Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Grayling and pike

Gonna have an opportunity to catch both of these this year while out on a hunt. I have never fished for either one. I'm assuming that I could use the same lures I use for trout for the grayling right? Would you guys have anyinsight on what I should use to rig up for pike in the wat of lures and terminal tackle? Is wire a requirement with pike? Lastly both should be fine with a typical shore lunch rub placed in tinfoil pouches over the coles right? Thanks Dean

Hi Dean

Are you using fly tackle, or spin? Grayling are not usually terribly selective, but there is nothing like watching one jump up and then take a dry fly on the splashdown!

I would not bother with wire for pike, but it can help if they are inclined to spin and wrap up your line.

If you are lucky, AK Grayling will reply; that guy knows grayling!

And his Dad is a pike chaser of some renown,,,

Grayling are surface feeders, they like flies, but I always used to catch them casting small spinners like the Mepps Aglia. Black Roostertails always worked well, for rainbows and grayling. If you buy Mepps, avoid the undressed treble hooks, I've found that the dressed lures outfish the undress ones 2 or 3 to 1.

Pike I can't help you with, but if it is somewhere remote where they aren't pressured, I've been told they'll almost hit a bare hook in warm weather. Large Mepps spinners, larger spinnerbaits, jighead type swimbaits ,get some of that gel type superglue that Berkley sells for when they strike and tear the swimbaits apart. Go to the Infisherman website, they are the pike gurus. You'll need wire for leader, and know how to tie it. You'll also need to know how to deal with the Y-bones when you clean them.

pike - a good baitcasting reel (ABU Garcia 6500), line around 20#. medium heavy rod, BALL-BEARING wire leaders, Dardevles or Dr. Spoons, and Colorado or Indiana-blade spinnerbaits

We have always done fine on grayling with small gold spoons.

Pike, my buddy used to guide up out of Aniak.... he used pixie spoons( I think I"m using the right name, the ones with the fake plastic egg sacks in the middle of the spoon) as much as anything. Their goal was any client was to catch a 50 plus inch pike before they left. I don't know that they failed very often.

Definitely bring good quality wire leaders for pike. Use large Spinners, spoons, jigs with mister twister tails. Chartruse, orange, black top colors. Throw some zara spooks on top water for fun.

I enjoy fly fishing for pike and use big rabbit streamers, deceivers and clouser minnows.

Grayling small spoons, meppps panther martin spinnners

Flies- Adams, stimis, Royal wulfs, prince nymphs 12-14 sizes

Dean
Anything will work for pike in the way of lures, but Johnson's silver minnows and jitterbugs hold a special place with me for the job on hardware stuff. We catch hundreds on our annual week-long trip, and a a hundred per day per person is only a good start. I use a doubled piece of Maxima 20# for leader and seldom lose one side of it... Changing every day or so is usually enough.

There is a good tieable wire leader, but it is not needed. We are almost exclusively fly fishing for them and big topwater flies like deerhair mice work great. Bunny flies work great as subsurface stuff. Marabou flies also work real well but are too delicate for sustained use.

Do not worry about long fights with pike as they have a lot of quickness, some power, and almost no stamina.

Grayling in lakes can be fussy, requiring a fairly specific presentation, but usually they are easy and flowing water usually means they are easier yet. I will often use a small nymph for a dropper on a stimulator or other large dry. The dry acts as strike indicator (bobber for those not fly fish fluent).

For spin fishing for grayling a small spinner with a dropper either before or after with a small nymph is very effective.
art

4 me it's slam dunk fly rod is the way to go. I caught this 46" Musky on my 9' 9 weight. Anything else is just cheating and way too easy...

Have a super trip!

Dober

It may not be right, but I use wire leaders for pike. I've even seen the wire get pretty chewed up. But sadly, it's been a while.

same here bud, I ain't got time to being giving lures and pike away.

have had good results with red and white striped daredevils, and silver kastmasters.

I like catch and release into a frying pan!


Dean if you have time to hit a Fred Meyers before flying out, they sell a little shot head jig called a gitzit. green is what slammed them this last late Sept. early October.

I'd always had good luck with Mepps, but believe we only caught one grayling on a Mepps outa about 100 fish that day.

the majority were caught on a green gitzit. you may be fishing early enough to not need it, but it sucks to not have the right gear to catch fish when there's fish about.

can't think of many meals I prefer over AK surf and turf, skillet of spuds and sliced onion, moose backstrap and grayling fried whole after being dunked in some cornmeal.

gawd amighty but that's good eatin!

I used lots of wire over the years, then came to my senses and actually started looking into it a bit... I think the Maxima outfishes the wire, lasts nearly as long before breaking, but importantly does not kink like wire.

Those into kink may just ignore this and carry on...

have never used it Art will have to give it a try

9" stainless leader and the 1 1/8 Oz Johnson silver minnow will work but any of the 3" long spoons work nicely too. The five of diamonds and the red and white daredevil is another great bait

My preference is to fly fish for both. You can do double duty with a 6wt on a hunting trip. A little much for grayling but a hell of a lot of fun for pike. We have always caught a tons of pencils before we catch the big guys so it keep its fun. Bring a reel with a good drag, bass/pike/ or salmon taper floating line and some Rio toothy critters leaders and you will be good to go. Swap out the swivel on the toothy critters for a little heaver one as they do break after 20 or so fish.

As for flys grayling are easy (drys) royal wolff, adams, mosquitoes, etc. Size 18-12. (Nymph) p-tail's, prince's, GRHE, etc. Size 12-8.

For pike any good bunny pattern works great. Throw in a little flash, a few articulating and a couple weedless. I also always bring some mice and frogs for top water stuff. Bass poppers work killer as well.

All the hunts and fly out fishing I have done weight was a concern. I could never see bringing a bunch of terminal tackle when I prefer to fly fish.

Pike make a killer shore lunch too!

Thanks so far guys . This is a hunting trip and not a fishing trip so this is all about makin meat for grub so the bug stick aint gonna do here. Not relying on it but sure beats mountain house.

I think I would take the mountain house over grayling

The fly rod would be the sure bet for me but if your more comfortable slinging gear St.Croix make some pretty nice packable spinning rods.

+1 on that, but as KK said, pike are EXCELLENT...

Lots of lakes in AK produce pike tasting strongly of bog... Grayling are just bland and boney, not bad at all.

I am also a fan of heavy monofilament over wire as a pike leader. Haven't used wire in decades. It doesn't kink, as Sitka pointed out, and the percentage of strikes seems to be a little higher, especially on bigger fish.

Double ditto on the mono over wire. I'll save the kink for my next Bangkok trip...