The Lady of the Stream

Otherwise known as the lady of the stream, the Grayling, Thymalus thymalus, is a freshwater fish native to the British isles and here in the northwest we’re lucky enough to have many rivers this beautiful fish deems pleasant enough to call home;

In Cumbria the rivers Eden and Derwent, the latter known as ‘the queen of fly-fishing rivers’, are perhaps its most famous haunts, in the Yorkshire Dales the Wharfe, Ure, Nidd, Ribble, Swale and, more familiar to the author, the rivers Brock, Calder, Conder, Hindburn, Hodder, Loud, Roeburn, Wenning, Wyre and their tributaries, which all originate on the Bowland fells are famous for their clear, clean waters and Grayling populations.

Held in high esteem

Held in high esteem by game fishers for their gracefulness but also for being one of the most challenging fish to catch, Grayling are also ‘bio-indicators’, indicative of the health of a river.

Feeding on freshwater invertebrates such as freshwater shrimps, Stonefly nymph, Mayfly nymphs and Caddis larvae, also small fish when they’re mature, their presence indicates that there are stable populations of their prey, which means their home is unpolluted and the water levels are constant, grayling themselves also have a very low tolerance for pollution.

In Bowland the river Hodder, so-named after an old Brythonic word for ‘peaceful’, that winds its way from its source on the high fells, past the villages of Slaidburn, Newton, Dunsop and Whitewell to its confluence with the Ribble is one of the strongholds of the grayling.

Flashing silver in the light

Kept in check by the dam at Stocks reservoir the water levels of the Hodder don’t fluctuate as wildly as other rivers in the area do, a certain level of water has to be maintained by law to prevent harming wildlife further down the river and violent spates caused by storms are prevented too, meaning shoals of grayling can be seen flashing silver in the light here when they are harder to spot elsewhere.

An abundance of this fish, identifiable by its prominent, spiny dorsal fin which can often appear red in mature males, also indicates that the water is not too silted up.

The main landowners here, the biggest being United Utilities and Duchy estates, are very careful about preventing any work they do from causing large amounts of silt to get into water courses, and they are closely monitored by bodies which represent game fishers, without whom there would be less pressure to keep the rivers the Grayling, Salmon and Trout live in clean.

Grayling, Trout and Crayfish

There is thought to be a link between increased numbers of Grayling, decreased numbers of Trout, and the presence of introduced and invasive Signal Crayfish in rivers. The theory, backed by research by the Ribble rivers trust, is that the Crayfish, which are aggressive, adept hunters and a threat to much of our native river species, including our native White-clawed crayfish, drive out Trout fry, that is baby Trout, from their hiding places where they can be snaffled up by waiting Grayling.

Permits and Day tickets

Permits and day tickets for some stretches of rivers in the Northwest can be bought from the Ribble Trust , Wyresdale anglers and Lancashire fly fishing association amongst other organisations.

I wind about, and in and out,
with here a blossom sailing,
And here and there a lusty trout,
And here and there a grayling,

Excerpt from The Brook, by Alfred Lord Tennyson

A B-H