Every year the Internet Angling Club organize a days Grayling fishing on the upper reaches of the River Kennet in Berkshire. This area of the river is known for its good Trout and Grayling fishing. I had planned to join the 1998 trip but due to work commitments was unable to attend, so this year when the broadcast went out for members wishing to go I fixed the date in my diary. The 3rd February 1999.

I have always loved Grayling fishing and most winters try to get a few sessions in on the River Dove or River Derwent. The fishing here can be hard, with the fish well spread and difficult to find. The average size is low too, with a fish over the pound being a very good result, although my personal best did go 1lb 7oz, something I was quite proud of. The Kennet is a different story.

With a week to go things were looking suspect, all the rivers were very full and it was still raining. One of the wettest Januarys on record could prove to be the bane of the Grayling day. I was hoping that things would improve. The talk on the IAC mail list was of fish up to 2lbs, this was really wetting my appetite but would my dreams of a personal best be out of the window due to the weather?

The day arrived and the weather has improved, things were looking good. The 150-mile journey proved a nightmare. I loaded the car at 4.30am but as soon as I started off down the road the police stopped me, to enquire about my activities at this time on a Wednesday morning, I was soon on my way again. About a 100 miles into the journey and the petrol warning light came on 'S***, I knew I should have filled up last night!', a Services sigh appeared to be my savior but as I pulled on to the forecourt it became obvious that this was not the case, it was closed and so a quick U-turn back onto the A43. More blue flashing lights and a series of questions about my previous actions, but the warning light on my dashboard cleared the matter up. Fortunately petrol was soon at hand and I was on my way again. I was getting concerned about the time, we had arranged to meet at the services on the M4 and I thought I would be late. Speed was needed but the way things were going this would probably prove too costly. A phone call from Geoff Maynard soon put my mind at ease, he was going to be about 30 minutes late.

I arrived only five minutes after the agreed meeting time and was starting to feel a little better about the proceedings. The breakfast turned out to be a free one, they were having problems with the cash tills and asked me to return after finishing my meal to pay for it, "Oh yes! Of course I will!" I have to thank Jim Hickey for encouraging my uncharacteristic behavior. There was much talk about the 'hot spot' a swim not too far from the car park, which appeared to be the place to put a large Grayling on the bank. All this talk was building my anticipation and I was eager to get on the road again. Geoff arrived and we were soon heading west along the M4.

The car park at the venue was located right on one of the carrier streams and it was soon apparent that the good weather over the previous few days had put the river being in good fettle. It was not too coloured but a little higher than normal. I was now feeling very much better. Geoff could not wait to get started and had a couple of trots down from the car park bridge, and caught a small Trout. This was going to be fun. Again, while the line was being threaded through rod-rings and floats set up, the talk was of the 'hot spot'. I was keen to get there but was beaten away from the starting blocks, 'bugger!' I thought, still there is a whole day ahead, I will get my chance.

In November the previous year I had met a couple of matchmen in the local tackle shop, who fished the Derwent for Grayling, we had got talking and they had told me of a maggot additive they used which seemed to attract Grayling but deter the huge population of small Trout. I had tried it on the Dove and caught Grayling, but due to the lack of Trout, had not had chance to prove their theory.

The swim I started in was about half way down the first meadow, below the 'hot spot'. A nice glide that ran down to a rickety old footbridge made from a large railway sleeper. After feeding a couple of handfuls of maggots I started my first trot down and missed a bite. During the next 20 minutes I landed five Grayling, most being about 6-8oz. One of the other members came walking down, looking to choose his first swim. Having never seen a Grayling I offered to let him fish this swim as I wanted to move on and explore. I had already caught more Grayling in 20 minutes here than I would normally catch in a whole day back home. The next choice proved a little harder and after loosing a couple of fish, I landed a Trout about a pound, so these maggots were not totally Trout-proof!

The 'hot spot' was producing well and rumors came down that a fish in the 2lb bracket had been landed. The next swim was down the end of the second meadow just above an old brick bridge. There was a nice crease on the opposite bank caused by a small tree. I put a couple of handfuls of maggots in and poured myself a coffee. Again, this proved to be harder work than the first swim, but once the fish started to move they came quickly and very soon I had another six Grayling under my belt. These were better fish and the largest one on the scales went exactly a pound. One of the other members kindly photographed it for me. This was not the 'hot spot' but I did not care, the special maggots were working. I decided to have another coffee and move on. Geoff appeared, sneaking along the bank like member of the SAS trying not to disturb my swim. "How you doing?" He had just had Trout so far but seemed happy with it. "Do you want to move in here?", I asked, "No thanks", the reply and he proceeded to adopt his SAS pose and move back down the river, "Geoff, its OK I'm moving on now!"

I decided to go back to loose some of the gear I was carrying and then have a look at some the lower stream water. On arrival I found Jim Hickey looking rather somberly at his landing net handle, which had just broken. Ever the initiative one he tried stuffing half a tree trunk down the jointing section as a repair, which only made matters worse! After some fiddling it was fixed with the help of a Marlboro packet 'So smoking does have it benefits!'

I fished a couple of swims on this lower stream and had three more Grayling and a couple of Trout. My tally was now fourteen Grayling and three Trout. Looking at the ratios of the other members it seemed as if the matchmen might be onto something with this additive. I decided to explore the Middle Stream, above the weir. There was a nice long glide just after the meeting of two streams, where a line of trees ran down the opposite bank. I settled down and started to feed maggots.

About ten minutes and I had my first bite, after a good long scrap I landed another big Grayling, which went 1lb 4oz on the scales. Another couple of swims down and I hooked another, this one went 1lb 2oz. A few minutes later Martin came along as I landed another pound plus fish. We photographed it. I could not believe this, I had caught more pound plus grayling today than in 10 years of fishing for them. It took about another twenty minutes before I hit my next fish. This fought really hard, at one point it went upstream, swimming deep and I began to wonder whether I had hooked a Barbel, a couple of minutes later I landed a beautiful 1lb 8oz female Graying, a new personal best. This really was a dream day. I caught another fish of 1lb 5oz, then the swim went quiet. It was now 1.30pm and time for some lunch. I now had nineteen Grayling and three Trout, great day fishing and it was not over yet.

After lunch I went for another walk around the lower streams, fished a swim at the top of the 'canal' and almost straight away I had a Grayling. A couple more came my way then I hit into a Trout, which gave a really good account of itself, and completely killed the swim so I moved on. The rest of the afternoon was spent picking odd swims through the lower and middle sections, a few more Grayling and Trout graced my net. At 3pm I decided it was time to see if I could get in the 'hot-spot'. I had now caught twenty-one Grayling and five Trout.

The 'hot spot' was occupied so I wondered down the meadow and fished the wooden footbridge for half and hour. I had a couple of small Grayling and lost another four. I moved a little up the meadow to where I had started the day and very quickly had two of the smallest Trout I have ever seen. There was a queue for the 'hot spot' so I jumped in to the glide above the bend, by the car park. Almost straight away I had a Trout, then another, then lost one. I could hear Geoff taking the 'Michael' out of my special maggots. "Come on, one more for two dozen and I am packing". Two more swims down and another small Grayling. What a day! 24 Grayling of which 6 topped the pound mark and a new personal best, plus 9 trout.

We gathered around the 'hot spot' for a coffee and jovial chitchat. Billy had another Trout and we teased him about it being his pet. Soon time passed and it was nearly 5pm and time for home. On the journey I reflected on the days events, some excellent fishing and some great company, in lovely surroundings. I never did get to fish the 'hot spot', oh well, maybe next year?

If you have any comments or suggestions email me at pickled.carp@btinternet.com