I fished here for the first time last Sunday and blanked for the first time in ages! I was the only fly fisher, but several coarse fishermen told me they haven't caught many Grayling for the past 2 years. In spite of blanking I might go back as now I'm working in London this seems to be one of the few options for Grayling within a reasonable distance. Does anyone fish here regularly recently and know how it is fishing? Or know somewhere better within reach of London?

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'If you're doing things the way you've always done them then you're probably doing them wrong'

You could try Denford just up the A4 on the outskirts of Hungerford, there are plenty of grayling there.

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“There is no more lovely country than Monmouthshire in early spring. Nowhere do the larks sing quite so passionately, as if somehow inspired by the Welsh themselves. There is a blackbird on every thorn and a cock chaffinch, a twink as they call him there, on every bush...... It moved me profoundly. I had been spared to see another spring, and I thank God for it.”

Oliver Kite
“A Spring Day on the Usk”
A Fisherman’s Diary

According to the Denford website (http://www.denfordfishery.co.uk) their Grayling season is closed for the winter; they only open for Grayling up till 31st October.

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'If you're doing things the way you've always done them then you're probably doing them wrong'

This is not the case ,my grayling sundays take place here ,we fish right up until new year and could fish into febuary ,I generally find that the fishing gets very hard after Xmas ,I think the grayling move into the main river or upstream not sure which ,but the stock certainly seems to not be there .
With the warmer winters we are having this may well have changed .

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Andy Wren
Winter grayling taking a year off !
Claret not just a great dubbing colour!

I fished Denford in February 2004 and also found it fairly hard going compared to other visits. It was actually weather just like we've been having, bright and very cold.

I got fish from right by the car park to just below the first bend down towards the A4 from the car park, in the largish hatchpool and on the back carrier but they were thin on the ground elsewhere including on the short section of main river.

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“There is no more lovely country than Monmouthshire in early spring. Nowhere do the larks sing quite so passionately, as if somehow inspired by the Welsh themselves. There is a blackbird on every thorn and a cock chaffinch, a twink as they call him there, on every bush...... It moved me profoundly. I had been spared to see another spring, and I thank God for it.”

Oliver Kite
“A Spring Day on the Usk”
A Fisherman’s Diary

The Denford web site also says that all grayling must be taken - is this also the case?

Rod

I've always put mine back, I didn't know about that rule. If I had to kill them I wouldn't fish there again.

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“There is no more lovely country than Monmouthshire in early spring. Nowhere do the larks sing quite so passionately, as if somehow inspired by the Welsh themselves. There is a blackbird on every thorn and a cock chaffinch, a twink as they call him there, on every bush...... It moved me profoundly. I had been spared to see another spring, and I thank God for it.”

Oliver Kite
“A Spring Day on the Usk”
A Fisherman’s Diary

I checked with Denford and they are open for Grayling till the end of Feb. I guess sometimes it doesn't pay to rely on the internet for information. I didn't ask about whether they insist on keeping the fish; sometimes it doesn't pay to enquire too deeply as to the rules, then one can plead ignorance. If they do have that rule then it's not really a problem as on such beats I always find that I lose the fish just as I'm landing them. Sometimes I manage to get a photo of the fish, but it manages to flip back into the water before I kill it. Forgiveneness is easier to get than permission.

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'If you're doing things the way you've always done them then you're probably doing them wrong'