Alaskan Adventure Day 2.....RED CREEK

Our morning was set in concrete.....up at 6, breakfast at 7, on the road again at 8!

Today was going to take us on a two mile hike approximately 5 miles up Red creek, through bear and mosquito infested forest. The mosquito's were far worst than any bears! Even though the air temp was in the 60's it didn't take long for me to break out in a sweat. The gym prior to my adventure didn't hurt. We entered Red creek and almost immediately found a hole with Kings in it. It was way too small for 4 people to fish, so I moved about a hundred yards downstream to another somewhat larger hole. It too was crammed full of monster Kings. I had decided to use a flyrod for the remainder of the week, but was not too sure about what I would do if one of these bigboys slammed my fly. I had semi used a flyrod in Texas for bass and perch, but NEVER on big game...It was going to be a GAME! On my third cast it happened. The king slammed the fly with force of three Texas redfish and sought the nearest cover. I wanted to hold the line, but was told in not so gentle a voice, "Get your hands off the damn line....use the handle, that's what its for!"After a dozen long runs, several aerial combat jumps, and jack like bottom hugging I managed to land my first ever 30+" fish on a flyrod....I was hooked!

I decided to keep this fish...it measured 38 1/2" and we guessed the weight at about 25lbs. It was a male or buck and was just what we wanted to take home. After pictures and high fives, Larry wanted a picture of him with my fish, we continued to hit the hole pretty hard. When Eric and his group arrived on the scene I asked him the name of this hole...it was unnamed. It was christened the TBH Hole ( Texasbowhunter). I managed a couple more smaller fish from that hole before we headed downstream.

As we progressed down this truly Alaskan wilderness stream, I keep thinking that this was the way I had envisioned fishing Alaska would be. Red creek was for the most part a shallow, fast, rocky waterway with the exception of a small number of deep pools that without question held Kings on their way upstream. We fished for Rainbows and Dolly Vardens in the shallow areas without too much success.

Besides Damon slipping down and filling his waders, the only excitement was the numerous bear signs that dotted every beach we walked on, but no sightings.

After a great lunch on a forgotten beach, we headed for a spot called the Birch hole. This was simply a long deep pool approximately 50 yards long and 10 yards wide. It had a fallen Birch tree across it. This was the only fishing platform to reach the lower 40 yards of the pool. There were as in the other pools lots of Kings, but they would not have anything to do with our offerings. A couple of our team did manage to pull a few good size rainbows from the upper end. Later in the week a number of Kings were landed here, but three times as many were lost. Our goal was to reach the Ferry Hole by five and we still had a way to go. We fished another good hole before exiting the creek and heading back to the lodge. This last spot was known as Sunset hole . We spent the majority of Day 5 fishing Sunset and it turned out to be one of the best!

Alaskan Adventure Day one

Our first day of fishing in Alaska was all that the hype had made it out to be. We were up at 6 and at sharply 7am..breakfast was served! And what a breakfast, your choice of pancakes, french toast, eggs, bacon, reindeer sausage, patties, links, toast, oatmeal, fresh fruit, orange juice, milk, coffee, tea, soft drinks, or just about anything else you pallet desired. Mike, our chief, had worked for several 5 star restaurants prior to coming to the backwoods???? We were glad he made the switch.

8 am found us in the Ranger 4x4 headed off to the fishing holes. Our team was told that we would fish an area that no one had been to this year. We soon found out why! We were headed to what was called the confluence of Johnson Creek. Johnson Creek is one of the primary water ways directly to the ocean. It was swift and deep. We forded this creek 6 times before reaching our fishing spot. Crossing was indeed an adventure when 6 people lock arms and very slowly wade through swift water that had enough hydraulic force to sweep you away if you made a wrong step...and the water was COLD! After our sixth crossing, we had to bushwack through very thick brush for a couple of hundred yards before arriving at a beautiful stretch of beach that was to be our camp for the day. I might mention that all along the shore line were numerous BIG bear tracks and other fresh signs!

We were equipped on this first day with spinning reels loaded with 30 lb mono and large spinners. We were after King salmon, and I was not aware that they were no longer feeding after they started their upstream journey, they simply hit out of frustration and anger. It kinda reminded me of bass fishing....150 casts and then a hookup...and what a hookup! These fish are some strong. As long as they fought upstream you were in command, but if they decided to turn and use the current...Katy bar the door! We all hooked up numerous times and several 40 inch fish were landed with high fives and releases. Prior to our arrival, the limit had been one fish per day, but changed the day we arrived to one fish! This made it hard to decide what fish to keep. My count showed that we released 7 good fish that first day at the confluence. After a lunch of sandwiches, chips, drinks, and brownies we headed back upstream to another hole. We had six crossings to negotiate on the way back. We made it with a few slips, but no dunkings. At about 3pm we arrived at another spot which proved to be the best spot for all of the groups staying at Lake Marie. It was named the Ferry Crossing, as we used a boat to cross the big creek. This hole was where another tributary, Red Creek, flowed into Johnson Creek. Red Creek was very clear while Johnson was somewhat off color. I think the off color made it harder for the salmon to see us. I managed to hook and land two good fish in Red, while the others all hooked and landed fish in Johnson. I think my count for Ferry Hole was 8 fish hooked, 6 landed. Total Kings for Day one.....18 fish hooked...15 fish landed...two fish went to the freezer!

Dinner was served at 7pm..a full Italian meal was the cuisine for the evening. After dinner it was fly tying for the guides and entertainment put on by several of the guides. Most of the gang were in bed by 9:30 or 12:30 (Texas time).

Day two was going to find us doing a two mile hike on what was named the Red Creek Loop.

Later......

Alaska....Home of some BIG REDFISH!

My trip to Alaska proved to indeed be one of those once in a life time dreams come true. I spent seven days fishing the waters of a great state....and yes it is bigger than Texas and the "red" fish that came out of the little streams (we would call'em creeks) were unreal. I have to admit I've never seen a Texas redfish, completely empty a reel of 180yds of 30lb mono and still be headed toward the sea!
We left Houston on Friday, arrived in Anchorage about 3am (it was still light!).
Saturday afternoon found myself and two others of our group of 18 crammed into a small bush plane headed to Lake Marie Lodge. We flew inland for about a hundred miles and landed on what appeared to be an East Texas logging road. We were welcomed Alaska style....mosquito's singing in our ears!
After checking in we were served a meal fit for a 5 star hotel and for the next 7 days, breakfast and dinner were things we waited for. We were served on a gigantic table that seated all 18 of us...it was made from a single tree!
It took a little to get adjusted to the time zone...three hours difference, but the big problem was it never really got dark. The sun sat around 1am and rose around 4am.
On Saturday night we picked our teams and guides. I fished with Damon Ankenman, Larry Gray, and Bill Carpenter. Our guides were Eric Neunhoffer and Drew Hatter. Eric was a Texas boy from Kerrville and a follower of TexasBowhunter.com, user name TC. We were the only team of 4. After we became acquainted, we were told where we would fish the next day. This was our evening routine for the next week. We had our choice of using spinning gear or flyrods. I opted for both!There was not much sleep on Saturday night with what we knew was going to be an exciting fun filled fishing trip. How little we knew about the adventures that were in store.

I will continue to update on a day to day basis of our GREAT ALASKAN ADVENTURE!

North to Alaska!

After a very hetic and stressful few days prior to the arrival of Hurricane Alex, Patsy, the Granddaughters, and I hit the road and headed for Houston.If it had not been for having to deliver the girls to their other Grandparents, me catching a flight to Alaska, and Patsy heading off to Center, Texas, we probably would not have left paradise at all. It appears that our area missed the bullet.
Anyway it's about time for me to catch a plane and start an adventure to Lake Marie Lodge in Alaska. This lodge is located some 90 miles north of Anchorage. It is known for its one on one guide service and small numbers of people it accepts per trip. We will be there for 9 days and expect to catch LOTS of trout and King salmon.
I'm not sure what kind of computer facilities they have but I will try to update as allowed. Check out www.lakemarie.com
I'll also be taking my Livingston Lures jersy in order to promote our sponsor!