Grayling dry
Sturdy's Fancy
Grayling · TroutSurface
Peacock herl body, a yellow tag and a white hackle — a Red Tag with the tag changed and the hackle lightened so you can actually see it on a grey November afternoon. Grayling take it with the unhurried confidence they reserve for peacock herl, which nobody has satisfactorily explained in a century and a half of trying.
Fish this when
Mild, overcast autumn and early-winter afternoons when a shoal is showing. Dead drift, and wait — grayling rise slowly and a trout-speed strike takes the fly away from them.
Naturals it imitates
general small dry
terrestrial
Typical zone & fishable range
usually
Surface
Film & swing
Subsurface
Deep & bottom
Setup sensitivity: medium
Quick facts
Tying difficulty
Beginner-friendly
Heritage
ModernClassicHeritage
Heritage
· A Yorkshire grayling pattern in the Red Tag line, named for its originator and long a staple of the northern chalk and limestone rivers.