2012 Another Year Flashes Past

Well that's another year almost over, and in the whole not a bad year in the Grayling stakes,  Back in February I was graced with a 3lbs Grayling from the Annan, and then to finish off the year was graced with another large Scottish lady of 3lbs 3oz recently from the Clyde, what more could a Grayling angler ask. I was very fortunate this year, and very thankful of them both.

3lbs Annan

I waited for 7 years for a 3lbs Grayling since catching my last one and this year I managed two of them, both Scottish fish and proves that the Scottish waters are without doubt in the last few years producing the bigger fish, as friends are continuously pulling 2lbs plus fish on a regular basis from all the Scottish rivers. Whilst down here we are struggling to see any Grayling above 2lbs in weight.

3lbs 3oz Clyde

The Grayling fishing in between the start of the year & the end of the year has been good on the days I managed to get out but with all the recent flooding that's not been as much as I would have liked.







The summer??....those few week we had back at the very start of the year produced the best Brown Trout for me this year, not large by some of the trout that have been caught from the river this year but such beautiful markings.

River Ure Brown Trout

These were the three fish that stood out in my mind most when sitting with a glass of whisky and jotting a few notes down for the blog end of year.

Waterfall On the River Ure

 As I was flicking back through the blog jogging my memories, the thing that stood out the most to me was the sheer beauty that I've had the pleasure of seeing this year, from the new stretches of river I've had the privilege to explore to nature itself.

Banded Demoiselle

The most memorable piece of nature was when the banded demoiselle dragonfly landed on my rod and sat still long enough for me to take a picture of it before flying off & joining its mate again.

 Without doubt the most memorable moment this year was when I finally received the Cane Fly Rod that now accompanies the Centre Pin Reel which were both paid for by my now deceased parents, so only fitting that they are both dedicated to them.

Gone from our home but not from our heart

Always with me wherever

 A Personal  thank you to Gary Marshall for the work he put into making the rod, his workmanship & dedication to producing such stunning rods.

The floats have been moving along at a more sensible pace this year and will probably now keep to the same for next year as trying to keep up with orders took the enjoyment out of making them last year and it was nice to sit back and make them at a more leisurely pace this year which gave me far more pleasure than trying to keep up with orders.

Thank You

 Everyone has their personal favourites and mine this year was the box of floats I created for my good friend Munro who had done me a few favours throughout the year and this seemed an appropriate thank you present










Thats about it apart from saying a Big Thank You to firstly my wife who puts up with me and together we celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary back in June and to everyone I've had the pleasure of either making floats for, (I hope they give you as much pleasure fishing with them as I go from making them)
 All the old friends and new ones that I've had the pleasure of fishing with this year, and everyone I've had correspondence with either by email or across the forums I frequent, I hope that your year has been just as interesting and varied as mine and all the good memories far outweigh the bad ones.
To everyone who drops in and reads the blog I hope I've brought you a smile or two throughout the year & hope you will continue to drop in, your always welcome

I wish you all a prosperous and healthy New Year & the very best for 2013.

Slainte mhath

Effects of nature

With it being Christmas Eve and as I look out the window and see nothing but puddles and rain, that does nothing but depress me, I was charging the camera for tomorrow's festivities and I came across these pictures that I had overlooked a few weeks back when we had the cold snap.

What amazes me is the effects nature has on things, these foam circles were all naturally made by the movement of the water in which they floated and froze solid.

Im praying for some of this soon....To get back out with the rod and get some fishing done again....ah well there is always 2013.

 

Another weekend with No Fishing!

Just like everywhere else in the country, the rivers are at bursting point & in some cases have burst, not good at any time but even worse at this time of year, thank heavens for living on a hill.
Again that 4 week rotation of the duty engineer noose has came around, Standby over Christmas I can handle but no fishing is disastrous...lol

So it looks like another week of fly tying, at least my boxes are getting topped up nicely, Just need a few days to try them out.

Gold Head & Pheasant Tail

Soft Touch Shrimp Variant

I would like to take this opportunity to thank firstly The Nurses & Doctors at the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton as 2 years ago yesterday I was hooked up to a Heart & Lung Monitor fighting for my life and they seen me through so without them I wouldnt be sitting today typing this blog.
To everyone who I have emailed, made floats for or just chatted across the many forums I frequent or met on the river bank whilst fishing, I wish you ALL a very Merry Christmas & a Prosperous New Year for 2013.

Hooked On Floats by Jeff Della Murra

I first heard rumours of this book bouncing around a couple of forums I frequent before it went to print and found out that Jeff Della Mura was writing a new book on vintage floats from 1860 - 1960.

I contacted Jeff who replied with some shots of what the book was going to look like and within 5 minutes of seeing them I had ordered my copy with Jeff. That was back in October, I've since received my copy No 90 of 340 and read the book from cover to cover and was not only astonished but must also applaud Jeff for the hours of work it must have taken him in research and putting the book together.

Vintage Fishing Floats from 1860 to 1960 a Collectors Companion. By Jeff Della Mura.

An Angling Bygones and Collectables reference work.

An easy to read collectors companion sprinkled gently with wit.

Features British classic float patterns and their likely dates.

Around four years to research and write.

Features the authors own collection, plus guests - Paul Cook, Andrew Field, Steve Anderson etc.

Includes a sample tour of world floats.

Includes contributions from international collectors.

Contains literally hundreds of unique colour images.

More than 400 information pages in colour - around 77,000 words.

Shows many previously unseen and rare patterns.

Includes hints, tips and inspiration for collectors.

Features vintage ephemera and memorabilia.

Cites sources for those seeking further information.

Offers cash rewards for selected unsolved mysteries.

Available in Standard and Superior hard cover limited editions. 

 The book is absolutely stunning in every detail and lays out the history of the fishing float not only in great detail but also stunning colour.

It brings the art of the float makers craft to life. Any serious float maker or admirer of vintage floats this is a must for your bookshelf, everyday was a school day when reading Jeff's book I have learnt so much from it.

Anyone interested in Jeff's book please see the link below...you WILL NOT be disappointed.

Hooked On Floats

Using droppers whilst trotting

Recently I have had endless emails from guys wanting to know more about using a dropper with an artificial fly on it whilst trotting for Grayling.

I was first shown this technique 40 years ago by my fishing mentor Peter Skelly an old man of over 70 who knew everything there was to know about, fly fishing, bait fishing and making his own tackle, some of which I now possess and cherish, he knew the River Avon & the River Clyde like the backs of his hands and often said there would be a trout or a Grayling in such a place and go and pull it out from the said place.

Its become quite apparent to me that this technique of using a dropper when trotting has long established links within the central belt of Scotland predominately the two rivers already mentioned, talk about it to any other angler from south of the border or other areas in Scotland & they are intrigued and want to know, I’ve only came across a handful of anglers in The North Yorkshire / County Durham area who also use this technique, so hopefully this small article will provide a small insight into the technique.

Peter taught me near enough everything I needed to know about Grayling & Trout fishing and I can still picture him with his greenheart rod and allcocks reel, standing there on the banks of the River Avon with his trotting rig set up and then he was tying on an artificial fly…. What’s all this about?  He used to do it in two ways, the first way I remember him doing was attaching a dropper with a dry fly about 2 foot up the line from his float, & the explanation I was given was that even if the grayling were taking bait, which in those days was always a small red worm, from time to time some would see the fly on the surface and come up from great depths to take it, and sure enough I seen him take a few nice Grayling using this method, it was quite bazaar to see a grayling above the float hooked fair & square in the mouth with an artificial dry fly.

Remember in those days & going back further to the 50s & early 60s fishing tackle was mainly heavy & cumbersome compared to today’s materials and in some cases very expensive so the old boys adapted methods to cut down on cost and probably because the central belt of Scotland was all mining villages with not a lot of money to throw around was where someone first come up with the idea.

I haven’t used this method of dropper fishing since Peter died but am sure its just as good at catching Grayling today as it was back then, The 2^nd method he showed me was a dropper below the float, often with a red tag fly with a single grub / maggot attached to it & referred to by many anglers through the years across the River Avon/Clyde belt as the red tag & maggot. The maggot not as a maggot as we know bought in shops but blown from chicken carcasses in bran in a biscuit tin at the bottom of the garden or during the spring months was often substituted for stick bait or the docken grub.

Stick Bait AKA The larva of the caddis fly, the little creeper style bug which can be found attached to rocks or other riverbed debris in its cylindrical case made from sand particles, small twigs &  other aquatic debris. These were collected prior to fishing & kept in a damp bag or tin and when required were pinched out their cases and attached to the hook similar to how a maggot would be.

There is nothing complicated about fishing the dropper method & its proven it worth time & time again when Grayling will not look at the natural hook bait, wither it be maggots or worm and often ignore both to take the artificial fly saving a long cold day on the river from being a total blank.

The method I was shown & still choose to use is by attaching a short 5” piece of line to my mainline by the use of a two turn water knot approximately 18” above my hook bait. I personally prefer my bulk shot above my dropper knot with a small shot below it but I know many other seasoned Grayling anglers have all the bulk shot below the dropper knot, this is down to personal preference. No special floats or anything else is required its simply your same trotting rig as you would always use apart from an added dropper with which an artificial fly is attached.

I have seen the same method on various occasions brought up to the 20^th century by using a micro swivel caught between two float stoppers / split shot and the dropper tied to the other eye of the swivel effectively acting as a helicopter rig which is adjustable due to it not being permanently fixed to the mainline, From time to time this method will incur tangles where the dropper wraps around the mainline and this way seems to cut out the wrapping effect more than the water knot, but being a fly fisherman I have always done the water knot which serves me well.

Artificial flies on the dropper, I mainly stick to bugs but have also put on dry flies such as a red tag, grayling witch and they have all still caught fish. Bugs I use frequently would be sawyer’s killer bug, pink shrimp, pink brassie, hares ear with pink/red bead or any other bug combination I tie myself.

I hope this small insight has answered some of the questions people have been asking, I hate to think what some more traditional fly anglers who use nothing but fly fishing equipment think about it, and how out of the ordinary some bait fishermen might think, but I know for sure that’s it has a long history in the central Scottish region and will continue to do so as its an accepted method for catching Grayling and has accounted for many large grayling over the years, & only recently accounted for the 3lbs 3oz fish I had whilst in Scotland.

My Views are don’t knock it till you try it and my fish are always caught & released as I like to think I’m looking after the sport for the generations to follow behind me and I’m still getting my enjoyment from it.

Thankfully the days where you would go to many rivers throughout the country and see hundreds of Grayling thrown up the bank as vermin & left to die are long gone, & long may it stay that way…

Last for 2012

I managed to finish off last night the last floats I would complete for 2012. The angler gave specific instructions on what he would like and are to be used for Barbel & Chub in 2 - 4ft of water.

3/4" tips with a total length of 5" and taking 6BB in weight.

And as always I like to make up a couple of extra for my personal box, but I like them with a bit more sight on them so here they are with the two for myself, a bit of a slight difference in sight tips.

Also completed a single Crow quill with elder pith which is going to Holland. The quill is 7" long and is to be used for canal work for bream.

These will be the last floats that I will complete in 2012 so I would just like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has asked me to make them floats in 2012 and I hope they have brought you as much pleasure from using them as I got from making them. Thank You.

At the year end

I'm being constantly asked, even though I put it on the website that floats are only made to order and every other day during the Grayling season I get people asking if they can have floats within a week....Miracles I can only do on the 3rd sunday of each month as long as the month starts with the letter G.

Seriously though this is only a hobby for me not a business so guys if you want floats for the Grayling which is my busiest fishing time as I'm a Grayling Fanatic, in case you haven't noticed, please order them well in advance at least 6 - 8 weeks before you want them, that way you wont be disappointed when I say No.
For the disappointed guys amongst you I have a few floats made up which are spares as I often make 1 or 2 extra on an order, they are not weighed or signed and if anyone is desperate then drop me an email, first come first served am afraid.

Please only email me if interested in the floats shown in the picture, as I say 1st come 1st served, when they are gone they are gone.
Tight Lines.
George

Post Updated 18/12/12 Floats crossed off which are now gone

Make Your Own Traditional Fishing Tackle

If like myself you enjoy the more traditional of fishing tackle, not saying I go about with Plus 4’s on and brogues with pipe sticking out my mouth but I do enjoy using tackle from yesteryear, It gives me far more pleasure to catch a fish using something that someone has taken time & effort over to make than something that’s rolled off a production line, in my case predominately old centre pin reels, cane rods and not forgetting the floats I make myself.

Some of the prices for this old equipment is astronomical, but if you have some time and like messing around with items yourself then why not make this gear yourself. The book entitled “Make Your Own Traditional Fishing Tackle” by author Paul Duffield is first class. 

It’s well documented and literally takes you through each step of making various items of tackle and at under £10 for the paperback is worth every penny. I thoroughly enjoyed sitting in the armchair and reading this from cover to cover and learning old traditions as I went, very informative and well written.

Paul takes you through various items of tackle from the tools required, to landing nets, float tubes, floats, rod rests and much much more. I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and will continue to use it as a very good reference guide when I have to so if your looking for something to read and want to try your hand at tackle making this is definitely a must read book.

Hers is just a few examples from pages inside the book, courtesy of Paul.

 Rig storage, we all require it and probably use pole float winders, why not try it yourself & get more satisfaction from knowing you made it yourself.

 

You could even have a dabble at the float making

We all use landing nets whether game anglers or coarse anglers

To see more of whats inside the book before parting with your money Paul has set up a website allowing you to look before buying, see links below.

Traditional Fishing Tackle 

 You will not be disappointed for sure I certainly wasn't 10/10

Cant fish the river so might as well write about it.

 I had all intentions of getting out onto the river today, the forecast yesterday was good with no overnight rain and temperatures of 5 Degrees, the river was in a good state, slightly high but would have been ideal for trotting, however the 5 degrees increase had melted a lot of snow up in the Dales and when I looked at the EA river levels this morning they were all over 1m high and bombing it through, so a day catching up on other things, like washing the car, cleaning out my desk and tidying up my in-box.

 I have recently over the last week or so been getting several emails from people who are either Grayling fishing for the first time or are asking questions on the tackle I use to fish for them, mainly because I'm still using split cane trotting rods, so to answer everyone's questions this article is one I wrote for a local fishing club in Scotland for the Junior members but since then experienced anglers have also been thanking me for the info.
Before any so called Angling Guru's start emailing me, let me say this is what I use, I'm not saying its the right way or the wrong way but it suits me and catches me fish, if its not to your way of thinking then simply walk on by.

 

Grayling & The tackle I would use to catch them.

Centre Pin Reels
There are many Centre Pin reels on the market today most of them costing a small fortune to buy but there is nothing to stop you going along to car boot sales, local auctions or 2nd hand shops and having a look around, you may surprise yourself in what you find, most of these reels came from those sources and the dearest cost me just over £50.

These reels are what are known as true pins and most of them pictured are over 50 years old and still spinning & catching fish today as they were intended for all those years ago, As I said these are known as true Pins reason being they run on a centre pin which comes through the spool and the spool revolves around the pin unlike the new pins of today where they still have a centre pin but they now run on a set of bearings housed in the spool itself.
These reels are the modern day equivalent to the reels above and in most cases cost in the hundreds of pounds, They run on a set of bearings housed within the spool itself however there are some exceptions price wise. The reel on the top right of the picture cost £30 and the reel on the bottom left cost £90 and they run not as good but not far off as the other two pictured which cost a few hundred pounds each. So when you see Centrepins advertised believe me you don’t have to buy top of the range to get started a £30 reel would suffice and I still use them just as much as the more expensive reels.

Fixed Spool Reels
Dont let anyone tell you that you cannot use fixed spool reels for trotting for Grayling as they are telling you lies, you can, there is nothing to stop you using these reels and in some conditions they are better than the Centre Pin reels shown above. Again these dont have to be Brand new modern reels either, as you can see from the picture I use old & new for my fishing. When trotting for any fish with a fixed spool reel you must control the speed that the line peels off the front of the spool either by using your finger or if your not as confident by passing the line through your other hand that way you are in control of the line and if a fish takes you can strike straight away without having to re engage the arm of the reel.

Rods
This is down to own preferences as over my years of fishing I've seen & used all sorts of rods in my quest for the Grayling with a float, Growing up whilst out fly fishing, I've simply taken the tippet off and spooled on 20metres of line and attached a float so effectively fishing with a fly reel and rod with float tackle, I've also taken the fly reel off and replaced it with a spinning reel and used my fly rod. Mostly today I use Cane Rods through my own choice as I get great pleasure from using old kit but I still have modern day carbon rods which gets an airing from time to time. Any modern day float rod around the 11ft mark will suffice, but the longer the rod you have the greater the control over the float but the downside of this is if your fishing a river with lots of overhanging trees then expect to get the rod  caught in them…you're own preference.

Floats
Most of us grew up knowing no different and only using what we were shown to use by the people who taught us to fish and most of the floats used in those days were Grayling Bobbers as shown below, we all had them and they worked but have their downsides, They take lots of weight which is great if you want to get the bait down quick but when retrieving the line after a trot down they leave a wake the Titanic would be proud of and if using a centre pin you will most certainly go home after the session knowing you have been using a bobber float all day.

Below is a display of floats more suited to Grayling trotting, but there are more float patterns also made from all sorts of materials from Elder pith, to Balsa through to cork with wire stems, bamboo stems the list is endless, they are slimline in comparison to the Bobber therefore causing less resistance in the water when retrieving and will come back upstream quicker and smoother than the bobber, leaving less of a disturbance and with no aching arms. They can be various sizes to cope for varying depths of river and weight patterns.

Line
Monofilament such as Maxima will suffice if your not intending to spend lots of money on tackle, if your more advanced and want better line control and float control then I would recommend buying a line purposely designed for float fishing which floats on the surface of the water such as Ultima Flocast however this line breaks apart in extreme cold temperatures so better to use this only if summer fishing or like me I prefer to use a braided line as all lines have a stretch where braid does not you are in direct contact with the fish using braid. Its no good using a line which far outweighs the size of fish in the river, a 4lbs mainline will suffice with a 2lbs Hook Length as Grayling which are known to come right up to your feet and feed around your feet when trotting for them will still shy away from a hook if tied on a heavier line, they haven’t survived all this time through stupidity.

Weights or Shot
Any normal split shot will do, here I have 2 boxes which I have transferred into my own boxes for ease of use, the one on the right is the modern split shot which you can buy in any tackle shop and the one on the left is style weights used in conjunction with match fishing using a roach pole, I prefer to use these as they are more streamline once attached to my line, again my own personal preference.

Hooks
Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to hooks, I personally dont like eyed hooks I favour the spade end hooks as I feel it gives better presentation of the bait, but use whatever hooks you are most comfortable with, again size matters, the bigger the hook the more it is showing to the fish and the less likely it will take your bait. I carry a few packets of most common sizes from size 20 down to size 14, mainly micro barbed, that way the hooks are easy to get out & not leaving any damage to the fishes mouth like a normal barbed hook would and I always carry a disgorger as you can see I have a tendency to loose them so have a few which all fit neatly into an old specsavers case and it fits in my jacket pocket.

Artificial Baits
Dont be scared to use artificial baits, all these baits shown below work effectively when trotting for Grayling and can stop nuisance fish such as minnows from pinching the bait from your hook. They are cheap but very effective, don’t pass them buy.

I hope this small write up has made things a little clearer for you if you didnt previously know anything about the tackle used for Trotting for Grayling, as I have said in the write up you do not need to go out and spend hundreds of pounds on tackle to get yourself out on the river bank on a crisp frosty morning and enjoy not only the natural beauty of your surroundings but the sheer delight of the lady of the stream the Grayling.

Glycerine
Which brings me to my final top tip Glycerine get yourself down to your local supermarket and get into the cake making Aisle and dig out a bottle of Glycerine, it only costs about a pound but this stuff will keep you fishing in minus temperatures, when your rod rings start freezing up and your line starts to freeze to your rod eyes, dip some glycerine onto them and this will dissolve the ice and allow you to continue fishing.

You know when it all comes together because if your lucky you will start to see the larger fish and if your really lucky then you will get fish up & over 3lbs like the two below

3lbs 3oz

3lbs

 Tight Lines, and most importantly enjoy your fishing.

All is lost...Not Quite!

Well today was my first outing back on home waters after my trip to Scotland & with last weekend being unfishable due to water levels & standby engineer.
Set the scene....... - 6 degrees, sun shining, frost on the ground and the crows on the trees cawing, what better than a day for the Grayling......quick look at the water levels online before travelling...glimpse over at the calendar.....Stretch closed due to a fishing match!!

Ah well Plan B then, so headed to another stretch of the river where it was going to be hit or miss for the fish & other anglers. Arrived to find 12 cormorants lifting off the water as I appeared from the wood-line, defiantly not a good 1st sign.

Looking up the river towards the church in the distance the river was at a good level after the onslaught of severe flooding we have had, and it was nice to see the river back within the confines of its banks, but got me thinking about the amounts of food the Grayling must have had with all the free offerings all week in the flooded water.




As I had predicted it was going to be a hard day and the glare from the sun on the water didn't help any but after a couple of hours and some perseverance we got there in the end.

Not a big fish but a very welcome sight indeed in what was turning out to be the hardest day in a very long time. Not long after in the same run another couple made an appearance

After a bit of a trek down through the woods, I stumbled upon a guy who I have spoke with a couple of times over the internet who was out with the fly rod, and the going wasn't good with him either, he hadn't touched a fish, so after a natter and a look at what was the remains of a salmon carcass, that had been eaten by something  we shook hands and parted company.
I headed back up the river to where I had got the fish earlier and after a bite to eat was back in the run where I had got the fish earlier, a few tentative pulls then a solid take and landed this guy which had a very distinctive black dot on its flank, It wasn't a missing scale like I first though but a pure black scale.

Never touched another fish in the run after that one so slowly moved back upriver to where I had started, taking a couple of pictures on route.

After a chat with a lad I speak to on a frequent basis who was telling me there was only 1 more angler on the river which he had seen and he had caught nothing either, I felt a bit better knowing I had managed to coax a few out today.

I had another few casts and landed this little guy who was proudly displaying his colours but didn't look best pleased at being caught.

safely returned we called it a day and headed home, not the day I was expecting to have but not a total loss neither, Its good to be back on home waters, even if they dont have the larger fish like in Scotland...Now when am I going to Scotland again........:)