Takhini Grayling and a Healthy ‘bow (from Bruce)

August 16, 2006 at 11:25 am

Spent a fun day with a few friends on the Takhini the other day. One of the guys is from Florida, and while an avid saltwater fly fisher, this was his first experience on fresh water. The other guy is from Montana, where grayling are few and far between, and rarely over 9-10” Both were blown away by the size and abundance of fish in the Takhini. Saltwater guy is hooked on light tackle now, and watching him double haul a 7-1/2 ft. 3wt. rod, and get 30m. casts out of it, was hilarious.

A few days later we headed up a side road on the way to Haines Junction, hiking in and scouting. After a fun time spent catching little rainbows and grayling, I worked my way up to a promising pool just below a little overfall and tossed a #12 elf hair caddis into the eddy, expecting another eager little bow if I was lucky, when this huge flash of silver erupted out of the water and slammed my fly. I was using a 4wt. rod with light tippet, and had little hope that I would actually land this fish - I would have been happy to at least get a good look at it before it broke off. After running down the pool following this fish, in and out of weed beds, around rocks, into a shallow riffle that spooked it back up into the pool, I was able to tail it and grab a few pics. Easily one of the most beautiful bows I’ve ever caught.

Good times.

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