When i Think of Sockeye aka red salmon i can think of two things, each very different, I can think of the dirty words, puzzled faces and frustrated feelings or i can think of the heart pounding fights and the feeling of being at the top of the fly fishing mountain. For all the species of fish i have targeted there is no doubt in my mind that red salmon are the most difficult to catch. Most all spin and fly fisherman take the easy and less ethical route and purposely snag these hard to catch fish but myself and a
few others gladly accept the challenge and fish the right way with acceptable results. Some trips end with frustration others like the one below end with pure satisfaction. It’s June 4 and i am at home at 8 in the evening and i have to pick my dad up at 10. I suddenly get that fishin craving and load up my gear so i can go fishing for reds before the plane arrives. I don’t think about it much but it’s nice to live in a place where you can fish from 4 in the morning to 12 and night. I arrive at the outlet of buskin lake and intend to fish buskin river. There are fish moving up fast consistantly up to the lake only to be blocked by the weir where you can’t fish. I put on a hand tied glo bug, my go to red salmon fly. As i wade across the river i can see the numerous schools of 4 to 8 pound chrome salmon making there way up the river. I fish for the next hour only to be frustrated by the 200 or so fish that passed by me without even one take. And then that frustration ends when i see my strike indicator go under. I set the hook hard and fast and a big male red clears the water several times and my hearts seems to pound lethally fast. The fish makes a blistering run 100 Plus yards downstream and i run after it as fast as i can without slipping or looking like a crazed idiot. I finally get close to the fish 15 minutes later and pull it to shore and quickly bleed it. Red salmon are widelely considered the best eating salmon and this one was destined for the frying pan. As i look back i think this is why i don’t snag these fish and put up with all the fishless trips, because when it all comes together i complete something only a few skilled fly fisherman accomplish, getting a chrome red salmon to inhale a fly!