The Bucket List: Arctic Grayling

The Bucket List: Arctic Grayling

Shot on Iphone || 2022

The List

So many of you have your big time fishy Bucket Lists - we ALL do. But what happened when you finally hooked a specimen that was just sitting on the brim of that list? Just dangling there, barely hanging on? I never thought I’d get to an Arctic Grayling at this age. “One day I’ll see a grayling, I don’t even care if I catch it. I just want to see it”. That fish was just barely hanging on to my little bucket…a fish that I literally dreamt of.

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I lost my first Gray under the boat, as I wasn’t quick enough to shove my rod in the water and rubbed the line. It snapped, and I stood there with THE most gutted feeling I’ve ever felt. I had to tell @jennamckeownflyfish not to even look in my direction or I would burst into tears 😂

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I looked up and there were grayling rising and jumping literally all around us. They explode out of the water and smoke dries like it’s the last bug they’ll ever eat. I was shocked at how delicate their mouths are, and how dainty your hook sets need to be.

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This one flipped hard for my fly, and it was an immediate heart slam moment. If you’ve ever met @jennamckeownflyfish, you would know she is as positive as the Sun. The best cheerleader, hoping as much as you to meet a creature on the List.

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This might be the most precious photo I’ve ever taken. Sure, bc it’s a fish on the List. But it has all the elements of why it made it there. The unrelenting natural beauty of its colours. How it looks in it’s true home. The dappled sun, emulating the people that I was with.

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I was truly a new fly fisher on this day, in this moment. We stop thinking clearly, we get emotional, we miss basic rules of the game. We meet the creatures that change our life, that teach us to slow down and remember why we’re there. And it just hooks us even more.