Thursday August 4, 2011

Still on the hunt for a silver salmon, my next stop was the ice cold Knick river. The water of the Knick has that glacial gray muddiness to it. I visited the Knick last year, you may remember it as the Mullet spot, the business of fishing in front of you, and the four wheeler hooligan party behind you…….

It was a long walk down to the water and it took me a better part of an hour to get there…..the water was unusually high and it was fun to watch the trucks and four wheelers blast through knee deep water to get from one place to another.

The fishing stunk at Knick. Because of the high water, the area that is usually the fishing hot spot was greatly reduced in size and about 50 yards further back on the shore than normal. I decided to explore a place called Jim Creek another couple of miles even further away. I guess you could say I was sort of banking on getting a ride back to my car from someone when I was done. I hiked and hiked, bush wacked and battled my way far upstream where I encountered a pod of silver salmon wandering up and down a 200 yard stretch of the river. I attempted to hook up to a Silver but in the end was unsuccessful. And an hour later happily found myself with my arms wrapped around a 60 year old man…… who comfortably delivered me right to my car on the back of his four wheeler……

Stopped at a more popular salmon spot on the way back to Anchorage where I was again reminded that everyone fished for salmon here. It was certainly not just a man thing. I saw couples on dates, women in pairs as well as alone, even saw a little kid's birthday part where they ate cake and casted away. One guy had a tall bar stool set way out in the water. He had the back padded with foam pieces from a wacky noodle. His stool even swiveled and came equipped with a rod holder. He was rocking out with his headphones on and was casting away.

Drove to Anchorage and spent the rest of the night on the computer outside McDonald’s.

Wednesday August 3, 2011

Today I was going to attempt to catch a trout in a way I’d never done before….

In the Lower 48 trout survive mostly off a diet if insects….In Alaska, trout eat very few bugs. They feed primarily on eggs from the female salmon and the flesh of rotting salmon…..for most of you, pretty gross right? I guess it’s the circle of life…….

My goal was to use red plastic bead as an imitator of a salmon egg. I bought a variety of colors and stopped to see my guide friend Skip for a little more advice. He told me that one time he actually saw a large trout swim and ram into the side of a salmon. The trout then gobbled up the salmon eggs just dispensed like a candy machine. He did some fine-tuning to my game plan and I was off to Montana Creek.

I was supposed to run my bead literally under the bellies of the giant spawning salmon and was told the trout would be waiting to attack it…….

It worked…..

After catching several trout this way I was left to ponder a few things……First off I was thrilled at my accomplishment, like scoring a hat trick in a men’s league hockey game or winning a tennis tournament, I felt, well……proud of myself. It was great to add a new skill to my overall repertoire.

Usually you get to the river, see the giant salmon, lose your mind….. and start bombing flies at them. Attempting to catch salmon in this particular part of the river was actually illegal, but fishing for the trout was not. I was also using a rod meant for the smaller trout and would most likely break if I was to accidently hook a salmon. Forced to fish exclusively for trout in a salmon filled environment allowed me to study the behavior of the spawning salmon. Today I was an observer. It was wonderful to watch the 4 foot long pairs of blaze orange king salmon do their thing, taking turns in the nest, performing their final act, perpetuating life …..just prior their own death.

The guy that I bought the beads from told me to “be on the look out for nature” while I was out there. So, needless to say, the walk back to the car in the half-light of the evening was scary as hell. Would being mauled by a bear really be a bad way to go? I actually don’t think so……I can certainly think of less noble ways. If one was to be killed by a bear it would say a lot about you as a person……it would say that you died doing what you loved. It would say that you were not afraid to be out there on the edge, alone in the wild. It would say that you too were a part in the great circle of life…….

Tuesday August 2, 2011

Needing the Coho (or silver) to complete the salmon slam, I hit Montana Creek today. In the rain and the sun, I slipped, slided, and sloshed my way around, battling boat loads of salmon with the fly rod. It was a blast. The fact is, I know many of you could care less about fishing, and I get that, so I’ll start to go easier on the details of my fishing exploits, but a day like today is a blast for anyone. Whoever you are reading this, you would have had the time of your life today. You’d easily hook one anywhere from 7 to 14 pounds, and the game was on. The fish would start running downstream, the line screaming off your reel and you’d have no other option than to run after it. Sometimes the fish would swim right at you and you actually have to jump out of the way.

The area where Montana Creek enters the main salmon thoroughfare known as the Susitna River, was crowded with hoards of people. The odd thing was that none of them were speaking English. Apparently three guys from Spain built some cabins and were making a killing shipping in fisherman from there. I also learned that they were not so keen on playing according to the rules and had been busted for wildlife violations on several occasions. They were catching silvers but sometimes the insanity is not worth your time....

Next to the amazing village of Talkeetna, a favorite stop of mine on last years trip. Had 9 legendary molasses cookies and ordered 60 more for pick up tomorrow. Spent the next few hours on the computer and closed out the night at the Fairview Inn listening to some music. I even bumped into my old pal Mark from last year......Talkeetna is still weird as ever. If you come to Alaska, never miss a stop in Talkeetna....and stay til after the tourists leave. You'll be glad you did.

Monday August 1, 2011

My credit card was still working…..but I was still skeptical and would keep trying it daily til I was comfortable.

Willow Creek again in the am, I should have just slept with my waders on. Contrary to last nights experience, today the river held considerably less fish. After an hour of casting it was time to hit the road north near Denali National Park for grayling.

On the last trip I’d had a blast watching the grayling attack a dry fly with reckless abandon and I wanted to do it again. They did not disappoint. Grayling are the perfect fish, both beautiful and aggressive. I’d netted a good forty or so before calling it a day.

As a rule I like to dress in camo whenever possible when fishing. People see me in every day life and say, “So, you’re a hunter.” Most can’t understand the need for camo when fishing. There are many reasons it’s better to be less visible; from stalking fish to keeping a honey hole secret to passers by, to hiding in plain sight from approaching wildlife. Today I scared this Chinese lady witless. Most tourist’s blood pressure rises and they get extremely jumpy the second they step off the pavement….again moose, bear, locals. You can imagine this lady’s surprise when she came around some bushes and almost walked right into me. When she’d calmed down we shared a laugh and said she was surprised that there were fish in the river because …..she couldn’t see any.

Pop-tarts and popcorn, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a few days and I was ready for a hot meal for dinner. I’d stupidly decided to drive closer to Denali National Park in hope of scoring something good. I ended up with a seriously bitchy waitress at the Salmon Bake Restaraunt and a lousy chicken dinner……followed by an hour drive back south to my next destination.

The car was working out nicely as a comfortable place to sleep. The mattress was extremely soft and it was actually kind of fun to sleep in the car. Especially listening to the rain on the roof. It would turn out that by trips end, I’d spend every single night in the car, saving lord knows how much money….with no shower as of yet, the man stench growing exponentially by the day.

Sunday July 31, 2011

Had a scare of a different variety today as I was informed that my bank was switching it’s ATM cards from Visa to Master Card and that my current card would be unusable starting …..tomorrow. She said it’s not a problem because “ we mailed your new card to you about a month ago”……I’m visualizing the envelope sitting useless on my kitchen counter in Clinton. Yeah, that was the only card I had with me……In fear, I loaded up on cash at the ATM and made calls to beg for an extension. Why is it every underling says , “sorry sir, there’s just no way” and then finally, forty minutes later, you get to the supervisor who’s says, “No problem.” I still was not a believer and was going to test my card first thing tomorrow

After that fun in the sun I caught a Mat-Su Miners baseball game at 2pm. As you know, I try at every opportunity to immerse myself in the culture of the locals. A baseball game is a great way to rub elbows with the natives. A break from fishing is always nice too…..believe it or not.

By 7pm I was knee deep in Willow Creek, adding King, Pink, and Chum salmon to the list of species caught this trip. The river was just loaded with fish. The sun set was beautiful setting the bushes on the opposite back aglow. While the rest of the river remained in the shadows…..

Saturday July 30, 2011

Let’s slam some salmon.

In an attempt to intercept some sockeye salmon, I was headed to the Klutina River. I don’t want to appear boastful, but I am developing a knack for Alaskan fishing that exceeds that of the common non native visitor. Many people fail to use common sense and will cast all day long, hook nothing, and say eh, guess they weren’t biting today. They are lazy and don’t make adjustments to their game….they also don’t want to walk to improve their chances. Salmon lie in specific areas of the river….you can cast all day, cluelessly, in the wrong places and fail. Today, I dominated…..I hiked and bush-wacked and left the lazies behind. I fished a classic salmon run…..a deep long pool that was filled with fish as they slithered their way out and up some skinny water to the next pool. It was just like you see on tv…..red missles skittering their way up a rocky run.

Eagles overhead, the sockeye’s, also called reds, were brutes, tackle busters, they pulled with sheer force that challenged my skills. It was thrilling. When I put together a game plan that is successful, especially if it’s a little different than the norm, I feel a huge sense of accomplishment. Today was a blast……I had planned to fish the Klutina again tomorrow but today was so good, I couldn’t have topped it, and on the way towards my next stop I scared the hell out of my self again playing the radio scan game.

Friday July 29, 2011

I usually like to get dressed and prepare my fishing equipment before I reach my destination. When you get to the water you can lose your mind and forget something important. Also, if something is missing or broken you avoid the long walk back to the car, or the drive to civilization. I was happy I prepped today before I drove the hour down a dirt road back to the lake because an evil sounding hissing noise was coming from the float tube…….I had a leak. It took me a couple of hours of asking around and driving to find a suitable sealant for the leak I discovered on the seam of the right side bladder. You just can’t slobber anything on there as most stuff will eat away at the polypropylene liner. When your out there on the edge, people need to rely on each other to get through, and if it wasn’t for the generosity of strangers, yesterday would have been my first and last day on the lake.

With the problem solved I played games with a loon who, much like last year swam circles around my tube, and caught fish til nearly 11pm. Over the two days I landed at least 40 rainbows, five over 18 inches. But that is not the story with Silver Lake my friends………

Silver Lake is simply the most beautiful place I’ve ever been in the world, period. The crystal clear water, quality of fishing, nature, surrounding scenery complete with snow capped mountains, and the area’s sheer remoteness, is a combination that can not be equaled anywhere I ever been. It has a feeling of wildness I’ve never experienced before. It is…… pristine…..

You work and do all the things you do in your daily life…and you wait….. I wait……until I get here……and every day til I come back……I’ll be waiting. Soaking up every drop of beauty as the sun set on the walk out, I’m not sure what was wetter, my eyes……. or the sock on my left foot from a new leak in my waders.