Another Successful Alaskan Experience!

If I had to describe this years trip to Alaska, I would have to say it was awesome! We hosted 20 angler's into camp again this year, with many of them experiencing Alaska for the first time! Everything from Rainbow Trout, Grayling, Char/Dollies, Lake Trout, Sockeye, and Silver Salmon were brought to hand over the course of the week.

The guys flew out to several world class destinations while the boat trips across the lake to the Brooks River and other creeks that offered up outstanding fishing as usual. Combine the good fishing with the Alaskan scenery, bear sightings, and river side accommodations, and you were hard pressed to ask for anything more...

A special thank you to all of the angler's who traveled with us, and to the Johnson family & staff at Naknek River Camp for another great trip! We have already taken several bookings for our return to Alaska in 2012. The dates will be August 18th thru the 25th. If you are interested in experiencing Alaska, we would love to have you along with us! Alaska RSVP's can be placed by contacting us at 888-453-5899 or email us at team@steelheadalleyoutfitters.com. 

In local news: Two fly tying classes offered at Chagrin River Outfitters on Saturday September 10th. This will be an all day event, so stop by and get ready for the returning fall Lake Erie Steelhead run.

Here are just a few pictures from our trip to Alaska, there were so many nice fish pictures and everyone was so successful that it is extremely hard to get them all up online! 

Looking back at our cabins from the Naknek River.

Camp life was about fishing, eating, and sleeping!

The guys enjoying an evening of bear snorkling from their cabin deck.

Mike Sowers with a healthy Naknek River Rainbow.

Dave Thatcher poses with a solid Arctic Char.

Patrick Campbell with a trophy Grayling from a small 

creek that we will leave nameless for now!

Jim Lewis with a Naknek River Sockeye Salmon.

Bill lewis and Guide Steve Martinez pose with a Naknek River Rainbow.

John Staranko and Mike Komarny strike a

pose on a recent fly out to the land of huge Char.

Bernard Staranko with a solid Naknek Rainbow.

Mike Komarny poses with a 30 inch pig of a Char.

Barry Kovach with a Sockeye.  They are a necessary evil to many who

fish for the Rainbows and Arctic Char, but they are fighters none the less.

Josh Stephens and Guide Alex Sundquist

pose with a small creek Arctic Char.

Hiking the Alaskan tundra on a recent fly out.

Joel Bock and friend Barry, pose with

Alex and a hefty Arctic Char.

A close up of a typical Dolly/Char caught on the trip.

Mike, Pat, and Patrick Robinson with an Arctic Char triple.

Joe Borter and Wayne McGee with a small creek double.

Ham Biggar poses with his first

Silver Salmon on hallowed grounds south of camp.

Mike Schmidt and Greg Senyo double down on very

nice Arctic Char.  Way to go boys!

Ready for take off on a recent fly out.

Lake trout on a swung fly? Yeah Buddy!

Mark Rushnak and Guide Kyle Hartman

with a monster Naknek River Rainbow.

Joel having fun on the ride up stream.

I said Joel was having fun!

Mike Schmidt poses with a beautiful Char.

Greg Senyo with a solid Brooks River Rainbow.

Patrick Robinson with a solid Silver Salmon.

For the guys on the trip we will have photo books and videos completed as quickly as possible, please get your order forms in ASAP, so we know how many we will need! If you have any questions regarding the book or video please contact Patrick Robinson at flybum@windstream.net 

Once Only In Dreams, My Eyes Have Now Seen

For years, going back to my childhood, I can remember dreaming of an opportunity to travel to Alaska. For more than just a child, Alaska is a place that many dream of....men and women alike! It is easy to see why so many dream of this place. It is full of amazing wildlife, some of the largest in the world.....Caribou, Moose, Grizzly Bears, Polar Bears, Walrus and the list goes on and on!

THE EVER FAMOUS GRIZZLY BEAR

The land is strewn with majestic glacier covered peaks many of which are alive inside (volcanic). Circumventing the peaks, clear water and glacial water streams flow rich with life of every kind. Each has is own special characteristics and I guarantee they will leave a mark on your soul that you won't soon get rid of.

MARGOT (pronounced Mar-go) CREEK

BROOKS RIVER WINDS IT'S WAY

TOWARD NAKNEK LAKE

Another cool thing about Alaska is the crazy color of water that is found in some streams and lakes. Rivaling waters further south in the caribbean, the glacial waters of Alaska will leave you absolutely awe inspired! Some rivers and lakes flow with a beautiful shade of cloudy turquoise blue (that can't really and truly be described). you will just have to take my word for it when I say it is simply spectacular.

THE BLUE GLACIAL WATERS OF UPPER NAKNEK LAKE

All in all, the state 0f Alaska is breathtaking and will take more than one lifetime to explore unless you have the opportunity to live there. My first opportunity to explore came just about a week ago. It was an amazing opportunity and one I am thankful to have taken. Fishing on the fly was our focus and I have to say that the fishing was spectacular. It was at times so fast and furious that it left your head spinning like a top. I can remember one such instance when I was fishing for Bows on the swing on the Naknek River. Now, mind you, swinging streamers for any species is fun and rewarding, but you don't typically get fish hand over fist using this technique. I recall that morning on the Naknek, and I went five Bows in a row all over 20" with two breaking 25". These weren't the grab and got em on the first try either. These were patience testers. You know the kind? Hit you once....you stay in the game....strike you twice, still nothing....the swing continues........then BOOOOM..........PAYDIRT! The drag starts to scream and off into the deep the bows would head.

All in all, the fishing was spectacular! From Rainbows to Char, Grayling, or Salmon.....every fish was an honor to catch!

JEREMY ROBINSON FIGHTS HIS FIRST

UGASHIK CHAR OF THE TRIP

A BEAUTIFUL BOW CAUGHT SWINGING

ARTICULATED FLESH FLIES

To sum it up, Alaska is a truly amazing place. In the days that lie ahead, I will strive to share with you some of my photos and stories from our time in King Salmon.

Currently, I am trying to relocate my family to a new home so bear with me if the posts don't come as fast and furious as all of us would like. I am currently writing with paint covered hands and an aching back. Nevertheless, I will keep posting every opportunity I get.

Until next time,

Patrick "Flybum" Robinson

Head Guide

Steelhead Alley Outfitters

SAO in Austria; Fly Fishing the old country....

The fall steelhead season is fast upon us now and it won't be long until the action is frenetic and non-stop. The rivers will soon be lighting-up with breathtaking numbers of perhaps the greatest freshwater gamefish a fly rod has to look forward to, bringing with it the comraderie and excitement of another guiding season . This is perhaps my last moment of peace to reflect back on , what was for me , a "dream-season" of summer angling opportunities. Between June and September I had the chance to fish a number of special locations and with it some wonderful rivers. Most of my traveling and angling was done in North America but one very memorable trip took me far and wide and landed me in an astoundingly beautiful part of the world among some gorgeous old- world alpine rivers.

As some of our clients know, my "other" job is as a member of The Cleveland Orchestra. Part of fulfilling those responsibilities includes regular international touring that takes me to many different countries on diverse continents. Along with the rigorous concert schedule in the great halls of the world , comes some precious free time that a guy like me can use to chase the great fish of the world in their fabulous rivers.

This past August the show went on the road to Austria , Italy and Switzerland. In Austria we stayed for 2 weeks in Salzburg, a small town on the banks of the Salzach River nestled in the valleys of the Austrian Alps. Here I had the chance to meet and fish with Christoph Menz , guide and expert angler from Pro-Guides Flyfishing. ( Check them out at http://www.pro-guides.com/ . ) Christoph is a true star of the sport and as good a caster as you will find anywhere in the world. His innovative and highly practical style of throwing line is extremely relevant and adaptive to todays modern equipment , making best use of the highly efficient and tremendously improved rods of our time. He and his partner Uwe Reider are both full time guides on the rivers of Austria , with a guiding season that runs daily from spring until mid-November. If any of you are ever in that beautiful area of the world, I can't say enough good things about these two.

Our first day out, Christoph picked me and a friend and orchestra colleague, Paul , up at our hotel in Salzburg early. We were quickly out of town and into some lovely bucolic scenery. As we rolled, the terrain become more and more hilly and we were soon surrounded by some impressive Alpen views. Peaks rose around us on all sides , and although this was the northern border of the Alps and not in the heart of the high peaks , it was nonetheless astonishing beauty, that was to me reminiscent of British Columbia or elsewhere in the northern Rockies.

We were soon tracking alongside a crystal clear spring creek called the Torrener Ache which was to be our sight for the day. As we surveyed the stream and readied ourselves for action it was quickly evident what a challenge we were facing. The river was as clear as a river could be, allowing for tremendous visibility. Despite this , the fish were still quite hard to spot having adapted their coloration amazingly well to fit the stream bed and the other hues of their environment. It was obvious that I would be having a much harder time spotting fish than they would, spotting me. Stealth and presentation would be at a premium today. As we watched, it was evident that fish were feeding in earnest and rises were not rare , in fact this water was clear enough to observe fish feeding subsurface. Our approach would be from downstream, casting our dry flies up and quartering across. Reach casts and careful attention to drag free drifts would be what it takes to present a fly that will fool these wary fish. As we began to get used to the stream , the fish began to come to hand ... browns , rainbows and even brookies. By the time we were done we each had a " Torrener Slam" , and although the fish weren't big, they were certainly beautiful, and absolutely wild.

As we broke for lunch, Christoph laid on us his passionate belief that no one should fish a whole day without proper sustenance .... that being defined as hearty food in copious amounts, accompanied by generous portions of what else .... beer , Austrian beer. He insisted. We agreed.We closed the day on a different stretch of river surrounded on all sides by huge rocky cliffs and distracted only by the occasional free-ranging cow sloshing across the water.

The Goiserer Traun is a much larger and faster flowing river. Far from the spring creek with its' crystal clarity , it runs greenish and a little silty ,especially with a bit of recent rainfall , as it was on the day we were there. It is a completely different sort of river with a different sort of quarry. Day two with Christoph and his friend Christian , was spent nymphing for grayling.

Christoph likes to use as little hardware as possible when he nymphs, and ties his beadheads with tungsten beads to give them some extra weight. Preferring not to add shot or weight to the line, he instead will use combination of a parachute or tuck cast to get nymphs down quicker and will then mend his line with a short downstream "J"-loop before his upstream mend , to keep the fly from riding too far ahead of the indicator. His mend is a simple and gentle raising of the rod, lifting the line off the water and allowing the current to make the mend , or just moving the rod upstream at a right angle to the drift. In this manner he avoids the sweeping and aggressive gesture that most people use when making a mend , something he feels is essential in these Austrian rivers for not spooking and disturbing very cagy fish . For the indicator he chooses a small yarn-style one , feeling that it is easier to cast with minimal impediment.We worked the river, paying particular attention to the heads of what were very subtle pools or areas where faster water began to slow and spread out. These spots on the seams turned out to be productive and soon I was into some very lovely and relentlessly hard-fighting grayling. I had never caught grayling before, and had associated them in north america with the very northern reaches of the continent. It was such a blast to fight and hold them , especially as substantial as these were. Ours were in the 18 inch range , and Christoph tells me that they can reach lengths well over 20 inches in the Goiserer.

As the morning wore on , it was soon time for another rib-sticking lunch complete with the local brew, this time from an Austrian countryside version of fast-food , a "wurst stand". Fresh brats , frankfurters , and other wursts served with sauerkraut and great beer, .... and none of it from a can! Eventually we made it back to the river .... and no one needed a wading staff to finish the day.It was a great and memorable time! Next year when I go back to Austria we will cross a border and fish Slovenia. But until then we at SAO will be looking forward to hosting Christoph and his partner Uwe here on Steelhead Alley this fall, as we return the favor and show off our own tremendous fishery.


And for all of us that don't need to travel internationally to fish here ... Get out the gear , tie up the flies .... time to get it on!

John Clouser

SAO steelhead guide