It’s Halloween morning and as the sun rises I rise out of bed in anticipation of rainbow trout fly fishing at one of my favorite Alaskan lakes. I pack my gear and set out on one of my longer fly fishing drives. About an hour and a half drive, which is a long drive around here. About an into the the drive i turn onto a old logging road that twists and turns through the long unused logging fields. I eventually make my way to a forest. Still untouched and full of splender and find my favorite trail. It’s a heck of a way to start the morning because half way up the trail there is a huge hill you must climb with all your gear including float tube and accessories attached to your back. However, it’s always worth it. I finally get to the lake which is usually always calm because of the fortress of surrounding hills and spruce trees. Rainbow trout thrive here even though the lake is seemingly empty of stucture. The botoom is flat with mud and gravel patches and the water is crystal clear, so clear that the bottom is visible 15 feet down. I suspect the fish here thrive because this lake is loaded with leeches. I pump up my float tube and put on the fly of choice. No small tiny fancy nymphs here just a humoungous olive leech pattern comprised of 3 number 4 salmon hooks and large barbell eyes. It truly puts my 5 weight to the test. The strategy is simple. Cast as possible, let the fly sink to the bottom and strip. As i reach the back of the lake i make a cast to a good drop off and on the third or fourth strip, WHAM! The fish hits the fly as hard as any silver salmon and I see the chrome fiqure launch out of the water and immediately peel line and put my 5 wieght through it’s paces. After stripping 40 yards of line the fish jumps as i slowly reel him in. It’s a nice 24 inch male around 4 pounds, not as big as the Naknek Rainbow Trout I catch, but just as precious. The very next cast the rod is almost ripped from my hand and this time ia 19 inch hen falls victime to my 6 inch monster fly. This spot goes cold so head to another which yealds 2 fish, 16 and 17 inches. These fish fought alot harder than their length might suggest. My third spot rewarded me with two 22 inch rainbows and a 23 inch rainbow. At this point, I am thrilled with my success during the 3 hours i have been fly fishing. I wish I could stay longer but i knew i had to be back home soon. So, I reluctantly headed back to shore still trembling from the adrenaline pumping fly fishing. As i was driving home i felt so lucky to be able to fish on such a beautiful lake with not another person around.
awesome read kodiak – i loved “No small tiny fancy nymphs here just a humoungous olive leech pattern..” – alot of guys say – small flies catch big fish – but the opposite is certainly true as well and Big fish certainly love big flies too.
sounds like a real peaceful day and the more i read your fishtales – the more i realize why alaska is such a precious resource and why it must be amazing to live there. all of us in the lower 48 – we are bound to plan a “once of a lifetime trip” there or maybe even go a few times throughout our lifetimes – but to live there and be able scoot out to a secret spot for a few hours on any given day is the truest form of the Alaskan experience. Now wonder why you ended your article with
“As i was driving home i felt so lucky to be able to fish on such a beautiful lake with not another person around.”
– and – that is the coolest part – some guys would take it for granted and aim to show off the fact that they live in Alaska and catch native fish on a regular basis that dwarf most of the realistic possibilities in the lower 48 states – you, however, don’t give off that kind of impression – it’s obvious that you recognize how lucky you are and more obvious that you make the most out of everything available to you – in a very humble way. that’s very cool – thanks for sharing your impressive and entertaining experiences.
Great story, Kodiak. As Jeremy commented, Alaska to me is a “once in a lifetime dream trip” so it’s nice to read cool fish stories about the area. Plus, I love the idea of gripping it and ripping it for big trout.