Hi all, Second thread and as new to it with only stillwater as experience I was wondering how you can fish for grayling but not accidently catch a trout when the trout are out of season. This may sound pretty thick but could it happen is it ok to fish them for tea or only as catch and release?

[feet are getting itchy to go river for the first time lol]

You will definately end up catching trout but it is frowned upon and strictly catch and release. Preferably released whilst still in the water.

Chris.

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" I still don't know why I fish or why other men fish except that we like it and it makes us think and feel".
Roderick L Haig-Brown

There isn't any way of presenting the same flies and same baits which both grayling and trout take without excluding either or.

The trout have just spawned and with the water being cold there's not too much readily available for them to eat to aid their recovery, so that makes them weak, and also eager to come to a nice worm or maggot. You should play a hooked out of season trout hard and get him to the net as quickly as possibly and released as quickly as possible without further stressing him. A weak fish becoming stressed can quickly succumb to shock and disease.

The should be handled as little as possible as patches of skin where the mucous has been removed will quickly become infected with fungus. The fungus itself does not kill the fish but again it's that stress factor which makes the fish susceptible to secondary infections.

They're the successful fish which have just spawned more sport for you to enjoy in years to come so you should treat them with the uttermost respect or risk losing your future sport.

It is also illegal to kill them for tea at this time of year.

Thanks Christy27 for the reply and to you GuyFromLaw I am asking this question to know is it worth trying to go for some grayling or not to bother till more experienced. So does this happen often one being caught when looking for the other in the winter?

I didn't make myself clear about which fish I was meaning to eat for tea [I know I can eat trout and not till in season] what I meant was can you eat grayling or is it like carp i.e. good only for catch and release but taste horrid?

Grayling taste Great
My Local river was stocked with Triploid Browns for the 1st time last year and I seem to be getting as many Trout as Grayling at the moment maybe down to them not spawning

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Allan
Only dead fish go with the flow.

It is possible to avoid trout whilst grayling fishing but it takes some preparation. Finding where the grayling shoals are is the first step. This might be based on your own local knowledge of where you have seen shoals of grayling or else you go looking for them.

Presenting your fly hard on the bottom is a good way to keep away from the trout, this becomes very effective if you are bumping your fly on the bottom down through a shoal of grayling.

If you see a trout, don't fish there. Move away and find grayling. If you catch a trout, which can happen as your fly is on its way back up to the surface if you don't pick off quickly enough to prevent it, then do the same thing and move away.

It's a matter of avoiding them and careful observation makes it viable.

richard

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Who resides on the right bank of the Derbyshire Wye and is lulled to sleep each night by the mutterings of a weir, dreaming that "When the rivers and their inhabitants come first, we ALL win..."

Also watch out for the signs of trout redds ( spawning sites ) and dont wade through them.. Streams round here are full of them at the moment...

Andy


Becks and Brown Trout

And, of course, observe exactly the same sort of care when there is a risk of catching out-of-season grayling while trout fishing

Drumsdude - be aware that while grayling are good eating fish, it is now illegal in England to take more than two in a day or any less than 30cm or more than 38cm. It is possible for the fishery owner to ask the EA for an exemption from this rule. It is also up to the fishery owner whether you may take any at all - many fisheries are now catch and release only. I think I would be right to say that very few grayling are taken these days, with most anglers releasing most or all they catch.

I know you wont be fishing my local river but please release them for future sport but if you must try them just take one and put all future fish back.
If everyone who went fishing took two every time they went fishing we would soon be left with none of the bigger ones (which would die off) and as the smaller ones grew they would be killed for the table