Big Grayling - Attempt No 12 (River Dee, Corwen)

I've put myself into the hands of a professional today and am on the River Dee at Corwen with Gwilym Hughes, former welsh international fly fisherman and all round nice bloke. Find out about fishing with Gwilym at www.gwilymhughes.com.

I've booked a day's guided grayling fishing and also a lesson to give at least some structure to my potentially traction inducing double handed salmon rod casting.

We're on the Rhug Estate waters and there's salmon literally everywhere getting frisky as they ready to spawn. It's enough tough day weather wise though with a plummeting barometer and a wind that feels like it's straight from Siberia.

No point whinging so I'm straight into it trying heavy bugs which interestingly are nowhere near as heavy as the ones I normally use and also a much lighter set-up with two of Gwilym's rat flies (small bead heads) under an orange dry. It's tough going but I manage a small graying at the head of a pool on a rat fly. It really is fookin cold though and perhaps a few more layers might have helped.

Thankfully, the sun came out for a short time and some quick instruction on the merits on the reach cast and a change to a small paradun dry produces 4-5 grayling to 0.75lb in quick succession. Not bad for late November.

We plug on with the nymphs when the sun goes and the biting wind comes back but it's tough. Dogging it out produces two late fish on the heavy bugs (Pinkie) though to give me eight fish to 12 oz on all methods and to be honest I'm pretty chuffed with how I've fished on a hard day.

Great fun day despite the weather and I'll be back in the New Year if my new methods learnt don't dig me out a 2lber in the lower sections of the river. Give Gwilym a call if you want to learn from 50 years of river fishing experience at the highest level.

Lastly, to totally spoil the week, some low life has nicked my 30hp Honda outboard from my boat on the River Dee. Given it is stored 4ft above the water level on a boat lift and weighs about 10 stone; it was some feat of skulduggery requiring a good sized boat; drill; angle grinder and at least three people to nab it. Someone must have seen them lugging it out of the river but I'll not hold my breath...

Mr Fish