Grayling on the penn?

[FishnPhil]

Been reading a ton from Highway Angler and the FF Guide to Alaska, thanks to you guys for the recomendations (although my chores and priorities do not thank you haha).

Read about a couple of lakes that sound like they have great potential for a decent sized grayling, decent meaning bigger than 12-15 inches. I'm not a big fan of lake fishing except for warmwater species and pike, so I've been looking for places where good sized grayling might be more accessible in streams/creeks/rivers. I would check the inlet and outlet streams of the lakes I have in mind, but rather than hike several miles to not have luck I thought I'd ask for any advice on places from you guys. Our time on the pennisula is limited to 4 days basically, so focusing on places where the odds are high would be really nice since we also want to target other species in our time there.

So, does anyone have any place(s) on or near the kenai pennisula they'd be willing to give up to a first time visitor? Are there even any good grayling streams at all around the pennisula?

Thanks!

[Hunt&FishAK]

well....i dont know of any streams that really hold grayling on the KP, maybe cooper creek but thats closed to fishing.... sheep creek on the parks, about an hour and half drive north from anchorage holds some really nice grayling, rainbows and dollies...and depending on what time of year your there, silver and king salmon are a good bet...also in the same area is little willow creek, montana creek, greys creek, caswell creek, sunshine creek and rabideaux slough/creek...the mouths of these creeks also hold burbot...great flyfishing all along these creeks downstream from the highway bridges...read regulations carefully for each stream.

[FishnPhil]

Ok thanks! I'll check into those. Burbot would be pretty cool too, that's one we haven't thought about targeting but might add to the list.

I'm still getting my bearings on where everything is and how far from Anchorage things are. I must not have gotten that far in my books yet to see these creeks you mention.

We'll be there the 1st of Sept for 4 days. Trying to target grayling at least one day, my lady would really love a nice picture worthy grayling (all we have in Colorado are like 8 inchers), so for me it'd be well worth it to drive a couple hours to do that.

We'll have the regs onhand, as long as it's open to single hook fly fishing that's all that matters, we'll catch fish hopefully, but only take pictures so creel limits aren't a concern

[alaskanfishguides]

Crescent Lake/Creek

Probably the best option is Crescent Lake and Creek. This is a bit of a hike or bike ride but well worth the effort. While the size of the grayling has declined over the years, the 17-18" grayling is very typical. Years ago, 17" was the smallest that I can remember! I have seen grayling up to 22" out of Crescent.

The best option for tackle is just about any dry fly (adams pattern, griffith gnat, or black gnat) or small streamers and even nymphs. Small spinners also work well, however they tend to spook the fish after you catch a couple (give it some time or change locations and things are good).

One thing to remember is that Crescent doesn't open until July 1!

Good luck.

[Hunt&FishAK]

well thats the perfect time! if you were to go to sheep creek...you can camp at the bridge for free, granted there are enough spaces , which that time of year there should be....silvers should be running pretty good still, and if you just hike the trail downstream on the south side of the creek, you can get into some huge grayling (average 12-18" with some many pushin 20+ inches) some HUGE rainbows and good dollies as well as silvers, pinks, and maybe the late chum...just use an egg pattern and drift it close to bottom, as insects will be getting scarce with the cold weather. Its not a law but catch and release is encouraged, so good for you on that subject...at the mouth burbot should really be productive using roe on the bottom...makes for great eating! all the creeks in the vicinity should be at their peak for trout, grayling and silvers...

[FishnPhil]

Very cool, thanks guys! I think we'll try to swing a day off the pennisula to chase some grayling and if not Crescent lake sounds perfect. Having the stream options is more tempting for sure.

[zekeski]

Caught a few...

in quartz cr. while fishing with beads. More of an incidental catch while fishing for dollies, but that is a nice little stream to fish. Crescent cr. feeds into it, so thats probably where they came from. I'm sure Crescent creek has more greayling in it, but it's very small and swift so not really fun to fish, unless you make the hike up to Crescent lake. There are two routes to get there, one is nearest to Seward, its about three miles in, the other is nearest to Cooper Landing, thats 6 miles in, but it's a nice easy trail. Good luck and have fun.

[danattherock]

Email the good folks at Scenic Mountain Air in Moose Pass. Have them fly you into Upper or Lower Paradise Lake. Stay at the state cabin for $45/night. Round trip is $300 per person. Solitude, nice scenery, and lots of grayling.

http://www.scenicmountainair.com/







.

[akflyfisher]

I caught ONE grayling on the russian river. I only fished the river three times though. It was an interesting catch. First cast in the pool was the grayling, the second was bow, and the third was dolly. Nice three cast. I doubt that will ever happen to me again.

[DRIFTER_016]

I caught ONE grayling on the russian river. I only fished the river three times though. It was an interesting catch. First cast in the pool was the grayling, the second was bow, and the third was dolly. Nice three cast. I doubt that will ever happen to me again.

I have a spot lik that in the NWT.
In four casts I caught a whitefish, lake trout, grayling and a sheefish!!!