At last, the Coarse Fishing Season starts again on Wednesday 16th. For the Teise, it makes it legal again to catch our lovely Grayling (not to mention the Dace, Chub, Roach etc, that also take a dry fly). It means that we no longer have to wait for those surly trout who are skulking around in the deep pools to grace us with an occasional rise.
It's worth getting out the small dries again (though they'll sometimes take surprisingly big ones too). You'll need lighter tippets and good control of the drift, as well as good reflexes - they are very picky. I prefer to use a 4/5ft tippet with a 4/5ft furled (not braided) leader, but others use a very long tapered leader; whatever works for you as long as it's light and delicate. Some members favour the plume tip, with devastating results, but if you want a Grayling fly that floats forever, try my favourite the Double Badger.
Let me know what your best dry flies are for Grayling and I'll list them here in future.
Of course you can add them to your Catch Returns, and please remember to submit Blank Returns, as well as your successes for every beat you visit. I'll be posting some stats before much longer, and it really matters that we get as many Returns as possible, and that we know which Beats are producing blanks, as it helps us to target the stocking. OK, appeals over, enjoy the extra opportunities for sport on our lovely river.
PeterB