Road Hunting for Arctic Grayling

Deciphering the code of the Arctic Grayling

We had already had an amazing time in Alaska.  A whirlwind adventure that took us through Grizzly country, crystal clear Arctic Grayling creeks, fast and furious Silver Salmon runs and a deep see arm workout for the ages.  So why was I hesitant to bring up my desire to fish one more day, our last in Alaska?

We were on our way to relax in the Chena Hot Springs, a beautiful resort at the end of Chena Hot Springs road, east of Fairbanks.  At five or six locations along the 45 minute drive, the North Fork of the Chena River crossed under the highway.  Each time we went over another bridge, I had a perfect view of excellent grayling water.  Our flight wasn't scheduled until the evening of the next day, so a morning fishing adventure wouldn't really be an unusual suggestion if it weren't for us being run ragged from the two weeks prior.  So when I threw it out there to Uncle Al that I would like to try fishing in the morning, I wasn't too surprised when he started scheming right along with me.  Our plan:  to drive up to Chena again in the morning, and road hunt our way back to North Pole.

Scouting water takes some time.  When time isn't a luxury you have, scouting becomes a lot more work.  While we did drive down to a few spots, we ultimately determined that the best bang for our time buck would come by stopping at each bridge and checking for fish.  The first spot looked promising.  A long stretch of slower water on the back side of a riffle.  A seam that stretched for about 30 yards and fish where holding in all feeding lanes and along the shoreline.  A red copper john and hot spot hares ear combo did the trick for me.  Getting down to the fish was critical, and when you did, you found plenty willing to bite.  Fish, after fish, after fish.  

Everything I had read about grayling fishing had been accurate up to this point.  Pick a fly (dark in color) and show it to them.  They'll eat it more often than not.  So when we pulled up on the Chena and found these fish holding deep, it was fun to try some deep nymphing to more particular fish.  After catching a lot of grayling, we hopped back in the truck to hunt for the next spot.  Each stop after presented new challenges and beautiful fish.  A great end to an amazing adventure.  Arctic grayling and their home waters are prevalent in Alaska.  If you have a chance to get there, do some road hunting.  You won't regret it!