Artic Grayling Appreciation

[Little Canyon Creek]

Grayling is on my bucket list. Can't seem to find them in lakes around here.

Like Ajax said, you should really try Joe Wright Reservoir. It isn't a secret, but it is a lot of fun. Bring a canoe or a float tube. This lake was the reason why my dad ended up getting a canoe. There are a lot of grayling in there. Not the biggest, but I remember them getting bigger (10-12") after they added some female Lake Trout to control their numbers. The very first time I fished there I caught a cutthroat that must have washed down from the lake that feeds Joe Wright Creek, but I don't think there are hardly any in there.

If you fly fish, we have sometimes run into big hatches where there are fish hitting on top everywhere. Other times there aren't any hatches happening and you have to work a little. Last summer I tied on some pheasant tail nymphs and a thingamabobber when nothing was happening up top. I ended up doing pretty well. We have also had success with panther martins, though I would snip off two of the hooks off the treble. Their mouths are small and if you get more than one hook in their mouth it is difficult to get them out.

The biggest grayling I have caught have all been in Montana. I didn't catch a lot of them, but I did catch three that were 16-17". They were some of the prettiest fish I have ever caught, with a beautiful purple bronze hues and their famous fins. They are one of my favorite fish to catch, and I hope the restoration efforts in Montana continue.

 

[MTelkHuntress]

Joe wright

I'm pretty sure that's where I caught mine at. It was really neat to watch them swim up and down the bank.
The first one I caught was really aggressive:

 

[BuzzH]

Fuse Lake in Montana has a lot of them...not really all that big but its a slam dunk to catch some.

 

[Sytes]

Flathead / Lincoln County has a couple small-medium lakes with grayling. Really enjoyable!

 

[vanish]

I've now caught them in Colorado, Montana, Idaho, British Columbia and Alaska. This one was the most recent and unexpected, in the Sawtooths last summer. It was the last day of our trip and we had no idea they were in the lake. 90% of the lake looked too shallow to even have fish.

 

[Ajax2744]

I'm pretty sure that's where I caught mine at. It was really neat to watch them swim up and down the bank.
The first one I caught was really aggressive:
View attachment 149437

It's really cool going to Joe wright creek when they spawn and you can see thousands of them packed into the creek. Fortunately its off limits to fishing or else it would literally be shooting fish in a barrel lol

 

[cedahm]

I remember watching a show where they were catching them, and I distinctly remember the awesome blues of their fins.

I was obsessed with them after one of my uncles brought back pictures from a trip to the NWT when I was a kid.

I caught my first one on my first float trip to AK (happened to be on my 21st birthday). I was stunned by the blue, and even more, the purple as you turned them in the light. Over the next 20 years floating up there, we also discovered BIG grayling which are like a different fish altogether. The one summer I guided up there, grayling saved the day more than once. They are always a great break from chunking lead or half a chickens worth of streamer.

I concur with the post above on European Grayling. I caught a couple little ones in Slovenia and they were like washed out, slightly oxidized pennies.

 

[Hunting Wife]

Beautiful pics! Caught my first ones ever this week in the Big Hole. Was a bucket list item

 

[Straight Arrow]

Was a bucket list item.

'Careful with the term "bucket" around fisheries biologists!

 

[wytex]

I already get dirty looks and comments from Karens when I fish Spring Creek on my lunch breaks.

Tell those Karens you're legal. Few spots around to catch one and they are on m y bucket list too.

 

[ClearCreek]

Tell those Karens you're legal. Few spots around to catch one and they are on m y bucket list too.

wytex:

There is a lake in the Bighorns that is about four hours north of your location that you could pretty easily check it off your bucket list Not that bad a hike into the lake.

ClearCreek