The Return of the Grayling, with Nicole Watson

The Orvis Fly-Fishing Podcast

James Hathaway

Bass, Fishing, Bonefish, Wilderness, Flyfishing, Trout, How To, Steelhead, Bluegill, Fly, Orvis, Sports, Salmon, Panfish, Education, Rosenbauer

4.8 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 4 September 2020

⏱️ 87 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week I interview biologist Nicole Watson [interview at 46:56], who has a fascinating job. She is working on developing strains of arctic grayling that will hopefully be able to repopulate some of Michigan's rivers. It's not widely known that prior to the arrival of Europeans to rivers such as the Au Sable and Manistee, the dominant salmonid in rivers in that entire area was not the brook trout, but a unique strain of arctic grayling. Learn about how the population was decimated, what is being done to restore them, and how soon we'll be able to fish for wild grayling in Michigan.

Here are some links to websites mentioned in the podcast

MI Grayling Initiative website:
https://www.migrayling.org/

Iron Fish Distillery- whiskeys to support research:
https://ironfishdistillery.com/arcticgrayling/

Iron Fish Arctic Grayling Research Fund (to donate to research directly):
https://manisteefoundation.org/component/funds/view/3933

In the Fly Box this week, we have the following questions and tips from listeners:
My 5-weight works fine with nymphs and dries but I have trouble throwing streamers. Is my rod too light for fishing Woolly Buggers?

How do you evaluate a new fly pattern for your own fishing? And what are the factors that make you keep the pattern in your fly box instead of cycling it out?

I have trouble keeping dubbing on the thread when I wrap it on a hook. Are there tips I can use?

Is it a good idea to start with a tippet ring on a brand new leader, and where do you place it?

Is it wrong to hold the index finger on top of a rod grip when casting?

Should I be able to throw a size 8 popper with my 5-weight rod?
What is the most humane way to kill a fish?

How can I "turn up the volume" of my bass flies for use in high, dirty water?

I want to try to catch a 12-inch brook trout in a small stream, but I want to go barbless. What would you suggest for landing my trophy?

I have a 7-weight Recon rod and want to fish heavier streamers. What fly line do you recommend?

What is the best way to remove a small hook from a trout?
What is the best way to travel with fly-tying materials?

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	And the Hi and welcome to the Orvis Fly Fishing Guide podcast. This is your host Tom Rosebrough.
0:21.0	And a little bit later on in the podcast we are going to be talking to
0:27.2	Nicole Watson from Michigan.
0:30.2	Nicole is presently engaged in a fascinating study of how to bring Arctic
0:40.8	Graling back to the state of Michigan.
0:44.0	A lot of people probably don't know that in the upper lower peninsula of Michigan,
0:52.0	places like where the rivers like the Osable and the Manistee are.
0:57.4	Once upon a time the native Selmonid in those famous trout streams was Graling.
1:05.0	And Nicole has been working on how to restore the
1:09.4	grailing to some Michigan streams where they're able to survive and she talks also about
1:16.2	the history of Grayling in Michigan. So personally I think it's a fascinating
1:21.4	topic and I hope you enjoy it as well.
1:27.0	And another little announcement, I know that a lot of you listen to the podcast for tips on how to make your
1:37.4	fishing better and you know how to have more fun on the water and one of the best resources for you is the
1:48.6	Orvis Learning Center and if you haven't been there in the past few weeks, the Orvis Learning Center has a totally new look.
1:57.0	It's been redesigned and it's been made much more mobile friendly.
2:02.8	So if you look at the Learning Center on your phone,
2:06.4	you're gonna find it a much better experience.
2:09.7	And also, what we're going to be doing every week, once a week,
2:14.4	between now and late November, is to put one of the chapters
2:21.1	of the Orvis Guide to Fly Fishing season two onto the Learning Center.
2:27.6	And you can view these now on YouTube if you want, but you have to go into YouTube and you have to look at ads and you kind of have to watch
	...

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