THE JOY OF AUTUMN RIVERS
Join specimen fish ace Dai Gribble on the bank as he helps you get your weekend sorted
THE last couple of weeks have been tough for our sport with the loss of our greatestever angler, John Wilson. The huge outpouring of heartfelt tributes to Angling Times and via social media shows just what an impact John had on all our lives, what an inspiration he was, and how much he’ll be missed.
Our special tribute issue and online stories last week went only part of the way to celebrate the life of the legend, and this week, by kind permission, we’re able to bring you some more great moments and remarkable catches from his incredible career.
Being a huge roach fan, I’m sure John would have celebrated the fish which are lighting up our news pages this week too.
Big roach seem to be a bit like red buses at the moment… you don’t see one for ages and then a whole depot load suddenly appears.
This week’s issue is stacked with big stillwater redfins up to an incredible 3lb 8oz!
There have been some big catches put together too. Hadrian Whittle’s 98lb match catch of mainly roach and dace on the first day of the River Wye Festival blew me away, especially as it was caught on the stick float. It just shows how prolific the rivers can be at this time of year.
Congrats must go my old pal Rich Wilby too, who had a bumper day putting together one of the greatest-ever catches of big eels – see P6.
There’s something for every angler inside this week’s Angling Times, with advice from the best experts in fishing to help you put more fish in your net.
WITH temperatures falling and the weed in the rivers dying back, now is the time to reach for a float rod and head to running water.
Trotting a float down a river is one of the finest forms of fishing, and I love catching all manner of species at this time of year.
However, recently I’ve been giving the more traditional species a miss and targeting grayling, one of the forgotten species of fishing.
They can be caught legering and feeder fishing, but I nearly always fish for them with a float as I find it far more enjoyable, and a nice change from the quivertip fishing I do for perch and chub.
Grayling will feed in even the coldest of weather, making them an ideal target species right through winter. They can be caught in flood conditions but they feed much better at normal levels, so I fish for them then and target other species such as barbel when the rivers are in flood.
WHERE TO FIND THEM
Grayling frequent many different types of swim from fast, shallow water to deep, steady glides.In a number of rivers the grayling population is thriving, partly due to their ability to tolerate faster water than species such as chub.
I have caught grayling from fast, shallow stretches where I am certain they are unlikely to be bothered by predatory birds such as cormorants and goosanders, which will be unable to feed very effectively in the fast flow.
FIND THE RIGHT DEPTH
Grayling sit close to or on the riverbed. Rather than plumb a swim I like to make an educated guess and then keep adding a few inches each trot until I start to catch the bottom, at which point I reduce the depth by one or two centimetres at a time until the float runs through unimpeded.
Even though a few trots may be made with the bait passing over the heads of any fish present it is not wasted time, as each cast I will feed a steady trickle of about 15 maggots to draw the grayling to the area I’m fishing.
As you run the float through you may find it catches on weed or a shallow section. By holding the float back you may be able to lift the hookbait over such areas, allowing you to trot through.
Alternatively, try a different line or cast beyond the obstruction.