THE ULTIMATE ANGLING BUCKET LIST

So again, as with the rainbow trout, quite where this fact places the species in the minds of the British
Record Fish Committee with its opposition to alien species, their total removal, and record list
suspensions is far from clear.
There is a national record still for cultivated american brook trout, while the 'natural' slot, which escapee
breeding populations could fill, is open to claims with no minimum qualifying weight.
Fortunately I caught mine at a time when there were plenty about, taking a small one at Foremark
reservoir right at the start of my fly fishing journey, followed later by others at Twin Lakes in
Lancashire, which produced more than a few decent specimens before it unfortunately closed down.
GRAYLING Thymallus thymallus
Bucket List status – result
Not your typical salmonid species, but on closer inspection the link is there thanks to that small fleshy
blob on the back just in front of the tail known as the adipose fin. A beautiful looking fish with a slightly
under-shot mouth, which is one of the reasons why hooking them can at times be difficult.
Giving the identity game away here is the dorsal fin which is both tall and long, with rows of blue, red,
and black spots. The back and upper flanks are silvery grey and covered with small black flecks, and
like the schelly, the skin and flesh have a faint odour of cucumber or thyme, the latter being the source
of its scientific name Thymallus thymallus.
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