Jet Lagged Confessions - Alaska Style Part 4

In the last installment of "Jet Lagged Confessions," I said that I would move onto fish and fowl, but that is going to have to wait as I forgot a few more fish.  So, bear with me (no pun intended) as we look at a couple of more fish topics.

One thing seems near certain from my experiences in Alaska and that is that there are Rainbow Trout in just about every stream and river an angler can find.  Now, that may not be the absolute truth, but is often the case.  In earlier blogs, I highlighted some of the slob bows that call the Naknek River home  during select seasons of the year.  In this blog however, we are going to look at the bows caught in some of the smaller streams of the area.  Each river seems to have its own unique kind of bow....some silvery, some peppered, some in between....each one unique, or so it seems.

Good friend Jim Barger fishes the flows of the famous Brooks River.  He is
joined by a regular who knows his way around the place like nobody else.

 Jim comes up with a fish while guide Eric assists.  Everyone else just watches for bears.

The Brooks River is just one of a bunch of rivers loaded with Rainbows and this year the river was on fire!  Big bows and lots of them were to be had.  Most beaded, but those who came prepared absolutely killed them on the swung flies!

SAO guide/host Ben Barger holds a solid Brooks Bow as Eric (NRC Guide) looks on.

SAO guide/host Patrick Robinson poses with a nice Brooks River
Bow that took a swung fly...loads of fun on a 5wt for sure.

The fish don't get much nicer than this on the Brooks River.  Way to get it done Ben!

 The bows aren't just limited to the Brooks, but can also be found in a myriad of other streams in the area.  Below are some bows caught in small stream off of Naknek Lake.

Leif with a solid Rainbow Trout

Jim Barger poses with a healthy Rainbow of his own.

Leif shows how beautiful these fish can be with the "leopard" spotting that some
fish have!  This was the prettiest fish of the day no doubt!

Along with Rainbows, many of these streams have healthy populations of Arctic Grayling.  Notorious for the spectacular dorsal fins they display, they are very willing to take beads, streamers, and are even a willing taker of dry flies!

Ok, so it's time for my confession....I know that many people are annoyed with catching these fish because it keeps them from the Rainbows that lay around them, but I must confess that I love fishing for these fish!  I am one who loves the beauty of fish.  That means that I want to catch all the species I can just to see the beauty they each contain.  Therefore, I must say that I love catching these things....especially on a dry fly!

The day we went to a small creek off Naknek Lake, I opted to take the days warm up to throw dries for these beautiful fish and came up time and again with Arctic beauties!

Patrick shows off a dry fly caught Arctic Grayling.

The boys show off a nice triple fish moment with a Grayling right in the middle.

Leif hits a slob of a Grayling on a bead...everything eats beads in Alaska!

A close up of one of my Grayling....pretty fish in their own right!

Ken shows off a very nice Grayling caught on a small creek in the middle of nowhere Alaska. This place was a goldmine for both the Arctic Grayling and Char!

Jim and guide James Johnson share a very nice Grayling moment in the rain.

 Fishing the small streams of Alaska is always exciting and dull moments are seemingly nowhere to be found.  That is part of what I like about going to Alaska!  The small streams are nearly endless to choose from.

If you want to see some underwater video of these fish in film we shot last year, go to our "Hosted Trips" page and watch the Contact Creek video....you will know these little fish when you see them underwater for sure.  I like to think of them as the sailfish of freshwater....albeit a bit smaller.

Until next time, tight lines...and remember to find the beauty in each fish!

Patrick "Flybum" Robinson
Head Guide
Steelhead Alley Outfitters

Bound for Alaska

It's that time of year again and I couldn't be any more excited about the next two weeks!

On descent into Seattle-Tacoma International Airport

As I sit here in the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, I am once again dreaming of Alaska.  Only this time my dream is going to be realized once again.  Just a few hours from now, I will be graced by the mountains, rivers, and tundra expanses of that great state.

This time around I get to do it with a good friend and fellow guide Ben Barger.  This will be Ben's first trip to the great state and I am excited to experience with him.  Here he shows his excitement.  Ok, so maybe it was a little posed, but we are excited none the less!

Ben Barger puts on his excited face as we look through 

some photos from previous years trips

With ten eager anglers preparing for departure in the next couple of days, we are looking forward to a great week.  Jim Johnson, owner of Naknek River Camp just emailed me this morning and said the Rainbow bite is just about hit full speed, the Silvers are still being caught in good numbers, and Brooks River is fishing better than they have ever seen it!  That is music to my ears and many others too!

Here is just a small throwback photo selection from last years trip.

 Sockeye Salmon...Some say they are ugly, but I kind of like their look!  

Wouldn't mind one of these awesome fish on my wall personally.

 Greg Senyo holds a great Brooks River Rainbow.  There are 

plenty more where he came from!

 Mike Schmidt took this sunset photo while in camp last 

year...kind of sticks with you if you look at it too long.

Mike Schmidt holding a gorgeous Arctic Char.  

I don't know who this photo means more to, him or me? Either way 

you slice it, we won't forget this fish anytime soon!

World-class Grayling Alaska Style!

 Ham hit his first Silver with me on one of our favorite stretches of water.  

They are such suckers for cerise flies!

 Mark slammed this monster Rainbow on the Naknek.  This trip we 

hope to have multiple fish in this caliber to hand by weeks end!

A great Silver came to my hands on this tidal creek.  Not a likely 

place to fish this late in the year, but it was fun in August for sure!

This year we hope for a lot of the same with a few twists.  In the next two weeks, we hope to focus a bit more on a very overlooked fish and that is the Northern Pike.  They are in abundance on the Naknek River and her tribe, but are often overlooked because of the popularity of the Bows and Salmon.  This year we hope to add a few of these hogs to the mix.

A few Northern Pike made it to camp earlier in the season, and 

they have been picking them up like this all summer.  Hope to bag some 

monsters on big flies in a day or two.

Also, another change up is my other passion in the great outdoors and that is bird hunting.  Last year I vowed I would not return to this great state without a gun and I am happy to say that my Benelli was checked at the counter this morning when I left Cleveland.  Ben and I plan to take some time after clients have headed for home to scope out the possibilities for Grouse, Ptarmigan, and the various species of ducks in the area.  If you are up for a world-class cast-n-blast, then keep your eyes peeled and ears to the ground as next year this may be a very good possibility!

Here is a photo I found online of guys hunting ducks on the Naknek River.  

This is one awesome example of a mixed bag!  And just 

think, you could catch a 30" Rainbow in the afternoon too!

Well, that is all for now.  It's time to grab the bags and head for our next gate to catch the final leg of our flight.  To Jim, Wink, John, Leif, Tom, Cindy, Jim, Ken, Don, and Bill, we can't wait to meet up with you in King Salmon.  It's time to get some memories made.  See you soon!

Tight Lines,

Patrick "Flybum" Robinson

Head Guide

Steelhead Alley Outfitters