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 The Kings And I: Now Playing In Alaska
Posted by KodiakCommando on March 02, 2005
Intro: Arrival -
My old man and myself have just arrived at a lodge on the banks of the Little Sustitna (Alaska). We both look around and are in awe of the grand landscape that engulfs are vision. We got to this spot in 3 hours on a jet boat that was fast enough to make me feel as if I was on a roller coaster in Disney land. This
Is truly paradise and I feel the scenery and the relaxing silence of nature made the trip worth its weight in gold already. But that is not what we came for; we came for the big kings that have haunted my dreams in the days leading up to the trip. I have caught kings before but never on a fly rod. This trip will be different, kings are on the menu and fly rods will be check. The little Sustina is full of sloughs and Inlet Rivers that you can cast across and are full of big kings that enter to recuperate from the rapid and silty waters of the Little Sue. Over the trip I caught too many kings to count but like your life of fishing there are some fish that stand out. These are their stories.
Act 1: My first king on the fly
We are entering a slough that empties its crystal clear water
into the muddy Little Sue. Our guide turns off the motor on the boat and starts to use a huge stick to propel us forward. Much like they use on the flats. As we are moving I see a spot of brownish gold 30 yards ahead. The guide stops, knowing this hole is a resting spot for the kings. We get close enough to clearly see each individual fish. There are about 20 in the 12 feet deep hole in water clear enough you can see the grass on the bottom. My guide hands me his 10-wieght Billy Pate combo and leads me to the bow. I follow his instructions and cast in front of the closest fish to us and strip slowly. The fish starts to turn and the guide says, "Now strip like hell." I follow the wise guides advice and the king rips after the huge articulated leech so fast he creates a huge wake. I see the whites of the mouth open and close and i set the hook. The fish immediately breaches out of the water and strips of 70 yards of line in mere seconds followed by 10 minutes of bull dogging before we finally bring the 30 pound female to the side of
the boat and remove the barbless hook. As I watch the fish swim away to hopefully successfully spawn I feel as if I am walking on the clouds and realize if this keeps up I will be running!
Act 2: My biggest fish on a fly rod!
We have just completed an hour boat ride
To the famous Talachulitna, home of prolific runs of all salmon and world class rainbow trout fishing. We anchor up at the mouth of the river, which is 100 yards wide and found my self perplexed that half of the river was muddy and the other half was crystal clear. We started casting to cruising fish on the clear side without any luck but I knew it was only a matter of time before a hook up. I see a group of around 10 fish coming my way and make a cast well in advance to let the fly sink about 10 feet. I start to strip and see the silhouette of a huge king following the fly. I immediately know this king is over 45 pounds. And for each split second it followed the fly my heart seemed to pump 100 times. Finally, after what seemed like forever, I see the fish’s mouth open and the fly disappear and much like a dry fly fisherman I wait for a split second. I Set the hook and zzzzzzzzzz, the sound of the drag is deafening as this king strips of 150 yards of line as soon as it's hooks and jumps twice so far out I feel as if I have hooked a billfish! The fish then decides to bulldog and for 20 painstaking minutes I fight the fish while at the same time thinking this is the fish of a lifetime, don't blow it. Thank God, I didn't. I finally got the fish to the boat and because we didn't want to hurt this precious gem of Mother Nature we released the fish without weighing it. My guide said it was over 50 pounds for sure
and that was good enough for me. The exact weight I will never know but I will always remember the experience and that is what counts isn't it? Fish weights are something to brag about, memories are something to treasure.
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Re: The Kings And I: Now Playing In Alaska
by jeremy on March 02, 2005 http://www.ineedasimplesolution.com | kodiakcommando - WOW! what a read. superb writing. like all good things, that must have taken some time. i felt as though i were on the boat with you. just fantastic. great to have someone like you, from alaska, contributing content. us visitors from the lower 48 can go to the last frontier for a visit and tell some good fish tales. But, it takes a native - full time resident to really tap into the sole of The Last Frontier. Again, great fish tale.
- Hope you don't mind that I added a bear and eagle to your picture - let me know if you do - and i will remove them. i just like to put a little artistic touch on almost everything. - really though - if you don't like it i will take them out. |
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Re: The Kings And I: Now Playing In Alaska
by joey on March 03, 2005 http://www.fliesandfinseast.com | | What a trip! I was in Alaska last summer but we only caught Pink salmon or humpies as the locals called them. I would love to come up there and fish for the salmon and steelhead. Thanks for the story, the way you wrote it was excellent. Keep 'em coming. |
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