Salmon and Grayling Streams

>

Alaska

> The Chatanika River

View downstream from Elliott Highway bridge

Floating

Really big (for this area) grizzly tracks next to a size 12 wading boot.

Packrafts stashed on shore. It's nice to be able to pull the boats all the way out of the water so easily (in this case, because an airboat was coming by).

This simple rubber-legged foam beetle is one of my favorite flies for Arctic grayling. It's quick to tie so I don't mind losing one or two on snags. It's durable, so one fly can last a hundred fish or more. It never needs floatant to ride the surface well. Most importantly, it catches fish, although grayling often hit almost anything. The bold profile and attention-grabbing plop of the beetle, I think, draw fish from farther away than a more subtle fly might, and it often draws unusually savage strikes.