Back to Alaska..the report.

[Steve-O]

The other night I typed up this report, dropped in the photos and just as I was going to preview the post....I closed the window.    Aaaaagh!   WHAT did I just do?  

It was late, I stared at the screen, opened a new tab, checked the history and felt stupid....for a while anyway and went back to reading a really good book entitled Power Down by Ben Coes...a real page turner.

So here's round two.

The trip was set for the last week of September when we attempt to time the late Silver Salmon return of Prince of Wales Island in SE AK. This was to be my 12th consecutive trip and our timing was spot on. The rain on the island (12 feet a year) gets going in the fall and signals the fish...it's time to come home. Our primary fishing river - the Klawock (clo-wock) is a hatchery assisted system that has restored the Sockeye run and recently allowed a natural King Salmon return to occur. The island has very few rivers of the nature Kings need but a few have started using this system. Mainly, the hatchery plants several million wild stock origin Coho (silvers) smolt to both boost the natural wild run salmon and provide natives. locals, and sports anglers plenty of catching opportunities. What gets through the bears, anglers and commercial guys is sold to fish markets down south to offset the cost of operations.

So on to the fishing and a very brief report on one of the reels I took for this trip - the Okuma Citrix baitcaster.

Our routine is the same every year. Get there on Sunday, get settled at the lodge, gear up, eat, go to bed. Get up at dark thirty the next day, suit up in Gore Tex and roll. The aim is to beat the other anglers on the island to the best, few holes on the river every morning. Not quite combat fishing like the Russian or Kenai experience but riparian terrain of a temperate rain forest limits the angling opportunities greatly.

This river is only one mile long from bay to lake with a few deep holes, a narrow neck, some rapids areas and a couple of wide fast flats. Silvers like calm waters to rest in out of the current. They'll stack up under the shadow of a large fir, in a bend, a back eddy or right in front of or behind a log or fallen tree. This is where we target them as do the native Black bear population and all other anglers. So you can imagine the competition for these few spots is evident. We ALWAYS share with the bears and keep a vigilant eye out for them. Getting up at 2,3, or 4 in the morning to hike into the woods down a bear trail with headlamps takes care of the two legged competition. I think we're the only ones crazy enough to go and sit on the bank two hours before daylight just to get a spot. We ALWAYS tell the other guys 'we just got here' and 'barely beat you here!'. wink, wink, nudge, nudge he said knowingly

The typical gear is a medium heavy action, 8 to 9 foot spinning rod (we use GL2's and 3's by GLoomis) coupled with a decent spinning reel. Mepps spinners, Blue Fox vibrax and spoons are the most popular hardware thrown and jigs of various colors round out the tackle. We use the basic Alaska color patterns of pink, purple, chartreuse, black, silver, brass and copper and usually pinpoint the 'go to' color quickly. Sometimes black is the bomb, sometimes pink and  a small copper spinner can always be counted on to score. This year the one was quickly nicknamed "The Magic Jig".  White head, red  eye, black pupil, blue green flashabou, and what looks like Barbie hair, weighing 3/8ths. We were given one by a departing angler. I had enough stuff with me to tie up 6 or 8 and somewhat faked the recipe well enough to fool the fish. The last day 'anything green' did the trick.

Here's the pics.

The river and the best fish holding pool on it.



The fish!





The Okuma Citrix reel on a Mag Touch carbon fibre rod-  a sweetly balanced, lightweight and strong combo!





The magic jig replica.


Fresh meat!


Sushi Grade Salmon!


Fillet and release!



Some reel shots. The drag was just barely under powered on some the the stronger fish. Otherwise it ran like a champ.

[ossipeter]

What a nice story and fotos. Please more!

[redsetta]

Great stuff Steve-O - always look forward to your reports.
Those are some hefty looking silvers (ie second from left) - stoked!
Some magazine-quality shots in there, too, particularly the fish/reel close-up.
Cheers for sharing, Justin
PS It can pay to write the story in Notepad or Word and then paste it into the site, especially on the longer ones...

[Steve-O]

OK...since you asked.    Here's my nephew Aaron's hand holding a Pixee.

Notice it's also holding him.   OUCH! After saying  of all things ' Sweet Mamasita!", he said ' I don't even want to look at it!"

He had just caught a jack (junior salmon) and got it off the hook while holding the line above the lure in his hand.  Splash goes the fish and he releases the line.


Well......the rod tip was bent over double while he was holding the line and upon release the lure launched vertically like a rocket. Zzzzzing! only travelled about 6 inches though straight into the palm of his hand. I unhooked the swivel, took the rod and his dad took him to the clinic. Having been hooked before I knew the worst was yet to come. The hook only zings you for a few quick seconds then just small pain. The numbing shot is like "YYYYEEEEEOOOOOOWWWW!" @#%@^@!!!! that HURT! and later he confirmed that to us. lol! Keep it dry and keep on fishing. That's the ticket. He is 19, first trip, not much of an angler and on the last day had his groove going and slayed the salmon like a pro. On Pixees, too!

Steve-0

PS- Justin, thanks, mate. yeah I knew better writing  and winging it. Did it like you said this time. 

[alantani]

itai yo!!!!!!! that had to hurt!   

[Dominick]

I want to be Steve-O when I grow up.  Dominick

[wallacewt]

what a cunning little b_ _ oh you know what i mean

[redsetta]

x2 on that one Dominick! 

[Alto Mare]

Nice report Steve, you always manage to bring it up a notch. Justin is right, you got some magazine-quality shots there...don't get a big head.... we're talking about the fish and the gear . How's your nephew doing? my older sister got a fly cought in her leg when she was about his age, the doctor gave her a nickname as trout, she is now 60 and we still call her trout. So there you go, Aaron's nickname could be silver Thanks for sharing Steve...it's always enjoyable.

[Steve-O]

Thanks guys. No big head here...although one of my Gator Gar pix just won me a contest at a retail store's braggin' board. I had no idea it was even a contest...I thought it was just a show and tell page. They had me write a story to go with it for their newsletter next month. I'll post it when it comes out.

My camera is just a little point and shoot Olympus Tough. Shock and waterproof so I use it hard.

Aaron's hand is fine and was no more than a couple of hook sized holes by the end of the week. I got stabbed in the pinky by his Dad the day before when we opened a box of vacuum seal bags that was way worse than his hook puncture. It bled two days.  A pointy filet blade tip slipped while my hand was near the box and went halfway through my pinky from the side. Still healing. You can see the tape on it in the above pic where I'm biting the fish.

and bleeding again in this pic. Every time I bumped it hard, it opened up. Oh well.


I WISH I knew what I want to be when I grow up.  So far.... still a goofy kid who loves to fish.

Steve-O