A comprehensive guide to suitable fly fishing equipment and, of course, very useful accessories, which are essential when fly fishing for grayling on most European grayling rivers and streams of all types and sizes! Be completly ready for grayling fishing!
Equipment for catching grayling is very specific and it could be said that just as when catching large freshwater predatory, carp or sea fish, we use equipment that is directly proportional to the size and militancy of these fish, for grayling we will use fly fishing equipment, which rather, it "reflects" its shyness, elegance and "discretion" of its behavior, and thus the equipment as fine, as accurate and - in terms of the quality of enjoyment of hunting - as dignified as possible!
Of course, it is also possible to successfully catch grayling on universal fly fishing equipment, which we commonly use to catch trout, chub and other river fish of common size. But what kind of grayling specialists would we be if we didn't make it a little more specific and - given the beauty and dignity of this fish - more classy?!
The main fly fishing equipment and other important accessories that are directly dependent on it, I would therefore divide according to specific fishing methods, which I write about in detail in the related article "Fly Fishing For Grayling - The Right Fishing Tactics & Techniques For Grayling".
EQUIPMENT SUITABLE FOR NYMPHING: When fishing with modern European nymphing methods, but also when using traditional methods such as short and long nymph, a fly rod in the length of 9.6 - 11 feet with a sensitive rod tip, in the AFTMA 1 - 4wt category, will help you greatly - of course depending on the size of the river and the caught fish! The Fly Rod Hanak Competition Czech Nymph X or the Fly Rod Guideline LPs Euro Nymphing are a suitable choice for this style of nymph fishing! You should complement such a rod with a simple fly reel that can hold a few meters of backing line, a fine nymphing line and also a French leader!
Keep in mind that during nymphing, you will control this set most of the fishing day with your hand outstretched and will very often cast flies over the current with it - it should therefore be as light and very well balanced as possible to keep the fatigue of your hand to a minimum. Nylon or fluorocarbon line with a final diameter of 0.10 - 0.16 mm (again depending on the size of the fish caught, ties at the bottom, etc.) for making a rig with one or two side droppers and the set is ready for action!
In our offer you will find the Fly Fishing Set - Euro Nymphing or Fly Fishing Set - Hanák Competition Wave Nymph Start Basic, which are perfect for targeted grayling fishing on a nymph!
Other important accessories that will perfectly tune your nymph fishing include, for example, various types of strike indicators, which will make it easier for you to detect the fish's contact with your fly! Fine Micro Rings Hends XXS or original Rollers are great for making a leader with "no problem" droppers, which will make it impossible to entangle individual droppers around the main line!
EQUIPMENT SUITABLE FOR DRY FLY FISHING: When delicately fly fishing for grayling on a dry fly, you should be aware that you will be casting small flies on shy grayling grayling! Therefore, the precision and accuracy of the fly cast, the subtlety of the fly's impact on the surface + the nature of its drift and the "invisibility" of the tippet are necessary! If you follow all these aspects, the grayling will most likely take the fly you offer!
The fly rod should be of reasonable length for the quality and accuracy of the cast - ideally 8 - 9 feet in the AFTMA 1 - 3wt category, semi-parabolic to top action. The Fly Rod Hanak Competition Superb XP or the Fly Rod Leichi Nano Dry Fly are ideal for this purpose.
For the purposes of targeted fishing of grayling on a dry fly, we have prepared a Fly Fishing Set - Delicate Dry Fly for you, with which you will enjoy the autumn dry grayling to the maximum!
The fly reel should have the same features as the reel chosen for nymph fishing - light, perfectly balancing the whole set - mainly for the purpose of casting accuracy - and should hold a quality floating fly line that will fly exactly where you aim your feast! You definitely don't have to worry about whether the reel has or doesn't have a disc brake, enough capacity for the backing line and similar features that are important when choosing a reel for catching big fighting fish! That is why, for example, the Fly Reel Hanak Competition Stealth and similar types, which are very simple, light and have a so-called "click-drag", which prevents only tangling of the fly line when unwinding it from the reel.
The fly line must be of the highest quality for delicate dry fly grayling fishing - smooth, with minimal shape memory and with a taper that will ensure you a very accurate casting on rising grayling! For this purpose, selected Scientific Anglers 3M fly lines from the world-famous American brand are perfectly suitable - in categories 2 - 3 in DT (double taper) or WF (weight forward)! Such a fly line must then be supplemented with a tappered leader, with which a fine dry fly will be cast at you and placed on the surface even more accurately and finer!
Other important accessories that you should definitely not miss when fine fishing with a dry fly include a reliable soaked fly dryer such as Fly Dryer Loon Outdoors Amadou Patch or Fly Dryer C&F Design Rubycell CFA-30, quality gel, powder or liquid floatants that impregnate the fly and extend its floating capabilities. If you want to be really precise during fine dry fly fishing, it is good to degrease the end of leader, which could scare the feeding grayling. Sink Paste Loon Outdoors Snake River Mud will be great for this purpose.
EQUIPMENT SUITABLE FOR WET FLY FISHING: When fishing with a wet fly, you can easily use similar equipment that you use when fishing for a nymph but also with a dry fly. Wet fly fishing can therefore be operated without any problems with equipment commonly used for nymph fishing with a French leader and a classic fly line, as well as with equipment preferably intended for dry fly fishing - but with a shorter rod will not be so comfortable for you. Of course, it will always be a bit of a compromise solution.
Therefore, a universal river fly rod with a length of 9 - 9.6 feet in the AFTMA 1 - 3wt category will be perfect for targeted wet fly fishing. A reliable and light fly reel with a floating or slow intermediate fly line - in the case of fishing on larger grayling rivers!
In terms of leaders and other useful accessories, you will use the same equipment as I described for nymph fishing - such as rollers and micro rings for making leaders with "problem-free droppers"!
⭐ Don't forget to read other related articles from my FLY FISHING SPECIAL, which I comprehensively devoted to fishing for grayling on artificial flies! Combine your personal experience with newly acquired knowledge, let yourself be motivated by the thematic gallery "The Beauty Of Czech Grayling On A Fly" and become a real specialist in the autumn fly fishing of charming river grayling!
➡ FLY FISHING FOR GRAYLING - THE RIGHT FISHING TACTICS & TECHNIQUES FOR GRAYLING
