Skip to content

Rivers

All riversHatch chartWhite River, ArkansasDavidson RiverPenns CreekLetort Spring RunFarmington RiverPere Marquette RiverNorth Umpqua RiverDeschutes RiverSan Juan RiverFryingpan RiverYellowstone RiverBighorn RiverTraun RiverBeaverkill RiverRío GrandeGreen River below Flaming GorgeRiver WharfeHenry's Fork of the SnakeSoča RiverAu Sable RiverTongariro RiverSouth Platte — Deckers and CheesmanRiver TestMadison River

Insects

Brown troutRainbow troutMountain whitefishBrook troutCutthroat troutSteelheadEuropean graylingMarble troutSea-run brown troutResident brown trout

Techniques

Reading waterMatching a hatchNymphingDry-fly presentationStreamer fishingSwinging a flyCatch and release, done properlyTying flies you will actually fish

About

AboutContactPrivacyTerms
RiffleRiver ledger
English 中文
Insects
White River, ArkansasDavidson RiverPenns CreekLetort Spring RunFarmington RiverPere Marquette RiverNorth Umpqua RiverDeschutes RiverSan Juan RiverFryingpan RiverYellowstone RiverBighorn RiverTraun RiverBeaverkill RiverRío GrandeGreen River below Flaming GorgeRiver WharfeHenry's Fork of the SnakeSoča RiverAu Sable RiverTongariro RiverSouth Platte — Deckers and CheesmanRiver TestMadison River
Brown troutRainbow troutMountain whitefishBrook troutCutthroat troutSteelheadEuropean graylingMarble troutSea-run brown troutResident brown trout
Reading waterMatching a hatchNymphingDry-fly presentationStreamer fishingSwinging a flyCatch and release, done properlyTying flies you will actually fish

Salmonidae

European grayling

Thymallus thymallus · 25–45 cm on good rivers; anything over 50 cm is exceptional.

By The Fly Desk

How it feeds

Grayling are bottom-oriented shoal feeders with a small, underslung mouth, taking cased caddis larvae, shrimps and small nymphs. They rise readily, and because their mouth is small they are far more tolerant of a slightly dragging dry fly than trout are.

How to fish for it

The clue is the shoal: catch one and there are usually five more in the same run. Work a run thoroughly with a tight-line nymph rig before moving on, and use a short line because grayling hold tight to the bottom in the slowest part of the current.

Flies that work: Czech Nymph · Pink Shrimp · Klinkhamer · Grayling Bug · Waterhen Bloa

European grayling in the ledger

Back to the river index →