Known as a fish of incredible beauty, the Michigan grayling sparked the interest of sport anglers when the first issue of Forest and Stream proclaimed it “to take to the fly boldly” in 1873. However, the fish was nearly extinct by the early 1900s, thus prompting speculation, ranging from invasive trout to the driving of logs, as the cause of its rapid decline. However, as early the mid-1870s, wealthy fishing enthusiast and conservationist patron Daniel H. Fitzhugh Jr. recognized that overfishing would lead to extinction. He then sponsored local and national fish culturists’ attempts to save the species and helped bring about state conservation laws, including a limited fishing season and bans on spears and nets.
