March the Month for Monster Grayling on the Tweed (Ron McCombe and Bill Drew)
As the snow thaws and we have dug ourselves out of the drifts it is Grayling time again. In 2009 the best spell was actually in March as the big Grayling feasted to put on weight for the spawn.
One American guest was fishing on our private stretch on the Tweed. The rig was the usual 3 fly set up. I had switched to the heaviest bead on the point to make the Czech nymphing experience easier for a novice and also to cover the entire water column.
Flies? Well the trusty pink shrimp with single tungsten bead on point, a woven caddis larva which we have specially tied for us in Poland, (where else as they seemed to invent the technique!), and a VW bug on the top dropper to make the fish glance upwards if they were so minded.
After 30 minutes the guest was into his first ever fish on the fly, and what a fish!.
The essential tool for Grayling, the Greys Streamflex 10ft rod, curved sweetly and eventually the lovely Lady of the Stream was in the net, photographed and released.
A good 54cms it would have been the fish of a lifetime for many.
“Nice fish “ said the guest. I agreed in slightly stronger terms!
Next cast the process was repeated and a larger fish landed, was photographed and released
“Man this is fun”, said the guest, “and it seems so easy”. Spluttering I put him straight on this might be the Grayling experience of a lifetime. He did not believe me and just said I was a hell of a guide. If only it was that easy it would be no fun. But then again!
Later one of the local experts down the tackle shop asked to see the picture as rumours about this first trip had spread. “No a bad wee fish“ was the summary.
Last week two of the guys in our guiding company Tweed Guide came first and second in the annual Tweed Grayling competition with 11 fish each - and do you know some of them were no bad wee fish either!
For more information on Tweedguide, Scotland's leading guide service for Fly Fishing click here.
