Like candy in a sweet shop.

The upside of being between jobs is you have a lot of time on your hands and although Im a dab hand with the vacuum cleaner and know the cooker intimately,  Homemade shepherds pie last night which went down a treat with the wife, even tidied out my man-cave which was long overdue, there was time a plenty to sit down get the tying vice out and get into the zone.

Something I have to say I've been unable to do for a while and since coming back from Graylingland in July I've tinkered along with just a couple of times at the vice, not really preparing myself until yesterday. This year I took the decision to keep the fly rod out for much longer and try the bugging for Grayling, where in the past I've normally cleaned it down and got the trotting rods out of hibernation, this year I want to split it and hone my skills on the fly rod more, not that I have any intention of leaving the trotting rods alone, that will never happen as there is something special about trotting a handmade float down a river with a small red worm attached as bait using a centrepin reel and cane rod on a crisp frosty morning.

I awoke early 0500am and not wanting to disturb the wife slipped into my room where I store all sorts, from computer, to float making & tying stuff, a sort of man-cave where Im left at peace and I knew I just wanted to tie a few flies.

So what better way to prepare for the Grayling season than tie up some Grayling bugs.

We all know Grayling are fond of pink so with having a few different shades of dubbing made a couple of each shade up with a small amount of weight incorporated into them, ideal for attaching to droppers.

A few other shades which have served me well in the past especially early on in the season.

My fly box for the Grayling is starting to look less bare and has a bit of colour about it, hopefully the Grayling will be as attracted to them as I hope they will be.

Taking a break to set about making a handmade shepherds pie from scratch and a few other chores around the house, I found myself with more time in the afternoon so decided seeing as I was in the mood got the vice back out again.

This time deciding on a few point flies and looking around some old grayling classic books adapted a few to suit myself.

red tag variant

and a fly that seems right out of place but does actually work very well in coloured water  I call the orange bomb, A similar fly last season accounted for Grayling in coloured water for a friend  more than anything else, so with my own slight twist of adding a bit of shimmer around the collar we will see how it fares this season.

So the box is boosted by a few more point flies and droppers, The next couple of days will see me empty my fishing vest and lighten the load for the Grayling season, I may even try out a small sling bag I bought whilst on holiday which I thought would be ideal for the Kelly kettle  and tried it out the other day but thinking on it, with the bug boxes in my pockets I only need a small pouch for the essential bits and pieces and I would still be able to slip lunch into the bag, who knows further investigation required.
In the meantime a few job interviews have arisen so  Id better slip the demob suit on and attend, who knows might even be lucky enough to get myself back into employment.