# The return of Grayling?



## swampbuck (Dec 23, 2004)

It was actually 1990-91 when they planted them in kneff. I think the last I caught was about 1993. They were still alive then. Just quit going out there.


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## Benzie Rover (Mar 17, 2008)

357Maximum said:


> just a few examples from many many many that could be chosen at random. Give them an inch and they will take many many miles.
> 
> http://www.mrt.com/business/oil/article_91e75dcc-8220-591a-a515-d223ca312230.html
> 
> ...


Trying to confuse and clutter this issue with mindless, mouth-breathing anti-gov rhetoric is really unhelpful and serves no purpose other than a soundboard for what you personally feel is wrong with the world. Well let me tell ya dude, there is A LOT wrong right now and we all have opinions on that. There is a political forum on this site - have at it. The OP was attempting to discuss attempts to establish a valuable native species where it had always been. Additionally, I totally concur with Kzoo - there is nothing relative about these issues in terms of reintroduction of grayling to their native waters with newly developed fisheries techniques.

There is nothing too magic here - it's been long known that certain salmonids are difficult for fisheries managers to rear, stock and then establish to the point of sustaining themselves. I studied Chinook salmon egg development in grad school and read a lot about salmon, trout and steelhead reproduction. Atlantic salmon attempts failed miserably for many years, but finally LSSU has dialed that in much better. Montana's grayling work is another very good example of how we can adapt fisheries management to achieve a desirable goal. In stream rearing makes lots o sense and has been tried in various forms with trout, salmon and steelhead in the past as a viable technique, but sedimentation, disease and environmental variability were too difficult to solve compared to ease and effectiveness of rearing in an artificial hatchery, so managers generally abandoned that approach.

Grayling are a very cool fish. I have a 19" mount on my wall I got in the NW Territories when I was 16. They are also a pretty dumb, aggressive fish being a whitefish after all, albeit not a very tasty member of that family.


I totally support the efforts and hope it works. As for rivers - I personally feel the Boardman is a prime candidate - it's easily one of the coldest in the state and will only get better in terms of coldwater fish habitat in years to come.


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## swampbuck (Dec 23, 2004)

I also hope it is successful.


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## kotimaki (Feb 13, 2009)

I spent a fair amount of time in AK where grayling are plentiful , one of the first things on my to do list was catch and feast on this fish i had heard so much about....I proceeded to hike miles up to a mountain lake known for its better than average grayling , easily caught a limit and packed them back down the mountain....drooling all the while imagining how delicious this coming meal would be......What a waste of good butter....last grayling i ever ate.


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## Shoeman (Aug 26, 2000)

Stocking them below any dam won't work long-term. It was tried below Mio in 87 and 88. None survived.

Water temps just get too high and lower flows during the Summer Months might not allow passage into the tribs.


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## kzoofisher (Mar 6, 2011)

That would be why the plan is to stock them in cold tribs and not the mainstream. By using the super high tech 5 gallon buckets the grayling stay near where they hatch. Grayling raised in hatcheries and then stocked tend to disperse rapidly and not form viable populations.


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## REG (Oct 25, 2002)

Interesting. Same concept as Vibert boxes, but my guess is they offer more protection and less susceptible to silting perhaps? Beyond grayling, perhaps they will have potential for propagating other species in a more natural manner.


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## Benzie Rover (Mar 17, 2008)

REG said:


> Interesting. Same concept as Vibert boxes, but my guess is they offer more protection and less susceptible to silting perhaps? Beyond grayling, perhaps they will have potential for propagating other species in a more natural manner.


Nice one REG!!! Indeed - vibert boxes were exactly one of the old in stream techniques I was thinking of.... I concur, hopefully it's adaptable for multiple species.


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## DecoySlayer (Mar 12, 2016)

I don't know about the method for stocking, but, I would love to see the return of the grayling! I fished for grayling in England and Scotland, while I was there. Their grayling are not quite the same as what was once here, but closely related.

They are a BLAST to fish for! They take a fly like there was no tomorrow. If they miss it, they come right back after it even if they had felt the hook. Very good on the dinner plate and they look really cool! Put up a nice fight on a 5/6 weight rod with a 8' leader and 2# tippet. Normally fished for them with a "team" of 3 "soft hackle" wet flies. Like a snipe and purple or snipe and orange etc, tied on "14-16 hooks

The rod was a "Sharpes" "Scottie" "88". 8'8" split, impregnated cane. So slow you could take a nap on the back cast. It flexed all the way to the bottom of the handle. Very tight loops and accurate. Good for dropping a fly into a tight area or small target.

Used that same "88" on the Itchen, one of the two most famous chalk stream in southern England. the other being the Test. I am sure "shotgun12" knows about those streams. Upstream, dry fly, only.


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## DecoySlayer (Mar 12, 2016)

My favorite dry fly for grayling fishing on North Yorkshire rivers, the "Tupp's Indispensable" tied on a #14-16 hook.


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## jaytothekizzay (Apr 1, 2002)

I caught one in 86... Pretty sure it was on the Manistee river. I was 10. My mom still has the picture somewhere


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## zig (Aug 5, 2009)

kingfisher 11 said:


> They planted them in a river in Antrim county quite a few years ago. I fished just fished it a couple of weeks ago. Last I knew it was a failure. The river did have some large German Browns in it. It was mainly a brook trout river.


Ha! I read the first page of this thread and was going to skip to the end and say, "If I remember right, they tried it in Antrim county a long time ago, like 25-30 years ago." I was pretty young, but if I remember right, there was a sign up, maybe even in the water that had some information. I used to fish that river every now and again when my Grandma lived up there. There were times and places when the brookies were just stacked up in there. I don't remember catching many browns. You say there are some nice browns in there now? How was the fishing in general? Way back in the day there was a mean beaver dam there. I mean, enormous. Is that still there? There was a pretty mean grouse spot by that river too. Really small, but good. Then the state sold it and it was ruined. Cool area.


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## Jackster1 (Aug 17, 2001)

I also dreamed of catching the fish the town that was our fishing ground zero was named after. That dream got much stronger seeing the mount they had at Geekes in the fly fishing area. I remember them trying to reintroduce grayling in the Manistee and a guide/fly shop owner at the time telling me he threw all he caught up on the bank. He said they were dumb fish and easy targets or in other words, the exact kind I need all too often. I did not agree with his outlook at all and much later had him blab about a 'secret' stream out west that had lots of grayling. This stream was secret because it was understood among the guides and shops in vicinity that it was a no-tell stream for those same people to have a relatively untarnished stream for their own recreation without fighting crowds, picking up others trash and bringing their own rock to sit on. From my understanding, if the others ever found out he blabbed about this stream the results would not have been pretty. I agree with the guides on this because I go back to fly fishing at a time before digital cameras, the internet and kiss-and-tell articles and magazines on every news stand. You had to earn the good spots by gaining trust in the person who knew them with the solemn vow you wouldn't share the secret. It was a pain but very rewarding and well worth the effort. 
I caught my first grayling out west and was so geeked about it I forgot to do two things I heard about them. One was to witness the rapid loss of color when out of the water and the other was to sniff the darned thing to see if they really do smell like the spice thyme. I've caught a few since and for whatever reasons never did find out for myself if both things were true.
I wish they could bring them back to their rightful home. Surely to do so would require adjustments of some sort but hopefully they can be brought back in a sane manner.


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## brushbuster (Nov 9, 2009)

I think deward or big creek would be ideal water. I would love to see grayling in Grayling. It would be nice to have them back in the N branch but I don't they would make it there.


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## brushbuster (Nov 9, 2009)

I love to catch Grayling.


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## kingfisher 11 (Jan 26, 2000)

zig said:


> Ha! I read the first page of this thread and was going to skip to the end and say, "If I remember right, they tried it in Antrim county a long time ago, like 25-30 years ago." I was pretty young, but if I remember right, there was a sign up, maybe even in the water that had some information. I used to fish that river every now and again when my Grandma lived up there. There were times and places when the brookies were just stacked up in there. I don't remember catching many browns. You say there are some nice browns in there now? How was the fishing in general? Way back in the day there was a mean beaver dam there. I mean, enormous. Is that still there? There was a pretty mean grouse spot by that river too. Really small, but good. Then the state sold it and it was ruined. Cool area.


I just fished it for the first time in 15 years about a month ago. You are correct about how the fishing use to be. I was there almost everyday for about 6 years. I drove my motorcycle there long before I could drive even. It's funny when I fished it with my oldest boy, seemed like the holes never changed, same log jams and deep holes that produced fish. That trip reminded me of the movie at the end of "The River Runs through it" What has changed is the two track I use to drive through its now posted and I saw people camping there. I wanted to share the area with my oldest son I could pass on what I experienced. I Even took my shop teacher fishing with me as a kid. My boy really enjoyed it.

I Don't know what is in there for browns anymore? It depends on what the plantings are for Craven's pond. I would catch the browns upstream closer to the road north of the Culverts, past the powerline where its starts closing up near the road the river is named.

My best friend had family property right behind Cravens that we deer hunted. We also always camped there when we fished. You would find us camping there for the trout opener every year. I hooked into a brown one time that was close to 25". I gave spawn a try and it came out of a hole and hit it. Scared me because I was not expecting something that big. I once found a deep hole with big brookies stacked. All the same size and wondered if they were planted. Everyone of them were over 12". Never ever saw that again fishing the river. Since I was right behind the pond I wondered if they were stocked?" Lot's of memories on that river. Fond memories of deer taken and my late dads love for the woods there.

Did not see the beaver dam last trip. I know where you are talking though. Never seen a Grayling come out of there yet. I am sure its been to long and they are gone.

I will be up in that area for a week starting Sunday. Got me thinking I need to drive over and fish it again.


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