Grayling. Shy ladies and some not so shy.

So here I am with a winter grayling ticket on the Ure at Masham a stretch I have wanted to fish for many years and its the end of the second week in October So a trip to the river was way overdue.  The trouble is I need a pass from my Sergeant major.  Now evening passes during the summer are easy to get.  a willingness to decorate and help earns sufficient points to get an evening pass which is all you need in June and July , but in October and November what is needed is a full days pass..This is a different problem tact and diplomacy are needed .  However after convincing Sergeant major that a girlie day shopping with number one daughter was way over due the pass was stamped.

Now I have the pass and a reasonable weather forecast so the day is set. Arise early and walk dog,  Then away towards the river only to be met with problem number 1 a market town along the way is the scene of a war time recreation celebration.  many hundreds of of people in 1940s clothing and jeeps and trucks all decked out in 1940 kit.  So wastes 30 mins getting through the choked town on route and then 20 miles further on they have a bridge out and theres a 15mile diversion hope this isnt a omen for the day ahead.  Eventually arive at the river.  First impressions are its worth the journey

River Ure at Masham

The Ure is much bigger than the streams and becks I usually fish, but that was part of the attraction.

The river combines long slow pools and some nice rapids and deep run offs . It looked delightful but a bit daunting for one who is used to be able pick out the fish holding areas at a glance on the smaller rivers. The trees are starting to show Autumn colours and the air has taken on the feel of Autumn. "Thin" is how my father always described Autumn air, I think I understand what he means.  The river looks beautiful and is the colour of weak darjeeling.  I had read about the tea colour the river shows and it is correct definately a darjeeling.  Its a beautiful place I had only walked a 100m and had seen two kingfishers generally the river has a lovely quality although on first inspection there seems to be little weed growth and the wading looks interesting due to the nice smooth looking boulders that seem to be scarttered everwhere. 

River Ure

I spent most of the first hour just heading up stream and inspecting the water looking for the holding areas.  As the river is still at summer level the next time I come it may well be a good bit higher so any observation made now will be useful in a month or so when the river is more cloured and the levels higher.  A few minutes after the wind put in a good gust the leaves were thick on the water surface and the fish were rising among them.  So in I went with fine tippet and an aphid pattern. 

The Ure

After working my way along the stretch above casting to rising fish under the overhanging trees results were trees 3 small out of season brownies 4 and grayling nil . Hope the ladies arent going to be shy today, when I reached the end of  the stretch I left the river to find this lovely little fishing hut.  First thought was I wasnt issued a key but amazingly door was open and inside was a table with a few glasses and a visitors book, Opening the first page the book had the entries you would expect regarding fly hatches fish caught etc written in well educated hand however it was also obvious that the hut used by the local teenage population and judging by the entries not all the local girls are shy , Several  girls are mentioned by one presumes the local boys. I shall hope that the entries are due to over active teenage imaginations and are not factual as one young lady was mentioned in glowing terms by several hands. I have to say that the entries did make interesting reading maybe there is an idea that could be copied in other catch return books as it was more interesting than many but there again perhaps not .

Below the bridge at Masham

Anyway moving on.  After returning to the car I tried a different section of the river and at last the ladies came out to play a klinkhammer into a nice deep fast run brought four fish in quick succession, its amazing how freely the ladies rise to a dry but they are frustrating as they seem to miss the target so often, the first three I captured managed to get back into the river before I could take the traditional fish in hand shot. So it would appear some of the local ladies are shy .  Eventually I decided that the best way was to save their blushes was to take a quick pic before I took the next from the river , so there you have it a Ure Grayling shy maybe but pretty non the less. Cant wait for the next visit

A river Ure Grayl;ing