Since we have been here, Sarah has wanted to get up a certain creek to catch some of the Grayling that are supposed to be in it, and this is the first summer we have stayed around, and so - the time was right with all this high water. They have been our "Holy Grail" of Russian Mission, if you will. One of the very few things we have wanted to do here that we hadn't gotten around to doing.
Well, today we set out on a whole-family adventure with a lot of hope, but with nothing certain. We headed up the Yukon to the creek that was reputed to hold Grayling - meaning wild, placed there by God milennia ago, surviving against all odds in the middle of Pike shangri-la, bad-ass Grayling, in a wild destination.
...And they were there!!!
Meaning, this wasn't one of those "24-inch trout are in this creek", or "Golden trout lake - that wasn't", or "Bass-as-long-as-your-arm farm pond" adventures that doesn't pan out - this was the real deal. Add in that we accomplished it with the two boys and Ada along for the ride, and it gets even more special.
So as we left the mainstem Yukon, the water was high, murky, and choked with brush and froth. Didn't look good, in other words. But after we got about 100 yards in, the water was a blend of mud and something a bit clearer. And then we got a little further in, and as we switchbacked around through a scum slick reminiscent of tidal water...something happened a switch flipped - and all of a sudden we were gliding over deep, clear water pools, full of rootwads and logjams that just screamed 'fish'. And then a few more switchbacks, and things started to get that feel of "Score!"
Pretty soon we were cruising over fleeing Grayling, and even watched a pair of spawning Kings dart under the boat. Yep, this was gonna be good. It wasn't long before we were crazed and just looking for a place to beach the boat so we could get to it. Our first stop was a shallow sandbar between a riffle and a deep pool.
It was there that Sarah hooked her very first Grayling, and I was jealous. Although I had caught them before, it was only in stocked high-mountain lakes - not the same. Here she is, holding up the first of the day, bug net and all:
Warren was more than happy to help dad get his first one in the boat - and of course he had to wrestle it into submission before it could be placed on the stringer:
My favorite pose of the day from these two - made the 'pic of the day' on the home blog :)
W wasn't entirely selfish, either - he took time out to show his little brother the spoils of the day :D
Checking them out - reminds me of his dad, back when I was little, and my dad had to tell me to quit staring at the fish we had caught and get to catching the rest of 'em...
And lastly, the staged shot - the funny thing is, that setup is my pike rod - complete with pike tippet and steel leader I crimped onto a swivel. :D works for Grayling though apparently, and later in the day it scored quite a pike, too - for that see the other post from today...
Lastly, for those hardcore friend and family folks that read these posts to the end, here is a link to Dropbox for a video of some of the day's catches - disclaimer - this is family time, and goofiness abounds. You will get no apologies. :)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/t09t8beml2r2nhn/Graylingfun.m4v
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