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| The Upper Hampshire Avon |
The day in question was the first proper frost of the year back in mid November of 2015. Perfect Grayling fishing weather as it goes. After de-icing the van I made my way down to Hampshire to join a dedicated bunch of fly anglers on the Avon in a combined quest to catch 'the lady of the stream'.
I had been invited along by the guys from 'Wet Your Knot' who run a respected web community through their facebook page and have a dedicated following now well over 25,000 members strong. Their aim is to breath new life into the world of fly-fishing and bring it right in to the 21st century by bringing passionate fly-anglers old and new together in their own unique way. Click here for their web page Wet Your Knot.
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| A good day out with the 'Wet Your Knot' lads |
I felt privileged to be invited along and was made to feel very welcome by the founders Adam and Julian and their friends. The stretch of the Avon was owned by the Army and we had been granted permission to fish it for the day. I have previous experience of fly fishing for grayling in the traditional upstream fashion using nymphs suspended under an indicator but was keen to learn all about 'Czech and French Nymphing'.
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| Mark bringing a Grayling to the net |
This devastatingly effective technique was put on display to great effect by some of the other anglers that morning and I was lucky enough to be under the tutelage of a couple of well practised chaps, Simon and Lindsay.
They put me right on the technique and showed me how the team of heavy nymphs was fished on a short line with a small fluorescent in-line indicator tied in for bite detection. By flicking the team of nymphs upstream of my position and then guiding them through the river on a tight line I was able to tease the flies through all the likely looking runs and glides.
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| Had a go for a pike in the mill pool too, sadly no takes that day. |
It took a short while to get the hang of it but I soon got into the rhythm of repeatedly casting and running the nymphs through all the fishy spots. It didn't take too long to bring a fish or 2 to hand and I soon realised the potential of this incredibly accurate and precise way of fishing. It may lack some of the finesse and art form associated with casting a fly line in the traditional way but it more than makes up for this in it's effectiveness. On it's day, it pretty much empties the stream....as many of the guys I was fishing with proved!
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| A nice Hampshire Avon Grayling |
It was a thoroughly enjoyable day in fine company and always good to make new friends in the world of fishing. As well as learning some new skills we also celebrated the birthday of Adam with a fine BBQ and a very fishy looking cake. What's not to like :) Thanks to the guys at Wet Your Knot for the photos and for making me feel so welcome.
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| Adam and his very special 'Grayling' cake |
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