Freeman River report

[smitty9]

Took a beginner out Sunday. Got him into 5 grayling on the Freeman. Day's total for the 4 of us was about 20 grayling. Much slower than usual, but we had to explore and wait to for the river to clear. The area must have been hammered with rain the previous night because the Freeman was the color of chocolate mud at the hwy 32 bridge.

Folks take care here please. Despite the rain, the Freeman is the lowest levels I've ever seen it for this time of year. The water is quite warm and all the fish were in the cooler, oxygenated riffle water leading to plunge pools or fast runs. The classic pools had far fewer fish than normal.

Now that I know that, I'm making the choice to stay away until (at least) September.

Play your fish quickly and get them back into the water! :)

Fish weren't fussy about flies, as usual. Royal Wullfs and stimulators.

Smitty

[MrsSteelhead]

Newbie question,.... are grayling good to eat?

[smitty9]

Mrs. Steelhead:

First, I'll avoid answering your question by saying that the Freeman is 100% C&R on grayling. :)

But yes, I have had grayling back in the day. They were good eating, but definitely not my favorite. Brook trout from a creek can be very very good and are #1 with me. I tend to release my cutts and rainbows.

Grayling in general come from colder, clearer water (notwithstanding muskeg, tea stained boreal forest rivers that AB has a lot of), so they do taste pretty good. Any stream caught salmonidae usually does. Some guys think they have a bit of a nutty flavor to their flesh.

Cheers,
Smitty

[MrsSteelhead]

Smitty - I'm in Oregon and haven't even looked at the regs for Alberta as far as C&R vs keepers. I'm generally just curious about fish. How they fight, how they taste, what gear to use etc. Most of my fishing is C&R though. Lol, I honestly didn't even know they were a salmonid at all.:sign0161: I'm used to the flavor of Chinook, Coho, Sockeye etc. I would assume they are a milder flavor than any of these though.

I definitely have a lot to learn about Alberta fishing. Thanks for the response though, I appreciate any info I can get. :)

[smitty9]

Mrs. Steelhead:

Grayling are spring spawners, and like most fish prepping for Canadian winter survival, spend late summer and fall migrating to stage in deeper, downstream pools in rivers to just eke out their life for 6 months of ice covered darkness.

As for the catching during the summer, it's pretty straightforward and easy. Small hardware like spinners and spoons will catch them, including the wedding ring, and any bushy dry fly will do. Occasionally, in small ponds or lakes ( a small handful in AB) they can get a little picky; most people use very small flies, wet or dry. Like Size 16 to 20.

But they're fun on 2 to 5 weight fly rods.

Smitty
P.S. Yes - milder flavor than any salmon.
P.P.S. I had the impression you had moved to Alberta. Must of read it wrong.

[MrsSteelhead]

I will be in Alberta as soon as I sell my house and finish my last bit of immigration paperwork. I've still got some remodeling to do with the house though (hardwood floor refinishing and painting).

Its funny you mention the wedding ring spinner. It seems to be one of those all around deadly little spinners. I usually get a limit of kokanee on them. I've even caught a small spring Chinook on one. I'm excited to get up there and start learning about all the fish up there.

[spinN'flyfish]

Took a beginner out Sunday. Got him into 5 grayling on the Freeman. Day's total for the 4 of us was about 20 grayling. Much slower than usual, but we had to explore and wait to for the river to clear. The area must have been hammered with rain the previous night because the Freeman was the color of chocolate mud at the hwy 32 bridge.

Folks take care here please. Despite the rain, the Freeman is the lowest levels I've ever seen it for this time of year. The water is quite warm and all the fish were in the cooler, oxygenated riffle water leading to plunge pools or fast runs. The classic pools had far fewer fish than normal.

Now that I know that, I'm making the choice to stay away until (at least) September.

Play your fish quickly and get them back into the water! :)

Fish weren't fussy about flies, as usual. Royal Wullfs and stimulators.

Smitty

After losing my stimulators, i'm missing out alot. Hope to have time to buy a load of 'em

[spinN'flyfish]

Mrs. Steelhead:

First, I'll avoid answering your question by saying that the Freeman is 100% C&R on grayling. :)

But yes, I have had grayling back in the day. They were good eating, but definitely not my favorite. Brook trout from a creek can be very very good and are #1 with me. I tend to release my cutts and rainbows.

Grayling in general come from colder, clearer water (notwithstanding muskeg, tea stained boreal forest rivers that AB has a lot of), so they do taste pretty good. Any stream caught salmonidae usually does. Some guys think they have a bit of a nutty flavor to their flesh.

Cheers,
Smitty

are cutties good to eat? Never tried eating them wonder if i should keep a few for the frying pan