After our first day on the Alagnak River we thought there was no way to top a day of catching 140 salmon and seeing some unbelievable wildlife in a beautiful place. We were wrong. We were awoken with coffee in our tent and headed over to a breakfast that you would expect from Embassy Suites. We discussed the day's plans with the guides and were anxiously awaiting the float plane to arrive and take us to our day of fishing. The guides said we were in for a treat: a day of fishing on a remote mountain stream full of spawning kings, with dolly varden, grayling, and rainbows feeding on the kings' eggs. The plane arrived and we quickly loaded the gear for the day and were on our way. The flight was amazing as I was sitting in the front passenger seat and I had an amazing view of the tundra and the mountains. I also got a close-up look at how the float plane worked. The flight alone would have made the day amazing, but that was just the beginning! We set down on a small lake and started our mile trek to the creek. Walking on tundra is a very unique experience.
It feels like you are walking on a giant sponge because each step you sink down a few inches. We arrived at the edge of the creek and it was such an amazing feeling to be able to take our time getting ready to fish, since there were no other humans within fifty miles. The stream was a small and intimate and was very similar to our home stream, except there were no people and more bears and fish than I can put into words.
We rigged up our six weight fly rods and began to fish. Within two minutes, both of us had landed our first dolly varden. These fish were so beautiful. Each one looked like it was hand painted. We worked our way down stream a bit and continued to catch these beautiful fish. Mixed in with the dollys were beautiful grayling and both of us caught some of these stunning fish up to 19 inches.
As we rounded a corner, we were blessed with a sight we
had only hoped to see, a mother brown bear with three cubs fishing the water about 50 yards from "our spot". This was truly an amazing sight. Now
I
had a problem...
watch these amazing animals or fish in one of the most beautiful, fish filled streams on earth. Luckily, the bears moved on and made my decision easier. Back to the fish. A few more grayling and dollys. Then I hooked into something different. The fish hit hard and took off down stream. I thought it was a spawning chum or king, but it felt different. I chased the fish and had to climb through a tree to untangle my line. Should I break off the big fish? I decided not yet and continued to fight the fish. Just then, a giant rainbow jumped clear out of the water attached to my line! Now, I am really nervous. The fight goes on and I guide the fish into some slower water where I was able to land it. It was a GORGEOUS 27 inch leopard rainbow. This wild fish had probably never seen another hook. The fish had a green back with a vivid red stripe and spots everywhere, including it's eyelids. After we took some pictures, and my hand stopped shaking, we returned to fishing.
As we continued to fish our way upstream, we caught tons of dolly varden, grayling, and rainbows. Carolynne hooked and landed our biggest dolly of the trip, a clean fish in full spawning colors. The wind picked up a little bit and muddied the water. This was caused because the shallow lake that this stream runs out of was churned up from the wind, causing waves. Once this happened, the fishing slowed a little bit. Sounds like a good time for lunch! We found a spot on a gravel bar that had enough room for us to see bears coming and prevent them from sneaking up on us. We ate our lunch on this sunny, 80 degree Alaskan summer day thinking that we must be in heaven. The fishing after lunch was a repeat of the morning with even more rainbows, grayling, and dollys. The highlight of the afternoon's fishing was when I spotted another giant rainbow and decided I was going to catch it. I lost count of how many times I must have drifted to the fish, but after numerous fly changes, it finally hit a flesh fly and the battle was on. This fish
was more silver than the first, but gave an exhilarating fight. Before we knew it, it was time for the hike out. Let me take a minute to explain this hike... we had to hike to a further lake because the first lake was too small for us to take off from. This one-hour hike turned into one of our buggest adventures. As we walked along the trail (bear trail), we startled the mom and three cubs from earlier as we walked through alders. The mother bear popped up only 30 feet from where we were standing, and made it clear that we should move. Caleb, our guide, took us off the trail and into even thicker alders that were now above my head.
We trudged through this, falling every few steps for what seemed like an eternity. The brush was so thick that we could not even see where we were stepping, let alone if there were more bears or moose up ahead. As the hot Alaskan sun beat down on us, we weren't sure if we would EVER make it out. We finally came to a clearing where I found a huge moose shed that I unfortunately had to leave there. With the lake in sight, we finished the hike and dunked our heads into the water once we got there. I don't remember much of the flight back since we were all so exhausted we closed our eyes and were back at camp before we knew it. Once at the lodge, we were treated to hot showers, appetizers, dinner, and dessert. We went to bed early this night, as the guides warned that tomorrow's fly-out could possibly top today's adventure. Yeah, right!
We took about a hundred pictures on this day. Here are a few.
After our first day on the Alagnak River we thought there was no way to top a day of catching 140 salmon and seeing some unbelievable wildlife in a beautiful place. We were wrong. We were awoken with coffee in our tent and headed over to a breakfast that you would expect from Embassy Suites. We discussed the day's plans with the guides and were anxiously awaiting the float plane to arrive and take us to our day of fishing. The guides said we were in for a treat: a day of fishing on a remote mountain stream full of spawning kings, with dolly varden, grayling, and rainbows feeding on the kings' eggs. The plane arrived and we quickly loaded the gear for the day and were on our way. The flight was amazing as I was sitting in the front passenger seat and I had an amazing view of the tundra and the mountains. I also got a close-up look at how the float plane worked. The flight alone would have made the day amazing, but that was just the beginning! We set down on a small lake and started our mile trek to the creek. Walking on tundra is a very unique experience.
It feels like you are walking on a giant sponge because each step you sink down a few inches. We arrived at the edge of the creek and it was such an amazing feeling to be able to take our time getting ready to fish, since there were no other humans within fifty miles. The stream was a small and intimate and was very similar to our home stream, except there were no people and more bears and fish than I can put into words. 
We rigged up our six weight fly rods and began to fish. Within two minutes, both of us had landed our first dolly varden. These fish were so beautiful. Each one looked like it was hand painted. We worked our way down stream a bit and continued to catch these beautiful fish. Mixed in with the dollys were beautiful grayling and both of us caught some of these stunning fish up to 19 inches. 
As we rounded a corner, we were blessed with a sight we 
had only hoped to see, a mother brown bear with three cubs fishing the water about 50 yards from "our spot". This was truly an amazing sight. Now 
I 
had a problem... 
watch these amazing animals or fish in one of the most beautiful, fish filled streams on earth. Luckily, the bears moved on and made my decision easier. Back to the fish. A few more grayling and dollys. Then I hooked into something different. The fish hit hard and took off down stream. I thought it was a spawning chum or king, but it felt different. I chased the fish and had to climb through a tree to untangle my line. Should I break off the big fish? I decided not yet and continued to fight the fish. Just then, a giant rainbow jumped clear out of the water attached to my line! Now, I am really nervous. The fight goes on and I guide the fish into some slower water where I was able to land it. It was a GORGEOUS 27 inch leopard rainbow. This wild fish had probably never seen another hook. The fish had a green back with a vivid red stripe and spots everywhere, including it's eyelids. After we took some pictures, and my hand stopped shaking, we returned to fishing. 
As we continued to fish our way upstream, we caught tons of dolly varden, grayling, and rainbows. Carolynne hooked and landed our biggest dolly of the trip, a clean fish in full spawning colors. The wind picked up a little bit and muddied the water. This was caused because the shallow lake that this stream runs out of was churned up from the wind, causing waves. Once this happened, the fishing slowed a little bit. Sounds like a good time for lunch! We found a spot on a gravel bar that had enough room for us to see bears coming and prevent them from sneaking up on us. We ate our lunch on this sunny, 80 degree Alaskan summer day thinking that we must be in heaven. The fishing after lunch was a repeat of the morning with even more rainbows, grayling, and dollys. The highlight of the afternoon's fishing was when I spotted another giant rainbow and decided I was going to catch it. I lost count of how many times I must have drifted to the fish, but after numerous fly changes, it finally hit a flesh fly and the battle was on. This fish 
was more silver than the first, but gave an exhilarating fight. Before we knew it, it was time for the hike out. Let me take a minute to explain this hike... we had to hike to a further lake because the first lake was too small for us to take off from. This one-hour hike turned into one of our buggest adventures. As we walked along the trail (bear trail), we startled the mom and three cubs from earlier as we walked through alders. The mother bear popped up only 30 feet from where we were standing, and made it clear that we should move. Caleb, our guide, took us off the trail and into even thicker alders that were now above my head. 
We trudged through this, falling every few steps for what seemed like an eternity. The brush was so thick that we could not even see where we were stepping, let alone if there were more bears or moose up ahead. As the hot Alaskan sun beat down on us, we weren't sure if we would EVER make it out. We finally came to a clearing where I found a huge moose shed that I unfortunately had to leave there. With the lake in sight, we finished the hike and dunked our heads into the water once we got there. I don't remember much of the flight back since we were all so exhausted we closed our eyes and were back at camp before we knew it. Once at the lodge, we were treated to hot showers, appetizers, dinner, and dessert. We went to bed early this night, as the guides warned that tomorrow's fly-out could possibly top today's adventure. Yeah, right! 
We took about a hundred pictures on this day. Here are a few. 
