The morning was a cold and only in the mid 30°s. It was obviously we were going to get smacked with bad weather once again here in the north of Manitoba at the Gangler’s Courage Lake Tundra Outpost. The clouds above were thick and the wind shifted from south east to the north overnight. The five minute peek of the sun at sunrise wasn’t going to fool us. Granny and I knew the sooner we got on the water the better because fishing possibilities may not last long.
What truly helped get us on the water quickly was that we forgot coffee for this four day backcountry expedition. We love to relax and drink coffee before the day starts but instead, today we packed some snacks, filled our Yeti water bottles and got in the boat. And perhaps the early no-coffee start allowed our timing to be perfect. We ran into an amazing sight – a massive caribou swam between two points right in front of the boat. We could have got close but best to stay back as I’m sure the gorgeous animal was terrified.
We had a goal to catch and photograph Arctic grayling this trip. Gangler’s North Seal River Lodge is known mostly for the remarkable northern pike and lake trout fishing but they also have grayling in the streams that connect the lakes. On my last trip here a day of grayling was planned but weather didn’t allow for it. With today’s cold and wind we figured it was a good day to hike and fish rather than stay in the boat. I also didn’t want to deal with managing a boat in the strong wind.
The graying spots are on the other end of the lake. This meant a long boat ride to the south east end where the lake outflows. We needed to travel very slow because like many Canadian lakes, hidden rocks and shallow reefs can pop up anywhere. Bust off a motor prop and its trip over. It took us about an hour to travel the five or so miles but we made it easily and in the process I scoped out some pike spots for the way home.
How to get to and fish this place was described to us by Ken a few days earlier. We knew the stream was short, meaning downstream not too far was another lake. I suspected these grayling would crush dry flies and I prefer to fish dry flies walking upstream so I planned to hike all the way to the lake. The hike started easy but turned into a treacherous rock hop. Granny went about 3/4ths of the way then grabbed a seat. I went for it.
The stream was very low. It was obvious we’d need to find the deep pools. I figured there could be a few hanging where the current emptied into the lake. I had a small Chernobyl Ant on and casted it out and twitched it. Within seconds a wake shot across the shallows and engulfed my fly. It was a 30 plus inch pike and I was overmatched. Not only was I using my 4-weight but also 4X tippet. Surprisingly I kept the fish on for most of the fight before he finally snapped me off near my feet.
With chunky hungry pike around I knew the grayling wouldn’t survive in the lake so I started my walk upstream back towards Granny. I jumped a flock of Ptarmigan. The local upland gamebirds of the subarctic were half white and brown in the process of going all white for winter. Then I came to my first pool. It looked lifeless until my new fly, a Chernobyl concoction, hit the water. Two grayling bumped heads trying to devour it!
I connected with one of the grayling and landed the spectacular fish. I’ve caught Arctics before but most the grayling I’ve caught have been European and even a few of the Mongolian species. Arctics have the largest dorsal of all the grayling although its only huge on the big fellas. This one here is average but gorgeous nonetheless.
I fished this deep pocket for about twenty minutes. I landed at least fifteen grayling and could have caught more. They ranged from about 8” to 16”. Granny was navigating the rocks up towards the next pool. Grayling are very hard to photograph by yourself because the slippery devils don’t relax.
Granny found the pool of all pools. Two shears of flat rock jetted up on each side. A rapid dumped in from the top and slowed as it came downstream. It was very deep and I was excited knowing my lady was about to crush a bunch of fish.
By now rain had started and it was heavy. I wanted photos and knew as every minute passed that photography would become more difficult. To help the cause Granny hooked up immediately.
After Granny landed about ten of the fancy looking Salmonids she started trying to hand me the rod. Her hands were getting cold but I’d have none of it. For me its way more fun to watch her catch the fish. And she did. Finally after she got twenty I took over.
We banged on graying all morning. We took a break or two but we fished all the way back to the boat. The stream took on many different looks along the way. In the end it was a classic rapid and there was a grayling behind every rock. The rain got worse and worse. Every time you raised your arm to cast the water crept down your sleeve. Drop by drop. By noon we were both getting cold. Time to leave.
Granny was done fishing by the time she got to the boat. It was deluge now. The wind was strong. It wasn’t any fun. I stopped at a few spots and launched casts for pike. I caught a few but no northerns of size. At 2 pm we could see camp. We both thought about how nice it would be for soup and a fire in the woodstove. We called it however with hopes we get back out.
Getting back out wasn’t an option. The rain never stopped all afternoon or evening. I went down to bail out the boat and at one time the whitecaps were smashing the back of the boat so hard they were sinking the boat. I had to wader up again and physically turn the boat around bow into the waves and tie it up securely.
The weather has been a challenge this trip but we keep getting lucky with our fishing. We are so thankful we took the initiative to get after the grayling early this morning. Despite the cold, wind and rain it was the best grayling fishing of our lives. And good news, I had plenty of time to look at and edit our photos this afternoon and photos are excellent. There will be a kick ass new segment in my PowerPoint presentation, “The World’s Best Trout Destinations” for my shows this winter.
As we enjoyed watching caribou grazing in the horrible weather on the horizon from our cabin, I received and email from Ken. The weather is supposed to break by morning. At least the wind should ease. If so tomorrow will be a full on hunt for huge pike!
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