The
Arctic grayling is an elegantly formed cousin of the trout. With its
sail-like dorsal fin dotted with large iridescent red or purple spots,
the grayling is one of the most unusual and beautiful fish of Alaska.
However, unlike trout, grayling run in schools. So if you find one
grayling, there are usually a lot of them. Fly anglers revere them for
their beauty and fighting ability.
The
older
adults will be
found in the
upper reaches
of river and
stream systems, the
sub-adults in
the middle, and
the juveniles in
the lower ends.
The
tendency of grayling to eat almost anything endears them to the angling
public. Any fishing technique, including bait, lures, and flies, will
work at one time or another. Grayling are especially popular because of
their willingness to rise to a dry fly. Fly fishing techniques for
grayling are similar to those used for any trout species. Grayling are
often easy to catch, but, as with other species, the most skilled
anglers with the best knowledge of Grayling feeding patterns and how to
fish the water will be most successful. Generalized insect imitations
such as the dry fly "Adams", "hare's ear
nymph", "black knat" and ant patterns are usually
effective patterns for grayling. However, when feeding on a specific
insect, grayling can be very finicky and the angler challenged to
"match the hatch".
lighter
weight rods and reels when river and stream fishing for Arctic grayling
with weight forward floating line in the 4-6 wt. class will be perfect!
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