I'm going on a moose hunt in Sept. and flying out of Fairbanks.
The area is north of the Yukon river along some river that I don't know the name of. My outfitter said they catch pike and grayling.
Can you guys give me some suggestions on lures and gear?

I have fished for big pike up there and grayling, two totally different species of fish to include their size. For pike, you might want to, but don't have to unless your using a very heavy mono,....Steel leaders!!! using top water plugs(rapalas or zara spooks) or even spoons, and spinners, the pike up there could be more than 40" or better, get the regs because there is a limit on pike.
As far as grayling, the best method is by fly, nothing bigger than a five wt. rod, using top water flies like a mosquito in a 16-18, or if your spinning, use ultra light, with small mepps spinners, panther martins, or rooster tails. this should be good enough for starters.

If your spin fishing then red and white daredevel or silver crockadile for pike, gold or silver vibrex for grayling.

If your fly fishing any lighter colored knat, a royal coachman is one of the best.

I don't know what you would use on a fly rod for pike. I would bring along some of the poppers you use down there, might work.

Thank you for the info. I want to catch some of those pike and grayling almost as much as I want to kill a moose, caribou, wolf and grizzly.

I would use lures--white/red,yellow mr. twister on a lead head with steel leaders and the grayling I would use a fly and a bubble--adams and a blue dun are the best and have caught hundreds on those flies and will also work on any char that are in the river but fishing is only something to do if your tags are all filled...Have fun...

www.african-montana-taxidermy.com

quote:

Originally posted by Dog Man:
I'm going on a moose hunt in Sept. and flying out of Fairbanks.
The area is north of the Yukon river along some river that I don't know the name of. My outfitter said they catch pike and grayling.
Can you guys give me some suggestions on lures and gear?

I'd ask the outfitter if he's got fishing gear that U can use. It'll save you the hassle of taking your own.

Use the outfitters poles if possible but take your own reels, line and lures.

As far as lures are concerned Vibrex is all you need. Take two each of gold, silver and firetiger. Take no. 5 lures.

Take a package of Mister Twister white tails to put on the hook of your Vibrex.

For line take 17 lb test with 12" wire leaders, and strong snap swivels.

Use the silver Vibrex when it is cloudy, gold when it is sunny and firetiger anytime.

Dog Man, Here's the scoop. I live on the Yukon and know a little about fishing here. People here consider fishing as with set nets & fishwheels. Most of our rivers are murky from glacial silt. You can catch fish in all the clearer feeder watersheds on a pole or with trotlines in deep eddies. Pike, big pike (50 inchers) are found in the sloughs before water goes down in the fall.

Everybody here dumps 4-5 buckets of salmon heads & guts in their eddy, nx morning water is black with grayling which attract pike, sheefish, burbot, ect. You can also use buckets of salmon eggs, we get them from cleaning kings & chums. Everything luvs salmon eggs. I usually use jigs, those small 1/32 size 6 hook split tails; yellow, white, pink all work. You can use small spinners but fish luv the small jigs jigged across the bottom better than anything. Light line 4-6 lb, and ultra light spin pole. I mostly catch the bigger sheefish & burbot on trotline, make one and bring. Size 5/0 hooks, steel leader, 200 lb trotline. We also catch bigger fish on #4 & #5 vibraex; rainbow finish always works, is unbelievable when rainbows are feeding on king eggs.

We always rope an old caribou carcass or skinned moose head in the river. Fish peck bones clean. Fish can smell blood & meat for miles and come in in a few hours. This is the best way to fish in Alaska.

We also bait bear in; chums will be in river while you are here, they also hit spinners, but need heavy line & leader.

Bring a mouth squeeler, if caribou are moving through, you'll see wolves. You can call the yearlings in (80-90 lbers) but not the adults, which yu probably won't even see.

So when you get that moose, take all the guts & bones and throw in river & start fishin.

Are you on a guided hunt or drop off? I have done a few fly ins; can't afford the guides and don't need them actually. Remember the big bulls stay up right below treeline, come down for 3-4 days around 10-12 sept (depending on weather) gather up cows and chase them back up high. Small bulls hang low looking for non-existent cows; and most people shoot the younger bulls. There's 60 inch bulls around but many more smaller ones. I never see as many big bulls in the woods as I see on those tv hunt shows either. We shoot any bull, before the wolves get it. Fresh meat is a good thing anyway. good luck.

Zhurh,

Wow,thanks for all that info and pics to back it up. I'm honored that you picked my post for your first. This is why I recently joined AR, first hand info on almost anything to do with the outdoors. I'll bet your eating a moose steak or fish right now, I can't wait.

dogman, Are you on a fly in drop off, hunt yourself or completely guided hunt (boy they are way up there nowadays from what I hear)?

It's not hard at all to call bulls in, easier as the season moves along; but also you see smaller bulls that haven't got any cows; at least that's my experience. Course, I'm hunting from near a rural community along the Yukon. I have a moose camp twenty some miles downriver from home; kinda just go there for a change of pace; after a couple days; ready to sleep in my own bed again.

We usually don't just float the river, like so many hunters do. They kill a few moose at dawn & dusk on the river, but I usually go back in, hunt lakes/sloughs 1/4, 1/2 mile from Yukon. I also run up every stream I can, float back down. Too many outsiders want to stay on the river, not good plan.

Some locals here ran up the porcupine couple years back, figured they have some good hunting, got skunked. They seemed to believe the wolves & local Indians had the country cleaned out. Indians hunt all year long, and maybe that's their right; or at least they do believe it to be and govt ain't ever going to stop them at it either. Usually pretty poor hunting near an Indian village. You got to watch some villages; others are ok. I once met a couple of wanna be explorers floating past down the Yukon. I told them what villages to stop in and which ones to just float on by; avoid any problems.

If your here in August/Sept, you can dip net chums, get all the bear bait, fish bait you need. I keep a big round fish net on a 15 foot pole down my moose camp. Middle of day, watch the chums move upriver close to shore and always get a few. You will see the V's and if you never got any that way; it will take a few misses but is fun to waste the mid day.

I actually killed more moose in the MatSu than up here along the Yukon; but your chance of getting a 60 incher is much higher along the Yukon.

Hunting/fishing isn't sport to me anymore; really depressing I guess but that's how it gets. We all have subsistence permits, so pretty much shoot whatever when we see them. We always get a bunch of caribou when they come through, a moose if lucky, and the best eating is sheep which we see drinking water outta the Yukon from time to time.

If ya let me know where you are going, I'll fill ya in some if I know the country. Hope you all have a good trip.