[mtnsaremyhome]

Are an amazingly beautiful fish. I found my first one this weekend in a very cold and clear stream. I had no idea their pelvic fin was black and orange. That is all!

 

[GelJockey]

They are a neat fish. Great photo.

 

[Richard Olmstead]

Nice photo and nice size fish for a MT grayling! I've caught them in the upper tribs of the Big Hole and a while back in the Ruby, where they were trying to re-establish breeding populations. I think they abandoned that effort and I don't know if there are any grayling in the Ruby at this point.

 

[Brian Thomas]

Nice .
Did you notice they smell a bit like thyme ?

 

[Old Man]

Nice photo and nice size fish for a MT grayling! I've caught them in the upper tribs of the Big Hole and a while back in the Ruby, where they were trying to re-establish breeding populations. I think they abandoned that effort and I don't know if there are any grayling in the Ruby at this point.

They are still there. I caught a small one about 4" long. It was one of the prettiest fish I ever caught,

 

[blackbird]

Cool I did not know about those fin colors either

Heres a photo I found (not mine) that also shows those fins

 

[Johnathon Quarrell]

I was lucky enough to do some fishing in Slovenia last summer. I caught dozens over the course of a couple days.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Chris Johnson]

When I was 9 yrs old my family drove to Ak. to visit relatives, on the way up somewhere in the Yukon the exhaust system started falling off the truck. We were at a wide spot in the road with a gas station/store and my dad was under the truck trying to Joe McGee it back together. There was a stream behind the store, so I asked my Dad "do you think there's any fish in that crick?". He said " How the hell would I know", with some exasperation, "go ask the guys in the store". And so I did. The guy gave me a spoon and told me to throw it in the fast water and let it swing. So off I went, following his instructions and sure enough was quickly into a fish. as I brought the fish to hand I notice it was not a trout, it had a weird big fin on the back, so I let it go. I walked back up to the truck and told my Dad that I had caught this weird fish and he replied " throw the S.O.B. back then". I told him I did and that this fish had a strange tall fin on it's back. I heard the tools drop, he scrambled out from under the truck and asked me to describe the fish again. He grabbed his rod and came down to the crick with me and we caught a good number of the little silver beauties. Evidently, the truck could wait.( 50 yrs ago)

 

[4357]

Beautiful fish, and photo.

Only one I ever caught was in the upper Big Hole.
It was just a little guy, but I'll never forget the thrill of catching it. They're a special fish

 

[4357]

I read somewhere that this is one of the last photos taken (around 1886) of the Michigan Grayling, now an extinct species....

 

[Richard Olmstead]

I read somewhere that this is one of the last photos taken (around 1886) of the Michigan Grayling, now an extinct species....

Gee, I wonder what happened to them?

 

[Old Man]

When I was young and first started, I thought that fishing and catching was a lot of fun. I thought that this would last forever. Boy, was I ever wrong.

 

[Jim F.]

I can recall catching Grayling from below the dam above Divide way up into the upper reaches of the Big Hole as well as in a lot of the upper tributaries. What a wonderful fishery that valley was back then! When we kept fish to eat, we kept Brookies and whitefish for the smoker.

 

[4357]

Gee, I wonder what happened to them?

Extensive logging of the watersheds and sluicing logs down the river channels (sound familiar?) was the main culprit according to reports.
Also, the logging crews were also fed a lot of "fresh" Grayling (no thyme seasoning was required...) according to what I read.

That's a beautiful, but sad old photo, eh?

 

[Jim F.]

I can recall logging but no sluicing of logs down the river channel, nor do I recall my Dad, Uncles or any other "old timers" ever mentioning that. I'd be more inclined to believe that reduced flows, especially in the upper river over the years was a greater threat. The old Montana "10 fish or 10# and 1 fish" liberal limits were probably in force for far too long, also.

 

[4357]

I can recall logging but no sluicing of logs down the river channel, nor do I recall my Dad, Uncles or any other "old timers" ever mentioning that. I'd be more inclined to believe that reduced flows, especially in the upper river over the years was a greater threat. The old Montana "10 fish or 10# and 1 fish" liberal limits were probably in force for far too long, also.

Jim,
You are certainly correct in part.

Here's the sad tale of what has been written of what happened to the Michigan Grayling;

https://www.oldausable.com/learn/michigan-grayling-history

 

[Buck]

I hear that grayling taste good. Anyone had one? What does it taste like? Trout? I don't like the taste of trout, so I was curious.

 

[Jim F.]

You are certainly correct in part.

Here's the sad tale of what has been written of what happened to the Michigan Grayling;

Thanks for the continuing education, Greg. That is indeed sad. I'm also sure that over-harvesting/eating contributed to the low numbers in the Big Hole drainage. As in other states & with other species, the "golden age" of fishing & thriving populations was also characterized by liberal limits, less-than-effective conservation & environmental control practices, and the misconception that high population levels/huge runs would always "be around." I shoulder my personal share of the blame - we lived on wild fish & game & although Dad taught me to follow the rules & that certain species should be released (Dad wouldn't keep Bull Trout or Grayling), but as a family we certainly kept lots of other trout species & Whitefish. I guess I was the first generation in our clan to embrace, acknowledge & value the "catch & release" concept and was able to exert at least some influence on others back in the day. Thankfully, "I got a limit" isn't the goal today relative to fishing as it once was and that is a good thing but there is still lots of room for improvement.

 

[Chris Johnson]

Jim,
You are certainly correct in part.

Here's the sad tale of what has been written of what happened to the Michigan Grayling;

https://www.oldausable.com/learn/michigan-grayling-history

That is a sad tale Gregg,

 

[martyg]

I hear that grayling taste good. Anyone had one? What does it taste like? Trout? I don't like the taste of trout, so I was curious.

Yes. The flesh is much more white, at least where I was. Very good eating compared to the other fish that were available.