CATCHING GRAYLING WITH LURES
by Jean-Jacques Debat

Grayling, Thymallus thymallus

Introduction by Editor Nick Caine
Jean-Jacques Debat is one of Scandinavia's top grayling fisherman and here he gives his views, news and advice about his grayling fishing experiences in the UK.

For grayling : a mini diving plug + single barbless hook

Scandinavia to UK
We have some very good grayling fishing over here in Switzerland and Scandinavia, where most angling methods are accepted. These include fishing with traditional fly, lure and maybe also sometimes with bait. I prefer to fly-fish for grayling but also thoroughly enjoy using lures.

I generally fish with my good old Swedish friend Sven Atterhead, and we catch many different species from our local rivers; some people say that we're completely crazy about grayling — this is exactly correct! Also we have traveled much to and in the UK to catch the grayling in your country. Because your website is mainly about lures, I will reveal some top secrets about our favorite spinners - yes?

Catch & Release
But first I'd like to mention that we have a grayling society here in Switzerland and Scandinavia where catch-and-release is strongly encouraged. Our members read that grayling are often killed in the UK by brown trout fishing clubs; is this true? Also we read about regulations in the UK where fly fishing can be used everywhere and yet the use of lures is limited? We are able to use all methods which I think is better for anglers, especially as fish are always returned.

Compared to other species in our rivers, for example salmon and trout, grayling do not grow as big; up to around 3kg , even so they are very strong in the fight with fishermen and fisherwomen! In Switzerland, with my good friend Sven, we've caught many big grayling up to 3 kg and very occasionally a little larger.

We find that in the UK grayling may reach 1.5 kg, but more usually a lot less; however size does not really matter to us. Big or small, these fishes are very beautiful and should be returned to the river with much care.

My favorite lures for grayling include the smallest variety of France's famous Mepps spinners. When fishing fast flowing water it is very important to use spinners with narrow blades, I think you are saying in the UK blades as of “leafs of the willow tree”. In Switzerland and Scandinavia we call these blade types 'longues', for example Mepps Aglia Longue.

These classic lures in sizes 1, and maybe 2 are very suitable for grayling in fast water and I find generally when using standard patterns we catch more fish using the silver blade in comparison to gold. We also use small spinners with the 'normal', round or 'Colorado' blade for example Mepps Aglia sizes 1, 0, and the very small 00. The Ondex Company's Rublex of sizes 0, 1 or 2 are also good for grayling.

Here's one of my spinner SECRETS. I often fish with silver coloured spinner blades and catch many grayling ..... but to catch the very big fish, ie 'graylings very grands'!!, it's almost essential to paint the blades with other different colours e.g. black, copper, yellow, red and also green. Colours seem to be very important and may help to copy the type of insects the grayling are eating. We have captured many of our very biggest grayling on painted spinners.

Also Wordens Roosters Tails spinners are very good for grayling (Yakima Bait Company). If you are hoping of catch grayling, you must buy some of these very soon, in sizes 1/16 to 1/8oz in rooster, sonic or super rooster tail.

When fishing slower moving water we use very different lures, for example a good favorite is the small Rapala Original Minnow of 5 cm only. We also find NilsMaster lures to be excellent; my friend Sven uses these lures regularily and catches some of the biggest fish, and small ones also!... (I also catch plenty of small ones too!). We use a variety of Abu Garcia rods and reels as the factory is very close to Sven's home. These are of a very good quality and a pleasure to use..

I hope you enjoyed my article and maybe it will help you catch some of your big grayling in the UK. If you come to Switzerland and Scandinavia you will be very pleased with the fishing and also very welcome to visit us.

Jean-Jacques Debat

Editor's Note
Thanks very much J-J, for sharing your experiences with our readers. Clearly you have a lot more to say on this subject and perhaps you can be persuaded to write a follow-up to this article. In particular we like your views regarding catch & release, and the modification of your lures to attract bigger fish.

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