Stuart Fraser: Bugging for grayling in the Borders is fine winter sport

With most of the local stillwaters iced up I decided to try my luck with the grayling. Making for Earlston in the Borders and the venue for next month's grayling competition I needed to get some practice in.

As you would expect it was still pretty cold with lots of snow and ice around. However, the neoprene waders kept me dry and warm.

Apart from trotting a worm or the maggot I looked out my old leaded bugs from my tackle box. It's widely believed that the Tweed and her tributaries like the Leader will hold a new British record. The only thing about fishing bugs for grayling is you go through a lot of tackle getting caught on the bottom.

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That said it is still the best method on this water and not only grayling but brown trout and salmon take this method.

Unlike traditional casting the cast is more of a lob upstream to allow the nymphs to fish deep and bob down in the current.

It is quite amazing just how close the fish are when the take comes. It was at least an hour before I got my first offer and it was a brown trout at that. At under half a pound it was not a big fish but it fought well for its size. Giving it a kiss before releasing I thanked it for its sport as it sped off into the depths.

Moving a few feet every second cast meant I was covering the water and, more importantly, more fish. Apart from losing about half a dozen flies over the day that was to be my last fish.

But it gets you out and about and you meet up with other anglers in the passing. For any one wishing to fish in the grayling competition they should contact Peter Hesset or Andy Forgan in Earlston for more details.

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