One of the biggest grayling ever landed from a British river has been banked by Daniel Bouskila, who slipped his net under this stunning specimen scaling 4lb 4oz.
The Essex angler was fly fishing for trout on the River Frome when he hooked it using a small buzzer pattern suspended beneath a dry fly. The huge fish is just four ounces off Simon Ellis’ British grayling record caught back in 2019, and is the joint fourth-largest ever reported.
“My friend Tom and I had crossed three large meadows, filled with wildflowers, with not a soul in sight, and had checked out a few nooks and crannies before reaching a particular pool,” Daniel told Angling Times.
IF YOU WANT TO CATCH A BIG GRAYLING, THESE ARE THE BEST STRETCHES TO TRY...
“I waded carefully across, flicked my flies out and drifted them past the skeleton of a dead tree. Within seconds, my dry fly drifted beneath the surface, but my firm strike was met with a snag!
“It pulled free, and on the next run down, it dipped again. I sighed, pulled tight… but then I felt a kick! It was then that I knew I’d hooked a very good fish indeed.”
The grayling held deep, hugging the riverbed, while Daniel’s light fly rod arched over in an impressive curve.
“Eventually, it began to rise in the water, and I could see at least three feet down that I’d hooked an absolute monster of a grayling,” he revealed.
“It burrowed for the tree limbs, but I submerged my rod tip and, with significant side strain, managed to turn it from the snags. After all the drama, it surfaced, and at the first attempt I scooped it in the net.”
Daniel then made his way to the bank and sat in total disbelief, resting the fish in the net’s deep mesh.
“I shouted to Tom, who ran over without a clue of what had just unfolded,” Daniel added.
“We looked at the fish, then at each other, and with shaking hands I weighed it – a big male grayling.
“In a mixture of shock and joy, I watched as the needle of the scales settled on 4lb 4oz.”
“This was no ordinary fish, and I can’t imagine something like this happening again in my lifetime. I treated it like I was handling a newborn child before it swam off strongly.”
FLOAT FISHING IS A GREAT WAY TO CATCH GRAYLING, CHECK OUT OUR BUYERS GUIDE FOR THE BEST RODS TO USE.
Subscribe to Angling Times magazine today. Choose a Print+ Subscription and you'll get instant digital access and so much more. PLUS FREE UK delivery.