Arctic Grayling

[Erik in AK]

Went out before work this afternoon and caught several grayling. There's a small lake just down the hill from the pump station and its inlet/outlet streams are thick with grayling moving up to spawn. I was surprised how big they were. Beadhead Ribbed Hare's Ear nymph kill's em every time. (BTW its catch and release)

 

[Delw]

Great pics..

 

[elkay]

What do they taste like? elkay

 

[Erik in AK]

Grayling are good eating fish IMO but only if fresh. They do not keep. For me they're a once-in-a-while treat during a river trip. I don't kill too many because they grow so slowly. The fish in the pics were around 16 inches (18 is considered trophy size) and probably 15 to 20 years old.

 

[Moosie]

Nice pictures !!!! That looks fun for sure.

 

[carbonarcher]

Erik, they are great eating fish I would agree. Back home in Montana we used to catch them all the time, though not nearly that size. I would agree that they taste much better fresh, but are also very good when smoked.

 

[Ithaca 37]

How do you smoke them? Isn't it hard to keep them lit?

 

[TheTone]

Very cool. I finally found a lake in Idaho that has them stocked in it. I'm planning to make a hike trip into it this summer just to try to catch one,

 

[BigHornRam]

No tellum lake off of Freezeout Ridge, right Tone? I fished for them on my Yukon hunt and kept a few for the pan. They tasted pretty good but didn't come close to being as tastey as Dall Sheep meat. I heard they grew real slow and lived for a lot of years in that cold Northern water. Very pretty fish.

 

[TheTone]

BHR, have you fished that lake by chance? That was one of the ones I was considering.

 

[BigHornRam]

Tone,

No, I haven't. Knew of some guy's that did though. I used to drive past it often to get to elk camp. Caught my first Grayling in the Wind River Mountains many years ago. They weren't very big at the time but maybe that was due to them being recently transplanted. The river below the lake was full of little grayling as well. They were easy to catch, much like brook trout.

Golden trout have been my most sought after and frustrating fish to catch of all however. What a beautiful fish they are, and tend to only do well in the coldest of water.

 

[BuzzH]

TheTone,

If you ever make it to Montana...Fuse Lake on Skalkaho Pass has a ton of grayling and they're easy to catch. I've caught hundreds of them out of that lake. The biggest ones I caught were about 12-13 inches...most were 8-9 inches. Still had all the bright colors. I never did keep any of them, although I think when I fished it the limit was 10. Its an easy hike about 2-3 miles.

I've also caught them out of the Ruby River where warm springs creek dumps into the Ruby. Again, not real big, but they're easy to catch.

Hopefully you find them as easy to catch in Idaho...

 

[TheTone]

I'm not against driving to Montana, its not like its a crappy place or anything.

 

[BigHornRam]

What a coincidence Buzz. I just passed by the trailhead to that lake this morning. Haven't been to that one yet. I'll have to give it a try this summer. Snow was coming down pretty good up on the pass. They just openned it up Friday.

 

[BuzzH]

BHR,

You should hit that lake, beings how you're so close to it. Its a nice little lake, pretty easy to flyfish it too as there isnt a ton of brush around it.

I always did real well fishing a teeny nymph (insect green pheasant tail or natural pheasant tail) behind a casting bubble in size 12. I also did pretty well with a fly-rod as well, small elk-hair caddis or the like.

Its an easy day hike or theres several good flat spots for a tent right near the lake.

If you go, let me know how you do...I havent fished that lake for 7-8 years.

 

[BigHornRam]

Will do Buzz. I have a lot of lakes in the Bighole Mtns on my list for this summer as well. I day hiked to Stoney Lake last year which is nea by Fuse. It was full of small trout but I didn't bring a pole. I'm a fly only purist, and elk hair caddis is my fly of choice 9 out 10 times for dry fly fishing.

 

[ELKCHSR]

Nice looking fish, I don't think I've pulled any thing longer than 12" out of any of the local lakes or ponds I've happened upon.

It's a fun little fish to catch, don't know what the eating's like as I've turned them all back...

 

[Steiny]

Fried up a mess of them in Alaska, and wasn't too impressed with grayling as table fare. They were pretty white meat like a bass, etc. I think pike, trout and salmon are much better eating. Sure are fun to catch though. You could tell they'd never seen a fly or lure, as they hammered everything we threw at them.

 

[BigHornRam]

Buzz,

Went to your lake yesterday and it's just like you remembered. Full of hungry grayling.

 

[BuzzH]

BHR,

Good to know.

Let me guess...they havent grown much.

I used to hike in there and fish at least once a year when I lived in Missoula.