Other names for the Arctic Grayling are: Grayling, American Grayling, Back's Grayling, Sail Fin Arctic Grayling, and Arctic Trout.
The French call the Grayling, Poison Bleu This cold water, northern species of fish, The
Arctic Grayling is related to trout and whitefish and attains an average length of 12-15 inches as an adult. Some graylings grow to 30 inches long. Most fish taken by anglers are in the three pound class. Graylings are a good looking fish because of its sail like purple to black dorsal fin spotted with dots. The fish has a silver body with tints of gold or lavender weighing from one to three pounds. The grayling is a superb sport fish in the cold water areas of North America and Europe. Its mouth is small and thin and is lined with many teeth in both the upper and lower jaw.
The Arctic Grayling has many colors on its body. On its back the fish displays either a purple to blue, black or blue, grey coloring. Along its sides anglers observe a pink coloring and many "V" shaped or diamond formed spots. The head is olive, green with a lilac iridescence. When spawning the male Grayling covers the eggs with his milt and his coloring darkens and he becomes more sparkling in color than the female.
The Arctic Grayling resides in the northern waterways of the Canadian Provinces of Alberta and British Columbia from the Peace and Stikine Rivers north and in the south in the Flathead River. Some fish live in the drainages of Alaska and Montana. The grayling prefers large clear waters of chilly rivers, rock strewn creeks and lakes where they use the habitat along rocky shores.
When the ice begins to melt and break up in the smaller streams and creeks the Arctic Grayling begin their spawn from April through June in rocky creeks and streams..
The fish do not fan out an area in the bottom of the waterway like other fresh water fish for their nest. The female scatters between four thousand and seven thousand eggs over gravel. The eggs hatch in about two weeks. The Arctic Grayling is a very sociable fish and thrives well in schools of their own kind.
Their diet consists of a wide range of invertebrates, small fish like minnows, drifting insects like May flies, caddis flies and fish eggs of spawning salmon.
The grayling will eat almost anything so the angler targets them often. Fishing with live bait, lures, and flies, will work at one time or another. Graylings will rise to a dry fly. What techniques used for any trout will work for Graylings. Grayling are often easy to catch, using the knowledge of their feeding habits and the water they inhabit.
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