Arctic Grayling Fish of Dreams

Grayling Fishing the Dalton Highway

Catching a grayling has been a lifetime goal of mine. Growing up in Michigan where they were common within my grandfather's lifetime, and extirpated before I was born, I had illusions of finding the last surviving pocket in Michigan’s most remote stretches of woods. I did not find them in Michigan; however, I ended up meeting this goal far from where I grew up, on Alaska’s northernmost road, the Dalton Highway.

On this remote, winding, gravel road north of the Arctic circle, grayling are plentiful. The road crosses many small streams, most of which look too small to hold a fish at first glance. Under further inspection, these tiny creeks twist and turn, and have pockets of deep water that may hold 100 fish each.

My wife and I planned a trip to the Dalton Highway to celebrate our Alaskan residency. After one year of living in Alaska the state considers us residents and we can now hunt without paying for non-resident tags. The Dalton Highway happens to be excellent hunting. We stopped to fish on our way to bow hunt for caribou.

Getting to this road is no easy feat, with road conditions being highly variable and gas stations spaced 300 miles apart. We rolled into one gas station with less than half of a gallon of gas in our Jeep. This road is also prone to slicing tires and it is a good idea to have multiple spare tires and patch kits.

A rain and wind storm kept us mostly confined to the car and tent for 3 days, but when the weather broke we began catching fish immediately.

Arctic Grayling are in the Salmonidae family, closely related to trout, salmon, and whitefish. Their scales are textured like a white fish but act as tiny iridescent mirrors, making the fish easily disappear in shallow water. They have a large dorsal fin that is nearly as big as the entire fish and is speckled with translucent patches of vibrant colors. The iridescence on the body makes them seem at home under the northern lights, shining blue, red, and green as the fish wiggles in the net.

The winters here are long and devoid of food for grayling, rivers are frozen for nearly 8 months out of the year. As a result of the long winters, in the summer months they hit nearly any presentation with reckless abandon. They simply cannot afford to pass up on a meal.

On this trip, the most effective presentation was a bead-head nymph tied about 18 inches under a float on a light fly rod. We used a 3wt Orvis Superfine and 5wt Echo Base fly rods. This nymph is casted upstream. I collect the line as it floats down towards me. I am making sure to remove all slack and make a quick hook set when the float goes down, or stops. Though the nymph proved to be the most productive fly, we also caught them on woolly bugger streamers, caddis dry flies, and even a foam mouse.

Once we found deep pockets of water we averaged about 30 fish an hour. Our fish averaged 13 inches in length with the big ones pushing 20. This was one of the most fun fishing days I have ever experienced. We saw moose, mountain vistas, and walked in the tracks of giant brown bears.

One fair warning for anyone attempting to repeat this trip is be prepared for bugs. After the rain, or when the wind is calm, bugs were so bad we had to wear head nets and gloves so that no skin was exposed. Also, it is wise to bring multiple forms of bear protection and never travel alone. This region is home to grizzly, black, and polar bears.

The video below includes the highlights of this great day of fishing I shared with my wife. A memory we will cherish, and an adventure I hope many others will get to experience.




My name is Benjamin Stevens. I am a wildlife artist based in Kenai Alaska. I have a passion for the outdoors, especially fly fishing and bow hunting. I make films to share my passion with my loved ones and also to promote my artwork.

My art can be found here
StevensWild.com
And also in galleries throughout Alaska

My Instagram is
Instagram.com/Benjamin.stevens

You can contact me at
[email protected]