Grayling, being a close "relative" of salmon and whitefish, is found only in the regions of the Northern Hemisphere. This fish lives in clean cold-water rivers and lakes, preferring reservoirs with a rocky or pebble bottom.
Grayling
A kind of “visiting card” of this inhabitant of the northern latitudes was his large dorsal, looking like a flag, fin, completely “embroidered” with spots or stripes. Grayling reaches a weight of up to two and a half or three kilograms. This is a very fast and lively fish. Its average length in the rivers of the Khabarovsk Territory, for example, is about twenty centimeters.
Grayling meat - white-pink, elastic, very pleasant to smell. It makes a great ear. In addition, it can be salted and fried.
Seasonal capture
Grayling fishing in autumn has advantages over summer fishing. Catching during the hot months in the north of our country sometimes turns into a real test of patience and endurance. The fisherman has to make his way through the windbreak, endure the annoying midge and mosquitoes, overcoming more than one kilometer from one whirlpool to another tumble.
Some novice taiga lovers of this type of “silent” hunt can’t stand it, while others simply don’t understand why they have to endure such torment. But there are also people who, having caught this representative of salmon once, for life become fans of such fishing. In addition, grayling in the fall is much easier and more comfortable.
Like most other fish species, this representative of the underwater world is particularly active in the fall. If in the summer it leaves from full-flowing wide rivers to narrow mountain streams, then with a cooling, grayling, leaving its parking lot, returns back to a depth where water does not cool so fast.
There is no definite period for this: it all depends on the climate in a particular area. For example, in the Far East, sailing to depth most often occurs in late October - early November.
In most Russian regions, grayling in autumn begins in the second half of September. The best places for this are rifts and reaches with calm water, with a rocky bottom.
Many experienced fishermen know how to catch grayling in the fall. When the fast current overtakes the most varied feed in the reach, this fish has no choice but to select food in quiet water. Therefore, it makes no sense to settle with fishing rods on the shore already with the first rays of the sun. In the autumn, grayling begins at eleven o'clock, and the “peak” nibble falls in the afternoon, when the fish actively feed, in a hurry to fatten in the cold.
However, it also happens that in a few hours there is not a single bite. But more often it’s the other way around - the fish rushes to everything, even to a hook wrapped in ordinary thread.
Bait
Flies for grayling in the fall should be light, because their catch in this season depends on the speed of movement. But the bait must be chosen heavy, one that immediately goes to the bottom, raising the dregs almost to the surface. It is there that production will rush in search of feed. This feature, which is characterized by grayling in the fall during the rifts, makes it possible to fish it directly from under your feet.
Typically, experienced anglers are fishing for two leashes, one of which is with a worm. Flies for grayling in autumn are selected in a reddish or swamp color. Some use horseback options. They are the usual "wet" flies that are not in the thickness, but on the surface of the water or slightly lower. In autumn, the “horseback” variant is best used with active grayling.
Rigging
Right after throwing eggs, a starving fish pecks quite actively. At this time, it can be caught in troubled water in the wiring for the worm,
bark beetle larva, fry. Tackles for grayling in the fall should have a medium-sized fishing rod and a light
inertia-free reel.
Many fishermen who know what and how to catch grayling in the fall use a fishing line with a diameter of 0.25 mm as the main line and 0.17 mm for a leash. The sinker must have two or three grains fixed thirty centimeters from the hook of the fifth or seventh number (domestic numbering).
Fishing technique
Grayling fishing in the fall can take place with or without a float, especially on a fast jet. Having released the fishing line from the reel, you need to keep the tackle all the time in a taut state, so that when you bite you have time to catch it. After all, production instantly swallows the nozzle.
Float and non-float gear
It is better to "hunt" for grayling in autumn using equipment with long casting of the bait. In the wide northern rivers, this representative of salmon is kept away from the coast. Grayling fishing gear in the fall has a ten or fifteen grams increased total weight on a leash. You can also fish using a special design with internal surroundings.
In both cases, the float size must be selected in accordance with the environment. Moreover, this must be done in such a way that the antenna rises significantly above the water surface.
A well-proven fishing rod in a non-melting version, for example, something similar to a running donka, proved to be quite good. The equipment is assembled as follows: a leash with a length twice as long is attached to the main fishing line, and a sinker is fixed at a distance of forty centimeters from the hook. The mass is selected based on the flow velocity.
Such gears are used for grayling in autumn on river sections of the river with a more or less even bottom topography.
Features
The technique of fishing is quite simple. Throwing the bait across the river, the fisherman allows the sinker to go down to the bottom. After this, the sinker rises with a tense line. At the same time, you need to release the coil so that it moves several meters down already due to the current. From time to time, the action needs to be repeated, forcing the sinker, and, of course, to make the nozzle swim in the water in an arc with a large radius.
Lures
Grayling distinguishes between the colors of the bait and even its shades. But its visual susceptibility varies with the transparency of the water. The worse the visibility of the reservoir, the more contrast should be the color of the bait. In general, grayling does not like bright light, so in the fall it pecks better in cloudy weather.
The most catchy are flies with brown, dark gray, olive tones. Experienced anglers know how to catch grayling in the fall in an unfamiliar pond - they start with a red fly, to which this fish is "partial".
Fishing methods
You can catch a fly in various ways. One of the most common is fly fishing. This classic type of fishing in Russia is not yet widespread. Although some anglers practice the so-called “household” fly fishing option, which uses a simple fly-fishing rod with a length of up to seven meters.
It’s more convenient, of course, to catch on one, but some put two flies. During fishing "on top" of the bait, after it gets into the water, you must not let it sink, but constantly throw it back. Sometimes, when the river literally “boils” from splashes, graylings fly out of the water and try to intercept the fly in the air, even before it descends to the surface.
Wiring
Another widespread fishing is widespread. It is carried out by wire gear made on the basis of spinning and half-fly fishing. Its peculiarity is that the float, whose weight is about twenty grams, in this case is not intended for the role of a bite signaling device. Moreover, it serves to cast bait. And it allows you to do it far enough and accurately. The rod is used II or III class, and the reel has a supply of fishing line up to eighty meters.