Freezing for Grayling

Last weekend, Tobi, Mike and myself went fishing for grayling in rather strenuous conditions: freezing for grayling.

The Forecast

It has been a while since the last time I went fishing with both. The last time, I met Tobi was during our Canton Glarus exploration. Therefore, I was stoked to see them and chase some grayling.

However, the closer we got to our date, the worse the forecast became. Nevertheless, we ventured into the winter wonderland with high spirits. I had never fished for grayling while it was snowing, so I had no prejudice of the outcome. Well prepared wearing 2 long underpants and several layers of clothes, I almost overheated during the car drive.

To the river, through the snow - freezing for grayling — To the river, through the snow – freezing for grayling

Fishing for Grayling

At the river, we set up our rods all equipped with heavy nymphs and light droppers. Only Tobi fished 2 weighted nymphs due to the fact that he was Czech Nymphing. Hence, he did not even wear gloves in order to feel every stone. Not wearing any hand warmers was for me unimaginable and I was glad that the Simms Foldover Mitts allowed to just expose the index finger to the cold.

We fished for an hour and then met at the river banks where we talked sipped warm tea – what a treat! After continuing upstream thoroughly fishing some promising pools that produced grayling last season, we were slightly consternated. Although, fishing tiny nymphs in deep runs, no fish was hooked, leave alone caught.

Freezing for Grayling

The weather began to get worse with rain snow and gusts that chilled even hard-wired outdoor enthusiast. The warming up breaks got longer and fishing time indirect proportionally decreased. It was time to stop. Freezing for grayling is not always fun, but shared with other is worth while doing.

Czech Nympher Tobi "the man whose hands never feel the cold" — Czech Nympher Tobi “the man whose hands never feel the cold”

The weather began to get worse with rain snow and gusts that chilled even hard-wired outdoor enthusiast.

Why did the Freezing for Grayling not pay off?

We knew there were fish at least a few weeks ago as well as last year. Thus, my explanation for this lack of activity was that we missed the feeding window. In other words, we were to early in the morning. The air temperature was about –3°C, yet the water was relatively warm. Probably, fishing shortly after midday would have been more productive. But who cares about the fish? I would rather be fishing with friends at freezing temperatures than study in my room at home.