Grayling Fishing Locations

[Ugly Bob 0]

I've searched the Forums and Site, including the Fly Pattern Database, and it appears that no one fishes for this great fighting fish which is a member of the salmon family. Outside of Alaska and the Great Lakes Basin, I am looking for new areas to travel to and fish for this species. Any and all suggestions within the United States are more than welcome. Thank You!

[heavynets 0]

I've caught grayling in the high lakes of Montana. It took at least an hour of uphill hiking to reach them. They were easy to catch, but didn't fight all that hard IMO. I'm guessing they are not in the easily accessed lakes. I've heard that they are in the head waters of the Ruby river, but I didn't catch any there. Personally, I'd rather catch a bow or a brown or a carp.

[Bryon Anderson 0]

I got handed a pamphlet for this place in Michigan at a fly tying show a few weeks ago...looks pretty cool and they have grayling.

 

www.brookhaven-lake.com/

[JSzymczyk 0]

In the non-tourist part of interior Alaska where I lived, they were the only readily accessible gamefish during the thaw. Due to the insanity of work, I was only able to fish for them a handful of times. I caught them up to 18" which is nice but not like some of the more southern areas. They fought well and were beautiful and unusual fish. If I ever have money to waste I would like to get a repro mount of one of the 18 inch males I caught and have good photos of.

[JSzymczyk 0]

Personally, I'd rather catch a ... carp.

 

That's just crazy.

 

Grayling represent wilderness, unspoiled water, elusive spirit, and adventure. Carp are an invader in every watershed, lake, ditch, and cesspool from Mexico to Canada and can be legally shot in most jurisdictions.

[border collies 0]

Joe Wright Reservoir in Colorado has them and is road accessible. Never caught any huge grayling there before I moved to Alaska, but I did catch a lot of them.

[troutguy 0]

I caught Grayling in lakes and rivers of Montana last year. Caught a few over 12 or 14 inches, even one that was about 18 inches. Even catching the small delicate 6 inch fish was almost a religious experience. They were prismatic and reflected light as I unhooked them. Catching a Grayling was on my bucket list. I am pretty sure carp are on no one's bucket list. Comparing them to carp is blasphemy.

[Bryon Anderson 0]

Personally, I'd rather catch a ... carp.

 

That's just crazy.

 

Grayling represent wilderness, unspoiled water, elusive spirit, and adventure. Carp are an invader in every watershed, lake, ditch, and cesspool from Mexico to Canada and can be legally shot in most jurisdictions.

JSzymczyk, that "invader" label can also be applied to a lot of other fish that are routinely treated as icons of all that is wild and good and beautiful in the world: brown trout anywhere in North America and rainbow trout anywhere in the U.S. except the west coast, to name two prominent examples. Here in the Great Lakes region, if it weren't for "invaders" there would be no multi-million-dollar-per-year salmon and steelhead fisheries. To spin this the other way, the lovely grayling that you could catch in that private lake whose link I posted earlier in this thread are technically "invaders" here in Michigan as well, as the Michigan strain of grayling was wiped out in the early 1900's.

About the only thing you can say about carp that you can't say about other "invaders" is that they're uglier, and even that is subjective.

Just sayin'.

[heavynets 0]

Carp are readily available, more challenging than grayling and give a lot better fight. That's everything I want in a fish. Everything good about grayling is all in your mind....subjective perception. Show me a grayling that fights like this:

 

[JSzymczyk 0]

I'm aware of the biological history of most of our fish.

 

I've never fished for introduced grayling. The fact stands that places where grayling can flourish are relatively wild and clean. I can go catch carp in the industrial runoff runoff of the steel mill a few miles from here. I've made the same argument as you about salmon, steelhead, browns, and others when people get all "spiritual" about their "native" trout. That's not the point.

 

In fact, there is a LOT that can be said about other introduced sportfish which cannot be said about carp. Our steelhead and salmon in the Great Lakes are a totally synthetic fishery. They can not and do not propagate themselves at any sustainable levels. Getting way off topic.

[JSzymczyk 0]

I've caught hundreds of carp. We used to catch carp on flies in the 80's way before it was a fad. We did it for the very reasons you state, available, decent (but monotonous) fight, although we never considered it overly challenging. Usually just targets of opportunity when fishing for bass, "Oh, there's a carp, cast a nymph to it." No big deal.

 

There is a mystique surrounding Grayling because of their inaccessability to most people, their unique beauty among freshwater fish, and the places they live.

 

The only mystique surrounding carp is "How the hell did they get in EVERY body of water in the lower 48?"

[riffleriversteelheadslayer 0]

wow a question about where to fish turns into a discussion about which is better grayling or carp I say screw it if you would rather catch a carp then a grayling good for you if that satisfies your urge if you think the only fish worth catching is the lady of the water more power to you but come on people. Why argue about which is better? No one is going to change someone elses mind about which is better. Hell I feel very spiritual slumped over a gut pile of a hog I just shot or a doe no big deal to me but to some if it wasn't a boar with 4 inch tusks or a 12 point buck it isn't a great thing. I got news for you no matter how much seasonings and hours of boiling them antlers or tusks wont taste as good as a tenderloin out of a doe. So lets just remember we are all fishing and that is what brings us all here is we choose to tie bits of this and that to a hook to fool a creature with the brain the size of a pea no matter what species it is or how clean the area is where its caught.

[heavynets 0]

All together now, "Kumbaya.......

[JSzymczyk 0]

wow a question about where to fish turns into a discussion about which is better grayling or carp I say screw it if you would rather catch a carp then a grayling good for you if that satisfies your urge if you think the only fish worth catching is the lady of the water more power to you but come on people. Why argue about which is better? No one is going to change someone elses mind about which is better. Hell I feel very spiritual slumped over a gut pile of a hog I just shot or a doe no big deal to me but to some if it wasn't a boar with 4 inch tusks or a 12 point buck it isn't a great thing. I got news for you no matter how much seasonings and hours of boiling them antlers or tusks wont taste as good as a tenderloin out of a doe. So lets just remember we are all fishing and that is what brings us all here is we choose to tie bits of this and that to a hook to fool a creature with the brain the size of a pea no matter what species it is or how clean the area is where its caught.

 

You are correct. I tend to lose my mind a little bit as I get old.

 

I'll be first in line for venison from a fat doe.

[Ugly Bob 0]

I've caught grayling in the high lakes of Montana. It took at least an hour of uphill hiking to reach them. They were easy to catch, but didn't fight all that hard IMO. I'm guessing they are not in the easily accessed lakes. I've heard that they are in the head waters of the Ruby river, but I didn't catch any there. Personally, I'd rather catch a bow or a brown or a carp.

While I spend a good deal of time fishing the wilds of Alaska, and enjoy fishing for grayling, if I were looking for pure fight and excitement, I would fish for Chinook (King) Salmon or Coho (Silver) Salmon on the Kenai Peninsula.