands, the afternoon saw a few more fish caught. It was still hard as the fish did not seem evenly spread. Even when a holding spot was found it seemed only to give up 1 or 2 fish when on a better day you might expect several.

What the grayling lacked in quality, they made up in size. Six came out over the magic 2lb barrier with Nathan Waller’s 2lb 6oz being the heaviest of the day. The others fell to Mark Hewitt and myself as well as those caught by Sash and Andy Nellist mentioned above. Back up fish were also of a good size with many over a pound and an a half, including a well earned one to Claudia Crowther who tells her story below.

Andy Renton with a good roach

Mike Townsend and Andy Renton proved they could catch roach from anywhere by putting a nice bag together up to about a pound and a half. Several chub were also caught to prove it is worth targeting more than just the grayling.

Thank you for all who came along to support the day and for the donations to the ACA. A cheque for £ 80.00 will be on its way to them very shortly. Thank you Neil for bringing along some wonderful ale from Surrey’s Hogs Back brewery where he works. Even to a Yorkshireman like me this was good stuff and well worth hunting down if you get the chance. Special thanks to Peter Jacobs, Paul Williams and Barry Edney who despite not being able to attend, donated their monies to the pot. Graham Marsden also could not make it but put his ticket money to the first round in the pub afterwards. Cheers Graham. I hope everyone who could not make it it this year will be able to attend next year when we have already booked the fishery for the same weekend. Finally, thanks to the fishery owner, Lindsey Farmiloe, for her assistance in advance and for us allowing us use of the lodge.

For those whose appetite has been whetted and cannot wait that long, the fishery opens up to bait fishing on the 14th October through to the 28th February. Individual ticket prices next year are yet to be set but are likely to be it the region of £ 19.00. The number of day rods is limited to be between 5 and 7 and advance booking is required. Season rods are also available. The price of a ticket may seem high but the beautiful surroundings and the chance of a 2lb plus fish and even bigger, high, it is well worth the money. Full contact and booking details can be found on the Fishery Website.

Claudia’s Diary of the Day

Another superb fish in. I arrived at the clubhouse of the fishery around 7.20am, to be greeted by the smell of fresh brewed coffee and bacon butties and Nigel slaving over the cooker in the clubhouse kitchen.

Neil Maidment with a good grayling

One by one the other anglers arrived and it was great to see familiar faces and to meet new ones too and soon talk begun about previous fish-ins, the river condition and a lot of other fishing related subjects over breakfast. After breakfast and introductions we all returned to our cars to set up for the days fishing.

Sadly, Peter Jacobs could not attend the fish in, due to an accident he had earlier in the week, so Neil was so kind and took Peter’s place as my tutor, as it was my first time trotting and I admit, I had no idea where and how to start.

Once the rods where set up, we took a small walk to the first stretch of the river where Neil and I stopped for some basic lessons on trotting. I purchased an Abu 506 closed face reel for the occasion and Peter J was so kind to lend me one of his stick float rods.

After I tried my luck on a few casts, under the watchful eye of my tutor, I discovered that my reel wasn’t performing the way it should do, (I found out later on that I had spooled the line on wrong oops)….luckily I had 2 spare 506’s in my bag (from Peter J), which were meant for Graham M (who sadly couldn’t attend the grayling fish in)….so after a quick change of reels I was ready to give trotting a go.

About 45 minutes I was confident enough to give it real trial, so Neil and myself walked along the river to find a good swim to fish. Sadly the condition of the river wasn’t the best (murky, and fast running), due to the rain fall we had during the previous week but that wouldn’t stop me from trying to learn more about trotting and hopefully even getting a grayling in the process.

Top fish of the day at 2lb 6oz for Natan Waller

Whilst walking to find a swim, my tutor explained the river to me, where the fish are likely to feed, where the turbulences are and so on.

That name thingy again
We finally stopped at a bend of the river, where Mark W, Steve S, Jeff S, Andy N and a couple of other anglers were trying their luck (sorry for not remembering everybody’s name)………I watched some superb anglers in action and it was a joy to see the first fish caught….I think it was a trout by ????? Sorry, the name thingy again…….

Next fish caught was by myself…..hurray…well OK it was only a wee minnow but at least I wouldn’t go home with a blank. A lot of the other anglers were spread out on the river, so I didn’t really know when, where, what and who caught at the time.

Next in line was Andy N……now this chap had ‘lucky’ written on his forehead, he had a trout, followed by a grayling and followed by another one, in a short space of time. Well done Andy, Respect!

I must admit, I was cheeky, as I sat down not far away from Andy, trying my luck close to his swim…..Sorry Andy, didn’t mean to spook your swim.

I was so hyped up that I didn’t realize Neil had walked on further up the river to find a suitable swim to do some fishing. Now how did he know it was the right time to leave me to my own devices to practice?

Good old home cooking
Lunch time arrived and we all agreed to meet at the hut for some good old home cooking lunch and a pint of the finest ale…..how Nigel managed all that is above me….Very well organized, superb lunch, (compliments to the chef).

Lunch is served

During the meal, we shared the catch report up to then, exchanged tips on baits, chatted about the river condition and so on….Oh and I had a phonecall of my lil sis Wendy to tell me the good news about the barbel she caught that day at the river ribble.

Claudia gives the 506 a workout

Nigel gave me one of his aprons…..
Soon after, we all parted again and before I set out to look for another swim, Nigel was so kind to let me have one of his bait aprons, as he saw me struggling a bit with my kind of feeding method – a plastic bag on my belt for the maggots.

I walked further up the river until I found a swim in another curve of the river, where the water seemed to run a little slower, soon I put a new maggot on the hook and started fishing.

Peter gave me some advice but nothing happened
I remembered what Peter told me to do when he called me earlier in the day, so I followed his instructions but nothing happened for a while. Around 4pm I saw Neil walking towards me, he stopped and we chatted about his catch he had and my method of trying to get my grayling. Again, he was very helpful with tips and advice……and during our chat I suddenly felt a pull on my line….first I wasn’t sure whether it was a snag but soon I realized I hooked a fish.

A 1lb 12oz grayling for Claudia

I was all excited and having joy jumps
Although I was getting all excited, I knew I had to stay calm and gently play the fish in…….I wasn’t sure what kind of fish it was, as it didn’t really put up a great deal of resistance, maybe a trout I thought…..you should have seen the surprise on my face when I finally landed a lovely 1lb 12oz grayling.

I was over the moon, I managed to catch the fish I wanted…. by trotting…..I think I jumped a joy loop…..well, Neil said I did.

After all the joy jumps, the grayling been safely released, it was time to make our way back to the cars, as it was beginning to get dark and we allwanted to gather up at the pub for a glass of lemonade and to share our fishing experience.

A late grayling for Mark

I had a brilliant day, learning more about float fishing, watching some superb anglers and being able to fish amongst them.

Thank you Nigel, for organising a fantastic fish in, for the food and the apron…….Neil, you are a great tutor, thanks a lot for your help, advice and patience.

Andy N…………..am I forgiven??? Please 😉