I simply spent the final week in Alaska, fly fishing my means from the Kenai Peninsula as much as the inside. That’s a dream journey for lots of anglers, and that was definitely the case for my finest pal, Lander Criminal, and I. The journey got here collectively last-minute, however we had lodging lined up, and will’ve been on the Kenai on the tail finish of the sockeye run. In concept, we’d nonetheless be capable of catch a restrict of salmon day-after-day, then spend the remainder of our time in search of rainbow trout and dolly varden.
Few plans survive first contact with the enemy, nevertheless, and after we arrived in Soldotna on a Sunday night time, we confirmed as much as an almost-empty river. Few anglers lined the banks, the parking tons had been largely empty, and the river felt devoid of life. I hooked—and misplaced—two sockeye that night time, which didn’t instill a lot confidence.
A fast take a look at the fish rely totals on the Alaska Fish & Recreation web site confirmed we had been fishing to solely 30,000 recent fish per day, a far cry from the 80,000+ fish per day the week earlier than.
So, as Alaska usually forces you to do, we referred to as an audible, headed upriver sooner than anticipated, and fished the Russian River sanctuary for the primary time.
I’ve fished the Kenai earlier than, however by no means on the Sanctuary, and it’s up right here that the well-known shoulder-t0-shoulder fight fishing is on full show. It’s the Wild West of fishing, with folks standing on the financial institution able to take your spot for those who a lot as look wherever aside from the river. I hate fishing round lots of people, and underneath regular circumstances, I might’ve balked at standing subsequent to so many individuals I don’t know.
However that’s sockeye fishing for you, and I used to be pleasantly stunned at how good everybody was. Even once I had just a few fish kick my butt and run downstream on me, different anglers cheered, provided high-fives, and instructed me to “stop letting that fish kick your ass.”
It was one of the crucial distinctive fishing experiences I’ve ever had. It was additionally the perfect fishing I’d have on the whole journey.
On our second day on the Kenai, it began to rain. It didn’t cease for 5 days, and it rained a lot that most of the rivers we fished for rainbows, dolly varden, and grayling, had been overflowing their banks. We drove north, deep into the inside, hoping to flee the rain. However it simply saved coming, and whereas we eked out just a few fish day-after-day, it was removed from the quick and livid fishing so many anglers think about once they consider Alaska.
Just a few of our tried-and-true grayling streams had been practically inconceivable to fish because of the rain, and the one river that was working clear was extra crowded than the Kenai.
It’s exhausting to say that all of it went flawed on this journey (it didn’t) however this journey definitely wasn’t what Lander nor I anticipated. Don’t get me flawed, I’m blissful I went. However I needed to roll with extra punches on this journey than in all my different Alaskan adventures mixed.
It might’ve been worse, although. I might’ve not gone in any respect.
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