I took four pictures of my first grayling, and the best one is above. I headed out on the Chena Hot Springs road and found a river bar with a long riffle, a short glide, and then another long riffle. There was a small slack portion about 4 feet wide by 10 feet long, just off the glide. I flicked out a size 12 Elk Hair Caddis a couple of times, and I saw fish rising and refusing the fly. After several unsuccessful attempts, I sent the fly a little further down the pool, and bang, a good sized fish took the fly and made it into the net. One can see the large sail-like dorsal fin in the down position in the picture. It is very hard to hold the fish while expanding the fin in one hand, and taking a photo with the other hand.
I actually saw a fish rise elsewhere in the water. I cast the fly and a small 8-10 inch grayling grabbed the fly. I released it quickly, but then things were dead as I finished up 90 minutes on the water. As I could not find the “many access points” to the river without trudging through brush, I actually drove 30 miles back to Fairbanks and then 40 miles to the Chatankna river that is supposed to have even better fishing. I spent the night in the campground, and am ready to hit the river and the many access spots along it’s shore.
Tight Lines!