I have always wanted to catch a grayling and I have been told that I need to fish the uinta’s to do so. I have fish a few of the lakes up there but have never seen any grayling. Which lakes have them and how do I need to fish for them? I have been told they like flys fished wet or dry, any advise?
Thanks
Jason
There are several books on the Uintas that specify which fish species occupy the lakes. There are several lakes within short hikes along the Mirror Lake Highway, while others require longer hikes. One good book is “High Uintas Backcountry” by Jeffery Probst. There are also grayling in some of the other alpine regions of Utah. Even some of the roadsde Uinta lakes such as Trial and Washington have had them stocked.
Moon Lake has a bunch of them and I caught my first ones there the last time I visited in June. They were either taken on size 14 prince nymphs or size18 pheasant tails. You could use a fly rod or a fly and bubble rig with a spin casting rod. They aren’t incredible fighters but they are really cool to add to the “conquered” list and I think they taste better then trout. If you are going to venture to the Uintas to get into the Grayling I think that the Moon is a great place to start. Try nymphing in the Lake Fork inlet or Duck Fork, especially mornings and evenings and if you have a boat then dead drift nymphs in open water next to drop offs on the north end of the lake throughout the day or take long casts with a fly and bubble rig and control the depth and speed of the retrieve to see what is working best.The water is really clear so use 4 lb., light fluorocarbon leader or tippet to put the odds in your favor.
also if you want to do some backpacking, marjorie lake has alot of very decent sized grayling. there is nothing like throwing a bubble and fly out and watching hit after hit top-water from those grayling
There’s nothing like a top water hit from any fish but which flies can you use to get the strike on the surface? I have the nymphs down but which dry patterns are most dangerous on the surface for Grayling this time of year?
For Dry Flies, I’ve found that a Griffith’s gnat in small sizes work best whenever there are fish hitting the surface. The smaller size will give you more strikes / takes, but less hooksets. If you examine the stomach contents of a Grayling, you’ll find 90% gnats or (midges) in sizes you can barely see. When using a fly larger than about a size 22 you’re actually simulating a clump or cluster of midges sitting on the surface (at least that’s what many believe).
We were using about size 18’s and 20’s last time out and did very well with good balance between takes and hooksets. Small Peacock Hackles or Ostrich Body Midge patterns in the same sizes can work well also.
Examples can be found below:
We let a couple loose in trial lake last weekend, fishing with a black #16 humpy, on top.
If you are up to a 5 mile hike, out of Holiday Park up from Oakley, is Sand and Fish Reservoir with decent Grayling. I am not fond of eating them, and they are extremely fishy even to touch, but absolutely beautiful. Fun and easy to catch. Marjorie is probably the best close bet as someone has already mentioned. Carolyn (a bit of a hike) had more grayling per inch of water than any lake I’ve ever seen, but all very small.
We want pictures and more pictures , good luck. Its not all skill.