Another trip to my great little local Chew. Target species again Grayling. The weather was overcast but really mild with hardly any wind. The river had been coloured and high for the past few weeks but it was looking good today with just a little colour. Met up with Red and guess what another three anglers turned up to float fish on the Bathampton stretch. We went off downstream to Keynsham stretch. I started with the usual patterns but bites were infrequent and I lost the first fish on the Brassie, it was one I hadn't changed for a while so lost faith in the point of the hook. Decided to push the boat out today and changed to a pink nymph. This is one I had tied a while back - it had a fairly large red glass bead head and flashy pink dubbed body and had never caught for me in the past. It looked heavy and bright and as I felt my earlier Brassie wasn't getting deep enough I thought I would give it a try. I flicked it out under the Klink and within 20 minutes I'd netted three Grayling and lost two. The biggest getting towards a pound. If anything the bead was a bit big for the hook which probably lost me the two.
Next run and I lost both flies in an overhanging tree. I just had one more nymph with a pinkish hue and glass bead head. It caught me a further two Grayling. Pink is clearly the colour for December Grayling. I was also pleased I was not attracting the attention of the resident trout which have been conspicuously pre-occupied with spawning hopefully.
Both Red and I discussed how the recent spates had had quite a profound affect on the river. Clear areas of gravel had emerged and silt had been consolidated in areas where the current had slacked off. This stretch has plenty of tree root obstruction, overhanging trees and fallen debris to create a diverse river environment which is invaluable to spawning fish and makes for some really interesting fishing. It tests your skills but it is incredibly rewarding.
