Arctic Grayling
 

Catching a grayling is on my 2010 fishing bucket list and I live in Calgary. Where should I go around here to find one? I heard that there is a good place near Canmore. Any thoughts?

I know that you can catch them at wedge pond. They are stocked there.
http://www.srd.alberta.ca/FishingHun...ockingMap.aspx
Check out this map from SRD

Fishstix!!

I think the lake near Canmore is Quarry. I haven't been to Wedge in a few years but when they can overwinter a few seasons they get to a decent size. As both lakes get some heavy traffic, I find the best time to fish them is early in the year. South of Calgary, there's Bear pond and Big Iron Lake.
http://www3.telus.net/public/uicehole/Pics/grayling.jpg

The Little Smoky river's got em. Lots of walleye too! Goes threw the town of little smokey, up by fox creek.

I only see them from the regulation book and tv.Do you think i can catch them with spinning set up???i don't fly fish.

You can catch them on wet flies .Black Gnats work well ..or small panther martins with yellow and black bodies. Be kind with the release.

I've caught them on a five of diamonds as well.

They were biting any thing once we found them. I caught some on white curly tails, panther martins, and flat fish. What ever we were catching the walleye with.

Quarry Lake - just outside of Canmore. Just a 3 minute walk from the parking lot and you're fishing for grayling. Every two years F&W nets some at spawning time in May and strips their eggs and milt for use at the hatchery. This little lake (pond) provides the hatchery grayling for the province.
C&R only.
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b2...h/IMG_1987.jpg

I don't know what the grayling are like in the Calgary area (I didn't know that they were even that far south) but you shouldn't have a problem catching them with spinning gear. I usually do about twice as well flyfishing than a friend of mine who only spin casts but he still catches fish. Grayling are rather aggressive. Use smaller spinners and spoons like you would for trout.

or almost any dry fly i find works to

Wedge Pond, right off HW 40 in K-Country is another place close to Calgary with Arctic Greyling.

There are 4 lakes down south stocked with Grayling. There is a river in Montana with Grayling also.

http://fieldguide.mt.gov/detail_AFCHA07010.aspx

http://www.fishalberta.com/20season/Ponton/Grayhot.htm (note they tried grayling in Champion but they did not work out. Grayling are not there now)

If you head up north some day we can put you onto some grayling..

If you don't have any luck with the hardware, use a torpedo bobber with a fly. It's a good way to get to the fish out of flycasting range.

Interesting that they get their hatchery fish from there, it is an easy place to get at.

What's the ice like up there right now??

I might hit up Wedge Pond this weekend then. Does anybody know if the ice has melted yet?

Wedge had ice right across as of last Sunday but it looked pretty soft from the highway. Hopefully not too much longer before it melts away.

I checked Quarry Lake this afternoon. Still iced in, although melting around the edges and open in the shallow beach area. Give it a few more days for ice-out, and then about a week/10 days for temperatures to hit 10C - and then the fish will be spawning.

I just looked up quarry lake in the 2009 stocking report and it says that there were 1900 arctic grayling stocked with an average length of 3 cm.

That is pretty crazy that they had them in Champion. What happened to them? Were they fished out or did they just die? I love fishing Champ.

wow i never thought about it:eek:.torpedo bobber and a fly.thanks walking buffalo.

Marked one at approx. 14" at Quarry earlier this evening. Ice is approx 6ft off around the edges. Quarry is less than 500m from our house so I'll try and post another update in a few days.

Here's hoping
 

Hopefully the ice will be off enough this weekend. I will be in Canmore with lots of time to kill between games and was hoping to do a little fishing.

Please keep us up to date, i missed going to Quarry last year, and I wanna do Yam soon as well.

Arctic Grayling was my first sport fish caught, when I was five on the Swan River. :D

what kind of fly to use with a torpedo bobber as i think my daughter would love to catch one of those...never even caught one myself...she loves going to the ponds out there

I've had luck with very small EHCs, Grif. Knats, and Chironies under a torpedo bobber at Quarry in the spring when they are just out of fly casting distance (which for me is about 8ft....) :o

Thanks Thumper, I'm supposed to be up that way in two weeks hopefully I'll get a few hours to head over there.

thanks for the info....i will get her to give it a go and see what happens