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.
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| 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!
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| SAO guide/host Ben Barger holds a solid Brooks Bow as Eric (NRC Guide) looks on. |
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| 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. |
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| The fish don't get much nicer than this on the Brooks River. Way to get it done Ben! |
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| Leif with a solid Rainbow Trout |
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| Jim Barger poses with a healthy Rainbow of his own. |
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| 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!
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| Patrick shows off a dry fly caught Arctic Grayling. |
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| The boys show off a nice triple fish moment with a Grayling right in the middle. |
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| Leif hits a slob of a Grayling on a bead...everything eats beads in Alaska! |
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| A close up of one of my Grayling....pretty fish in their own right! |
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| 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! |
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| Jim and guide James Johnson share a very nice Grayling moment in the rain. |
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
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