Not a Club Member

Conditions were not perfect but I did manage to get down to the Frome for a couple of hours on 28th February for my last cast of the season.

The water was fairly high and a bit coloured, but by no means impossible. The wind was chilly though, and temperature around 6C. When I reached the spot that I planned to fish it was already occupied, by a heron. I felt a bit mean forcing him out, but on the other hand I suspected he was not a club member, and sure enough he scarpered pretty quickly as soon as he saw me.

After taking some time to find any grayling, the first one came unstuck, and it was quite a wait till I found another. Small pink nymphs seemed to work the best and when the takes came they were quite aggressive, and the grayling very lively. The best fish of the day was around 16″, while the best fight of the day came from a 3ft long twisted strip of lead (ex church roof?) which at least proved the nymph was fishing on the bottom. It reminded me of the time, many years ago, when my brother caught a wire coat hanger from the stone pier at Weymouth. Caught by the hook end, it fought magnificently, impressing the growing crowd of onlookers as it twisted and twirled in the tide.

So that’s it for the old season, the grayling fishing has been excellent even if the weather has been tough at times. Now the first signs of spring are here so it’s time to focus on tying flies for April and May, and I’m looking forward to fishing the flies a bit higher in the water!

All the best and looking forward to seeing you on the river next month.

Doug