3lb grayling highlight of trip

A recce trip to a stretch of river in the Wye Valley in search of grayling proved fruitful for Mike Townsend who landed a number of specimens - this fish of 3lb the highlight.

The Doncaster-based rod caught all of his fish on single maggots which he offered on size 20 hooks and 0.09mm hooklinks with just a couple of AAA shots pinched on the line due to the very shallow clear water.

“On my first trip I’d just caught a fish of 2lb 4oz when I stood in a wasps nest. After getting stung several times and chased 200 yards by hundreds of wasps I called it a day,” Mike told Angling Times/ “When I returned I caught a cracker of 3lb exactly and several others over 2lb to 2lb 10oz. I saw all the fish take the bait and if I didn’t strike straight away, they spat the bait out and wouldn’t feed again.”