Grayling on the 'pin

The winter is well and truly with us now and to avoid freezing my nads off wading the stream I decided to get out the trotting rod and run a few maggots down on the centrepin. Eaton Dovedale was looking very desolate when I arrived this morning with the Dove carrying some extra water and colour. The river appears very bleak now with signs of the first winter floods now passed, there was flotsam and jetsam liberally dispersed over the banks.
I kept fairly mobile and it wasn't until the third swim I fished that I picked up a couple of small fish just below the swan island. I had invested in a wire stem Drennan Avon 5BB and this suited my outfit a treat being just the ideal weight for trotting. I dropped off a couple of better fish but put this down to being a bit rusty on the pin.
Another move put me on the best pod of the morning with the fish above being the better of my session. I soon remembered my grayling playing skills after losing a couple more and kept the rod tip low to keep them off the surface.

I enjoy using my Shakespeare Alpha 12' rod for this type of fishing as it has a nice action. I do have a 14 footer that was bought for fishing the stick on the Trent. The extra length sometimes comes in handy but it has so many rings I'm ready for a sit down and a cuppa by the time it is threaded up. The last swim I fished was a delightful trot with some broken water at a steady pace. I did use some loose feed which kept the fish coming and thankfully did not attract those greedy spotties.