Grayling

Season: 16th June to 14th March inclusive

Fly only during the trout season on all Foundation water.
Trotting a maggot is allowed on some beats from October to March.

Up until a few years ago, grayling were undoubtedly one of the Wye's least recognised assets. Once seen as a nuisance species, they are now treasured. The river provides some of the best grayling fishing in the UK with not only large numbers of fish but also specimens of considerable size. Once hooked, the elegant grayling provides anglers with terrific sport.

Although they have become more prevalent in the lower river in recent years, the main stem of the Wye upstream of Hay and larger the tributaries such as the Irfon, Ithon, Lugg and Monnow provide the best grayling fishing. Unlike other river systems, however, Wye grayling tend to stay in the larger channels. One exception to this is the tiny river Dore on the Monnow system, fishing on which can be found in the Wild Stream scheme.

Most of the grayling fishing, however, is to be found on our Wye Booking Office beats.

The grayling season is the same as that for coarse fish (16th June to 14th March), which means the Wye and many of its tributaries can provide top quality fly-fishing all year round. Although catchable throughout their season, probably the best time of year for grayling is from September to December as they feed in earnest and start shoal in preparation for the winter. This is also a wonderful time of year to be on the river bank as the valleys take on their autumn livery. January and February can be productive months if temperatures are not too harsh.

A range of techniques can be used to catch grayling, from dry fly fishing to using heavy Czech nymphs in colder conditions. Many of the beats also allow trotting maggots in the winter months. For those inexperienced in catching this species, we recommend hiring the services of an instructor whose expertise will help you improve your catch rates.

Some beats allow grayling to be taken for the table. In addition to each fishery's bag limit, however, please note the Natural Resource Wales byelaws with regards size and number restrictions when keeping grayling. (2011 - max 2 grayling per day of 30 to 38cm.) Please also note that the Environment Agency Midlands region byelaws apply for any Severn catchment beats in the Passport scheme.