P.B.River Irwell Grayling On New, Hardwood Stemmed Avons

January 02, 2022

Hi All,

I had a small window today to christian one of my new ....

"Hardwood Stemmed Avon Floats".

Todays target fish was an Irwell Grayling, not the ghosts they once were but any winter coarse fish on the Irwell is a big ask

!!!!!!!

I arrived at the river to see it high and very coloured, more so than I would have liked.

Unperturbed I set up at the car and plodded off to the first run......

The first run gave up a big fat blank......not a bite..... so I wadderd off after twenty minutes to the next run.

At the second run I struggled with float control as the river was really pushing through. I did have a bite and connected.....but it was off in seconds.....my spirits where starting to drop. I haven't been fishing for ages and my luck had seemed to have deserted me !!!!!!

Once again I moved swims to a favoured run of mine. After ten minutes the new avon disappeared from view and I was into another fish.

With the river pushing through hard the fish put up a fantastic fight for over five minutes, I really struggled to get it up stream to land it, eventually it was in the net, a lovely coditiond Irwell Grayling and on my new float as well.

After a good rest the lady was realsed to fight another day.

I fancied another fish from this run so carried in for another ten minutes.....

Sure enough, at the end of the run the float buried and the pin sang off under the strain of a good Irwell fish.

This was a much stronger adversary which bolted and tail walked all over the swim.

I eventually netted the fish which was large, out of season brownie.

Two other runs where tried to no avail.

The last run before home was a bit of a walk away, a nice crease cause by a large overhanging bush.

For twenty minutes I fished well only to catch a miriad of minnows.

The famous last cast came and I watched the avon drift down stream as it had many times before. Three quarters of the way down the swim I hit what I thought would be another minnow but the Acolyte bent right round and I was into another good fish.

I couldn't see what species it was in the chocolate brown flood water and it was fight was poor until it saw the net then zoomed off once more.

When I did eventually see the fish it was the pink and black from a massive dorsal fin that gave it away.

In my net was a lovely, Irwell Grayling the biggest I have had so far.

P.B.Irwell Grayling.

1lb 1oz