I’ve always dreamed of writing a detailed and chronological description of one of our annual tours in Alaska. The “Safari” magazine supported my idea to publish a series of articles about combined fishing in Alaska. This is the second publication from this series. You will see how many events every day of such a trip can contain, how many different places we visit, and how many different fish species we catch.

3-rd day (July 4)

At 7.00 a.m. we were woken up by our senior guide Matt, and in a few minutes we came to the dining room overlooking the river. While having breakfast, we discussed the plan for the upcoming fishing. Our camp is just 2 km away from the sea, and with each tide a fresh portion of Chinook and chum enters the river where we wanted to fish this time.

Our purpose was to go upstream to the narrow river branches impassable for boats at low tide. You may ask us: Why not go fishing right opposite the camp?! The river is just the same, and all the fish coming from the sea pass through the place where the boats are?! The thing is, flocks of Chinook go through this wide section of the river very fast, and when they reach shallow streams, they stay in pits which are quite easy to fish in, and moreover, our guides know all these pits very well.

We took water-jet boats and went upstream to intercept fresh Chinook. A trip at high speed along narrow branches of the river with clear water is a real pleasure in itself, and the flocks of Chinook and chum flying off in all directions from our boats convinced us that our fishing would be a success. I had been fishing for Chinook a lot before, but I had never had a chance to do it in the rivers up to 15 meters wide! To tell the truth, I had no idea that it is possible anywhere in the world. We chose different sections of the river and prepared the tackle. Most members of our group were fishing with spinning rods, but Andrey and I chose fly fishing rods. I used Sage One of the 9th class and a floating fly fishing line with the intermediate impact created by my friend from Japan, Gerson Kavamoto. A flash type fly of burgundy color made by Matt was cast to the opposite bank of the river, then the current carried it along the pit under the steep, and when the bait was in the middle of the river, I began to do short and slow strips. I felt a strong jerk, and in a few seconds a Chinook jumped out of the water under the opposite bank. I’m not very much excited about fly fishing for Chinook, as it always happens in medium or large rivers with turbid water, where the fish strike at the depth and you have to use sinking lines only.

This time, I discovered a completely different fishing. In such a river even a 1 kilo trout would have given a lot of emotions and the Chinook which had just entered the river from the sea made my heart beat faster. Following the silvery beast along the sloping grassy bank of the river, at the second attempt, I managed to lead it in into a scoop-net prepared by Matt at the right moment.

The first trophy was caught, but it seemed unreal because of the discrepancy between the size of the river and the size of the fish I had just caught.

Having understood the principle of this amazing fishing, we went on fishing in this promising section of the river. I was the second, as the first angler had a better chance to catch Chinook staying in the next pit. While moving upstream, I suddenly felt a desire to turn around and look downstream. There was a wave from the sea moving in our direction, an invisible “torpedo” was approaching us. I got ready, and when the fish came close enough, I cast a line across its movement. I was right, and after a few strips, at the moment when the fish and the fly trajectories intersected, there was a powerful strike. The fish jerked back towards the ocean. This time I had to run a lot, as the river was winding, and I could not let the line go, the tackle could have clung to the river turn or snags sticking out everywhere. Despite the complexity of the situation, it took my breath away. To fight such a fish in the limited water area – isn’t it a supreme pleasure for an angler?! The victory was a hard one, and after a photo session, the worthy Chinook was released. Apparently, the fish had stayed about a week in the lower reaches of the river.

There were some more catches, including the double catch, when Andrey and I had to show the miracles of agility and quickness not to get entangled in the small space. The results were two medium Chinook in the excellent condition.

High tide was over and we had to retreat. At the beginning of low tide the river we were fishing in was impassable for boats. We stopped at the confluence of two rivers to meet the rest of the group and discuss the fishing results. By the way, there was approximately the same number of fish caught with spinning rods. But all the fish was caught with the Blue Fox lure of burgundy color with an orange plastic insert in the middle of the body. It had always helped me and my clients in many rivers of Alaska where no other lure could work..

It is quite difficult to explain this phenomenon, but I think, the more transparent the water the more selective the Chinook is. Despite the fact that this fish does not feed in fresh water, the reflex acquired in the ocean works. A specific color and a shape of the bait cause a strike due to their visual coincidence with the objects that this predator eats in salt water. Moreover, Chinook willingly attack everything that resembles their competitors’ spawn. The fish enters the river to spawn, and gets annoyed when it sees the “roe” of a quicker fish or anything looking like this.

We had some caviar and light-salted fish sandwiches, went on fishing, and were practically attacked by salmon! We were fishing on the shallow reach of the river, and from time to time, the flocks of chum that had just entered the river from the ocean came here and when they saw us, they began rushing upstream slipping on the shallow and splashing.

The chum can compete with the Chinook for the strength of resistance. There were some extremely frisky specimens. One of them managed to reel out the whole fishing line which was 200 meters long! I could not foresee such an outcome of the half an hour fighting of an experienced angler against a really large fish. According to the IGFA data, the world record is 15 kg 890 grams, and it looked like Mikhail had a real monster’s strike. We are sure that it was the chum, not the Chinook, as it jumped out of the water about 10 times. We wanted to hold this specimen in our hands, but could not pull it to the shore closer than 50 meters. When the fish felt the approaching of the shallow, it jerked under the opposite bank with such a force that neither Mikhail nor the 50 lb fishing line, nor the brake of the 4000 reel could stop it. The next time, when the chum went not across the current, but rushed down towards the ocean, it simply reeled the whole fishing line and tore it.

Together with medium chum, we caught Chinook, pink salmon, and rainbow trout at the confluence of the rivers, but I could not forget the Chinook fishing in the small river where we had been fishing in the morning.

After fishing, we had a meal in the camp, boarded a hydroplane and went to the main lodge.

Although, we spent 2 days in the camp quite comfortably, the opportunity to go to sauna and relax in Jacuzzi attracted everyone.

We had dinner in the evening. There was a variety of appetizers and main courses, but I liked the mutton ribs most of all.

Together with the wine made from Zinfandel variety of grapes grown in Napa Valley the ribs created the perfect combination. Then a wonderful dessert followed and we drank a bottle of Canadian Whiskey which is lighter and smoother than other whiskies.

We were discussing the events of the day and could not believe that it was possible to experience so many vivid impressions within such a short period of time.

Constant change of fishing places, variety of trophies and landscapes, high level logistics and comfort – these are the things that attract us and our clients in Alaska. Every year I organize a trophy fishing here and invite all comers to join us in the upcoming season!

To be continued…