Artic Grayling

Arctic Grayling

 Arctic Grayling is only found at the highest alpine elevations, while Rainbow trout is available all over the Mountain West.

To try for both I went fly fishing with my father in the Rocky Mountains. This is an annual trip, so we knew the water and started on a lake that had produced large Rainbow trout in the past.

However, this trip began differently than anticipated. We were on the water at 6:30 AM and fished until noon. Shockingly, neither of us landed a trout; in fact, neither of us had a hit. Even the bait and boat anglers were catching nothing.

It was time for Plan B; so, we spent the afternoon scouting other areas to fish.

The water level at the next lake was extraordinarily low and very warm. Also, there were insects on the surface, but no fish were rising. We crossed this one off the list.

The remaining options were new to us and a considerable drive from our base camp but appeared promising on paper so we went to take a look.

The first lake had limited bank access, was relatively shallow and we tried three different spots without success, so this one came off the list.

The final lake looked promising but had steep cliffs along one entire shoreline that made access impossible. After consulting the maps, we found an unmarked road to the opposite shore, so we decided to go there the next day. This would be a scouting mission because neither of us had fished this lake before.

The next morning, I fished down the shoreline for about two miles. The trail was rocky with numerous deadfalls, and the water was turbid in this area. I caught nothing.

My father, however, caught two large Rainbows toward the upper end of the lake. Not a great result, but we were on the board and agreed to focus here when we returned.

Rainbow Trout

The next day we decided to try a high elevation lake located in Aspen and Blue Spruce country. This spot had both Arctic Grayling and Apache trout.

On previous trips we had fished this lake and only caught Apache Trout. However, for this trip I designed new size 18 midge flies specifically for Grayling.

When we arrived, my father decided to use the fly pattern that worked for Rainbow trout the day before and I put on one of the new midge flies. He had strong hits on his first cast but did not connect.

On my first cast I had two hits and the next cast I caught an Arctic Grayling. Then it was off to the races; the Grayling were aggressively hitting the new midge fly and you could see them flash in the water.

Arctic Grayling

Before a thunderstorm ran us off, I landed nineteen Arctic Grayling and two Apache trout.

My father got tired of watching me catch fish, so he finally decided to try one of the new midge flies and he caught a Grayling on his first cast.

This is an extraordinary result for Arctic Grayling anywhere in the United States.

Arctic Grayling

For our final day, we decided to go back to the most promising lake we had scouted previously. But this time, both of us would work the upper end of the lake. I would walk up-lake and cast from likely spots, and he would try the nearby points.

Rain and strong winds greeted us when we arrived. This caused the other anglers to pack it in, but from my perspective conditions were perfect. The wind was blowing into the shoreline, and there was no fishing competition.

As soon as the rain slacked up, I put on a light jacket to break the wind and headed out.

Rainbow Trout

On my third cast, a heavy 18-inch rainbow trout smacked my fly. This was followed by two more large trout from the area my father was going to fish.

After confirming that he had a good spot, I trekked down the shoreline trying different areas but they all proved to be to shallow and did not hold any fish.

By the time I returned, my father was on a point and had landed four large trout. Within the next 30 minutes, both of us landed two more, before the wind slacked off and the sun came out.

One final note, none of the other anglers, including those in boats or fishing with bait from shore landed large trout like the ones were catching on flies.

Rainbow Trout

At that point, the bite was over and the fair-weather anglers started to arrive, so we stopped for the day and ate our lunch under the Aspen trees, enjoying the cool weather and light breeze.

This trip became a tremendous success after an incredibly challenging start because we adapted and “broke the code” with the following steps. You can do the same thing on your trips:

·       No hits, no problem. Move and find new water when there is a good population of fish.

·       Test new locations to determine their viability before committing an entire day.

·       Use the weather to your advantage. Our best fishing was in strong wind, light rain and before a storm.

·       Find the shore where the waves are hitting the bank. The waves churn up food and bring in fish.

·       Use flies specifically designed for the water you are fishing. Generic patterns will usually catch a few fish, but specialized patterns will catch a lot more.

The significant number of Arctic Grayling and heavy Rainbow trout we caught on this trip would not have been possible without custom designed patterns.

Both of the Grayling and Rainbow trout flies are available on the Website under the “Your Custom Design” option.

You might consider placing an order today.

Go Fly Fishing!

Glenn Personey

Founder and CEO

Bear River Tackle