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......
No comments:
Post a Comment