Volume 17 • Issue 7 • July 2017 Dave Fish Fish Dave

© 74

Departments Features Fish Alaska Creel 6 Clarence Strait Summer Silvers Fish Alaska Gear Bag 8 by Terry W. Sheely 38 Fish Alaska Online 10 Summer-run silvers are a unique early strain of coho for a Compliment 12 that’s been quietly surprising Southeast anglers since 1998. These fine-eating, acrobatic silvers arrive in late Fish Alaska Families 14 June/July and if you know where to look, they’ll add a Salmon Sense 18 dimension to any midsummer outing. Fish Alaska Conservation 20 Divers & Bait Techniques for River Salmon Fish Alaska Fly 24 by JD Richey 44 Fish Alaska Boats 26 The diver-and-bait rig has got it all: It’s deadly on river Fish Alaska Saltwater 32 salmon, easy to learn, a ton of fun—and almost utterly Fish Alaska Stillwater 34 foolproof. It is also really easy for inexperienced anglers Fish Alaska Recipe 94 to master. Advertiser Index 96 Confessions of a Mooching Final Drift 98 by George Dennis 52 Mooching is a go-to technique for Alaska’s saltwater

© JD Richey 44 captains, and after becoming a mooching convert following four decades of experience, George Dennis walks us through everything a saltwater angler wants to know about catching salmon in Southeast.

Sockeye Time! by Terry Wiest 58 Every year, hardcore Alaska anglers with the sense to know a good thing when they see it begin to salivate over the upcoming sockeye season. Well, the time is now, and the reds are in.

Fishing with Ghosts by Andrew Cremata 66 Around Skagway, the pursuit of fish opens a doorway to Alaska’s past, and Andrew Cremata has set you to explore it all, rod in hand. Join him to explore the ruins and relics of Alaska history, and the fish often hiding nearby.

© George Dennis © George 52 Destination Talkeetna by Troy Letherman 74 Meaning “river of plenty” in the Dena’ina language, Talkeetna is located at the confluence of the Susitna, Talkeetna and Chulitna rivers, and it’s an area that offers nearly unlimited wilderness adventure just minutes from town. Not only an angling hub of this fish-rich region of Alaska, the town also serves as the staging area for climbers attempting to reach the summit of Denali—read along here for all that and more.

Fishing Poppers for Coho by Scott Haugen 86 Staying up top and fishing poppers for incoming silver salmon is one of the great thrills available to Alaska fly anglers. Here Scott Haugen walks us through the right type of coho water to look for, when, and how to deploy your popper for salmon success.

COVER / Tony Davis enjoyed a good day of catching sockeye and a gorgeous sunset.

© Terry Wiest © Terry 58 © Kristin Dunn/Kodiak Custom July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 3 2 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 3 PUBLISHERS Marcus Weiner Melissa Norris ASSOCIATE PUBLISHERS Patrick Speranza Kathy Anderson EDITOR Troy Letherman OPERATIONS MANAGER Wayne Norris EFFICIENCY MANAGER Ana Taylor ART DIRECTOR Bailey Anderson PRODUCTION MANAGER Russell K Porsley III GRAPHIC DESIGNER Melissa Wong

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Greg Brush, Troy Buzalsky, Andrew Cremata, Les Gara, Scott Haugen, Pudge Kleinkauf, George Krumm, J.D. Richey, Terry Sheely, E. Donnall Thomas Jr., Jeremy Anderson CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Hastings A. Franks, Ken Baldwin, Anthony Madden, Tony Davis, Kristin Dunn, Brian Woobank REGIONAL SALES MANAGERS George Krumm (907) 529-6172 Rick Birch (907) 394-1763 SALES REPRESENTATIVE Alan Mariner (907) 345-4337 Fish Alaska Magazine PO Box 772424 Eagle River, Alaska 99577 Toll Free 1-877-220-0787 (907) 345-4337 main (907) 223-8497 advertising www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com ISSN 2475-5710 (print) ISSN 2475-5729 (online) SUBSCRIBE TODAY! Check out our specials at www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com Already a Subscriber? Call for our renewal specials! (907)-345-4337 Toll Free: 1-877-220-0787

Fish Alaska magazine is published ten times annually in January-July, Aug/Sept, Oct/Nov and December by Fish Alaska Publications, LLC, P.O. Box 772424, Eagle River, Alaska 99577. Send all address changes to P.O. Box 772424, Eagle River, Alaska 99577. One year subscriptions are $30 U.S. dollars for subscriptions in the U.S., $50 U.S in Canada, and $80 U.S. in all other countries.The single copy price is $6.99 in U.S. dollars. To subscribe by phone please call 907-345-4337. Editorial correspondence should be sent to Attn: Editor, Fish Alaska magazine, P.O. Box 772424, Eagle River, Alaska 99577. Unsolicited manuscripts and photos will be considered, but must be accompanied by a self- addressed stamped envelope. Although we will take care, Fish Alaska is not responsible for the loss or return of unsolicited materials. The opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily the opinions of Fish Alaska magazine publishers and editors.

©2017 by Fish Alaska Publications, LLC. All rights reserved.

4 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 5 across another actual person. You can fish a river’s outside bend for two hours, then motor around the corner and feel Season’s Greetings like you’ve entered a different world. That’s Alaska—unique, raw and wild, I make the time pass by letting my vast and varied. mind wander through decades of fish It often doesn’t make sense, but of memories and the future fantasies course, so much of travel is meant to common to anglers who can never be discomforting. If everything was the quite sufficiently scratch that itch. I’m same all over no one would ever leave sitting in the diminutive the house. For anglers especially, travel is terminal in Bethel, counting minutes an exercise in disorientation. Just when a until my flight to Quinhagak is ready to person thinks he’s gotten good, he’ll gear depart. I see chrome-sided king salmon up and head for someplace else, where bruisers rolling mid-river, fat-shouldered between different water characteristics, rainbows leaping three feet clear of the varying fish haunts and habits and the water in an attempt to spit the hook, very specialized techniques developed early-arriving silvers jammed into soft- for local needs, he’s bound to be water pockets near the grassy banks, served a nice helping of humility. In voracious Dolly Varden snapping at any this sense, then, July must be the most fly drifting past. I get lost in the images. uncomfortable Alaska month of all. In I get lost in the Alaska of my mind. these thirty-one days alone, within say “Tekituten,” a sign on the wall at Grant a hundred square miles of southcentral Aviation reads. You have arrived. Alaska roadway, an angler can go deep The piscatorial procession is halted for halibut, back-bounce heavy gear only by the whine of engines and the for the largest king salmon on earth, unfolding panorama of water-crossed suspend a size 20 midge for grayling in tundra below. By the time I disembark, an alpine lake, lob articulated leeches on there’s no time for chitchat, not with sinking lines for rainbows or utilize a rods to string up, to don. There’s uniquely Alaskan technique for sockeye. half a day left, and in southwest Alaska, And that’s only the half of it, in one half a day can mean a lot of new fish for region of the state, just this month. the memory bank. For each of the above and the dozens To view angling as respite from the of other alternatives anglers can expect hustle and bustle of modern-day life to find when venturing out during the is both dodgy and trite, yet I’m prone height of summer, there are myriad to such foolishness anyway, owning variations on the simple manner of a vagrant’s optimism in the power of presenting a bait, fly, spinner or spoon flowing water to impart meaning to to the fish that call these waters home. things I can’t quite figure out for myself. None of it’s like back home, wherever Questing, since at least the time of Don home may be, and that—aided Quixote, seems a dumb idea, but here considerably by both the setting and the I am, all Gore-Tex and seven-weight, numbers and size of our fish—is part of propelled along a senseless odyssey that what makes traveling to Alaska’s waters I can only hope ends with fish. such a draw. Angling in Alaska can often be Not a half-hour removed from the abrupt, traveling from the height of plane that deposited me on a gravel contemporary culture to utter wilderness airstrip in Quinhagak—and hardly in the blink of an eye. None of it is new— further away from a thousand daily I’m not exploring anything, regardless of rituals, responsibilities and other our penchant for self-aggrandizement annoyances—I cast and land a plump when telling our fishing buddies of the Dolly fresh in from its ocean sojourn. streams we’re lucky enough to encounter Another cast, another fish. In sum, I across this vast state. But much of it landed six fish, including two chum is new to me, and whether I’m fishing salmon and a pink, in nine casts. And a piece of water for the first or fiftieth I forgot about whatever I thought time, it always feels special. important before my flight into A person can dine at a five-star the bush. restaurant in Anchorage for lunch and That’s Alaska, I thought, July in be towards the edge of the world particular, proving once again that before darkness falls. You can knock back there truly is nothing like too much of a a pint at the Alaskan Brewing Company good thing. and in less than an hour be so deep in the coastal rainforest you’d expect to see hobbits marching past before coming Troy Letherman

6 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 7 Beckman Astoria Landing Net www.beckmanfishingnets.com Beckman Fishing Nets are available in a range of models, with both treated and Shakespeare Ugly Stik Bigwater Casting Rods untreated netting, in multiple-sized handles. Last issue we introduced the Chinook www.uglystik.com Grundéns Deck-Boss Boot as a good choice for a saltwater net. This issue, we are introducing the Astoria Ugly Stik rods have been used by anglers in Alaska and beyond www.shop.grundens.com as a solid all-around salmon net that comes in either a 4-foot or for many years to fight and tame some of the toughest fish The Deck-Boss Boot is engineered to be 6-foot handle length. It features a drawn aluminum handle, that swim. The Bigwater series features a new look, including durable, tough and comfortable. The 15-inch strong and reliable hoop, internal Y-bar construction, which Ugly Tuff guides that provide maximum corrosion-resistance boot, which is made in the , gives strength to the hoop, bonded nylon Sport-Mesh and the Ugly Stik Clear Tip design. There are 19 rods in the utilizes a rigid toe cap, and the exterior is made material for the netting, and a quick-connect channel that series to cover a really wide range of needs. Among them are in one-piece through injection molding. The allows the hoop to connect to the handle quickly and store technique-specific rods for casting, surfcasting and downrigger outsole combined with Herkules Grip synthetic in a smaller space when not in use. applications, in both 1- and 2-piece options, ranging from rubber provides superior traction in wet Backpacker’s Pantry 5 feet, 6 inches to 12 feet in length, and with rod power conditions. The flexible upper folds down when www.backpackerspantry.com ratings from light to extra-heavy. Rods combine fiberglass and desired and a one-inch groove holds a durable Backpacker’s Pantry makes a wide range of freeze-dried food graphite for a blend of strength and sensitivity and are backed silicone band that can be used to keep pants Can Am Defender perfectly suited for hunters and anglers. Their range of choices by a 7-year warranty. out of the muck. The Deck-Boss Boot insole is makes for a varied and tasty menu. Freeze-dried meals are very engineered to mimic the bilge space in a boat; www.teamcc.com This side-by-side comes light and most require only hot water to prepare, making them it is comprised of two separate decks. ideal for outdoorsmen, especially for those seeking to minimize The lower deck sits on pilings that create in a range of body styles from the compact the weight in their packs. Huevos Rancheros, Louisiana Red bilge space for liquid to accumulate. Beans and Rice, Fettuccini Alfredo with Chicken, and Shepherd’s There are scuppers around the perimeter Defender to the 6-seat Defender Max HT. Potato Stew with Beef are among the flavors you can find at of the lower deck to allow liquid to Alaska’s Fred Meyer stores. drain into the bilge. In the heel area, All feature heavy-duty liquid accumulation cavities connected Rotax engines (three Bradley Smart Smoker by channels allow liquid to evacuate the options to choose www.bradleysmoker.com bilge space by inverting the boot and from), have been The Bradley Smart Smoker is connected to your phone, or mobile device letting the water drain out through a designed to handle through the ISmoke app. This allows you to control and monitor your notch. The outsole is non- narrow trails with a cooking/smoking experience with ease and convenience. Many features marking; each pair weighs tight turning radius, incorporate a cargo bed well-suited to a range have been incorporated into the smoker that allow it to perform in harsh 2 pounds, 3½ ounces, and of hauling needs, including gear and game, and are built for safety environments and make it built better and stronger. More insulation, a they are available in men’s with a roll cage. These machines would work well to get anglers stronger door, as well as silicon gaskets and latches, are just some of the whole sizes from 3 to 14. and hunters into the backcountry. Visit Team CC in Eagle River or improved features you will find in the Bradley Smart Smoker. Wasilla to get a look at these workhorses.

8 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 9 The panorama of Alaska’s fishing blooms in July, due to a singular accumulation of factors, from the abundance and variety of our world-class to the long, golden-light “nights” of summer and on to the endless stream of eager and avid anglers who are more than ready to go through whatever it takes to get on the best water. No matter your fancy, whether lakes, rivers and coastal streams or the wide-open ocean, Alaska has something for everyone this month. July 2017 Highlights: This month’s Angler’s Special comes from SPOT, creator of the world-famous SPOT Global Phone and purveyor of multiple satellite-powered products used by outdoorsmen in Alaska and around the globe. Save 50% off SPOT Gen3 and SPOT Trace, and 50% off a Service Upgrade. Get the details online. Our popular Destinations pages on our website are growing! We’ve just added Talkeetna to our ever-growing list of great Alaska fishing destinations. Find past articles, recommended businesses and more in Talkeetna and the rest of our featured destinations online now.

In tidewaters, bays, rivers and the Bonus Online Only Content ocean, trolling spinners is an incredibly productive technique for catching salmon. Check out this month’s featured video titled Luhr Jensen TECH TIPS: The Hydro Vibe Extreme. The Hydro Vibe Extreme spinner by Luhr-Jensen delivers a completely unique blade design, superior construction and high-impact finishes that make salmon trolling highly successful. Get Wild! We’re teaming up with Wild West Guns this July on Facebook to give away a $250 gift certificate to Wild West Guns and a lifetime subscription to Hunt Alaska! Go online and let us know why you CRAVE a CoPilot! Details on Wild West Guns’ Facebook page. This month Fish Alaska boat columnist and Contributing Editor Troy Buzalsky will be spending 10 days touring the Kenai Peninsula with his fishing partner, Randy Bradshaw, experiencing as many angling opportunities as possible. He will be reporting back with a full feature in our December 2017 issue, but all month long you can find updates on his fishing progress on our website and social media outlets.

www.fishalaskamagazine.com

10 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 11 Cate Terz- Tyler Caskey fooled Scwartz, this hefty silver with Cindy Hagen a K15 Kwikfish. and Ruth & Rumi Robertson, all of Colorado, presenting Rosemary Lane, their halibut 7, of Anchorage at Icy Bay displays her Lodge. grayling catch on the Gulkana River in 2016.

Willy Stryken of Wasilla, AK, with a big ole’ Copper River rainbow.

Connor Ketchum of Tulsa, OK, with a Lake Clark National Park grayling he caught on a size 16 Mosquito.

Tanner Steinson displays his “Fish on!” Jeremiah Erickson of Eagle River, AK, with the face while fighting winning fish for the 2017 Homer Winter King Rachel V. Hubbard-Miller of Homer, AK, his first coho on a fly Derby Kayak Division, and his first king caught with her first winter king salmon. Rachel rod near Sitka. from a kayak, weighing in at 17 pounds. caught her king while fishing Halibut Cove out of Homer.

Send us Your Fishing Photos! Scott Hattenburn of Chugiak, AK, with a king E-mail hi-res .jpeg photos to: he caught in the salt while fishing the mouth [email protected]. Subject Line: FFC. Please include vital caption of Seldovia Bay in May of last year. information in the e-mail. We will let you know when your photo will appear in the magazine.

Sophia Mathena, 16, of North Pole, AK, with a nice sheefish she caught on the Chena River in early 2016.

TJ Agmata, Michael Thomas and Godfrey Agmata with some Egg-sucking Leech-loving Chinook on the American River in Kodiak, AK, in 2016.

Mark Lambert of Twin Falls, ID, with a chrome-bright silver salmon on Ibeck Creek in Cordova, AK, in September 2016.

12 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 13 Family-Friendly Fishing Holes from Fairbanks to Juneau by Ben Rowell With summer in full swing, many of us are exploring our great state and the vast array of fishing opportunities it provides. As a father living in the southcentral Alaska, I’m always looking for more family-friendly locations for my two boys. I have a few favorite fishing holes of my own and I’ve also reached out to my friends Jason Rivers of Big Ray’s and Savage Water Adventures in Fairbanks and Kayla Roys from Alaska Goods in Juneau for a few suggestions on family-friendly fishing spots in their home waters. Lake fishing is ideal for little anglers under five years-old. The setting usually allows room for teaching kids how to cast and retrieve. And since many of Alaska’s lakes are surrounded by trees and have shallow water at the shore, there is always a good place for kids to play after their attention span has been exhausted— anywhere from four- to 20 minutes after leaving the car in my experience. A short drive from Anchorage is the Mat-Su Valley’s Kepler and Bradley lakes. These lakes, connected by a short channel, are stocked regularly, have shore- and boat fishing, and have camping sites on the water’s edge. In Fairbanks, check out Chena Lake. This 230-acre lake is stocked annually with Chinook salmon, , Arctic char and occasionally grayling. There are two docks for accessible fishing from the shore, while non-motorized boaters can get away from the crowds. Families can easily enjoy an evening or weekend of fun with camping, picnic areas, a beach and a host of other amenities that are on the shores of Lake Park. If you live in Alaska’s capital city, Juneau’s Twin Lakes is the ideal spot to take youngsters. In addition to shore fishing, you can cast for the chance of hooking a jack Chinook salmon from the fishing pier. Twin Lakes Park boasts one of the state’s best playgrounds, but sadly your wee ones will have to wait to enjoy it—it’s being rebuilt due to arson. Kids ages 6 through 10 are like sponges ready to soak up all of your fishing knowledge (all the things you tried to teach them when they were 4, but they were too busy eating pudding and dropping their poles in the lake). This is a great age to take them out on moving water and teach them about habitat conservation and proper fish-handling techniques (many moving waters in Alaska have tight restrictions, whether it be for resident species or salmon). In the late summer, floating down Willow Creek, from the Parks Highway to its confluence with the Susitna River, can make for a great day trip. Coho salmon will rest in pools and rainbow trout and grayling will be right behind them. Almost every bend in the creek has a nice gravel bar, which are perfect spots to get out and cast from shore, make a fire and cook a shore lunch and s’mores. A little over an hour drive from Fairbanks is the Delta Clearwater River, home to trophy grayling and fantastic bird-watching. The Delta Clearwater River is best fished from a boat—jet, canoe or kayak—but shore fishing is also accessible from a boardwalk along the river’s edge behind the campground at Clearwater State Recreation Site. Catching fish on dry-fly patterns is a treat for an angler of any age, and the Delta Clearwater River provides a great opportunity for exciting topwater action. Kids will love it because the fish explode out of the water to snatch what they think is a tasty treat. June through August is a good time for your young angler to wade into Juneau’s Sheep Creek to catch Dolly Varden, while

14 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 15 August and September provide your best chance for coho salmon. Head to the mouth to intercept aggressive coho entering Sheep Creek from the ocean—even if the fishing is poor, the gorgeous view of Gastineau Channel and the surrounding mountains are well worth it. By the time your now well-seasoned fishing buddy is 10 to 12 years-old, they are a great age to take on a fun guided day-trip or for an extended stay at one of Alaska’s many accessible or remote lodges. Take them while they are young—pretty soon your angler will be a teenager and feel too cool for fishing with Mom and Dad (or at least pretend to be). From Anchorage, you can book a guide and a short flight across Cook Inlet to a remote river that you’ll enjoy all to yourselves, such as Lake Creek and Alexander Creek. A slightly longer flight can get you to the renowned rivers of the Bristol Bay region and set up with many top-notch guides and lodges. Do your research to determine what type of outfit is the right fit for your family’s style and needs. Lodges vary from do-it-yourself ventures to fully-catered experiences. These trips can get pricey so it’s wise to plan ahead and save. But you don’t have to spend a lot of money to get friendly, expert guiding and lodging closer to home. Alaska is blessed with a full range of options. One great option is pike hunting in the Interior, which is well known for its vast swaths of pike habitat. If your young angler has grown up fishing for trout and salmon, booking a guided trip to fish for these 20-pound monsters will be an adventure of a lifetime. If you are visiting or call Southeast home, Juneau-area outfitters offer fly-out fishing trips to remote wilderness areas and the Tongass National Forest. While Southeast is well known for its runs of Pacific salmon and steelhead, it is unlikely you’ll see other anglers while fishing its remote rivers and estuaries. Make sure to see Kayla at Alaska Fly Fishing Goods in Juneau for any supplies you need before heading into the backcountry. Fishing with kids of any age can be great fun. Flexibility and patience is key, but the more you go, the more comfortable they will be. It’s good to set realistic expectations and don’t forget to involve your kids in the planning. That way they will feel invested in the plan and they will undoubtedly come up with some good ideas. And always bring lots of snacks. Always.

Ben Rowell is a resident of the Mat-Su Valley and a member of the Alaska Fly Fishers. He can be reached through his website at www. highway3angler.com.

16 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 17 to shore makes them a great target for sliding a snap-swivel up your , beginning fly-casters. That and their followed by a small plastic “bumper” bead. aggressiveness usually means success rates Dog Days of Summer To the end of your line fasten a black barrel are pretty high. swivel and then attach either a piece of Story and photo by JD Richey Chums are absolute suckers for pink pencil lead or a Slinky-style sinker to the Admittedly, few ever head to Alaska for and just about any marabou or bunny snap-swivel. Use just enough lead to get the sole purpose of catching chum salmon. leech style pattern in that hue will get your offering to the bottom but not so Chums…or “dogs”… color-up fast (often bit. Occasionally they will show some much that it won’t drift with the current. while still in the saltwater) and don’t make preference towards chartreuse, black or Next, tie a size No. 2 to 3/0 octopus- for terrific eating, either. But chums do purple ties, but hot pink is the number- style hook to an 18- to 36-inch section of possess a few really attractive qualities: one go-to. 15- to 20-pound-test leader (via an egg- They are aggressive, willing biters, they Most chum are caught by fly anglers loop knot) and then slide a pink Corky fight hard and also get fairly large. Oh, and employing the down-and-across wet-fly or Spin-N-Glo down the leader so that it one other thing: chums are often extremely swing presentation, but they can also be rests on top of the eye of the hook. Add numerous. taken in slow currents by stripping the fly a small tuft of pink, orange or chartreuse So, in reality, there is a lot to like about as you would if you were fishing streamers yarn to the egg loop and tie the leader to them. Of course, I’m not suggesting in a lake for rainbows. The take is usually your barrel swivel and you’re ready to fish. you drop everything and make a chum- less than subtle and the fight on fly gear is Cast the rig slightly down and across and specific trip up north. But, if you’re already almost always epic. allow it to sink. If you’re using the right enjoying other angling opportunities in For chum fishing, a single-handed 8# amount of weight, the offering will lightly the state, and the chums just happen to be or 9# rod is perfect in smaller rivers and tap the bottom as it swings downriver. around…by all means go and spend some many anglers switch to Spey or switch style Let it drift until it gets immediately time chasing them. You’ll be glad you did. rods on larger waters. It’s a good idea to downstream of your position and then have an assortment of lines to match river reel up and cast again. When a chum picks Where & When to Find Chum conditions. On big waters, shooting heads up your offering, you will lose the feel of Chum salmon are widely distributed are necessary to get flies near the bottom, the sinker bouncing the bottom and then throughout Alaska and they can be found while you can get away with sink-tips and your rod tip will get a little “spongy” for in freshwater streams from early June to as even floating lines on smaller creeks and a split second. Then the violent yanking late as mid-October, depending on the area. streams. Leaders need to be beefy—17- of the tip begins as the fish shakes its Generally speaking, however, you’ll find to 25-pound-test—to avoid losing flies head in an attempt to dislodge the hook. the highest concentrations of fish in July on the often impressive dentures of dog From beginning to end, the bite lasts and August in most waters. If you’re not salmon. about a second or two, and in that short sure which systems in your neighborhood timeframe, you need to set the hook or the hold good chum populations, contact your Conventional Gear fish will dump your gear. local ADF&G office and pick the brain of There are several excellent and productive Spinners and spoons are a little easier one of the biologists. methods with which to catch chums on to use than drift gear and can be wickedly Once you’ve pinpointed a river that has spin and baitcasting tackle, and perhaps effective on chums. Throw a hot pink size a good run of fish in it, the next trick is to the most deadly of them all is to twitch No. 4 Blue Fox Super Vibrax spinner with figure out where they hang out. The biggest a 3/8-ounce hot pink, black or purple a silver blade or a silver body/pink inlay key here is to understand that doggies are marabou jig. Pixee spoon through a slow-moving flat lazy beasts who gravitate towards “sleepy” Cast out and then, with the rod tip and hang on. water out of the main current. angled up to about 10 o’clock, retrieve When fishing spoons and spinners, keep While kings will often lie right in the the jig with short, crisp hops. You can also them just off the bottom and use a slow, meat of the current, it’s the softer margins dead-drift jigs under a float. With this rig, steady retrieve. Spoons fish best when on the insides of bends that generally hold you’ll want to set your jig to run 1- to 3 feet cranked just so that they wobble side-to- the biggest concentrations of chum. They off the bottom and allow it to drift with side—you’re going too fast if your spoon also love gently moving flats below riffles the current, mending the line whenever has a spinning action to it. The best speed that are 3- to 7 feet deep, the mouths of necessary to avoid unnatural drag. for a spinner is as slow as you can get it to tributary streams and slow, deep pools. Another popular way to hook chums go without having the blade stall out. The from the shore is to drift fish with yarn and slower these lures go, the more they give Fly Fishing Corkies or Spin-N-Glos. off a fish-attracting “thump.” The fact that dogs often hold very close To rig up for this technique, start by I like to remove the stock trebles from my lures and switch them out with barbless single Siwash hooks. With singles, you’ll lose fewer lures to snags and they’re much easier to remove from fish. Give doggies a try this summer…they are a blast to catch!

JD Richey is a contributing editor for Fish A colored-up chum salmon makes for an enthralling diversion during the long days Alaska magazine; he can be reached through of midsummer. his website at www.fishwithjd.com.

18 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 19 work where demand exceeds supply.

Myth #4: If it’s bleeding, it’s a goner. If we’re going to release the fish we catch, Fish for the Future we want to do everything in our power Dispelling C&R Myths to make sure they are in great shape when we let them swim away. We use Story by Mark Wackler & heavy tackle with single hooks, fight Greg Brush the fish quickly, keep it in the water and Photo by Greg Brush treat it with respect as we revive it. But sometimes a fish gets hooked in a location that creates some bleeding, which leads There are certain topics folks to automatically assume that these that aren’t meant for casual fish are done for, perhaps explaining conversation. many people’s wild overestimation on In fact, some subjects are catch-and-release mortality. Believe so volatile they not only make it or not, the data from tracking these casual conversation unlikely kings clearly shows that most of these but they almost guarantee fish actually survive! From the research: raised voices and hurt feelings. “Expected survival decreased to 73- National politics, climate change 78% when a fish was gilled, compared and gun control immediately to expected survivals ranging in the 90 come to mind. This is partially percentages for fish that were not gilled.” due to the fact that strong No one wants to release a fish that’s emotions often trump logic, but gushing blood, but this research tells also because there is so much us that even a fish that was hooked in a misinformation out there. With proper catch-and-release techniques, poor location and bleeding has a three- Sadly, with such topics, facts anglers can enjoy the magnificence of big, wild, out-of-four chance of surviving! often get tossed aside, and Kenai River kings for generations to come. it’s often emotion that reigns supreme. all released kings die. Random statistics Myth #5: Released kings may survive, State your case loudly enough, and the like 25%, 50% or even 99% mortality but they won’t spawn. argument is over. are tossed around and the conversation There’s simply no proof that this is true. Likewise, the sport we love and cherish spirals downward quickly. The problem It’s important to make choices based so much, namely fishing in Alaska, has lies in the fact that these numbers are far on what we actually know, not what its own controversial topic where facts get from reality, as the only legitimate study we assume. A hunch, guess, feeling, tossed aside. We’re referring to the ultra- on the matter reveals that a very small premonition or presumption is no way polarizing subject of catch-and-release percentage of these big, hearty salmon to effectively manage a . Biologists fishing for big, wild, Kenai River kings. actually perish as a result of being caught need to use facts, derived from scientific Let’s take a minute to dispel some of and released. data, and as responsible stewards of the the more common myths in regard to resource, anglers need to do likewise. releasing these very special fish. Myth #3: The Kenai king population Said another way, it’s okay to form an can’t handle catch-and-release opinion on catch-and-release—whether Myth #1: They’re going to die anyway. mortality, so we should shut down the positive or negative—but we need to Many people contend that Pacific salmon fishery to all sport-fishing. base that opinion on information the “just die anyway” once they enter a river, This myth needs to be addressed from research actually shows to be true. The so anglers might as well keep them, right? two different angles. First, it’s important bottom line is that the authoritative But they’re totally overlooking the fact to recognize that there have been many research on king salmon in the Kenai that salmon die after they reproduce. struggling fisheries that have been River shows that the vast majority of When sport anglers catch and keep a big, effectively restored as a result of catch- released fish survive, period. wild king salmon, they have intercepted and-release regulations, including some The research we’re referencing is the it prior to spawning and have prohibited of the most popular fisheries in the groundbreaking 1990 study published it from ever passing on its unique genes to world. Fisheries such as those centered by ADF&G biologists Terry Bendock the next generation. However, a released on the billfish of Costa Rica, the and Merianna Alexandersdottir, which fish has the chance to pass on its genes tarpon of the Florida Keys, steelhead is entitled Hook-and-Release Mortality and potentially produce more like itself. of British Columbia and even rainbow in the Kenai River Chinook Salmon trout in certain parts of Alaska, are Recreational Fishery. A fascinating and Myth #2: Most kings die after being healthier than ever (both biologically in-depth research paper, there is no caught and released. and economically) as a result of proper debate that this is the current authority Perhaps the most common misconception catch-and-release practices. Second, on catch-and-release statistics on the in regard to releasing Kenai River kings is shutting a fishery down entirely until the Kenai River. Conducted over two the actual mortality rate associated with population rebounds and then returning consecutive summers in an effort to catch-and-release fishing. Anytime the to full harvest is literally the definition better understand what happens to Kenai topic comes up, almost without exception, of insanity. Let’s not fall into the trap River Chinook when they are caught and a less-informed bystander throws in his/ of repeating history over and over when then released by average sport anglers, her two cents by claiming that almost we’ve proven that this strategy doesn’t this study revealed many interesting

20 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 21 things about Kenai River kings. This is huge, as it provides valuable, fact-filled information to help us make educated decisions about the management of these special fish. Perhaps the most valuable piece of information learned from this study is that the vast majority (90-95%) of released Chinook survive. If you’ve never taken the time to review this study in detail, we would highly recommend it. Go to http://www. adfg.alaska.gov/FedAidPDFs/fds90-16. pdf to learn more. The study isn’t perfect (no studies are), but until a new study is conducted we must accept the fact that it’s the best information available on the subject of catch-and-release mortality on Kenai kings, applying it when forming our opinions and making regulatory decisions. It’s interesting to note that when this study was conducted the current regulations allowed multiple hooks with bait. In addition, the biologists handled each fish an average of over 12 minutes while surgically inserting a radio tag into the body of the fish prior to release. Do you think it’s safe to assume that mortality may be even lower when using single hooks and prompt, careful catch- and-release techniques? The biologists did, and made it a point to note that by saying, “The hook-and-release mortality estimated in this study should be considered an overestimate, as the effect of additional handling during tagging cannot be subtracted.” No matter what you “feel,” there’s no denying that catch-and-release has revealed its value all over the globe. On a struggling species such as wild Kenai River kings, the likes of which are found nowhere else, this effective conservation practice deserves consideration, as the facts show that it beats the heck out of the 100% mortality rate of “catch- and-keep” fishing for ensuring the sustainability of these special salmon for future generations to enjoy.

Mark Wackler and Greg Brush are longtime Kenai River guides and conservationists that frequently practice proper catch-and- release. They have recently foundedFish for the Future, a non-divisive, non-allocative informational site that not only serves to educate anglers on catch-and-release fishing for wild Kenai and Kasilof river king salmon, but also hosts an annual catch-and-release photo contest with myriad giveaways. For more information or to comment on this subject, visit www. fishforthefuture.net today.

22 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 23 Materials: Body Material 1: Pearl Krystal Flash Wing: STS Trilobal Dubbing Chartreuse Mini Krystal Shrimp Body Material 2: V-Rib Chartreuse Hook: Daiichi 2546 Sz 6 or Sz 4 Pattern originated by Dave Stanley Eyes: Small Black Bead-chain Eyes Thread: Veevus 140 Chartreuse Story & Photos by Mike Brown Step 1: Start your thread about There is always going to be a huge debate among sockeye one hook-eye back and wrap back to the point of the hook. fishermen as to whether sockeye (red) salmon will eat a fly or not. This debate will never be won, however; all you Step 6: Now wrap the V-Rib forward, going over can do is go with what works for you and do what you and under the eyes continuing to the front. believe in. When I bought Mossy’s Fly Shop from Mr. McAfee, we were walking through the shop looking at stocks and talking about things, I asked where are your sockeye flies? (I didn’t see the longstanding Russian River Coho flies anywhere). Dennis promptly walked me to the bin and held up this tiny little shrimp fly and said this is all Step 2: Place the bead-chain eyes you need. Now, me being a born Alaskan and having in line with the point of the hook. been raised on the almighty coho fly and the thought Using figure-eight wraps, tie them process that you have to floss these fish, I immediately in place. had my doubts. But I did not dare insult this man on his knowledge and experience in the shop. Dennis then told me I don’t expect to ever see a coho fly in this shop; he Step 7: Take approximately a pencil-width of made an impression on me that day and really made me the Trilobal dubbing; work the dubbing through start thinking: Just what don’t I know? your fingers a few times to even up the tips. As summer rolled in and sockeye folks started coming Place the dubbing on the bottom side of the by, I had this large percentage of McAfee’s customers shank, giving yourself an upside-down wing tapered back towards the point of the hook. coming in and asking if we were still carrying the Mini Krystal Shrimp that Dennis always had. When I answered Step 3: Wrapping your yes, they were so happy that the fly was still here. As people thread back, line up were buying this fly in handfuls, it made me wonder what the thread with the it was that made this fly so popular. Needing to find out point of the barb. for myself, one weekend I took a few of the patterns Tie-in approximately fishing. As we got into one of our favorite sockeye holes, I 12- to 15 strands of the began rigging this little fly on in place of the typical meat Krystal Flash. Make the hook. Within three casts, my line began screaming away. tail about the length Lo and behold this beautiful sockeye blew up out of the of the hook shank. water and gave me a battle I will never forget. Once we got the fish to net, sure enough the hook was stuck in the middle of his tongue, a sure sign that he took that fly. Step 4: Tie-in your V-Rib. From that day forward I was sold on this fly and that it worked. This made me do some research on sockeye feeding habits in the salt. While I call these fish the Step 8: Trim-off the dubbing at the hook-eye- vegetarians of the salmon world, as they eat plankton in end flush; then build a small head and whip the salt, I found that little krill live in the plankton and finish. Cut the wing in a slight taper. they are feeding on these guys at the same time. This makes me think that they strike this fly as a reaction to what they feed on in the salt. When fishing the Mini Krystal Shrimp, you typically catch chrome fish more than fish that have been in the Step 5: Run your freshwater long enough to start changing color. But since thread back to the this a fly-tying article I am not going into the trials and front to where you tribulations of what I have learned about how to fish the started it. Wrap the pattern. You can contact us at the shop anytime and we Krystal Flash forward, can discuss that. going over and under the eyes and then to Finished Fly: This fly will last you longer if you A lifelong Alaskan with a passion for family, fly fishing and the front. glue the threads with Zap-A-Gap or Super fly-tying, Mike Brown is the owner of Mossy’s Fly Shop in Glue. This fly can be tied in chartreuse, orange, Anchorage, AK. pink and pearl in a size 6 or size 4.

24 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 25 the all-welded aluminum boating world. In 1992 the family-owned company became SeaArk Boats, concentrating on all-welded, heavy-duty aluminum SeaArk and Rogue Jet jon boats. After a few years of focusing Story by Troy Buzalsky on creating the best jon boat possible, Heavy-gauge all-welded aluminum jet SeaArk unveiled the “world’s largest jon boats have always been near and dear to boat” at 24 feet long with a 72-inch my heart. It might be because the first bottom. Recently, SeaArk upped the ante, ankle-deep riffle I ever ran was achieved engineering the Jon Modified V 2672, in an 18-foot inboard jet. It might be which is a whopping 26 feet in length. because the first Class IV whitewater All SeaArk Boats are U.S.-made in I ever ran was in a 20-foot inboard jet. Arkansas, and yes, the “Ark” in SeaArk It might be because my first Chinook is for Arkansas, not Noah’s Ark! When salmon and steelhead were caught in a looking at SeaArk Boats, you need to view 14-foot jet boat. It could be because I the product as an artist would, the Jon © SeaArk Boats navigated my son 30-plus miles through SeaArk Predators can be set-up to be the ultimate jon boats for moose hunters in Boat hull as the canvas, and the various an upriver canyon to bag his first mule Alaska, while also remaining capable of running you to remote fish-filled waters options the artistry. Seating, consoles, deer from an inboard jet. Or it could be just about anywhere in the state. windshield, live-wells, boxes…the list is because the first real boat I ever owned for certain water, but not the water less flat-bottomed boat that is perfectly adept endless to help you design not only the was a 21-foot inboard jet boat. traveled—the water I prefer to spend my for calm-water recreation. You also think Regardless, it’s fair to say jet-boating is time running, sightseeing, fishing and of words like sparse, utilitarian and no- my nirvana. even thrill-seeking. For these waters a jet frills, yet functional for the attended Today’s boating marketplace has boat is essential. purpose. Take one look at the SeaArk changed. A decade ago if you went to your This boat column is going to explore jon boats and you will quickly realize local boat show or dealer you would find two tried-and-true jet boats that have the company has revolutionized the jon- a full lineup of jet boats, both inboard unique and practical application for the boat industry, building an all-welded and outboard. Things have changed, Alaska waters we enjoy. heavy-gauge jon boat that raises the bar today the jet boat has taken the backseat completely—with some models capable to the outboard prop boat, and although SeaArk of crossing the bar. still built from all-welded heavy-gauge If you hear the words “jon boat” you SeaArk is no newcomer in the boating aluminum, they are different boats, great probably envision a small, lightweight, industry, emerging in 1958 as a pioneer in © Sam Amato © Sam Amato

SeaArk has 17 different models in a variety of lengths and widths, so finding your ideal boat is easy. Boaters have plenty of options to set-up these boats any way they prefer, helping make your new fishing craft as effiin a possibl for your angling needs.

26 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 27 boat of your dreams, but a boat built to outboard jet and transom-mounted float last your lifetime. pods for even better performance in SeaArk has 17 different models in shallow waters. Sam’s pretty confident the a variety of lengths and widths, so only boat that may run shallower would finding your ideal boat is easy. For jet- be an air boat. boat enthusiasts, SeaArk created the Jon Dewey’s is one of four Alaska SeaArk Modified V Jet Tunnel (MVJT) series, dealers and is SeaArk’s number-one dealer available from 16- to 24 feet in length. in the United States. Ordering boats by The MV stands for Modified V—there the dozen, Dewey’s keeps an inventory of is no flat-bottom design on SeaArk jon SeaArks on site and provides modification boats. All jon boats have a 3-degree V services that include mild installations along with full-length lifting strakes to wild fabrications. With the assistance and chines. The JT in the model name of Greatland Welding and Machine, stands for jet tunnel. SeaArk’s jet tunnel Dewey’s can modify your SeaArk jon boat hull is designed to be used with a jet to fit your needs. Weld-n windshields, and should not be confused with their © Sam Amato extra-large fuel tanks, hardtops, custom outboard tunnel hull that is designed for Dewey’s Cook Inlet in Anchorage is one place to go to get started building your consoles…imagination is the architect of a conventional prop-driven engine. ultimate SeaArk, tailor-made for your Alaska recreation needs. this limitless list. The jet tunnel design includes a flat If you fish or play on any Pacific roof in the tunnel to direct water back jet, as you no longer have that twirling different, and each perfect for his attended Northwest waters, including Alaska’s to the intake of the jet. The thrust of a prop that can not only injure people and use. His last SeaArK, a Predator, was rivers, lakes and estuaries, SeaArk just jet outboard is approximately 70% of animals, but it can also play hell with designed specifically for moose hunting. might be the jon boat of your dreams. an equal-sized engine with a prop. This , bow lines and tow ropes. Designed with an inboard Mercury 200 They can handle running shallow fact and the fact that a jet uses water When it comes to designing your Optimax motor, rear welded windshield waterways and over gravel bars, bounce for propulsion instead of a metal prop ultimate SeaArk, the options are endless. with soft top and huge bow storage, Sam off boulders and run over logs and beaver means that the operator loses some speed, You can architect your design build with proudly boasts of his boat, “What 22- dams with relative ease. They can carry directional control and performance. the available SeaArk options or you can do foot jon boat have you ever seen that a fully-dressed bull moose while being What is gained with a jet is the ability what many Alaskan’s do and have Dewey’s could haul 260 gallons of fuel, gear and equally adept hauling lodge equipment, to operate in extreme shallow-water Cook Inlet make the modifications you four guys 800 miles into the Yukon?” ATVs, camping supplies or any other conditions without the fear of ruining a desire. Sam recently changed directions with his large load. And for serious anglers, the prop or damaging the venerable jet shoe. Alaskan Sam Amato recently took boating needs, this time opting for the SeaArk can get you to waters few can There’s also a huge safety factor with a delivery of his fourth SeaArk, each one 2272 MVJT with center console, 105HP experience, making a day on the water a much better experience. SeaArk Boats have a national dealer network that includes the following Alaska dealers: Dewey’s Cook Inlet, Inc. in Anchorage. Compeau’s in Fairbanks. Rocky’s Marine in Petersburg. The Bay Company in Wrangell. For more information go to www.seaarkboats.com.

Rogue Jet The other day I was enjoying the first day of sunshine in a long time, after one of the coldest and wettest winters ever. Living on the river, I was relishing my first cup of morning coffee and riverfront view when I heard a sound I seldom hear in my backyard, the sound of a big-block engine throttling up the boulder-infested waters that make up my landscape. As the sound grew closer I saw the local fire department was on the river training a new jet-boat driver. The crew waved as they navigated upriver. It was my first viewing of their new Rogue Jet Fire Rescue Boat, part of the regional water-rescue response team. Bruce Wassom, the President and CEO of Rogue Jet Boatworks has been immersed in the all-aluminum heavy- gauge boat-building arena for more than 40 years. Bruce was the founding father of Jetcraft Boats in the early 1980s, and under his leadership, the company built more than 4,000 boats before being sold in

28 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 29 manufacturing enhancements paving the way. Utilizing aerodynamic science, a new hull requires massive tooling and robotic computerized equipment in the manufacturing process. Utilizing a single sheet of aluminum, a 25-foot brake press forms complex shapes in the sheet aluminum, creating the hull sides and bottom. This process not only creates the flagship Tapered Radius Bottom, it also increases strength and reduces extra © Sam Amato seams, joints and brackets. This, plus the performance engineering that includes a tapered radius keel, reverse chines, matched lifting strakes and a variable- degree dead-rise, gives you the magic that makes Rogue Jet boats perform like no other boat on the water. The Rogue Jet hull is also backed by a lifetime hull warranty. Being a custom builder, Rogue Jet showcases 10 different models in their © Rogue Jet Boatworks © Rogue Jet Above, a SeaArk loaded down with enough equipment and supplies for an extended Alaska bush adventure. Below, Rogue Jets are no ordinary boats. 2001. Shortly thereafter he started Rogue chronicled four generations of jet boats. Jet Boatworks, manufacturing custom all- Today’s fourth-generation jet boats add welded heavy-gauge jet- and outboard- state-of-the-art hydraulics that include configured boats out of White City, OR. Hamilton, Scott, American Turbine, Today Rogue Jet builds approximately Kodiak and Mercury pump outdrives. 80 boats per year and employs 24 skilled These newer pumps deliver over 90% craftsmen with the intent to create “The efficiency and excel in pumping aeriated Ultimate Jet Boat Experience.” water, common in whitewater conditions. Rogue Jet is no ordinary boat, and Fourth-generation power-plants have although building 70% outboard improved dramatically, utilizing multi- applications to meet today’s market port tuned sequential fuel injections,

demand, they are one of the few performance camshafts with variable valve Boatworks © Rogue Jet manufacturers who actually specialize timing, superchargers and highly-efficient in jet boats. Starting with all marine- computerized performance management Rogue Jets are built to last, and to grade aluminum, each boat is assembled systems. Chevy and Ford engines are perform in some of the toughest situations boaters can encounter. utilizing a series of custom extrusions commonplace in the jet-boat industry. while employing jig assembly techniques Rogue Jet has developed a fondness for lineup, with endless options. Open sleds for precision accuracy. The typical 20- the Ford 6.2 Raptor, which develops 440 and windshield boats. Hardtops and soft- to 26-foot boats are manufactured with HP, and the fire-breathing Ford 6.2L 575 tops. Tiller-steer, helm-steer or center- ⅛-inch 5086 sides and ¼-inch 5086 HP Roushcharged Raptor by Indmar console; it’s only a matter of choice. bottoms and incorporate an exclusive Marine Engines. Gas or diesel, single or twin power-plant Rogue Jet Tapered Radius Performance The hulls of fourth-generation jet boats options are available. Paint or powder Bottom that has been field-tested in have also improved, with technology and coat, vinyl or raw aluminum—again, the most difficult waters. there are a myriad of available choices in Creating this bottom is no designing the last boat you will ever need. simple task and requires Over the last few years, 44% of Rogue 14 precision folds, as it Jet’s sales have been to fire and rescue, tapers forward to form sheriff and other law enforcement a rounded keel. This agencies, search and rescue, and other technology creates a boat government applications, where mission- bottom that achieves better critical performance is job number one. If handling and performance you’re looking for a boat that’s field-tested while enjoying greater fuel by the best in the industry, check out economy. Rogue Jet at www.roguejet.com. The Rogue Valley is steep

in history when it comes to Buzalsky © Troy aluminum boats, especially Today’s fourth- generation jet boats add state-of-the- jet boats. From the early art hydraulics as well as an exclusive Rogue Jet Tapered Troy A. Buzalsky is a contributing editor for days of Glen Wooldridge Radius Performance Bottom and dramatically improved Fish Alaska magazine and pens the Boats to today, Bruce has power-plants. Column monthly.

30 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 31 saltwater, an ebbing tide can be magical. Lots of high-protein food rolling straight down the buffet table. The two most important considerations are rod and line—and manufacturers Craziness is……. responding to market upticks in saltwater Story and photos by fly-fishing are bringing out bluewater rods Terry W. Sheely and lines that work like they were designed Craziness is standing in a rocking boat, for halibut. wrestling a big rod and throwing a clumsy Leave the twitch, finesse and Spey sticks line with an oily streamer fly to a spot in the in the rack. My recommendation is a ocean where a halibut may—or may not— 13-weight or larger, on a blank that’s short be scarfing down chunks of everything in and stout through the butt and tapers into range. the midsection. This isn’t about the cast, Taking a fly rod to Halibut World it’s about pulling power. You want a rod is not about bringing home halibut— that will bend not explode while you pour although entirely probable—as much as it the coals. A rod option that I consider a Add something new to your saltwater is about stepping up the game, attempting necessity is a large cork, foam or hypalon repertoire and fish flies for halibut. something few do, running toward the grip that extends several inches up the rod Halibut are not line, leader or fly shy. cutting edge of a new sport, seeing if you’ve above the handle. The forward grip spares They want something worth eating—that got it in you. the rod and takes a lot of the work out of means 6- to 10 inches long; that appears This should be the year to find out. leveraging a big flatfish to the surface. big—that means rabbit hair or bunches of We’re looking at an odd-year pink salmon Reels? This is where you’ll want to put feathers; that smells delicious—that means run that is several-fold larger than even-year a hefty slice of your budget. Reels should squirt bottles of salmon, shrimp, crab, tuna returns. Sure, the fish-sayers are telling us to have large high-capacity arbors capable or whatever other oil makes you hungry, expect a return of pinks so dismal, so low of holding a fat line and 300 yards of and they want it vulnerable—that means that industrial fishermen will be appealing 80-pound backing. You’ll want a drag that drifting the boat so the fly oozes and jumps to the government for economic healing. can be screwed down and doesn’t slip unless while moving along the bottom a foot or That’s big-picture stuff. Humpies are still you want it to. so up from the snags. Color isn’t all that the most prolific salmon that swims. A halibut line needs to sink deep and important with halibut but it never hurts to For most sport fishermen, the middle quick and cut through current pull. I’ve match the hatch. of summer will still seem like every river, used an 800-grain full-sinking line by itself To avoid piling up line, leader and fly into stream, creek and ditch is wedged with and also stitched it to 30 feet of lead-core. I a tangle on the drop, I’ll make a short cast single-minded pinks. And the connection to haven’t tried it, but I’m pretty confident that opposite the direction I’ll be floating, give fly-fishing for halibut is that hallies are pink I would prefer stepping up to a 1,000-grain the boat a push and feed line over the side fanatics. Doesn’t much matter what they full-sink that’s connected to a 40-foot until it hits bottom, then continuing the look like, sea-bright, river green, spawned 850-grain shooting head. drift. The idea is to drift or push out the or long-dead, bug-eyed and washing back Halibut leaders are short—4- to 5 feet slack while the fly is falling. With most rigs to saltwater, pinks bring out the greed in of hard monofilament—and stout: 50- to the sinking line will hit bottom quicker than halibut. They also bring them into practical 80 pounds, depending on the diameter. I the fly. range for fly fishermen. tie flies straight to the leader, but I know While drifting the fly down in the halibut During the peak of the pink run hallies fly-flingers who wouldn’t dream of going zone I find it often helps to jerk the streamer, will typically follow the salmon buffet tippet-less—even for ravaging halibut. give it a hump or two, rest and flip or strip from deep water into manageable shallows, Tippets should be short—a foot or two is it again. Motion attracts predators. Usually. sometimes hanging in 20- to 50 feet of fine—and stout. The best reason I know of If the strip and twitch doesn’t work after water off the mouth of a spawning stream, for adding a tippet is lingcod. A tippet built a drift or two, I’ll scent the fly heavy and taking advantage of the flowing feast. with knot-able wire will resist lingcod teeth dead-drift the package, keeping it close to Pinks arrive in late July from Nome to and lingcod are sometimes in the chow line the bottom. It’s true that halibut will chase a Ketchikan and peak in early August just with halibut feasting on pink buffets. fly if they have to, but why not let the meal about everywhere. It takes a week or two for Which brings us to the business end of drift straight into their olfactory realm. the halibut to cue in and take up ambush the outfit—the fly. Halibut have a reputation for sometimes spots off the river mouths: Resurrection I’m not picky. mouthing herring, squid and even pink Creek, Chilkoot, Indian, meat. Sawmill, Harris, Snake, But they crush flies. Nothing gentle here. Solomon and hundreds of I don’t know why, but I do know that most more rivers just like them. halibut strikes are savage and hard. Hang Any pink-spawning flow that onto that rod and hit him like you’re trying tumbles into an estuary hole in to put both eyes on the white side. saltwater that’s deep enough to Ideally, you’ll catch 30- to 50-pounders— not see bottom is likely to have great eating, good fighters and fun. If you a halibut worth catching in late get unlucky and ram a monster Deceiver July to mid-August. into a 200-pound pink inhaler, well then it Moderate changes or slack becomes a choice. tides are easier to fish, but if you can find a spot where Terry W. Sheely is a contributing editor for Fish stream runoff is flushing large Alaska magazine and can be reached through numbers of dead humpies into Go big when thinking of fly design for hungry halibut. his website at www.tnscommunications.net.

32 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 33 more fish in lakes, especially the older, more yourself upwind of your target. Sometimes experienced fish—the kind that leave you I’ll intentionally reconfigure to anchor off trembling as you watch the end of your fly the left side of my tube, but all in all, 90% Anchors Aweigh! of the time, my anchor drops into the water Story and photos by George Krumm line race through the rod guides on the fish’s initial run! behind me. A freshening breeze blew in from the north. In the windy situation in the opening My setup consists of a .7 KG (1.5 pounds) The ‘wind from the north, don’t go forth’ paragraph, there were times when I was folding grapnel anchor, 50 feet of bright 550 phrase went through my mind and I inwardly surely dragging the indicator around, cord, two small carabiners, two small pulleys, questioned its relevance. I was having a great resulting in an unnatural presentation. If a bag to contain the 550 cord, and a jam day with numerous big fish landed. The I had been anchored, my indicator would cleat in which to secure the 550 cord while chironomid hatch was exploding all around have been stationary, and my pupa imitation anchored. You can buy everything you need me, and I’d discovered fish in 13- to 17 feet would have maintained the vertical aspect for about $25. I got most of it at a hardware of water, about nine feet below the surface. characteristic of the naturals. That would store, the exception being the anchor. In I kept my back to the wind and kicked to likely have produced more takes. What’s hindsight, I’ll probably buy a 3-pound anchor maintain position, frequently glancing at the more, if I was anchored, I wouldn’t have had at some point. Yes, it’s heavier, but it will hold shore and my fish-finder to try to gauge my to keep looking at the shoreline and my sonar in a little more wind. relative position, as I was well off shore. If I to keep track of my position. That means I’d Mini jam cleats are hard to find. Rest lost focus for a few seconds, I’d be blown off be free to watch my indicator, and I would assured, all you need is something to which to the contour line on which the fish seemed likely have seen more of the takes. tie the anchor line to secure it; you don’t have to be concentrated. On more than one Another great example happens every to have a jam cleat. I like to use bright 550 occasion, when I returned my gaze to the year during the dragonfly nymph migration. cord so I can see it in the water. 550 cord is indicator after looking at the shoreline, I I like to position myself so that I’m casting small enough to not take up much space, and couldn’t immediately find it. And more than towards potamogeton weed beds. I usually fat enough that it’s easy on your fingers. I use once, I saw it when it floated back up to the use a floating dragon and the sliding a bowline knot to tie the anchor to the 550 surface after a take. technique described in the January 2017 cord. I suppose any reliable knot could work; It’s a little surprising to me that I don’t see issue of Fish Alaska in the Stillwater Column. I like the bowline because it’s easy to undo, more and pontoon boat fishermen A stationary position allows me to carefully even after being tightened down under a load. anchoring while fishing. The main reason I place casts into different parts of the weed When I first started using this system, I sometimes didn’t bring one with me in the bed without having to work hard to maintain simply threaded the 550 cord through D rings past was because it’s more gear to keep track my position, and my fly only moves when on my tube. That worked, but the carabiners of, and I wasn’t sure I’d use it. However, there I make it move—so presentation is exactly and pulleys make it a much smoother system, are some distinct advantages to always having what I intend it to be. and it eliminates chafing of the 550 cord one on your pontoon or float tube. I’ve tried anchoring a lot of different ways. against my tube. I stuff the 550 cord into a Perhaps the main advantage to using an There are lots of ways to do it, but for the little bag for storage, and I clip the bag onto a anchor is it enables precise, stable positioning. pontoon or float tube angler it is best that D-ring on my tube so I don’t lose it. That lends itself to accurate, controllable and the anchor drops into the water behind I’ve been fishing lakes seriously since the realistic presentations. Accurate, controllable you. This results in the wind being at your late 1980s. I guess you could say I’m a slow and realistic presentations will help you catch back. Yes, this means you need to position learner, for although I sometimes carried an anchor system with me back in the day, for the past five years I don’t like to go without having my little anchor system. The reason is inarguable: A stationary, stable platform precisely positioned allows for accurate, controllable and realistic presentations. Such presentations can produce more and bigger fish, especially when you’re trying to fish specific structure, be it a rock pile, specific patch of weeds or a contour line.

George Krumm is a contributing editor for The author’s float tube anchor system, detached from the tube and rigged Fish Alaska magazine and can be reached at and ready. [email protected].

34 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 35 36 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 37 Incidental dink silvers didn’t raise an that swarm through here in August and eyebrow or a suspicion for either of us. September, arriving in late June/July and Jim and I were, after all, trying for behaving more like sockeye than silvers. 20- to 30-pound kings that should be The premature coho we caught in sliding past here, feeding their way toward Sumner Strait were probably preparing to spawning water in either Crystal Lake turn south into Clarence Strait, Schwanke south of Petersburg or the Stikine River said, feeding toward a select few natal near Wrangell. streams and one giant hatchery operation Point Alexander is where Wrangell on the northeast side of Prince of Wales Narrows meets Sumner Strait square Island. I was surprised to learn that almost between both Crystal and Stikine and two million summer-silver fry are released Chinook from both should be milling annually from hatchery rearing ponds at in this rip line, migrating down this Neck Lake in Whale Pass, and that five shoreline. Blue sky, slight chop, drifting streams on the northeast side of POW kelp, bait dimpling—we had everything have naturally spawning wild summer going for us but the kings. Running into runs. the silvers broke up the boredom of not Until we caught those Point Alexander catching kings, but beyond that—nothing coho and inquired of ADF&G’s Craig special. Schwanke I had no idea that summer Until we unloaded at Majestic Eagle silvers even existed in Southeast. I’m not Lodge and watched Wendy Yates’ eyes the only one surprised. Except for anglers widen when we pulled out the four coho. and operators at a couple of fishing lodges June, she reminded us, was just two days in the spawning areas, I haven’t found a gone, the fall silver run in Sumner Strait Southeast salmon seeker anywhere who doesn’t happen until late July-August, at targeted them. least a month, maybe more, away and no Summer-silvers can be caught in one anywhere in the Petersburg area had freshwater streams along northeast POW reported catching silvers yet. as early as mid-June and as late as August, Summer silvers return in June and July, coming Where then did these June/July coho according to ADF&G. Like sockeye, down Sumner Strait and around Point Colpoys come from and why were they so far ahead summer silvers return in June and July, to the northeast side of POW, offering anglers of the pack of Southeast fall silvers? coming down Sumner Strait and around an early opportunity for coho success. The answer, said ADF&G Area Biologist Point Colpoys to the northeast side of Craig Schwanke, is that they were POW. summer-run silvers, a unique early strain It isn’t as though the unusual summer that’s been quietly surprising Southeast silvers are an ADF&G secret. Far from anglers since 1998. it. They are raised primarily to fill a Summer silvers? commercial niche under the label of They’re a completely different run of “Snow Pass Coho” and just swim under coho from the widespread fall silvers the radar of mainstream fishermen outside

3838 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 July 2017July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 39 39 At left: A monster coho can be just what the doctor ordered in midsummer. At right: Lodges and captains in Southeast recommend you have a range of spinners available when preparing to chase summer coho.

of this remote area. in beefing up dozens of sport fisheries throughout Southeast. The bull’s-eye for sport fishermen targeting early-summer Most of the commercial gillnet and troll harvests of summer silvers is Whale Pass and more specifically, the outlet of Neck coho takes place on the north end of POW in Sumner Strait, Lake on the east side of POW. Neck Lake is where the Southern according to SSRAA catch statistics. Commercial boats begin Southeast Regional Association (SSRAA) manages targeting the summer coho in Sumner Strait and follow the a large-scale rearing operation that produces and releases migration around Point Colpolys into Clarence Strait and summer coho returns varying from less than 10,000 to more Kashevarof Pass. A few sport boats pick at the run up here, than 70,000. but most don’t target these fish until the run reaches the roads Jam upwards of 70,000 mature coho into the narrow outlet and campgrounds around the Exchange Island area closer to of Neck Lake under a small fleet of sport-fishing boats and you Whale Pass. can see why one of the nearby lodge owners describes the June Most of these summer fish turn west into natal areas between sport-fishing action as “phenomenal.” According to one lodge Whale Pass and Thorne Bay and very few continue into the operator, “The silvers arrive in mid-June, are thick by July and sport-fishing water on the southeast side of POW. Larry remain strong through to fall.” McQuarrie owns Sportsman Cove Lodge in Saltery Cove, SSRAA gets credit for this fishery. SSRAA is a non-profit, south of Hollis, and he fishes the Kasaan Peninsula region salmon aquaculture association founded in the 1970s to intensely. He told me that summer coho rarely show up on his recover a near collapse of the Alaska commercial salmon fishing fish-board. industry blamed on consecutive years of low salmon abundance. The SSRAA believes, “There is no other place in Alaska with The association focuses on enhancing and recovering salmon a run of this type, where you can catch silvers on light tackle in stocks in the southern reaches of Southeast through hatchery the summer like you can at Whale Pass.” programs. It’s best known for the Neets Bay hatchery, north Smaller runs of wild summer silvers are found south of of Ketchikan, that enhances commercial and sport fisheries in Whale Pass. The largest wild-fish concentrations are at Thorne several popular locations. It’s funded by and managed primarily River east of the sport-fishing community of Thorne Bay and for the commercial industry, but the millions of Chinook, in the Karta River north of Hollis, where the Alaska Marine chum and coho salmon produced and released each year aid Highway ferry from Ketchikan docks. Schwanke says he has

40 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 41 While ADF&G’s Schwanke says that summer coho are physically about the same as the more common fall coho, SSRAA says they have some quirks. One of the biggest is that they move in small waves only during low-barometric pressure systems. “They will not move into freshwater without rain,” according to the fish managers. “Weeklong periods of high pressure and sun see large schools build in the bay off the creek. The schools continue to grow until the weather changes. As the fish sense the pressure drop, which is usually associated with rain, they begin to move with the next tide.” It’s a quirk not lost on experienced Whale Pass fishermen. Eagle Lodge in Whale Pass explains that when the Neck Lake run begins to fade in mid-July, the first fall silvers move in and the action continues into fall. They recommend casting flies or spinning gear. “Nothing compares to catching salmon on light tackle without the need for long hours of trolling with Good weather and good coho fishing heavy gear that can detract from the aren’t always a combination easily thrill of reeling in a hard-fighting fish,” found in Alaska, but for anglers pursuing they say. July-returning summer silvers, there’s a Owners of Alaska’s Fish Tales Lodge, good bet you can find some sun. located on the Neck Lake Outlet, specialize in putting fishermen on also found wild summer runs in Logjam, June coho. “It’s hard to beat,” they say, Hatchery and 108 creeks. recommending that anglers cast into Another smaller SSRAA release site is the swarming schools with No. 4 to 6 near Wrangell at Burnett Inlet Hatchery spinners (they like Fire Tiger patterns) on the west side of Etolin Island. with 12-pound-test line. Upwards of 1.6 million summer coho Fly-rodders gear up with 8-weight rods fry are hatched at Burnett, yet all but and throw a variety of bright (lots of red, 200,000 are shipped to the net pens at orange and pink) streamer patterns, on Neck Lake for release in Whale Pass. The sink-tip or full-sinking lines. One angler 200,000 remaining at Burnett return as who rarely misses the Neck Lake outlet June adults to supplement the Wrangell fishery told me that action picks up sport fishery. when he adds a “Smile Blade” spinner to The Whale Pass/Neck Lake summer the front of his streamer. runs have been around since 1996 when Both small-boat and is SSRAA flew 700,000 fry to net pens available, depending on where you are in Neck Lake. The released fish were and where the fish are. intended to return to Whale Pass two The next time I catch a full-grown years later, to supplement the commercial silver in late spring, I won’t be as market as “Snow Pass Coho.” Both sport surprised as that day on the north side and commercial boats target Neck Lake of Sumner Strait. If I’m smart, I’ll head summer coho and any fish that escapes for Whale Pass. is blocked from entering the lake, routed When the barometer drops and rain into a small raceway to a holding pen, splatters on the east side of POW, the killed, iced and shipped to fish markets unique June coho of Whale Pass will be as Snow Pass Coho. Profits from selling blowing up and for the anglers in the the surplus escapees, according to know—it’ll be, as the locals say, lights- SSRAA, help fund the project. out “phenomenal.” The Neck Lake outlet sport fishery is described as “intense” and lasts about a month, from mid-June to mid-July. Fall silvers don’t arrive in numbers until Terry W. Sheely is a contributing editor for about the last week in August, according Fish Alaska magazine and can be reached to local lodge operators. at www.tnscommunications.net.

42 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 43 Divers & Bait Diver Techniques for & Bait River

SalmonStory & photos by JD Richey

Rods at roughly a 45 degree angle.

CURRENT

Boat is sliding downstream at approximately 1/2 current’s speed.

The diver-and-bait rig is kind of like the Tom Brady of the salmon- cool thing about fishing this way is the bite. It’s just so cool to see techniques world. Brady’s got it all, right? The good looks, five that first thump on the tip, followed by several good pumps and Super Bowl rings, tons of money and a supermodel wife. Well, the then a screaming reel. Fish on…yahoo! diver setup has its own impressive list of attributes, too: It’s deadly on river salmon, easy to learn, a ton of fun—and almost utterly Technique foolproof. And, as far as I know, there are no ball-deflation scandals To start you’ll want to position the boat upstream of a good- associated with the technique either! looking salmon run. Next, hit the free-spool button on the reel and Perhaps my favorite thing about this technique, however, is keep your thumb on the spool. Gently set the rig into the water, the fact that it is really easy for inexperienced anglers to master. bait-first, followed by the diver. Allow the line to slip downstream I can get a boatload of rookies fishing like pros in a matter of at a controlled rate under tension from your thumb. If the water minutes—something I can’t say about other egg-fishing methods is off-color and/or shallow, I may only let out 40 feet of line. In such as back-bouncing. That’s especially important first thing in deeper spots and clear water, I’ll go as far as 75 feet back (be sure to the morning when we’re most likely to experience the best bite of run all your rigs out the same distance). the day. With diver-and-bait rigs, I don’t have to waste any of that You can keep track of the amount of line you have out by using precious “magic time” training guys a hard-to-master skill. Instead, reels outfitted with line counters. Counting “passes” of the level- we just put out the bait-diver rigs and let everybody get their in wind device as it goes back and forth across the spool is another the water and start fishing immediately. way (though some reels don’t have this feature). Or, slide a bobber- When properly rigged-up, your hooks will always be anywhere stop knot up the line at a pre-measured distance (40 feet, for from 6 inches to a few feet off the bottom, so snags aren’t a huge example) and then simply let out line until the knot comes out problem with divers and bait—another attractive attribute. I also the tip of the rod. A bright king with sea lice: like the smooth and steady presentation of eggs tracking along Next, kick the reel into gear and allow the boat to start slipping the result of a properly fished behind a diver. Sometimes, I think the bait hops up and down too downstream at about one-half the current’s speed. At that point, diver-and-bait rig. much when it’s back-bounced, which can turn fish off. Another the divers should do their job and send your bait to the bottom.

44 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 45 If you set at the first sign of a bite, you will smaller ones. However, a massive cluster of end up missing 80- to 90 percent of your eggs will overwhelm a small diver, so you fish. The rod holder, however, gives you a have to factor that in, too. built-in delayed response time. By the time Jet Divers come in size 10, 20, 30, 40 you get there, the rod should be buried and 50. The number refers to how many with line burning off the reel. That’s when feet it will dive — the No. 20 dives to 20 you know you have him properly hooked! feet, the No. 30 goes to 30 feet and so on. Now that you have the basic gist of this On most Southwest streams I fish, the No. hot technique, let’s have a look at how to 30 and 40 sizes are perfect but when on big, rig up. brawling rivers like the Kenai, the 50-foot models are the only way to go. Divers Brad’s Bait Divers come in three sizes There are two main diver styles that I’ll use Junior, Standard and Magnum. In Alaska with this system. Luhr Jensen’s Jet Divers waters, I’ll use the Standards in water that’s are my go-to divers when I need to get the 5- to 15 feet deep and the Magnums with baits down deep in heavy current. They are large baits and water that’s 9- to 24 feet in Two common styles: a Brad’s Bait Diver (left) and a Luhr Jensen Jet Diver. very stable and can get down in a hurry depth. (more on that in a minute). Brad’s Bait As far as colors go, I prefer stealth, Divers, which are essentially hookless plugs, despite the fact that both companies have The proper back-troll speed is one in which best to keep the boat backing down in a work really well in moderate currents and some nice paint schemes. My thinking here you can cover the run without taking too straight line. Diver rigs, should they get shallower depths. There are days when the is: Let’s make the bait the focus, not the A bait floatation device such as a Cheater or Spin-N-Glo helps add color and long—but not so fast that your divers start tangled up, are a real pain to retie (ask me wiggling and dancing of the Brad’s Divers unarmed diver. So, with Jet Divers I like buoyancy to your eggs. to float up off the bottom. When everything how, I know!). will help draw salmon to your offering clear or pink crystal. With the Brad’s I’ll go is down and working, you should see the when nothing else will, and the wider with clear or black. I just think that the less new one, I’ll flip it belly-up and twist off specifically for a crack, you may not notice rods dipping and pulsing as the divers track Rod Holders lateral travel also helps increase the bait’s junk the fish see, the better off you are. I do the plastic tab and crane swivel with a set of it—until your diver starts doing corkscrews the contours of the riverbed. Putting the rods in the holders is pretty key attraction radius. have friends, however, who swear that they needle-nose pliers. I always run divers off a in the water and tangles up all your other Keep an eye on where the lines enter to turning bites into hookups. We want get more bites when using metallic blue or dropper, so there’s simply no need for that lines. When you find you have a cracked the water. If one starts to look like it’s at the fish to eat the bait and turn with it Size & Color green divers. extra stuff hanging off the bottom. wing, toss the entire unit it in the garbage. a much steeper angle than the others, it is before feeling resistance. The problem with To pick the right diver, take a look at water Jet Divers don’t need tuning and generally Since Jet Divers don’t snag all that often, Occasionally, you’ll also find water probably hung-up. It’s a lot easier to get holding the rod in your hand is the decades- depth and speed—and the size of your run great right out of the box. There are a I wear more of them out than I lose. The seeping into your diver’s body, which is diver rigs free if you notice before the boat old, ingrained fishing instinct that usually bait. In shallow rivers that are flowing at couple things you can do, however, to make biggest problem that I encounter is a crack often caused by a hairline crack (from the gets downstream of the snag. Also, do your kicks in and causes a premature hook-set. a mellow speed, you can get away with them run even better. As soon as I get a in one of the wings. Unless you’re looking diver smacking the side of the boat or a fish

46 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 47 goes the bait leader. The swivel and beads THE BUSINESS END between the mainline and leader keep the Okay, now we’re going to take a look at diver from sliding down to the bait, but it is what to put on the business end of your free to move up the line (towards the rod). diver and bait rig. When a fish grabs your bait, he’ll feel less resistance when the diver’s free-sliding. A Hooks sliding rig is also a good thing if you happen Of course when we’re using roe, octopus- to get your diver caught in the net while style hooks are the standard. On smaller attempting to scoop the fish. Though your streams, where you are using downsized diver’s tangled up in the mesh, the fish can clusters, a 1/0 or 2/0 may be sufficient. On still run without the hooks getting ripped big rivers where you’re using egg clusters the out of its mouth. size of golf balls, 5/0 to 8/0 is the way to go. And if you break off on a fish or snag, there’s a chance your diver will float to Leader the surface, where you can recover it— In dark, glacial water a 3- to 4-foot leader no small victory considering these things is fine. If you have clear water conditions, Eggs + Divers = Chrome. aren’t cheap. it’s a good idea to stretch that length out to A case can be made for fixed rigs as 5- or 6 feet. Kings, for the most part, aren’t flopping on it in the net). It’s hard to get the in length, depending on the conditions. well, however, especially when you have leader-shy so go with heavy mono. I’ll run water back out of such a thin fracture, but As a basic rule of thumb, go with a shorter inexperienced anglers onboard. One of the at least 40-pound-test and sometimes 60 or you can take a tiny drill bit and make a hole length in fast water and a longer one when downsides of a diver on a sliding rig occurs 80 if the fish are really big. towards the back of the diver to drain it. you’re fishing slower, deeper water. when the hooks get snagged. As the boat After everything dries out, hit the drill hole The next step is to decide how to tie your continues to back downstream, the diver Bait Floatation with epoxy and cover the crack with Crazy dropper leader to your mainline. You have keeps going, working on the bow between I’ll always start my day off by running some Glue or AquaSeal. two choices here: hard-tied or on a slider. the rod tip and the snag. A trained eye can sort of drift-bobber with my bait to give it Brad’s Divers run true as well, but In most cases, I run my divers on tell something’s amiss, but a rookie may buoyancy and some extra appeal. My all- sometimes need a little tuning to get them sliders—in other words, I’ll tie the opposite not know anything’s wrong until his line’s time favorite bobber to run ahead of eggs perfectly dialed-in. end of my dropper line to a barrel swivel upstream of the boat, which is often too on a diver rig is a lemon-lime Spin-N-Glo. and then run the mainline through it. Next, late. You can fix this problem by “hard- Hot pink is my second favorite, followed by Rigging the Diver I’ll slide 2 to 4 plastic beads up the mainline tying” your mainline, leader and dropper metallic silver/red head and metallic silver/ I prefer to run my divers off dropper lines. and then tie another barrel swivel to the tag all to a three-way swivel. green. When the water’s a little off-color or I’ll make my drop line 12 inches to 3 feet end. To the opposite end of that swivel I’m using larger globs of bait, I’ll switch to Spinning & Fishing Cheaters, which I feel float a little better than Spin-N-Glos. In glacial or dark water, a glow hoochie between the bait and the spinning device can sometimes be the ticket to getting more hits. This rig also seems to work well on fish that are straight in off the tide. When I want a little more subtle presentation I will pin a Fish Pill puffball behind the eggs, just above the bend of the forward hook. The puffballs are cool because they’re soft—a fish can chomp down on one and not even notice that it’s there. With Fish Pills, Corkies and Cheaters, I’ll pick a color based on water conditions. When it’s gin-clear, I like to match the bobber to the color of my eggs. If there’s a bit of color in the water, I’ll go with a contrasting color such as chartreuse or orange—just to give the fish a little extra something to key on. The size of your BFD (bait flotation device) is determined by the size of your hook and bait. You’ll need a large enough one to lift the roe off the bottom, but not so big that the bite of your hooks is compromised. The way to test that is slide the BFD through the hook gap. If it can pass between the hook point and the shank, you are good to go. Occasionally, I’ll encounter a situation in which the fish are extremely finicky

48 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 49 and won’t touch a glob of eggs unless it’s completely “naked.” In that case, the baits I’m using are generally very small and will stay off the bottom on their own. When I need a little more lift, however, I’ll use a toothpick to peg 1 to 3 drably-painted Corkies a few feet up the leader away from the bait. That way, the egg cluster still gets some of the buoyancy from the BFDs but they’re not going to distract the fish’s attention from the good stuff.

Tackle Diver and bait rods need to have a good backbone down low and plenty of softness in the upper third of the blank so that a king can yank the tip down and not have the hooks pull out of its mouth. In the length department, 8- to 9 feet is just right. As far as reels go, level-winds with smooth, dependable drag systems are the only way to go. As I mentioned earlier, ones equipped with line-counter devices are handy. I prefer models that have the free- spool release button located on the spool frame (rather than the thumb-bar style). I’ve just had too many clients over the years accidentally hit the thumb bar in the heat of battle when setting the hook, and you can imagine how that turns out! When it comes to line, braid is the way to go. Because of its small diameter, you can get your divers down deeper in a shorter distance—and the lack of stretch gives you solid hook-sets. Braid is also very abrasion- resistant, which is useful when dealing with big fish in heavy water that’s full of logs and rocks.

Offerings Fresh-cured salmon roe is the number- one offering to pull behind a diver. Kings seem to really prefer sodium sulfite-based cures, particularly when dyed bright red. In smaller rivers, you might use a cluster that’s nickel- to quarter-sized. On the big- fish streams (especially glacial ones), the size of the bait can be golf ball-sized and larger. There are times you can also catch kings on other baits. Tuna balls (oil-packed canned tuna wrapped tight into balls with netting) are effective some days, as are raw prawns and sand shrimp. You can also back-troll lures with the help of divers. Un-weighted spinners, plugs and Brad’s Superbaits are all effective. When the kings start piling up in your favorite stream this summer, bust out the ol’ MVP of salmon techniques and give it a try!

JD Richey is a contributing editor for Fish Alaska magazine and can be reached through his website at www.fishwithjd.com.

50 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 51 I can clearly remember my first mooching lesson—September, 1969. I was a young charter captain who had just received my first Coast Guard Ocean Operator’s License at 22 years of age and was operating a 45-foot Grays Harbor style crabber that had been renovated for summer salmon charter service, the Deep Sea, for Bud Charlton of Warrenton Deep Sea Charters. There were a dozen peppermint farmers aboard from the Willamette Valley who were celebrating the end of their harvest, and we were trolling Pink Lady and Divers with fresh herring three to four miles south of the , just outside the wreck of the Peter Iredale. The morning fishing was robust and everyone was pleased with the fishing, until the tide changed, the south wind began to pick up and the fish stopped biting. To my surprise, an unfamiliar 56-foot Clockwise from top left: charter boat from Westport, WA, roared up to Mooching allows the our fishing spot and began to fish, but the 25 angler to feel the bite, guests aboard had rods and reels in their hands set the hook and fight and the captain cut-off power. the fish on their own. © Curious, I thought. Clint Benjamin. Cut- Then to my surprise, I witnessed this vessel plug herring are salted to firm the bait and literally light up. The captain and deckhands have them last longer began running back and forth on deck, on the hook. © George scooping salmon like there was no tomorrow. Dennis. Cutting herring Frustrated, I trolled closer to them, but to at the correct angle no avail. Challenged by this event, I stopped with a sharp knife is the trolling and put on deeper diving gear in hopes first step to successful of getting closer to the bottom where the fish mooching. © George had moved. Still nothing. My next move was Dennis. to put on a new style of diver along with a flasher. Nothing. I continued to troll circles around this alien Westport moocher trying everything in my arsenal—different-colored hoochies and flashers—but I couldn’t buy a fish, while my neighbor to the north caught 20 to 30 salmon right in front of me using nothing more than leads and herring (which, of course, I didn’t have on my boat). At the time, I dismissed this event as a fishing anomaly and for the next decade continued the common practice of trolling plastic colored divers with bait, a practice followed by nearly all the charter boat captains who fished out of the Columbia River. Flash ahead to 2004 and I was fishing in a fleet of a dozen boats that serviced the cruise-ship guests that sport-fished out of Ketchikan. The boat owner, Mike, met me in Ketchikan and introduced me to my fishing boat, theTrouble Free, a 36-foot Tollycraft that never should have been given that name. Mike, who had over a decade of charter experience in southeast Alaska, was my mentor and introduced me to downrigger fishing, a form of trolling—but on steroids. Instead of trolling multi-colored divers, this style of fishing requires 100-pound stainless- steel wire holding 10- and 15-pound cannonball weights, to which fishing lines are attached. Since I had experience trolling on the North Pacific out of the Columbia River, I thought I knew all there was about troll-fishing. Wrong! I soon discovered a more complex kind of fishing that required a multitude of different skill-sets, such as knowing how to stack multiple fishing

52 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 53 lines on one cannonball wire or how to the reel. We taught our guests to count keep an ailing kicker motor running, along the number of feet their leads go down with having a working knowledge of all the so they could get at or below the salmon reefs and shallows in my fishing waters. In with their lead and cut-plug. We then did addition, I needed to become familiar with a demonstration of how to make our cut literally dozens of different size and color bait move like a crippled herring when spoons and hoochies that many of the retrieved. I suggest that the fisherman locals used to catch coho and Chinook. I lowers the bait to the desired depth, then learned that trolling with downriggers was rapidly reels three times of the handle of complicated, but a necessary evil in this the reel, then rests for several seconds. This particular fishery. process is continued until the lead and One weekend in July of 2005 I took six herring are at the surface next to the boat, of Mike’s guests coho fishing in Clarence and then the process is repeated. When Strait at East Island, just south of Duke This cut-plug herring is ready for rigging and deployment. © George Dennis. they feel resistance, they’re instructed to set Island. We scooped over a dozen fat silvers the hook and begin the battle. using downriggers before the fish stopped in bait trays and layered with the right the greater chance the fisherman will be Probably the most important biting, so I moved back up the strait to amount of coarse salt, which firms the fishing deeper, where coho and Chinook information we shared is that if an angler West Rock, where a charter boat was fishing herring so they stay on the hook longer. At hang out—but not always. We used no sees the herring move in the water and it the shallows. Much to my surprise, I was Sportsman’s Cove Lodge, we used hand- other paraphernalia to catch salmon on isn’t twirling, he or she really isn’t fishing. taught the mooching lesson all over again. tied Gamakatsu hooks on 3- or 4-foot any of our boats besides colored leads and If the cut-plug herring is placed on the I watched four guests on a 22-foot charter 30-pound leaders. In addition to bait on hooks tied on 36- to 40-inch leaders. End hooks correctly, the herring should spin boat make about six drifts over West Rock good hooks, most moochers use a 4-, 5- or of story. aggressively. Rookie deckhands often need and at each pass, they took five or six coho 6-ounce colored mooching lead. Mac told Mooching technique is important, to spend a great part of the fishing season using nothing more than red leads and small me that in past years captains took great especially when a captain faces six new learning how to properly bait the hook cut herring. I was trolling spoons, dodgers, pride in painting their own leads different guests who have never been saltwater to get the optimal spin out of a cut-plug flashers and hoochies off my cannonballs colors as a way to attract fish. Currently fishing. Orientation at Sportsman’s Cove herring. and accomplished nothing more than losing most use bright red or chartreuse leads that Lodge happened the night before the first Finally, most captains are convinced that two weights off the rock. Frustrating! act as a tremendous attraction to all species day’s fishing. After dinner, the captain the success of a fishing trip falls squarely After this lesson in humility, I vowed to of salmon. I have found as a general rule, orients the crew with a demonstration of on the shoulders of the fisherman, and purchase some mooching leads and leaders. the lighter the lead, the closer the bait is how the level-wind reel works. Each pass reality generally sets in during the first Without a mentor to show me the ropes, to the surface, where the fisherman is most of the level-wind mechanism on a Penn day of fishing. Most guests learn that the the impulse to learn more about mooching apt to catch pinks. The heavier the lead, 250 represents 10 feet of line coming off fisherman who keeps the bait moving in faded from my vision for one more year. In the summer of 2006 I was hired to captain a 39-foot custom boat called the Midnight Lady, where I worked for Larry (Mac) McQuarrie out of Sportsman’s Cove Lodge. When Mac hired me, he asked me if I knew how to drift-fish, and I reluctantly told him about my experience in the Columbia River where a Westport boat drifted next to me and kicked my butt fishing in my own waters. He laughed. Coincidentally, Mac owned his own charter service and operated his fleet out of Westport up until the 1970s. That 56-foot boat very well might have been from his fleet. My first season operating Mac’s boat in southeast Alaska, I learned how to become a true moocher. Standard issue on each of Mac’s five boats were rods, reels, leads and hooks. A guest wouldn’t find cannonballs, flashers, dodgers, plastic plugs, hoochies or kicker motors. We made our living mooching for salmon with cut-plug herring. The success of mooching at Sportsman’s Cove Lodge starts at 5 a.m. as each deckhand cuts between 14- and 16-dozen “green” (5- inch) herring into cut-plugs before the boats even leave the dock. The herring need to be semi-frozen and cut with a sharp knife to get a perfectly-angled cut and a clean edge. It’s the angle of the cut that makes the cut-plug herring twirl, and hence, attract salmon. The cut-plug herring are carefully laid

54 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 55 the water is the person who catches the realize the importance of locating herring fish fighting in the water to excite other and the satisfaction of watching the fish most fish on any particular day. schools before fishing for salmon. When salmon in the school. get scooped into the net and dropped into It is safe to suggest that most guests who I was fishing for salmon (coho, pinks or For much of our summer, we will hook the fish box. For those fishermen who have have never fished at this lodge are surprised Chinook), I would often spend 20- to 30 at least a quarter of our fish within 10 feet never tried mooching as a technique, it’s to see we didn’t carry downriggers or trolling minutes or more cruising an area looking of the surface of the water where we move a never too late to start. It took this veteran gear, and I must say, many were skeptical for a solid herring school before fishing. cut-plug herring in front of a fish that comes charter captain nearly 40 years of trolling that our style of fishing really worked. So I learned that being patient and finding out of the deep to chase the plug right to to be converted into a dyed-in-the-wool was I when I first took my captain job with the right place to put our cut-plugs really the boat. We often refer to the technique of salmon moocher. Mac. But over the course of seven years of paid off. moving the cut-plug back and forth at the employment at Sportsman’s Cove Lodge, Of course, any fisherman would say that surface of the water as “walking the dog.” Captain George Dennis has operated charter I made many troll fishermen believers in all the talk is good, but results are more Just so long as the herring is moving, there boats out of the Columbia River and in the mooching style of fishing, and they impressive. A friend of mine who lives in is a good likelihood a salmon will smash southeast Alaska for over four decades. He generally turned out to be repeat guests at my hometown operated a troll charter boat the bait right in front of the fisherman. currently operates a 30-foot Koffler boat out our lodge. for a lodge located just north of the Kasaan When mooching, it’s also not of Pybus Point Lodge. Find him on LinkedIn. Mooching success comes from having Peninsula, and we often found ourselves uncommon to experience a salmon feeding a very large supply of bait, effective fishing the same water. On numerous frenzy, when my deckhand and I can barely equipment and great bait movement; occasions I fished right next to my trolling keep up with the frenetic pace. I’ve often however, an all-important facet of buddy, along with other Ketchikan trollers, wondered what guests on other trolling mooching happens at the helm of the and we caught a total of 50 or 60 coho and boats around us are thinking about as we boat where the captain knows how to pink salmon over the course of three or scoop fish after fish while they troll circles read the fish-finder to find herring schools four hours, while watching these trollers around us. I imagine myself in their place that draw salmon like metal filing to a Success! When properly executed, an angler gets the excitement of catching pull out and leave the water. Boy, could I and wish that I could just catch one fish, let magnet. When I captained boats out of fresh-from-the-ocean coho salmon and then gets to enjoy the high-quality fish ever relate to their frustration. alone a dozen or more. the Columbia River in the late 1960s, on the table. © Clint Benjamin. When a large school of salmon There is no greater thrill for a charter most charter boats had a depth-sounder, hold vast schools of small herring. With gear to better place the boat in a position migrates into a fishing fleet, the mooching captain than having a rookie crew catch a but not a fish-finder. Consequently, we today’s technology, the captain finds these to drift through the bait. On periods fisherman is generally in tall clover. More box full of salmon—all done by fishermen really didn’t look for bait schools as much herring schools on a reasonably priced but between the tides when there is little tide often than not, when a salmon is hooked who have the rod and reel in their hands as we did for birds working on the surface sophisticated fish-finder, determines the movement, the captain often kicks the and fighting, another fish will get excited and are setting the hook by themselves. of the water and fishing where the tide direction of the current and then places the motor in gear to make the boat move in and bite another cut-plug herring. It’s not Rain or shine, the crew works their fishing Brightly colored leads serve to attract rips often formed. In southeast Alaska, boat in a position to drift across the herring hopes of placing the guest over a dispersed uncommon for guests on the mooching rods for a whole day to fully experience the salmon and descend cut-plug bait generally gathers at predictable places patch. “Motor mooching” is the technique herring school. boat to get two and three fish or more on thrill of the strike, the battle with a fish herring to the right depth in the water where land formations cause currents to of occasionally engaging the motor into It took me several years of mooching to at the same time, so long as there is another that doesn’t want to leave its native waters column. © George Dennis.

56 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 57 “ Fishing for sockeye is “ about as much fun as you can have during the Alaska summer. If you’re looking for an incredible Alaska adventure this year, with nonstop salmon-catching action as the lure—then give sockeye a try.”

Story & photos by Terry J. Wiest time

Every year anglers from across the globe anticipate the beginning of a new season. Hardcore river anglersSockeye look at the upcoming steelhead season. Fly anglers look at destinations that might bring them that trophy rainbow. For those that tackle the salt, it may be the thought of a king salmon slab or a barn-door halibut that gets the blood pumping. Rarely, however, do you hear of sport anglers salivating at the upcoming sockeye season. Now, growing up in Washington State, I did look forward to fishing for Lake Washington sockeye each year. Not only the best-tasting salmon in my opinion, but even as teenagers my buddies and I had this fishery nailed down to where we could limit the boat in 15- to 20 minutes and then head off to work. In a lake, sockeye are just plain easy to catch. Now having been fortunate to travel many parts of Canada and Alaska, it is very rare indeed to hear much genuine enthusiasm for the sporting qualities of the sockeye salmon—even though everyone who’s ever caught one on a rod must admit to the fish’s significant fighting qualities. My first introduction to Alaska sockeye was on the Russian River, which was just a way to kill time while we were in early from a king salmon trip on the Kenai River. That was an experience to say the least. Combat fishing amongst the bears was exhilarating, but not something I would look forward to on a regular basis. The next time I would encounter sockeye would be on the Nushagak River. After a full day of battling kings, everyone was relaxing after dinner while the fire roared to a full moon. All of a sudden there were huge waves of fish coming upstream in droves. The entire shoreline was alive with chrome. Now catching fish is just plain fun! It’s why we fish. After fishing for both steelhead and coho on the Situk River, I can say this is one of my all-time favorite bodies of water anywhere in the world. One night after fishing, we retired

58 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 59 to the bar for some chat time. Pete Eades, blast, with non-stop action possible as south to rendezvous with Chilkat Inlet the pressure required to move stronger owner/manager of Glacier Bear Lodge much as you can handle. The sockeye near the community of Haines. The area fish than for any need to punch out long, said, “Dude, if you really want to have a are stacked like cordwood throughout is primarily known for the approximately accurate casts. Conventional anglers blast, come up and fish sockeye with us the entire river when the run is in, with 3,500 bald eagles that gather in the tall will want to choose rods with a strong next year.” individual fish laced with sea lice. There’s cottonwoods that line the river each fall, backbone as well, meaning bait-casting “Sockeye?” not any fresher sockeye to be had. making the watershed the largest eagle or spinning rods in the 8- to 20-pound “Yes sir, I guarantee you will love it.” Obviously, the Situk doesn’t offer the council grounds in the world. A nice run line-weight range. Big-water rivers like Um… sold! only action to be found in southeast of sockeye ascend the stream as well, and the Kvichak or Kenai, with their often Pete went on to explain how so many Alaska, which features many sockeye good fly-fishing prospects exist at the heavy, swift current and fish approaching anglers dismiss sockeye for sport, but he fisheries of note, especially those in mouths of tributaries and in lake outlets, 14 pounds, may even necessitate stepping insisted that they are one of the hardest- the far southern panhandle near the particularly where Chilkat Lake pours up to a 9-weight fly rod or conventional fighting fish around. And, we all know communities of Petersburg, Wrangell and into the Tsirku River (Tsirku is the Tlingit rods of 15- to 30-pound line-weight. As they are a truly great-tasting fish, so Ketchikan. Much as it is with other sport name for “big salmon”). The neighboring always, reels should balance with the rod. game on! fish species, Prince of Wales Island also Chilkoot River system, also accessible by For sockeye, fly-reel capacity needs not Mature, pre-spawning sockeye begin features some of the most concentrated car from Haines, provides yet more fishing range much above 200 yards of Dacron or appearing in rivers across the state as freshwater angling opportunities in the opportunity for salmon enthusiasts. Most gel-spun backing, though anglers should early as late May in rare cases, with peak region. Farther north and among the of the sockeye fishing takes place in the look for reels with carbon fiber, cork or freshwater migration periods usually maze of channels, straits and tidewater boulder-strewn lower mile or so below synthetic drags. Similarly, whether fishing occurring from the middle of June estuaries that comprise the Inside Passage, Chilkoot Lake during both of the river’s with a bait-caster or a spinning outfit, through late July. They are of relatively strong returns of sockeye are more runs, the first of which peaks in late June your reel should be well-maintained and slight size among the North American sparsely located, though both the road- or early July. A second wave of bright offer a solid drag, as putting the brakes species of Pacific salmon, as only pinks accessible Thoms Creek near Wrangell and sockeye make their way through Lynn on a hot sockeye can chew up equipment are smaller on average. After leaving their Petersburg Creek can provide consistent Canal and into the Chilkoot system in that’s not up to the standard. saltwater feeding grounds, returning action during their short peaks, as can a August. The typical Alaska fly-fishing setup for adults typically weigh between four- few of the freshwater lake-stream systems Thankfully, deciding on equipment for targeting sockeye is a floating line, a long and eight pounds, although 15-pound on Admiralty, Baranof and Chichagof a sockeye outing is a simpler task than 9- to 10-foot leader and various amounts and larger specimens have been caught islands. choosing when or where to fish. Pound- of split-shot above a two-foot tippet in Alaska. At the northern tip of the panhandle lies for-pound one of Alaska’s feistiest fish, the section. The most important component Like pink salmon, sockeye tend to be a pair of river systems of note to sockeye species is responsible for a lot of broken of this rig is the weight. The same goes socially-oriented travelers, congregating anglers. Dissecting the mountainous rods each year. Thus, for fly anglers, 7- or for conventional setups, although here by the thousands to push upstream. terrain of northern British Columbia, 8-weight, fast-action outfits are normal, using a rubber-core sinker that can easily They’ll remain in tight groups once in the glacial, braided Chilkat River flows chosen more for their ability to apply be attached or removed from the line freshwater and will mill in tributary mouths, lake outlets, sloughs and pools. Sockeye also have a habit of hugging close to the shoreline, selecting the shallowest water for their passage. Both the tendency to travel and hold in large groups and the species’ obvious preference for shallow shoreline areas combine to make the fish a particularly inviting target for anglers and other shore-bound predators, namely Alaska’s coastal brown bears. Once you’ve found the right time of year, fishing for the species is marked by extremes. In some Alaska drainages, for instance, more than a million fish will stream in from the sea in less than a month’s time. In many others, it might seem like an equal number of anglers are packed into about a mile of beach. The trick for anglers then is to find one—big numbers of chrome-bright fish—without being forced to endure the other. What this usually means is forgoing an easy trip to the state’s more famous sockeye locales, particularly the notorious combat zones along the Kenai and Russian rivers, and instead journeying a little deeper into Alaska’s backcountry. For me, that now means Yakutat and the Situk River. This summer of 2017 will in fact mark our third year in a row visiting Glacier Bear Lodge primarily to target sockeye. Fishing here truly is an absolute

60 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 61 makes a lot of sense, so you can quickly adjust your For presentation, remember it is a rare sockeye that weight when the situation dictates a change. Depth breaks ranks even slightly for a fly moving above or control is always a critical factor when fishing for Pacific below in the water column. For this reason, blind fishing salmon, and even more so with sockeye. For fly anglers, is not the best idea. Anglers should position themselves carrying a range of sinking lines instead of a floater and in the best possible casting locations, slightly up and lots of split-shot will allow anglers to pick a line to suit across stream from the holding fish. One of the most the water. consistent techniques is to then cast down-and-across No matter the depth of the water and the velocity and employ a modified, highly controlled wet-fly swing, the current is traveling at, the weight should be enough with the line kept taut at all times. Shorter casts work to quickly make contact with the bottom but not so better, not just because the fish are usually close to shore, much as to slow the drift of the fly. At other times, when but also because it allows an angler to maintain more fishing in still or frog water, anglers working a large line control. group of milling fish will also want to use a floating line A standard Lower 48 nymphing technique can also be and long leader, only on this occasion it’s usually better very effective when fishing for traveling sockeye. In this to forgo the split-shot and instead employ a lightly instance, anglers should use a floating line and a 9-foot weighted fly, which will slowly sink to the proper depth, or slightly longer leader. Begin by wading into position where it’s more likely to be picked up by a cruising fish. across from the suspected lie or travel corridor and then Tippet strength should be from 8- to 12-pound-test. I cast upstream, above the fish. As the fly drifts, hold the recommend 10-pound test so you can easily break a fish rod high, keeping the line off the water, and follow the off if it is foul-hooked. progress of the fly with the tip. By not allowing the fly While they lack the strong predatory response line to belly in the current, anglers not only enable their common to other species in freshwater, sockeye seem fly to sink more quickly—and stay down—but a more more prone to strike when pressured by the crowded realistic dead-drift presentation is produced. conditions of an overloaded run or pool. Thus, anglers There is little variance when it comes to the proper should look for shallow areas where stress factors will be techniques when fishing with bait-casting or spinning highest upon a group of fish. Of course, remembering gear. Basically, let out enough line to cover the area the sockeye’s unique near-shore migration tendencies is a where the fish are holding or moving through and flip first step. Lake outlets and inlets, river mouths and areas that same amount of line out each time you end a drift It doesn’t take much in the way of complicated techniques or of defined structure, such as waterfalls, the lee sides of and are looking to begin anew. Cast 45 degrees upstream long casts to master fishing for Alaska’s sockeye. Getting the fly islands and boulder-lined rapids, can produce the kinds and maintain a tight line throughout your drift—you A shore lunch of sockeye fillets is something every angler should into the right slot, at the right depth, over and over again, is your of natural rest stops preferred by migrating fish and the should feel your weight ticking bottom regularly but experience at least once. key to success. high concentrations necessary for productive fishing. nothing more than that. If your presentation so much as

62 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 63 Pound-for-pound, sockeye are one of Alaska’s hardest-fighting gamefish.

hesitates, set the hook. Exactly that—the subtle nature of the majority of sockeye takes—is one of the most difficult things for beginning sockeye salmon anglers to pick up. Many will be barely perceptible, perhaps just a slight stall in the downstream progress of the line. By intently following the fly’s progress, anglers can better anticipate a strike and react in time to avoid foul- hooking the next fish in line. A last item to keep in mind is that many anglers make sockeye fishing more difficult by over-wading. Again, the fish prefer the shallow shoreline corridors for migration, and in most circumstances, knee-deep is plenty far to wade. Otherwise the fish will just be pushed into deeper water, making the fishing that much more technical. What is most important to remember, however, is this: Fishing for sockeye is about as much fun as you can have during the Alaska summer. If you’re looking for an incredible Alaska adventure this year, with nonstop salmon-catching action as the lure—then give sockeye a try. And more specifically, get away from the usual suspects and maybe give the Situk a try. You won’t be disappointed.

Terry J. Wiest has over 38 years of experience fishing for salmon and steelhead, with float- fishing being his forte. He has taught and demonstrated his techniques at numerous seminars and sportsman’s shows throughout the Pacific Northwest and is the author of two books, Steelhead University: Your Guide to Salmon and Steelhead Success, and the recently published Float-Fishing for Salmon and Steelhead.

64 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 65 I walked along a sandy beach, pausing every few minutes to make a cast. It was early spring and the air was chilly. In between steps an unusual object caught my eye. It was a small broken shard from a white china dinner plate with faded blue forget-me-nots painted along the edge. I reached down and picked it up. Farther along, I noticed rotting logs in the shape of a large rectangle. They were tucked away behind a stand of trees and hinted at some long-forgotten structure. A small, rusted iron door leaned silently against the beaver-chewed stump of a quivering aspen. My mind wandered into the distant past, and I almost failed to notice a large trout slowly swimming along a steep drop-off about ten feet from where I was standing. The fish was too close to make an effective cast without risk of spooking it, so I stood motionless and quickly pondered my options. The trout was foraging—pressing its nose beneath submerged rocks in search of plump larvae and hiding minnows. After a long winter, there could be little doubt it was hungry. Lake trout feeding in this manner will seldom take a spoon retrieved in the traditional way, which was a fine excuse for why I hadn’t managed a single bite in well over two hours. I tossed a pink and silver Pixee out in front of the trout and let it hit bottom. As the laker slowly approached my waiting lure, I gave the rod a gentle jerk. The spoon quickly darted off the bottom before fluttering back down. Then I did it again. The trout surged toward the lure and inhaled it with such ferocity that I felt the bite before my brain registered what my eyes were seeing. This turned out to be a good thing, because it caused me to instinctively set the hook. With one whip of its tail, the water above swirled and bubbled. Somewhere beneath that agitation the big trout disappeared, and in that moment my drag kicked into high gear.

A nice fall trout.

The tried-and-true Mepps Lure. Conrad ruin

66 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 67 Lake trout are often somewhat lethargic When I first moved to Alaska, the succession. I paused as a pair of buffleheads they were abundant and I was hungry. As just after ice-out, but this fish proved scale of its boundless geography was swam by. They were part of a larger group the tide rolled back in, the Bark Canada resilient. Twice I failed to pull it into overwhelming. You could spend a lifetime of Barrow’s Goldeneye that were more quickly disappeared, forever sleeping in its shallow water before it abruptly turned fishing a single lake and still never come concerned with feeding than the angler final resting place. and made another run. On my third try, close to unraveling its mysteries. Still, watching from shore. Seagulls were perched the hook popped out. there was only one way to learn, so I on what appeared to be wooden pilings Shadows of the Midnight Sun I looked back at the rusted wheels and set out on foot looking for fish and exposed by the ebb tide. Upon closer Beneath the shadow of a towering weathered foundation hiding in the woods kept accurate records of my failures inspection, these “pilings” were actually mountain where Dall sheep cling to sheer and surmised I wasn’t the only person to and triumphs. the rotting ribcage of some mysterious rocky pinnacles, there is a wide jetty where ever lose a laker at this spot. Along the way, I also discovered that ancient ship. a small stream empties into a massive Where the past and present converge ruins and relics often point to areas where Sea snails clung to blackened boards that glacial lake. I’ve hiked from the water’s edge there are endless shorelines in the vast fish like to hide. once comprised the framework of the ship’s to the summit and back, crossing paths expanse of wilderness that rolls out hull. I stepped over its remains and walked with families of mountain goats feeding on toward the horizon north of Skagway. Fishing the Wrecks along the vessel’s interior, which was filled mint-green lichen and wooly mosses. Throughout the ages, this terrain often A few miles west of Skagway is a beautiful with large rocks. While exiting the boat’s From the top of the mountain, the proved too rugged for the humans who inlet called Nakhu Bay. Picture-perfect remains, I stepped on one of the boards creek’s mouth looks like prime trout and tried to tame it. My frequent forays into views down the fjord from this spot are and a small glass medicine bottle fell free. grayling habitat. Bugs fall into the stream, this landscape in search of fish seldom prime fodder for an Alaska postcard. Many Later that night a longtime local get swept away in the current, and end up fail to reveal some artifact or relic from years ago, I was told that Dolly Varden explained that the boat was named the flowing out over a steep drop-off where fish the past. could be caught at the mouth of a small Bark Canada. It was caught in a terrible presumably wait with their mouths agape. Most of these encounters remain forever stream that empties into the bay. storm during the winter of 1898, and To reach the fishing hole, it’s necessary a mystery—their untold stories blurred by I arrived to discover the beach fully pushed into the rocks at the mouth of the to walk through a large clearing before time. But sometimes it’s possible to find exposed due to an extreme low tide. Near inlet. The damage it sustained was so great climbing down a steep embankment thick written or photographic evidence that the water’s edge, large sea snails gathered that it became a permanent reminder of with undergrowth. The first time I tried reveals a tale long forgotten. After doing in clusters. I carefully stepped between Skagway’s golden glory days. Older locals a little digging, I discovered that a three- them and started casting into calm surf. tell stories about playing within the ship’s story hotel once stood at the place where I My favorite yellow and red Mepps spinner still-standing staterooms, which at that The hull of the Bark Canada found my random piece of china. A photo didn’t disappoint, and a plump 16-inch time were above water even when the tide exposed at low tide. taken in this location dated 1906 revealed bright silver Dolly was soon dangling from wasn’t low. a finely-dressed man holding up a large the hook. I put the little bottle in my pocket and trout. I was unable to determine what he Working my way along the narrow got back to the business at hand. None of was using for bait. strand, two more Dollies came in quick the Dollies would classify as trophies, but

68 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 69 Wynton was the brainstorm of two wily entrepreneurs who understood one simple fact—men like beer. A few years after the Klondike Gold Rush, the southern Yukon region thrived with a newborn silver- mining industry. Hard-working miners are a thirsty bunch, but laws governing the sale of alcohol in the Yukon Territory were quite strict. However, liquor laws in British Columbia, just south of the Yukon border and less than a mile away from the largest mine, were far more lenient. Born from the wellspring of alcoholic inspiration, two hotels sprang up the following year in this very spot. These fine establishments stood side by side, and each offered cheap beer to parched and weary miners. Big Bill Anderson became the proud proprietor of The Lakeview Hotel. William Simpson owned the Wynton Hotel, named after the creek that flowed into the lake below. Selling beer in Canada is one of those can’t-miss ideas that everyone dreams of, but right about the time Big Bill and Simpson opened their doors, the neighboring Yukon this fishing spot, I noticed some old cans mines shut down. One by one, the miners alongside some rotten rough-hewn logs moved away, leaving only a few hearty and wondered about their origin. However, homesteaders and a network of ruins in thoughts of hungry fish quickly renewed various states of decay. my focus. When winter set in, Wynton’s two My high expectations were met with residents made the most of the situation. disappointment. Over the next two hours Simpson would walk over to Big Bill’s I likely used 80 percent of the tackle in my Lakefront Hotel and slap a gold coin on backpack. Bouncing white tube jigs off the the bar. After enjoying a brew with Big bottom had no effect. My battered five of Bill, the two men walked over to Simpson’s diamonds yielded the same result. Even Wynton Hotel where Big Bill would smack my trusty red and yellow Mepps spinner that same gold coin down on its bar. After came up short, which is something that the next round was poured, the two hapless rarely happens. businessmen would raise their glasses high In subsequent years I tried fishing this and toast to their misfortune. When the hole during different seasons, in clear mugs were empty, they started over. and cloudy weather, and at various times This proud Wynton tradition born of throughout the day. boredom and thirst continued unabated Nothing. and by season’s end the gold coin was worn After a day spent fishing without so smooth and the kegs ran dry. Presumably, much as a bite, the thought of a frosty their livers suffered a similar fate. Eventually, beer offers welcome consolation. For years the hotels closed and the two men merrily I enjoyed my post-fishing brew at a hotel stumbled toward their next misadventure. built during the Gold Rush. It’s called the In the ensuing years, the land slowly Caribou Hotel and is located 15 miles reclaimed what little was left of Wynton. north of that godforsaken fishing hole in Even the name was forgotten when a small town named Carcross. Apparently, the stream was renamed Dail Creek, in no improvements had ever been made to honor of Gold Rush miner and surveyor the “Boo,” as it’s called by the locals. If you George Dail. could avoid the gaping hole in the wooden Further proving that this obscure site is floor, you could belly up to the bar and a place where bad luck and poor timing order a cold beer from the hotel proprietor converge, the sign identifying the stream until it closed in 2005. today mistakenly reads “Dall Creek.” It was at the Boo where I first heard the Every year I climb back down the story about a place called Wynton, which embankment to try my luck at this spot. just happened to be a long-forgotten Someday I might catch a fish. But from town situated atop my most unproductive a historical perspective, you can’t beat the fishing hole. reward for failure.

70 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 71 a submerged log, and broke off before I In a promising spot where two braids could say, “fish on.” in the river converged, I tied on a Vibrax My buddy endured a similar experience, spinner. On my first cast, the water although he kept his fish on for nearly a immediately exploded. A good-sized coho minute. Over the next hour we lost at least made a thrashing jump before running a dozen massive dog salmon in a variety hard against current. This was a mistake, of ways. because I managed to quickly pull it into With all the fast action, neither of us the shallows before dragging it onto shore. noticed that a light drizzle was falling. I turned to cut the gills and noticed When the downpour truly began, we something sticking up out of the sand near started our hour-long hike back to the a steep embankment. At first, all I noticed car. The first step onto the fallen tree that were a few rivets and the outline of a massive led back to shore presented a dilemma, wheel. Upon further inspection, I spotted because the rain had turned its surface into a rusted lever and something resembling something resembling black ice. a boiler. After taking in the whole scene I Unable to get any traction, we were realized what it was—an entire locomotive High above Wynton Grayling in Carcross forced to lay prone on the trunk and scoot steam engine almost entirely buried in back to shore, grasping the tree with our the sand. A Path Well Worn often requires a great deal of bushwhacking that we could target groups of fish lying in emerging on the river’s bank, we could arms and legs. This was far more difficult I don’t know the story behind this No northern trail is more famous than combined with the ever-present prospect the deeper pools. hear fish jumping over the din of the and time-consuming than it sounds. I was particular engine, but I plan on finding the Chilkoot. It was the preferred path to of coming face-to-face with a hungry Even though the Chilkoot runs alongside flowing water. in the front, and my friend informed me out. In the meantime, I’ve scoped out a few the Klondike from Dyea, Alaska, located brown bear. the river, accessing the shore often requires A logjam of considerable size blocked a that it also looked pretty funny. The sudden new angling destinations to fill my summer 10 miles west of Skagway. Because the On a few outings I’ve caught my limit going off-trail and navigating through deep pool where the chum were jumping. deluge caused the trail itself to become a months. I may or may not have any luck, miners were required to carry at least of dime-bright coho right by the trailhead. dense alder thicket mixed with robust stalks Accessing the hole required walking over raging river, and the return hike turned but around here fish aren’t the only thing 2,000 pounds of goods over the steep and Some of my more memorable Chilkoot of devil’s club. When hiking through this a massive fallen tree. We settled into a into a two-hour affair that made me glad worth finding. unforgiving trail, relics were left behind all expeditions have met with far less success. miasma of random branches and fluttering spot where we could throw lures into the I wasn’t forced to carry a ton of supplies. along the historic path. A few years back, the chum run was leaves, you quickly learn to never grab a deep water. A few days later, I tried my luck for coho Andrew Cremata was recognized as the Best The first seven miles of the Chilkoot stellar. Fish upwards of 20 pounds were branch with your hands. I hooked up first and quickly discovered in the Skagway River just below the Gold Outdoors Columnist in Alaska by the Alaska Trail parallel the Taiya River. Late-season regularly being caught in the lower part About four miles north of the trailhead, that my 12-pound line was no match Rush Cemetery, where old gravestones Press Club nine of the last ten years. His first runs of chum and coho salmon offer a of the Taiya, where targeting salmon is we worked our way through one such for an angry chum keenly aware of made of solid rock bear the names of men book, Fish This! – An Alaskan Story, is tempting target, but these fish aren’t always usually quite difficult. A friend and I made morass where rusted cans and an old its surroundings. The fish made one whose dreams of wealth quickly turned available from Lynn Canal Publishing and easy to catch. Getting to the best spots plans to walk up the trail a few miles so furnace door lay hidden. Even before determined run downriver, swam beneath to dust. Amazon.com.

72 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 73 Coffee Creek, about 45 minutes from Talkeetna, can provide a serene and uncrowded experience. © Dave Fish Alaska.

Denali. © Talkeetna Air Taxi.

Above: You can take a flight with Talkeetna Air Taxi to land on Ruth Glacier. © Talkeetna Air Taxi.

Bottom: This nice trout was caught on Clear Creek. © Dave Fish Alaska

To the right: Heli-fish with Talkeetna Air Taxi and Dave Fish Alaska to get to remote streams regularly hard to access. © Tallkeetna Air Taxi.

Touring the backcountry by ATV with Alaska Off-Road ATV Adventures is a great way to see the area and it’s a totally These cozy cabins are available Alaskan experience. © Alaska to rent through Dave Fish Alaska. Off-Road ATV. © Dave Fish Alaska.

74 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 75 Meaning “river of plenty” in the Dena’ina fishing in a variety of ways, whether rafting language, the area near the present site of or jet-boating to nearby waters or hiking in Talkeetna offered an abundant harvest to the many accessible rivers and streams in for the Athabasca Indians who originally the area, while others may prefer to go the inhabited the area, hunting and fishing guided route, particularly for the access to there for centuries, before, in the late remote waters that a quality guide service 1890s, a trading station was built along the provides. Dave Fish, who owns the guiding riverfront to supply trappers and miners service Dave Fish Alaska, is one such moving into the area. In 1905 gold was guide, offering customized, guided trips all discovered in the Cache Creek region across the Mat-Su Valley and southcentral Alaska. “We primarily fish the clearwater tributaries of the Talkeetna and Susitna river drainages,” Fish explained, “whether by floatplane, helicopter or raft.” There is quality angling available year-round in the Talkeetna area, but as Fish says, everything ramps up towards the height of summer. “Our favorite time of the year is the end of July,” he explained, “when we are fishing for trophy rainbow trout during the chum salmon spawn.” The fishing begins on the home river, and the mainstem of the Talkeetna, a swift wilderness river, is fishable during periods of moderate, dry weather, but as with the Susitna, most anglers will have much better success fishing in or near the mouths of tributary streams. Clear, Larson and Prairie creeks, which can be accessed by boat from Kameron Fish taking after her guide- Talkeetna, are popular hotspots. father Dave Fish. The Fish family is a Similar to the Talkeetna, but much fishing family! © Dave Fish Alaska. larger, the Susitna River is one of southcentral Alaska’s most significant and consistent fish-producers. Beginning in the to the west of Talkeetna, and the village runoff from massive glaciers in the eastern soon became a supply point for the gold Alaska Range and flowing some 200 fields in the Yentna Mining District. The miles south to Cook Inlet, the Susitna is Talkeetna townsite was established in 1916 large and intimidating, laden with silt and when the area was chosen as a district virtually unfishable in much of its lower headquarters for the Alaska Railroad. A flows, meaning the best bet for anglers is to post office opened, as well as a sawmill, prospect tributaries, the mouths of feeder trading post, cigar and donkey store and streams, pockets of holding water and other businesses as well as many cabins. Today, this core downtown area is classified as a National Historic Site, with buildings dating from the early 1900s, including Nagley’s General Store, which opened in 1916 with the founding of the town. Currently, Talkeetna is the staging area for the approximately 1,000 climbers each year who attempt to reach the summit of Denali, and climbing season is one of the town’s busiest. Hordes of visitors—both from within Alaska and from without— also travel to Talkeetna each summer to raft, camp, hike, fish salmon, trout and other resident species, and go flightseeing. Products from local artists, musicians and craftspeople are available in area stores, and it all adds up to make this one of Alaska’s truly must-visit destinations. As one of the angling hubs of this fish- A visit to Talkeetna Love-Lee Cabins rich region of Alaska, Talkeetna offers means a comfortable stay in a stylish cabin with a real Alaskan personal touch access to a multitude of angling adventures. from host Randy Hughey. © Talkeetna Anglers familiar with the area can access the Love-Lee Cabins.

76 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 77 Talkeetna area Dolly caught with Dave Fish Alaska. © Dave Fish Alaska

Mahay’s Jet Boat Adventures Talkeetna Contacts www.mahaysriverboat.com Dave Fish Alaska 800-736-2210 www.davefishalaska.com Operating from historic Talkeetna 907-733-7201 under the backdrop of Denali, Specializing in wilderness fishing Mahay’s Jet Boat Adventures offers and rafting tours for both avid a variety of unique sightseeing fishermen and families alike, owner tours across the Matanuska-Susitna Dave Fish and the guides at Dave Valley. Enjoy picturesque views Fish Alaska offer trips throughout the from the comfort of their stable Mat-Su Valley, including day-trips, of river boats and get first-class fly-outs and extended float trips on guided discovery from the onboard remote valley rivers. They fish all over naturalists as you travel through southcentral Alaska but primarily some of the most stunning scenery visit the clearwater tributaries of in southcentral Alaska, including the Talkeetna and Susitna river the Chulitna River Gorge and drainages, whether by floatplane, Devil’s Canyon. helicopter or raft. Anglers fishing with Dave Fish Alaska can expect a Talkeetna Air Taxi quality guide service with excellent www.talkeetnaair.com customer care from a small family- (907) 733-2218 owned and operated business. All (800) 533-2219 trips are 100% customized. Dave Talkeetna Air Taxi specializes in Fish Alaska also offers rental cabins spectacular flightseeing tours, in Talkeetna. offering magnificent views of Denali and the National Park. Add Talkeetna Love-Lee Cabins a glacier landing to one of their www.loveleecabins.com smooth and exciting flights and (907) 947-8009 you’ll really have an experience Located approximately 2.3 miles worth sharing back home! All from beautiful downtown Talkeetna, tours are customized and each of at mile 11.7 of the Talkeetna Spur their pilots has years of experience Road, Talkeetna Love-Lee Cabins in mountain aviation, with the offers three clean, comfortable, company performing more glacier newly-built studio-size cabins. Each landings than any other flight cabin was built in the spring/summer service in the world. Talkeetna of 2015 with great attention to Air Taxi also provides remote river detail in every facet of construction. access for fishers, providing drop offs Amenities include a full kitchen with throughout the region to places like utensils and dorm-size fridge, jetted Clear Creek, the Talkeetna Canyon, spa bathtub and shower, pleasant Sheep River, Disappointment Creek décor, and queen-size hotel-quality and Sheep Creek. beds and linens. For those days when weathered-in, entertainment Alaska Off-Road ATV Adventures is provided through DirectTV with a Facebook: @alaskaoffroadadventures 40-inch HD flat-screen TV mounted (907) 360-2651 on the cabin wall. Each unit also Alaska Off-Road ATV Adventures boasts a terrace and for those who provides exhilarating backcountry like to grill dinner (or the day’s catch), tours on four-wheelers, offering there is a shared gas barbeque grill. full- or half-day tours for beginner Cabins are available year-round, to expert ATV-riders. Owned and making them the perfect Talkeetna operated by Ken Schauert and Tad accommodations for summer Ellis, Alaska Off-Road Adventures fishing, fall hunts and snowmaching will take you on a guided ATV tour in the winter—or just for weekending through the beautiful wilderness in and around town. of Talkeetna.

78 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 79 depending on the time of year, accessible upriver seams. Though it’s seldom fished, the section of the mainstem Susitna between Devil’s Canyon and the confluence of the Talkeetna and Chulitna rivers can be accessed by jet boat and produces amazing results. If searching for king salmon, there are several clearwater tributaries that meet the river below Devil’s Canyon, and the confluences with Indian River and Portage and Fourth of July creeks are good places to start anytime near the July peak of the run. In this area the river is heavily braided, full of logjams and submerged rootwads, which makes it ideal big-trout habitat as well. The scenery is unparalleled and the fish rarely bothered. The best time for trophy trout is typically in the fall, after the big river has cleared some, providing good visibility. For driving anglers, the trip from Anchorage to Talkeetna is filled with fish as well, with the Parks Highway streams some of southcentral Alaska’s hottest road- system fisheries. At mile 96.5, just before town, the Parks Highway intersects with lower Montana Creek, providing easy opportunity to fish the gravel-bottomed stream’s lower reaches, and there is good gravel road access to points along the upper Clockwise from top left: The Kahiltna Glacier Base Camp.© Talkeetna Air Taxi. Alaska Offroad ATV Adventures can be booked for half- or river. There is plenty of parking, along full-day excursions. © Alaska Offroad ATV Adventures. A really nice Susitna River rainbow. © Meiissa Norris. Talkeetna is a popular destination with a campground, right off the highway for tourists in the summer in Alaska. There’s a buzzing vibe and music scene in town but you can still get to the pristine wilderness that within easy walking distance to the creek. surrounds the area. © Alaska Offroad ATV Adventures. There are also many places to wade across this stream, allowing lots of water to be covered. A solid king salmon river, the best fishing is from late June through early July and takes place anywhere from the mouth of the creek to several good holes located upstream. In addition to kings, the silver salmon action can be exceptional during the month of August. Pink and chum salmon make their way into this creek in late July and the run lasts through mid-August. Rainbow trout fishing can be good in spring and fall, and anglers fishing the upper stretches of the creek will encounter plenty of opportunity to cast to hungry grayling. At mile 88.6 of the Parks Highway, Sheep Creek is another popular king, silver and pink salmon fishery, but because of its limited bank access, it’s typically crowded. If you want to try your luck here, September is a good bet, when the crowds have thinned and rainbows and grayling are in. Small, clear-flowing Caswell Creek is situated at mile 84 on the Parks Highway and offers king, silver and pink salmon, and a run of rainbow trout. The best action comes at the mouth, and there are limited boundaries marked by the ADF&G as to how far upstream you can fish. Due to its ease-of-access, Caswell Creek receives

80 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 81 considerable pressure during the king and silver salmon runs. However, in September, it’s worth checking out for late-arriving silvers and rainbows. For more intrepid souls, Talkeetna also serves as an excellent jumping-off point for the remote fisheries of Southcentral, including Lake Creek and the Talachulitna River. Anglers who appreciate the stillwater environment will also find much opportunity around Talkeetna, including the opportunity to fly-out to one of several remote, fish-filled lakes in the area. On your route up the highway to Talkeetna, whether fishing or not, make sure to stop by Scott Thompson’s Willow Creek Studio. Located at mile 69.5 of the Parks Highway, the gallery features works from more than 50 local artists and craftspeople—from carvings, chainsaw work, paintings, fur, jewelry and pottery to log furniture and other cabin décor. Scott is himself an accomplished Alaskan artist

Top: Talkeetna Air Taxi offers drop off services for out-of-the-way float fishing trips by helicopter or by airplane. © Talkeetna Air Taxi. Bottom: Guide Dave Fish specializes in wild and remote Alaska fly fishing trips. © Dave Fish Alaska. who specializes in painting and carving scenes from the state’s fishing and hunting lifestyle. His fine depictions of our natural world represent all that’s best about fishing and hunting in Alaska and make incredible keepsakes. After the summer’s fishing for salmon and trout comes to a close, fall hunting takes center stage in Talkeetna, with the hills, timber and tundra flats near town filled with hunters pursuing moose, bear, caribou, and Dall sheep. Mountain climbers from all over the world also use the town as their base before attempting to challenge Denali. After registering as a climber with the National Park Service, most of these visitors fly to the Kahiltna Glacier Base Camp, located at an elevation of 7,200 feet, and from there begin their journeys to the summit. You don’t have to be an expert mountain climber to view the same panoramas, however, as scenic flights offered through local air services such as Talkeetna Air Taxi give visitors the thrill Drive to Talkeetna on the Parks Highway of seeing North America’s tallest mountain for a scenic way to see Alaska. One stop up-close. Many flights have the option to to make is to Scott and Joan Thompson’s land on the glacier. Willow Creek Studio, purveying the works For summertime visitors, an equally of over 50 Alaskan artists for truly artisan unique and thrilling adventure is offered memorabilia. Scott is an accomplished outdoor painter and carver and he makes through Mahay’s Jet Boat Adventures, incredible pieces like the carved sign and who provide riverboat tours exploring painting above. Look for the giant log chair more than 200 miles of wilderness water to find the gallery at mile 69.5. nearby. There is also a plethora of other

82 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 83 A trip to Talkeetna is not complete without a riverboat cruise with the nice folks from Mahay’s Riverboat Service. © Mahay’s Riverboat Service.

activities on offer, including guided hiking tours, gold-panning excursions or even an exhilarating guided ATV tour provided by Alaska Off-Road ATV Adventures. You’ll find quality accommodations whenever you visit, too, as the majority of Talkeetna’s lodgings are open year-round. This includes campgrounds and RV Parks, B&Bs, lodges and cabin rentals, and contemporary motels and hotels. Downtown, local flavor is available at a number of atmospheric pubs and eateries, while a range of special events spice up particular times of year. Summer events include “Moose on Parade,” which kicks off in May and offers scavenger-hunt-style fun for the whole family. The event ends with the Moose Art parade on the Fourth of July each year. Additionally, every Friday evening throughout the summer, you can enjoy a free concert in the Talkeetna Village Park from 5 to 7 p.m. Live at Five! runs all summer long, from Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day Weekend. Don’t forget winter in Talkeetna either, if you’re looking for a fun getaway to break the cabin-fever blues. In December, the town hosts the Wilderness Woman and Bachelor Auction & Ball, which is a notoriously good time. The town’s largest celebration of the winter takes place throughout the month of December. Called Winterfest, the event features a motorized Parade of Lights, a lighted tree in the Village Park, a Taste of Talkeetna, and numerous special events hosted by local businesses and special events at the Talkeetna Public Library. In March, the Oosik Classic Ski Race is organized by the Denali Nordic Ski Club and offers a great chance for cross-country skiers to test their mettle. All in all, Talkeetna is a unique town, even amidst a unique state. No matter your reason for visiting Alaska, you’d be wise to pencil-in a few days here, where you’re sure to get a true taste of the Last Frontier.

Troy Letherman is editor of Fish Alaska and Hunt Alaska magazines.

84 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 85 Chugged through the inside of Knee-deep in dead water, I pulled a a seam, after the swing, can be couple yards of floating line from my reel, a productive way to get coho to preparing to make a cast across the river’s attack a surface popper. seam near where I stood. A few more pulls was all I needed, but before I got the line out, the water erupted. “Pike!” was the first thought that crossed my mind, as I heard more of the commotion than what I actually saw from the corner of my eye. The fish missed my popper, and as I quickly processed what happened, I realized I’d never caught a pike in this hole, let alone ever seen one there. Flipping my rod tip a couple times, I let the pink popper continue along its slow path in the seemingly still water. Five feet farther downstream, the surface erupted again. This time I was focused on the popper. A flash of silver, a dark head and gaping mouth left no doubt what lurked in the water mere feet from where I stood—coho salmon. Two more boils followed, and soon I was locked in battle with a plump silver salmon. The instant the line came tight, the feisty coho shot into the middle of the river, where I’d initially intended to cast. Landing that salmon, I dead-drifted the popper back through the same still water, along the inside of a seam. Again it was attacked, multiple times. This continued for hours, and by 11 a.m. I’d latched into more than 20 coho on the pink popper, all practically within spitting distance of where I stood.

Dead-Drifting Approach After a shore lunch, quick nap and some bird photography on the surrounding tundra, I was back at it, eager to continue my string of topwater coho encounters. It was now early afternoon, the sky was blue, the water clear as the air. My first drift passed through the same water I’d concentrated efforts on a few hours prior, without a bite. It didn’t take long to figure out the salmon had moved out of the spot to a more comfortable midday holding zone. “Hop in the boat, let’s motor up to the lake,” offered Bruce Hallingstad, owner of Becharof Lodge (www.becharof.com, 907-439-3482), whom I was fishing with this week in August on one of my favorite coho rivers in all of Alaska, the Egegik River. Soon the boat was anchored and we were hiking to a coho hole I love; the first hole that can be fished where the mammoth Becharof Lake empties into the Egegik River. The author with one of many coho I’d fished this spot before, with jigs, he caught from this hole one bait and lures, and I had done well. But morning on the Egegik River, where this was the first time I’d fished surface drifting poppers through slow-moving poppers there for coho. Over the course water paid-off. of the next couple hours, the action was

86 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 87 Catching a feisty coho on a nonstop, but the way I fished it—and topwater popper is something every other holes like it throughout the week— Alaska angler has to experience. was different than how I fished the waters early in the morning. Over the course of five days, the best morning fishing came in slack-water. The inside edge of seams; even slack-water that looked more like a slough pike would love, held coho early in the morning. If you think about it, this makes sense. Salmon do a large part of their traveling at night, and even with limited darkness this time of year, fish move and then congregate in less taxing waters during the early-morning hours. If the morning is cloudy, that’s even better for keeping coho stacked in slack-water settings longer. This is the ideal water to hit early in the morning, before the sun comes up and prior to fellow bank anglers—and boat traffic on larger rivers—forcing fish to move. This is also the perfect situation for dead-drifting a surface popper. Early in the morning, aggressive ripping and chugging can spook coho in calm waters, sending them deep rather than enticing them to the surface. In this case, less popper action can yield more strikes. My biggest mistakes made in this situation came when I tried wading too deep and casting too far beyond the

88 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 89 Surface poppers can be fished multiple ways when targeting coho. Here holding silvers, spooking them. Once an angler stands at the head of the Egegik River at Becharof Lake, stripping spooked, it’s hard getting salmon to and swinging a popper through fast water in the middle of the day. cooperate, especially in crystal-clear water. Think stealth, cover water close to shore, don’t get in a hurry and you’ll find success on silvers holding close to shore and in slack water early in the day.

Swinging & Stripping When Hallingstad and I moved to the upper hole on the Egegik River, I fished fast-moving main currents. Here there was enough chop on the surface to offer the coho the comfort they needed, keeping them holding along the main seam, even though it was moving fast, prior to migrating through the lake. Dead-drifting didn’t work in the middle of the day in these situations. However, stripping the popper did. The aggressive action caught the attention of coho holding in the current, and chugged hard enough, enticed them to strike. Having an eager coho turn on the popper in fast water means you better be ready and have a good drag, as it’s a far different take and battle than a slack water, boiling strike, where a fish is hooked then moves into faster water. Over the decades of fishing for coho throughout Alaska I’ve come to realize that during the middle of the day, generally speaking, they either hold in fast-moving currents in shallow streams or deep holes in big rivers. Obviously you’re not going to pull a coho from 15 feet of boiling water on the Kasilof with a popper, where you’d have better success back-bouncing cured eggs with a couple ounces of lead. However, in shallow, fast-flowing, choppy water in small- to midsized streams and braided rivers, poppers can produce strikes. When stripping a popper through fast water, properly positioning the setup is key. Cast too far downstream and you miss the prime water; cast too high above the sweet spot and you cross it too soon. Once you’ve identified where coho will likely hold, pay attention to water flow and surface action and observe how they will impact your line and popper as they move downstream. Be ready to make adjustments accordingly, like quickly feeding out some line, mending it, or stripping line in order to get the presentation into position for quicker strips that will produce attention- getting chugs. Over the years, underwater camera work has revealed to me that coho don’t always hold tight to the bottom, even when in fast-moving water. For this reason I like stripping and chugging poppers through the uppermost end of the fast-

90 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 91 moving water first, then working my way downstream with each consecutive cast. It never ceases to amaze me how far a coho will travel to attack a presentation, and the best opportunity for this to happen comes when the popper is put in front of and above the salmon’s field of view. When aggressively stripping poppers through fast water, the outside edge of the main current is the target zone. This is where the most aggressive coho will travel to and strike first. If the strike doesn’t come there, the moment the popper enters the main current, hold the line, bring the rod tip to the inside and swing the popper to the inside edge of the main current. As the popper hits the main current, holding the line will create a constant wake that often entices coho to attack. If a hit doesn’t come on the swing through the main current or the inside edge, keep the line moving toward the inside. As the popper loses momentum due to decreased current flow, start stripping. Even if the coho aren’t holding on the inside seam, the popping action will often draw them out from the main current. It’s not uncommon to have a coho follow the popper for several yards, attacking it at your feet just as you go to pull it out of the water. In long sections of fast-flowing riffles, start at the top and work your way to the bottom end. This distance may be 10 yards or it may be 100 yards, depending on the gradient of the river, bottom structure and water level, which dictate where coho will hold. If you hit coho in certain spots in fast- moving riffles and then the bite turns off, go back through the same water with a subsurface presentation. A Wog or flashy leech can be the ticket to turning the bite back on. Often the fish are there, you just have to find what appeals to them at different times in the day, when fishing pressure and direct light can factor in to their response rates. As we enter into prime coho season, don’t overlook the power of the popper. Knowing where coho hold and travel in different bodies of water, throughout the course of the day, you’ll be amazed at how active the popper action can be. With a variety of poppers in-hand you’re set to experience some of the most exciting salmon fishing Alaska has to offer. Once you get a taste of what it’s like, you’ll be hooked on hitting the surface for hard-fighting coho for years to come.

Signed copies of Scott Haugen’s popular book, A Flyfisher’s Guide to Alaska, can be ordered from www.scotthaugen.com.

92 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 93 and onions), bouquet of herbs, bay leaf, salt and peppercorns. Slowly reduce the water at a simmer to a third of what you started with. You can use your favorite crab stock base from the store as well. Here you would start by gathering all the scrap from your fishing season and have them cut into 2-ounce portions and pre-bag up and store in freezer-safe bags for when you’d like to make this recipe in the future. Pull out 10 ounces of each fish to thaw or portion into the small pieces that day from your purchase. In a large stock pot on medium heat, add olive oil. When glistening, add your onion, celery and carrot. Stir and cook about halfway and then add the pepper and garlic slices. Stir and cook for three more minutes; then deglaze the pan with 1/2 cup wine. Here we can now add the crab stock, marinara and bay leaf. Bring this all to a simmer and occasionally stir. Add parsley at the end. You can now place this in a large pan to cool for later use or use immediately. In another large pot, add oil. When Bridge Seafood Cioppino by Chef Brie Lauren, Bridge Seafood glistening, add the pieces of fish including Cioppino is a hearty seafood stew Seafood mussels and crab pieces. Season with salt with roots in the Italian culture of San 10 oz salmon and pepper and allow the fish to cook on Francisco. In our version, this is married 10 oz halibut both sides. When fish is 50% cooked, to the bounty of delicious Alaska seafood 10 oz rockfish deglaze pan with half a cup of white wine for a truly delectable dish. 10 each mussels and add chard. Pour-in the cioppino base ½-lb crab (knuckles or small pieces) and bring to a simmer. Cioppino Broth Serve in large bowls over the hot roasted 1 oz olive oil Suggested Garnish potatoes and garnishes of your choice. Rustic ½ cup of half-inch diced onion 2 pounds roasted potato wedges bread slices or bruschetta is wonderful! ½ cup of half-inch diced green pepper Rustic bread slices or bruschetta (three ½ cup of half-inch sliced celery per person) ½ cup of half-inch sliced carrots Fennel fronds 1 tbsp of rough chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley Method 1 tbsp thin-sliced garlic Start by deciding if you prefer using your 4 cups of marinara sauce own homemade marinara or your favorite Bridge Seafood 1 qt crab stock store-bought marinara. Crab stock can also 221 W. Ship Creek Avenue 1 bay leaf be made by reserving your shells from an Anchorage, AK 99501 1 cup white wine earlier purchase and rolling a stock that day. www.BridgeSeafood.com 1 bunch red Swiss Chard, destemmed This is done by simply adding the shells to a Reservations 907-644-8300 and roughly chopped stock pot of water, mirepoix (carrots, celery Open Seasonally through August 31

Alaska Seafood: Wild, Natural, Sustainable. It’s the consumer’s preference

9494 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 95 Naknek Trading Company ...... 20 Alaska State Troopers ...... 55 I can wear?” Someone buckled one on me and Kodiak Alaska Wild Gear ...... 16, 90 brought a chair. I gladly sat, bracing my feet. Andrew Airways ...... 17 Alaskan Brewing Company ...... 5, 83 “It’s a good-sized king! Keep working it,” Anchorage Budget Car Rental of Kodiak ...... 17 Dewey’s Cook Inlet ...... 29, 35 Dan encouraged me. Adventures In Eye Care ...... 15 Discover Kodiak ...... 17 Fred Meyer ...... 8, 65, 82, 83, 94 I had no intention of quitting. “He’s trying Alaska Air Charter & Transport . . . . . 23 Fish Kodiak Adventures ...... 17 LifeMed Alaska ...... 71 to lose the hook.” I felt the prize pull to one Alaska Hearing & Tinnitus Center . . . . 15 Kodiak Area Native Association . . . . . 13 PenAir ...... 49 side, embarking on the first of two trips around Alaska Performance RV & Marine . . . . 23 Kodiak Combos ...... 23 Petro Marine ...... 31 Alaska Raft & Kayak ...... 31 Mill Bay Health Center ...... 51 Pristine Ventures ...... 63 the boat. B&J Sporting Goods ...... 76, 98 Ramblin’ on the Rock ...... 17 ...... 22 “That’s a trophy fish for sure,” hollered Bridge Seafood ...... 37 Vertigo Air ...... 17 Remote Properties ...... 11 Carl. Forgetting his job, he was caught up in Club Paris ...... 36 Ninilchik Sportsman’s Alliance for Alaska ...... 57 the excitement. Dewey’s Cook Inlet ...... 29, 35 Tilgner’s ...... 6 Sportsman’s Warehouse ...... 99 The king was tiring and I took advantage of FisheWear ...... 84 Nushagak Three Bears Alaska ...... 82 it. My arms wanted to fall off, but I reeled for all Gwennie’s Old Alaska Restaurant . . . . .36 Bristol Bay Adventures ...... 93 National I was worth. A few minutes later we got our first Home Instead Senior Care ...... 14 Nushagak River Adventures ...... 92 Acme Tackle ...... 34 view of the biggest king salmon I’d ever seen. Kincaid Grill ...... 37, 94 Palmer ACR Electronics ...... 9 Mexico in Alaska ...... 36 Bleeding Heart Brewery ...... 83 Alaska Outdoors TV ...... 64 “That’s 70…maybe 75 pounds!” Carl Mossy’s Fly Shop ...... 24, 34 Noisy Goose Café ...... 37 Ande Monofilament ...... 48 screamed in my ear. “What a beauty!” He was Oomingmak ...... 81 Prince of Wales Island Angler West TV ...... 50 already celebrating. PenAir ...... 49 Alaska’s Fish Tales Lodge ...... 54 Bissell Insurance Agency ...... 31 “Where’s your net?” Dan shouted. Ravn Alaska ...... 22 Log Cabin Sporting Goods ...... 43, 54 Blue Fox ...... 12 “Oh, yeah!” Carl disappeared into the bow. Rural Energy Enterprises ...... 56 McFarland’s Floatel ...... 54 Caddis Waders ...... 7 The fish rested alongside the boat, as The Bait Shack ...... 23 Quinhagak Clackacraft Drift Boats ...... 25 exhausted as I was. Carl ordered the others to The Lakefront Anchorage ...... 13 Reel Action Alaska Lodge ...... 92 Coleman ...... 87 stand back and he scooped the salmon, tail-first True Life Chiropractic ...... 15 Seldovia Counter Assault ...... 59 Turnagain Dental ...... 14 Between Beaches Alaska ...... 10 Eagle Claw ...... 62 into the net. The fish effortlessly flipped out. Wild West Guns ...... 98 Seward Eppinger Manufacturing Company . . . .81 The net was too small, by half. Cooper Landing Aurora Charters ...... 91 Gamakatsu ...... 53 “Where’s your big net?” Kenai Riverside Fishing ...... 21 Sailing Inc...... 91 Garmin International ...... 89 “I don’t know. I can’t find it.” Cordova Sitka Hi-Point Firearms ...... 46 “Where’s your gaff?” Alaskan Wilderness Outfitting Company . .25 Alaska Premier Charters ...... 32 Hot Hands ...... 83 Was this a Three Stooges movie? Nothing and Dillingham Bayview Restaurant & Pub ...... 37 Hyde Drift Boats ...... 28 no one seemed ready to land this gorgeous fish. Bay Air ...... 93 Davis Realty ...... 68 Izorline ...... 42 Subsequent swipes with the 40-inch net proved Nushagak River Adventures ...... 92 Fish Baranof ...... 95 Lamiglas ...... 79 Eagle River Soldotna Leelock Anchor Systems ...... 30 fruitless. Finally, the king snapped the leader Eagle River Polaris and Arctic Cat . . . . 85 Alaska Drift Away Fishing ...... 97 Mack’s Lure ...... 65 and swam slowly, deliberately away. And the Fairbanks Corsetti’s Guide Service ...... 97 Mantus Anchors ...... 29 heavy-duty reel fell off my rod! Pristine Ventures ...... 63 Katie Uei, eXp Realty ...... 97 Mepps ...... 19 Stunned, I watched in silence as the largest Girdwood Golden International ...... 36 Mr. Heater ...... 65 salmon I’d ever encountered disappeared. Chair 5 Restaurant ...... 36 Kenai River Charters ...... 51 North River ...... 72 Words couldn’t express my feelings. But Carl Haines Kenai Riverside Fishing ...... 21 Onyx ...... 47 more than made up for it, shouting curses and Alaska Sport Shop ...... 60 Senor Pancho’s ...... 37 Outfitter Satellite ...... 69 stomping his feet, throwing a tantrum. He Outfitter Sporting Goods ...... 19 Soldotna Hardware & Fishing . . .2, 16, 100 Pacific Eyewear ...... 51 Homer Sweeney’s Clothing ...... 78 P-Line ...... 33 knew whose fault this was. The air turned blue All Seasons Honda ...... 27 Sterling Phantom ...... 72 and Ricardo turned off his camcorder. Bob’s Trophy Charters ...... 10 Alaska Canoe ...... 97 Plano ...... 82 At the lodge our mega-fish was the main Brooks Alaskan Adventures ...... 10 Talkeetna Pro-Cure Bait Scents ...... 41 topic. The scene replayed relentlessly in my Homer Boat Yard ...... 27 Alaska Off-Road ATV Adventures . . . . 77 Promar ...... 69 sleep that night, as I tried to alter the outcome. Homer Marine Trades Association . . . . 27 Dave Fish Alaska ...... 77 SeaArk Boats ...... 26 I named the fish King George and challenged Kachemak Gear Shed ...... 27 Talkeetna Air Taxi ...... 77 Sea Eagle ...... 76 others to go out and get him. Malone Insurance Agency ...... 27 Talkeetna Love-Lee Cabins ...... 77 Seaguar ...... 35 When I introduced myself to our next day’s Nomar ...... 27 Togiak Security Equipment Corporation . . . . .80 North Country Charters ...... 10 Togiak River Lodge ...... 93 Silver Horde ...... 60 boatman, he responded, “Hi, Carolyn. I have Ulmer’s Drug & Hardware ...... 27 Valdez Skinner Sights ...... 60 two nets!” My reputation preceded me. Iliamna Alaskan Adventures Unlimited ...... 72 Smokehouse Products ...... 94 Before departing for home, JR said, “I can’t Alaska Sportsman’s Lodge ...... 73 Eagle’s Rest RV Park ...... 4 Sportsman’s Alliance for Alaska ...... 57 believe how nice you were about that fish.” Angry Eagle Lodge ...... 92 Fish Central ...... 4, 84 The Print Shop . . . . 21 Well, it’s easy to say fishing in Alaska is about Talarik Creek Lodge ...... 92 FNM Alaska ...... 72 Thomas Spinning Lures ...... 71 the singularly magnificent experience when Indian The Fat Mermaid ...... 4, 36 Ugly Stik ...... 70 having just had a run of typical success, but if Indian Valley Meats ...... 81 Valdez Convention & Visitors Bureau . . .78 Wicked Lures ...... 98 it’s about the whole experience then, it also has Juneau Valdez Fish Derbies ...... 4 Wilderness Pack Specialties ...... 91 Alaskan Brewing Company ...... 5, 83 Wasilla Wild West Guns ...... 98 to be on those rare occasions when things don’t Breanna Hills, Exit Realty ...... 98 3 Rivers Fly & Tackle ...... 79 International go your way. I didn’t explain all that, however. Juneau Convention & Visitors Bureau . . .95 Alaska Frontier Fabrication ...... 72 Bradley Smoker ...... 61 “Well,” I said instead, “it just wasn’t supposed Western Auto Marine ...... 95 Elise Buchholz, Jack White Real Estate . . .81 Hot Spot ...... 33 to be.” Katmai Extreme Fun Center ...... 18 Jurassic Lake Lodge ...... 77 Naknek River Camp ...... 49 The Grape Tap ...... 36 Carolyn Schmidt Straub was just 10 years-old when Kenai Whittier her dad introduced her to fishing in Minnesota’s Kenai Golf Course ...... 97 Whittier Marine Charters ...... 32 lakes. She and her husband, Dan, have fished Alaska King Salmon/Naknek Statewide Bear Trail Lodge ...... 88 Alaska Division of Forestry ...... 6 waters countless times and enjoy hosting dinners Branch River Air Service ...... 93 Alaska Marine Highway System . . . . . 42 featuring favorite fish recipes. They live in Hemet, Frigate Adventure Travel ...... 93 Alaska Paracord Designs ...... 43 CA, and are parents of three and grandparents Naknek River Camp ...... 49 Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute . . . .94 of seven.

96 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 97 It Wasn’t Supposed To Be This Way Story by Carolyn Straub Below our small plane, snow blanketed Kodiak Island. We’d fished these waters in rain, but never snow. “Do the kings know it’s time to run?” I shouted over engine noise. My husband Dan’s shoulders shrugged. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Elly, a tourist, stood ready to board as we disembarked. Two 50-pound boxes of frozen fish alongside her encouraged us. “Don’t make the mistake I did,” she said. “I caught a 55-pounder and hadn’t signed up for the Kodiak King Derby. Could have been worth a lot of money.” Annual derby banners were everywhere. Minimum prize: $5,000 each, for the biggest king salmon and halibut caught. “It’ll surely pay more—we’ve had so many sign-ups,” said the Visitor Center’s docent. Remembering Elly’s advice, our group of 20 bought in. Early the next morning, wearing long underwear beneath layers, we boarded assigned boats. Dan and I paired with two fishermen, JR and Barry, a new friend. Our captain- guide, Carl, introduced us to his Seattle buddy, Ricardo, who wore a camcorder on one hand. This was Ricardo’s introduction to Alaska. Carl was not a regular captain for our lodge but had been hired because the lodge was short a boat for the size of our group. He began by bragging how they, just the day before, had put his boat in the water for the first time this season. Our lodge was barely out of sight when both outboard motors quit. For three hours we drifted, trying to keep warm while fellow fisherman, Barry—a boat owner himself, struggled to get things running. He discovered the gasoline Carl had left in 55-gallon drums over the winter included water and sludge. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. We held our breath as Barry hung headfirst, painstakingly draining gas into a plastic container. Repairs complete, this new fishing friend became our hero. The motor started and we cruised to a nearby inlet to—yes—fish! Carl attached lures and dropped four lines into the water. In gratitude, I suggested Barry take the first strike; he’d hear nothing of it. Rods were assigned to each of us. After half an hour, we stepped inside to warm-up. Bam! “Your line, Carolyn,” JR yelled. I lunged to the corner, grabbing the rod from its holder while the guys quickly reeled in other lines. “He’s running.” Line whirled off my reel. Once it stopped, I reset and began the exhilarating task of pulling the rod up and back, then reeling down. It must be a king, I thought, much bigger than any salmon I’ve ever landed. Two more times the fish ran for his life. Why am I wearing all these layers? I struggled to anchor the rod. “Is there a belt 98 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017 July 2017 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 99 100 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com July 2017