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What a better way to spend a late summer / early autumn morning than roving your nearest grayling river looking for rising fish? According to Gary it's a great way to keep flyfishing when the reservoirs close. Here's hid guide to catching grayling on dry flies. In early autumn, the Grayling will have felt the first occasional falls in temperature and, perhaps, a rise in the level of water, which would indicate to the Grayling that she must start to think about getting some serious feeding done before the onset of hard winter. You can still expect to see some quite healthy hatches of fly from the river - You would probably encounter mainly Olives and Sedge.

What equipment do you need for dry fly fishing on a river for Grayling?

I like to fish with the least amount of gear possible when fishing dries, because I like to walk the river until I see risers, then winkle a few out and walk on. For walking these distances breathable waders are an advantage - buy a stocking foot with a good boot and felt sole, boots give you far more support around the ankle than welly foot and felt soles offer far better grip on weedy, rocky river bottoms than rubber. Also desirable is a shortie waistcoat with pockets, or a pocket bra, for essentials such as a box of dries, floatant, line sinkant, tippet material in 3lb, 2lb and 1.5lb, nippers, debarbers, fly drier such as amadou, CDC floatant granules and, most importantly, a catch and release tool. Stuff a waterproof jacket down the back of your waders or in a large pocket and you are all set!
An 8ft 4 weight rod is a good standard set up for dries and you don't have to spend a fortune on a rod - you can buy a good dry fly rod with matching reel for around £130.00 to begin with and invest in a more elaborate outfit later if you take to it. I use a Sage 2 weight, which is just great fun with small and large fish alike and gives thistledown presentation.

What's your approach to a day on the dries for Grayling and how is your leader constructed?

Basically I walk slowly along the river until I see fish rising or a likely spot appears - I will give it a few casts and move on. Fishy looking spots such as behind rocks, under bushes, places in the river where fast water meets slow water are all likely holding areas. If the day were bright and hot then I would try the fast, shallow riffle water which is cooler and holds lots of oxygen for fish. An important point to make here is that you will need to watch the water a little harder than when spotting trout, the Grayling's rise form is usually just a kiss at the surface and a small dimple is all that is seen. I like to approach a rising fish from across or downstream. The reason for this is twofold: the Grayling is primarily a bottom dwelling fish and will usually position itself close to the bottom and this gives her a very good window of vision to all that is happening above and, as winter approaches, Grayling tend to gather in larger shoals. If you continually cast upstream to a fish, eventually you will spook the rest of the shoal by lining them. This approach is worth considering and can mean the difference between catching just one fish and catching a dozen or so.

		CASTING REQUIREMENTS
For downstream dry fly fishing I employ a parachute cast. The line is cast above the intended target, the cast is stopped while still high in the air and as the leader straightens out the rod is then drawn back and the fly lands a yard or so upstream and in line with the rise form - nice and straight with built in slack needed to drift down to the target at the same speed as the flow. The first thing the fish sees with this cast is the fly. For fishing across to a fish the main consideration is drag. If drag occurs on a fly no self respecting Grayling or trout will touch that fly, except perhaps during a hatch of skating Sedge. As soon as the line is released for your target put an upstream or downstream mend in the line by leaning the rod in that direction as soon as the cast is made. If you find this hard to master try the wiggle cast. This is a very simple way of eliminating drag from a multitude of situations - as the line is cast and is shooting through the rings wiggle the rod from side to side and the line lands on the water looking rather like a snake. This gives valuable drag-free time until the current straightens out the line. The more drag free line required, the bigger the wiggle - simple!
	LEADER SET UP Everyone has their own ideas of the perfect dry fly leader set up. Whatever you choose, as long as it turns over and gives gentle presentation and you have confidence in it, stick with it. The set up I use exclusively now is, in my opinion, the 'best thing since sliced bread'! It is produced by Marc Petitjean and made with Kevlar. I use the 1½ meter leader - only 3 feet of say 2.2 or 1.5 Rio is all that is required on the end. These leaders are extremely fine at the tip - they turn over flies in all conditions the likes of which I have never seen before. Unlike most leaders the energy stays in the leader all the way to the fly, because only a small amount of leader is required on the end they allow greater accuracy.
FLIES Grayling are by nature very opportunist feeders. They will take almost anything available to them. The amount of terrestrials being found in stomach contents during surveys is good evidence of this. However there are days when they will show an interest for only one type, fly midge for instance, and will look for nothing else. Just be aware of your surroundings and what is hatching around you. I do not believe a fly has to be the exact colour and shape of the hatching insect, but I do believe the general size and silhouette as viewed from underneath is critical, as is the presentation. My choice of favourite patterns would include: Klinkhammer, Adams, various Olives, Black Gnat, Griffiths Gnat, Rusty Spinner, Howard Crostan Sight Spinner - 16, CDC flies - Blue Bottle CDC and Beetles.
POINTS Be aware that the Grayling can come very fast to a fly. If you miss don't panic - put the fly straight back down the same line and, provided you haven't touched, you have a good chance it will come again. Don't wade straight out over water because it looks shallow as it is always worth fishing over shallow riffles on your way over to a spot you fancy. Grayling can lie in very shallow water; providing you stay low and wade quietly you can very often find a few fish willing to rise to a fly. Do not go home too early - the best sport can be at dusk when the flies that have hatched during the day come back on the water to lay their eggs and die. The dead and dying are called spinners. The Grayling know this is the easiest meal of the day - and the time when you are most likely to catch the big ones. Be careful when wading - always carry a wading stick, especially in unfamiliar rivers. Take time out to enjoy your surroundings. Have a break - take a Kelly Kettle and make yourself stop for a coffee, slow down and enjoy! Please use barbless hooks or if you buy flies take the trouble to roll the barbs off. Join the Grayling Society. It is not expensive and you will join a clan of friendly, like-minded people, willing to share information and also you will receive a regular magazine listing all the Day Ticket waters available. Tight lines	CONCLUSION The Grayling, in my humble opinion, is our most beautiful game fish. As far as I am concerned she reigns as our number one game fish, totally indigenous to its surroundings and truly wild. The pursuit of Grayling can take you to some of our most stunning scenery, especially the Dee and Severn valleys. At this point I would like you to bear in mind catch and release. The old days of considering Grayling as vermin are, thankfully, long gone and she is now thought a valuable asset to any river. Catch and release is becoming more and more popular, in fact I cannot recall seeing anyone take a Grayling from the river for many years now. Consequently, in many of our rivers, there are large numbers of huge Grayling well in excess of 3lb - stunning fish in anyone's book! If you need a trophy take a photograph then put her back - you'll feel better for it.