Just tried river fishing today for both trout and grayling. I've attached a couple of pictures of the river fished. Can anyone give me advice on types of flies to use for river fishing(wets). As the flow is quite fast I tried Gold Head Hare Ear and Damsel, and of course some grayling flies!


Also seem to have some problems detecting takes. I'm casting upstream and letting the line go past mending as it goes and then letting it continue downstream, is this correct?

The only thing I managed to catch was a gudgeon, more by accident than anything else!

I stuff on a couple of weighted nymphs (hare lug type stuff) and fish up stream (using an indicator if allowed). Make sure you try keep a reasonably tight line. Strike at the slightest hesitation.

i would have to say ,that that's a pretty wild /overgrown piece of river,i don't imagine you'll have many other anglers figting to fish it.

jim

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Going by the lack of bankside cover and smooth water in the pictures I would suggest casting from a position well away from the waters edge and trying to land little or no fly line on the water (lay it on the grass, at angles roughly 45 degrees upstream). You will want to build some slack into your cast so as to avoid drag (ie you don't want your leader landing perfectly straight, long tippets help).
As for detecting takes watching the point where the leader dips under water for twitches and bumps works but why not try a dry like a klinkhamer? Much easier to fish than nymphs / wets.

Hope this helps
Tight Lines.

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Have you thought of a running ledger and a piece of bread flake? It looks like a lovely little chub river!

On a more serious note - if the river's near Tamworth are you sure there are grayling in it?

According to the farmer who owns the fishing rights the river has been stocked with both trout and grayling by the Trout Trust, but I do have my doubts! But given that its 5 minutes from work and 10 minutes from home its worth a try.

As for the coarse fishing I hear its pretty good, was wondering if I used some maggot looking flies if I might get anything else?

Try a klink on a dropper and 2-3 ft below on the point put a Shrimp/killer bug.
Make the leader up of 3lb line and cast the lot up stream.

If your dry moves then strike.

WCB

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I presume there were no rises to flies hatching from or laying eggs into the water or to terrestrial landing on the water. Would be amazed if a cranefly would not have stirred them up, given the grass fields, low and open banks.

I have sent a pm
regards
robh

Hi Matt,
It looks a nice little river.
It you are only starting river fishing the best start would be to approach the river very quietly and watch for rising fish but stay low as your shadow will put them down.
IMHO the way to start off is using wet flies. Use cover(if you have any) and keep it on the downstream side of you. Make sure to crouch when casting and when you are moving stand well away from the bank.
Fish a team of 3 wetflies. I would start with a hares ear nymph or a pheasant tail nymph on the point, a spider on the middle dropper(black spider,silver spider,snipe and purple,etc). As for the top dropper its up to you, if the fish are rising you could try match the hatch. In the summer evenings a wet brown or silver sedge sitting in the surface film will often get you the best fish of the day. A sparcely dressed bibio is also a great top dropper.
Cast accross the river and try land the flies slightly upstream of you(someone else mentioned a 45 degree angle). Let your flies drift down with the current. Strike at movements on the surface where you think you flies are. Twitches on the leader are also an indication. You can vary the speed of the flies by mending the line up or downstream. Do this gently though as this will also put fish down. When the drift is over and the flies start to dangle in the current leave it a few seconds before retrieving with a figure of eight as fish often hit you as your flies rise up in the water.
Dont false cast too much, with a wet line one of two flicks should get enough line out on a river of that size. To much false casting will dry out your flies and can also put fish down.
If there are spots where you can wade its even better, dont cast a long line and flick your flies into likely spots. Stand tight to the bank to give yourself cover.
Good luck,
Eddie