As you'll have seen below, Wednesday was Grayling day on the River Teise. Unfortunately nobody told the Grayling. While fishing for trout on beat 3b, the evening prior to the 16th, I managed to hook and land a lovely Grayling on a black nymph that measured 16” from nose to fork of the tail (the Grayling, not the nymph). We estimated the weight to be at least 1 1/2lbs but it could easily have been a bit more. This is the largest Grayling that I have caught on the river over many years of trying, and came just a couple of weeks after my previous best, also an accidental out of season capture on a nymph.
Longstanding members will remember that it was just a few years ago that the weir at Harpers Farm was removed. That has proved to be beneficial to the trout, but it has been a complete game changer for the Grayling. It has opened up the river to them as far upstream as Stonebridge weir, and has created a lot more water suitable for mature fish as well as for spawning. As a result, the numbers overall and the size of the more mature grayling seem to have increased. If you haven’t tried fishing for the Grayling yet please give it a go. It is well worth it.
Nigel F