Fly Rods in Bristol Bay!

In August, we (Luke and Steve) flew to King Salmon, Alaska, where we climbed aboard a Cessna 185 floatplane, for a week-long remote flyfishing adventure in the wilderness of western Alaska. The plane left us at Gertrude Lake, in the King Salmon River watershed. There were northern pike in the lake near camp. A mile hike to Gertrude Creek took us to great fishing for Arctic char, rainbow trout, and Arctic grayling.

After 3 days at Gertrude, the plane came back and moved us to Ugashik Narrows, a short stretch of shallow, flowing water between Upper and Lower Ugashik Lakes, frequented by fishing guides from area lodges, with their clients. Sockeye salmon were holding in the reach, beginning to spawn, and the char and (jumbo-sized) grayling were standing by to gobble up salmon eggs (or beads resembling those eggs). Toward the end of the trip, we switched to large flies and caught coho salmon and a surprise lake trout.

This was un-guided, fly-fishing only; catch and release except for a couple of char and one medium-size grayling that we cooked for dinner (check out the video for a photo of a mouse we pulled from the grayling's stomach!!!). Accomodations were a small tent. Weather was variable, from full-on sunshine to hardcore rainstorm with fierce winds.

All around, a great trip. Our friends Ron and Dom in King Salmon gave us some great help with planning and logistics; Cecil Shuman of C-Air was our pilot - his expert knowledge of the area was particularly helpful in selecting final destinations.

Check out the video, below...

Ellen's 2011 Visit

In 2011 Ellen visited in June, about 2 months earlier than usual. It was another fun visit, this time with a ferry trip to Sitka, to check out the historic sites, the fun little shops, and a nice scenic cruise. Check out the video for some photos from her time here...