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 

Spring Creek Gold and Elk Creek Bronze

This past Sunday, I ventured to Central Pennsylvania in the "wee hours" to meet up with Joel Bock, a veteran of the Spring Creek waters and a good friend. After a quick breakfast and a few laughs we would trek the beaten trail, in hopes of tight lines and solitude. Initially we would find those rewards as the fish were cooperative and the water fishermen free. As the Sulphurs magically appeared from the riffles, the fishermen did the same from the landscape. I have to say that it was very easy to loose the crowds in my mind as the fish occupied my conscious.

First fish of the day and the first fish

caught on my new Orvis Hydros 4wt

Nice Brown Trout that fell to a Sulphur Emerger

Joel with a nice Spring Creek Brown Trout!

Another Spring Creek Wild Brown Trout

Upon my return to Northwestern PA, I decided to wade my home waters of Elk Creek in search of the mighty Lake Erie Small mouth. I was a mere 30 minutes into it and already landed 3 nice bronze beauties. After my last release, 30 seconds passed and I was standing in water that rose an incredible 2 1/2 feet and turned to mud. I was forced to the bank and watched in awe as mother nature stole my moment.....I have never seen The Elk come up that quickly!

A Nice " pre flood" Caught Lake Erie Small Mouth Bass.

Another View

I will be back on Elk Creek in the days to come chasing Bronze Backs and praying Mother Nature decides to pick on someone else's Fishery! The Small Mouth Bass fishing on our tributaries has been fantastic! If you would like to get out let us know...

Until Then...Tight Lines!

Tim Hess

Fly Fishing Guide

Steelhead Alley Outfitters

Alaska Part IV: The Red Salmon

I am fascinated by the large schools of Sockeye jumping waterfalls and being caught in mid air by hungry grizzly bears! HD Television and the Discovery channel do a great job of making you feel like your standing next to the production crew. For years I have watched, just waiting for the opportunity to head north. To finally arrive in Alaska and experience the wildness and fishery first hand has created an addiction I will need to feed for the rest of my life. What TV fails to provide is the tingling sensation on your neck when a 1200 pound grizzly sneaks up behind you, and proceeds to fish well with in your comfort zone! This was something that you learn to come to grips with and soon appreciate. The shear numbers of sockeye layered in the pools is mind boggling! It did not take too long to realize how important the sockeye was to every living creature on this land. Humans, bears, Birds, eagles, char, trout, etc... depend on the red salmon flesh & Eggs to sustain them through the long winter. It was a time of plenty and nothing goes to waste. Estuaries such as this looked like the water was stained with pure blood, as thousands of Sockeye were constantly pouring into the streams. Large Rainbow trout and Char were strategically placed among the salmon gorging themselves on drifting eggs and flesh. Watching the Grizzly bears tear into salmon after salmon put alot of food in the drift, and watching the char feed in and spar for feeding lanes was extremely entertaining. Every good group of salmon was followed, patrolled, and preyed on by the large Char and Rainbow Trout. Fishing egg imitations on the out side edges of schools like this produced alot of good fish. At first you were excited to catch Sockeye along with the Char and Trout, but after a day of landing these red beasts you started to feel like there numbers would get in the way of your drifts. What a problem to have right? Too many fish in the way! LOL!!!

Sockeye half eaten my a grizzly becomes food for wolf, birds, and the weak and old. Nothing but bone will remain in this highly utilized Eco System.

This is what the Red Salmon made possible for me. The opportunity and chance to catch and release Large Arctic Char! A dream come true and something I have always wanted to catch on the fly.

Watching huge fat grizzly bears crash into the stream from the near by alders and high grass was awe inspiring!! It also scared the living s**t out of you time and again. The old saying of turning white and resisting the urge to scream like a little girl would describe this situation perfectly. Its not like I have 1500 pound bears back home on the Alley to worry about, so it took a day...or two to get use to the whole bear thing.. In the end I feel like I won and overcome my fear of being bear food.

Greg Standing on a large boulder fighting a large Char that was sitting behind a school of sockeye. Everyday since I have arrived back home, I found myself day dreaming of my stay in AK. So much to do and so little time to do it..

The Prize of the Sockeye runs! Big Colorful Char, My pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I have never held a fish that was as beautifully colored and as mesmerizing in 20 plus years of fly fishing. I felt full filled and a sense of accomplishment and true appreciation for being granted this opportunity.

For their size, I was amazed at how agile these big bears could move to catch salmon. Along the streams you see alot of large holes that are dug out by the bears just to put their bellies in while they rest.

Sockeye on Dry Flies? I spent a good amount of time swinging and stripping mouse patterns in search of Rainbow Trout. The mouse would slash over the school of sockeye, and next thing you know this large green alligator jaw would poke through the surface and take off with your dry! It was an added bonus and happened quite often through out the day.

Sockeye are very territorial and aggressively attacked patterns such as woolly buggers, egg sucking bunnies, and small sculpins. When hooked their wide bodies are tough to turn and make for one heck of a battle.

John Clouser fights a trophy sized arctic Char that took a tangerine colored egg. We were all amazed at the number of 20 plus inch trout and char in the streams. Add that to the line busting runs, the wildness setting, and the terrific company it makes for a great time.

Standing over a pod of sockeye, and watching the Char feeding on the far outside edge of the school. The next photo shows why we were so excited.

I was able to get a hand on the char from the pool above. Dave fought him like a champ! The funny thing was just minutes after this fish was released he was back feeding! These fish don't waste anytime...

John with a trophy class sockeye!

Sharing water with some of the locals.

Joel with a Trophy Red.

Solitude and Trout on the fly.

Dave with a nice fly caught Red.

Talk about being shuffled out of your hole!

Craig with a sockeye on the 4wt.

Eric with a red salmon from the mouth of the Brooks River.

This grizzly decided to fish directly across from us.

School of Red Salmon

Swinging and drifting buggers and leeches produced alot of strikes.

Sockeye that smacked a mouse pattern.

Alaska will be forever a place I visit! Counting down the days already!! We will be hosting back to AK again next year, and we are already taking those RSVP's. If you are interested in spending a week with us, we would love to have you. We can be contacted at 888-453-5899 or email us at team@steelheadalleyoutfitters.com.

Steelhead season is right around the corner, but we need alot of rain to get it started. Our Ohio and PA steelhead Alley reports are current every week through out the entire year. The report is located right next to the blog entries on the top right hand side. We will keep you updated!

Until next time....

Greg Senyo

Owner/Operator SAO