Alaska-Bed, Bath and Beyond
By: Stan Wright
It was raining. How can we fly out to a remote lake in weather like this?
But float planes loaded with tourist from the cruise ships were taking off
every minute. Those on a flight/seeing trip to Misty Fjords today would
defiantly see lots of mist.
You haven't experienced Alaska unless you include a float plane trip to some
remote fishing spot. Our guide, Dan, was waiting at the lake with a boat to
take us up the river in search of Cutthroat Trout. The Hook Up fly shop who
arranged our trip described this place as "nonstop cutthroat action". That
turned out to be an understatement.
Due to all the rain the water was a little high and a dark stained color.
With out the sun it was hard to see the fish. So we just blind cast into
likely spots and watched as our fly vanished with a splash. A sharp tug on
the line was instantly followed by a wild jumping trout. Frisky doesn't
really describe these wild beautiful fish. The action was so good we tried
different flies, just to see what all they would hit.
In one spot where a large still pool empties into a stretch of rapids, my
brother Lynn made 7 casts with a Madam-X and landed 7 fish. The fishing was
that good.
This was the first trout fishing trip for my son Chris. He took right to it,
listening to Dan's advice and coaching, Chris was catching way more fish
than the rest of us put together.
Trout in this area feed on small mice and shrews. The "mouse fly" looks real
enough to frighten an elephant. You just cast it up and across the current
and kind of skitter it slowly along as it drifts down stream. Talk about
wild surface strikes. You'd think the mouse would only attract larger fish,
but one little trout wasn't much longer than the tail of the mouse. It made
me laugh out loud (LOL)!
Finally I had to take a break. As my brother and I sat on a rock eating our
sandwiches in the driving rain, Chris came splashing up with a big grin on
his face and said, " Woooo Daddy, ain't we having fun."
It all started two years ago when my wife booked us on an Alaska cruise. My
only window for fishing was a few hours in Ketchikan. Seth over at the Hook
Up fly shop got me into two hours of wild salmon action where a creek
emptied into the bay. As the tide came in, so did the salmon. Seth retired
from the Coast Guard and stayed in Alaska because of the variety of fishing
opportunities. He told me about trout fishing in remote lakes and streams
accessible only by float plane. Then there were the creeks and lakes filled
with fresh-run salmon that you could just drive your car up to. Don�t
forget the halibut and salmon fishing charters available. I vowed that day
to return for a week of fishing at some later date.
We booked a suite at the Anchor Inn, a B&B just south of town. Each day we
planned a different adventure.
There are several lakes and creeks within easy driving distance of
Ketchikan. On one we found the Chum salmon in full spawn. The shallow water
was alive with 8-12lb salmon. All the eggs rolling along in the cold clear
water caused a feeding frenzy for the rainbow and Dolly Varden trout. Using
a light 5-weight rod with a pink or orange egg pattern fly, we hooked a
frisky trout on almost every cast. The trout ranged in size from 6 to 15
inches. That may not sound big, but their hard strikes, wild jumping runs
and sheer beauty more than made up for their size.
Yea, I'd go fishing there again, in a heart beat.
The Hook Up Fly Shop
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