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Departments

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Editor’s Creel 6 Alaska Traveler 8 Gear Bag 10 Fishing for a Compliment 16 Tackle Tech 22 Salmon Sense 24 EZ Limits: A Guide’s Angle 26 Fish Alaska Fly 28

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Fish Alaska Boats 30 Fish Alaska Saltwater 34 Fish Alaska Stillwater 36 Tight Lines 38 Fish Alaska Recipe 84 Advertiser Index 86

He is the Egg Man 42 In search of the best solution to one of Alaska’s fishing challenges, E. Donnall Thomas, Jr. shares a real innovation in artificial egg fishing. Float & Egg Fishing for Salmon 50 JD Richey shows how to excite previously disinterested coho by using a float and salmon eggs. Egg Presentations for Salmon 59 Contributing Editor Scott Haugen shares his wisdom of the different approaches one can take in fishing with eggs in Alaska. Bird Creek Silvers 66

Here’s a thorough overview of George Krumm’s techniques for getting a cooler full of silvers from the popular and accessible Bird Creek fishery near Anchorage. Trout & the Egg 74

Editor Troy Letherman explains how to benefit from the relationship between Alaska’s trophy trout and the abundant salmon eggs they feed on.

Doug Hamann

Final Drift 90

Features

COVER / Salmon eggs, cured and ready to fish. © Scott Haugen July 2012 www.FishAla skaMagazine.com 3

PUBLISHERS Marcus Weiner Melissa Norris EDITOR Troy Letherman ASSOCIATE EDITORS Patrick Speranza Kathy Anderson OPERATIONS MANAGER Wayne Norris EFFICIENCY MANAGER Ana Taylor GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Brett Rawalt Bailey Glover PUBLISHERS’ ASSISTANT Cody Finley WEBSITE DESIGN Jomarie Thompson

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Greg Brush, Troy Buzalsky, Andrew Cremata, John Erskine, Les Gara, Scott Haugen, Pudge Kleinkauf, René Limeres, JD Richey, Scott Sanchez, Terry Sheely, Kalb Stevenson, E. Donnall Thomas Jr. CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Terry Gunn, Rich Johnson, Brian O’Keefe, Jim Klug, Dusan Smetana, Doug Wilson, Brian Woobank REGIONAL SALES MANAGERS ANCHORAGE George Krumm 907-345-4337 SOLDOTNA Rick Birch 907-394-1763 MAT-SU VALLEY Jehnifer Ehmann 907-354-0059

Fish Alaska Magazine PO Box 113403 Anchorage, Alaska 99511 Toll Free (877) 220-0787 (907) 345-4337 main (907) 223-8497 advertising (907) 345-2087 fax www.fishalaskamagazine.com Fish Alaska magazine is published ten times annually in January-July, Aug/Sept, Oct/Nov and December by Fish Alaska Publications, LLC, P.O. Box 113403, Anchorage, Alaska 99511. Send all address changes to P.O. Box 113403, Anchorage, Alaska 99511. One year subscriptions are $30 U.S. dollars for subscriptions in the U.S., $50 U.S in Canada, and $80 U.S. in all other countries.The single copy price is $6.99 in U.S. dollars. To subscribe by phone please call 907-345-4337. Editorial correspondence should be sent to Attn: Editor, Fish Alaska magazine, P.O. Box 113403, Anchorage, Alaska 99511. Unsolicited manuscripts and photos will be considered, but must be accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope. Although we will take care, Fish Alaska is not responsible for the loss or return of unsolicited materials. The opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily the opinions of Fish Alaska magazine publishers and editors. ©2012 by Fish Alaska Publications, LLC. All rights reserved.

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July 2012 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 5

Combating Cold-water Immersion Alaska’s fresh- and saltwaters are almost uniformly cold. Even during July, mere minutes in the water can lead to tragic consequences. Capsized vessels and falls overboard are the leading causes of coldwater immersion, with capsizing most often caused by overloading, poorly secured or shifting loads, improper boat handling and anchoring, or loss of power or steerage. Falling overboard typically occurs when a person slips or loses balance while standing or moving around the boat—a real concern for anglers fighting or netting fish. It often takes just an instant, and surprise might be the biggest enemy of all. Hypothermia is a term most Alaskans are familiar with. But when it comes to cold-water immersion, most die long before they become hypothermic. Here’s why: When a person falls into cold water, the body’s initial reaction may include a “gasp reflex,” hyperventilation, airway spasm, panic and vertigo, all of which put a person at high risk of water inhalation and drowning. Additionally, after about 10 minutes or so, a person may begin to experience what is called the short-term immersion response, or “swim failure.” Localized cooling of muscle and nerves in the arms and legs impairs strength and dexterity, affecting the ability to swim or perform other essential survival actions. After an hour or more of immersion, depending on water temperature, body type, clothing and many other factors, persons will experience the onset of hypothermia, as the body’s core temperature drops. And as this happens, a person will eventually lapse into unconsciousness. For Alaska’s boaters the top priority, regardless of age or ability, should be to always wear a personal flotation device (state law requires PFDs for children under the age of 13). Also, if not wearing a PFD, you will waste valuable energy and time treading water just trying to keep a clear airway. Secondly, always carry emergency communication devices (such as a personal locator beacon, hand-held VHF radio or a cell phone in a waterproof bag) and some signals (a whistle or pencil flares) on your person. If you do experience an immersion event, and rescue is not imminent, the priority (assuming everyone is wearing life jackets) is to perform the most important functions first before strength and dexterity are lost. In this case account for 6 www.FishAlaskaMa ga z i n e . c o m J u l y 2 0 1 2

everyone, activate emergency communication devices and get out of the water as soon as possible, either by re-boarding the boat using devices you previously installed, climbing onto the capsized boat or other floating object, or if it is within easy reach, by swimming to shore. The sooner you can get your body out of the water, the greater the chances of survival. If rescue is imminent, look to conserve energy and body heat. The H.E.L.P. position (heat escape lessening posture) may slow heat loss. Bring your knees up as close to the chest as possible and wrap your arms around them in a tuck position. If other passengers are in the water as well, use the “huddle” technique to maintain body heat collectively, pulling the sides of everyone’s chests close together, with arms around the back and legs intertwined. This has the added benefits of keeping everyone together, provides added visibility for rescuers and helps to maintain morale. The best scenario for cold-water immersion is to reduce or prevent the risk in the first place. If boating in Alaska, it’s as simple as making sure not to overload your boat, avoiding situations where you may fall overboard and of course, making sure that everyone is wearing a Coast Guard-approved PFD in advance of an emergency. Following are some more tips and guidelines: s!LWAYSTAKEWEATHERANDWATERCONDItions into consideration. Be prepared to stay put until the weather improves. s-AKE SURE YOU HAVE THE EQUIPMENT required by law, as well as other items like paddles, first-aid kits, tools and spare parts. In Alaska, access to a satellite phone can be a lifesaver. s&ILE A mOAT PLAN WITH FAMILY AND friends and stick to it. Notify the same people upon your return. s4AKE BOATING SAFETY CLASSESˆTHE Alaska Department of Natural Resources Office of Boating Safety conducts the nationally-approved, and Alaska-relevant, Alaska Water Wise (AWW) boating safety course, which is free. s4AKEAlRSTAIDAND#02COURSE s4EACH PASSENGERS HOW TO STOP START and steer the boat, and how to handle boating emergencies. For more information on boating safety in Alaska, cold-water immersion prevention and response, and safety courses available to the public, please visit www. alaskaboatingsafety.org.

Troy Letherman July 2012 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 7

Roundly held as models of controlled management, Alaska fisheries have long been viewed with some envy throughout much of the rest of North America—including areas perhaps once hosting superlative wild fisheries of their own, fisheries that for one reason or another have subsequently fallen on hard times. With some notable exceptions, Alaska’s fisheries have avoided traveling down such a dark path, but that’s certainly not to say there aren’t areas of concern, or even areas where regulations fall so short as to qualify as neglect. Case in point: Under regulations current at the time this issue was going to press, the bycatch limit for commercial trawl and long-line fisheries in the Gulf of Alaska is 2,300 metric tons—just over 5 million pounds. Designated a “prohibited species,” the halibut taken as bycatch in these fisheries cannot be retained. The fish must be returned to the water to prevent any vessel from profiting through wasteful fishing practices. Wasteful is a good word here—destructive is even better. Gulf of Alaska halibut populations have varied substantially in recent years, and though the overall biomass is high, the exploitable biomass—that portion of the halibut population available for harvest— has declined by 50% over the past decade. Halibut growth rates have also dipped well below historical norms. Feeling the brunt of these changes, commercial, sport and subsistence anglers have been facing reductions in their harvest for years. In southeast Alaska, for example, anglers utilizing a charter can now only keep one halibut less than 37 inches in length per day, with operators in Homer, Seward, Whittier and Valdez fearing the same could happen in Southcentral. And yet the limit on halibut bycatch in the Gulf of Alaska has not changed since 1989. Labeled as “Prohibited Species Catch,” these fish, treasured around the world for their fine white fillets, are tossed overboard, dead. “It all goes to waste,” Capt. Andy Mezirow of Seward points out, “millions of pounds a year.” Mezirow, owner and operator of Crackerjack Sportfishing Charters, is the sport / charter representative on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) Advisory Panel. Spawned by the Magnuson Act of 1976, the NPFMC allocates the halibut resource off Alaska. 8 www.FishAlaskaM a ga z i n e . c o m J u l y 2 0 1 2

©2012, Andy Mezirow

Waste Just for the Halibut

By definition, only dead halibut count towards the cap. A formula assigns a mortality rate to each gear type and target fishery, and that is used to determine how many halibut caught as bycatch count towards the cap each year. The total limit, just over 5 million pounds, exceeds the combined guideline harvest level for the sport fisheries in southeast (area 2C) and southcentral (3A) Alaska, which together totaled over 4.4 million pounds in 2010. In February of this year, the council conducted an initial review of the halibut bycatch cap, considering a range of reductions from 5- to 15% for the trawl and long-line fleets in the Gulf of Alaska. Charter operators like Mezirow and other concerned parties led a push to educate the fishing public on the matter, as the NPFMC was set to take final action on the proposed reductions last month during the council meeting held in Kodiak. Still, even the best possible outcome— the 15% reduction—is wildly insufficient. It’s certainly far less than the burden of conservation already shouldered by sportand commercial fishermen. Besides the charter regulations affecting Southeast, from 2002-through 2011, the commercial halibut fisheries in regulatory areas 2C, 3A and 3B have faced a 50% reduction in their fisheries. In the end, it’s important to remember that the resource belongs to all of us, equally. Eliminating such wanton waste through bycatch is then something we should all be able to agree on. For more information, visit the Alaska Marine Conservation Council at www.akmarine.org or make your opinion known to the NPFMC at www.fakr.noaa.gov/ npfmc. Troy Letherman is Editor of Fish Alaska and Hunt Alaska magazines. July 2012 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 9

Try these products on some of your fishing excursions. Please send photos of anglers using the products we discuss to [email protected].

DeLorme inReach MSRP: $249 www.inreachdelorme.com The DeLorme inReach is a global two-way personal communicator. It provides two-way satellite text messaging, delivery confirmations, SOS alerting, remote GPS Follow-Me/FindMe tracking and locating, and an Android and Apple operating system device interface for use with smartphones and tablets. inReach operates over the Iridium satellite network for global coverage, high network reliability and low-latency data links (less than 60 seconds end-to-end from anywhere in the world). It’s compact, lightweight, waterproof, floatable and impact-resistant, and it can maintain satellite signal lock even in difficult GPS environments. It’s getting easier to stay in touch when you are in remote parts of Alaska.

Rapala Fat Boy Fillet Board MSRP: $32.99-$44.99 www.rapala.com Compact for transporting and storage, the Fat Boy Fillet Boards have ample room, with a wide surface to fillet all species of fish. Heavy-duty sure-grip clamp with built-in handle. Made of durable HDPE food grade plastic. FDA & USDA approved. Available in three sizes: 12x16 inches, 12x19 inches or 12x32 inches.

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Cold Fold Fish Box MSRP: $14.99 www.globalsupplyco.com As a combination double-wall box and insulated liner, this box will ensure your frozen fish makes it home in good condition. The CF-60 easily encases 50 pounds of fish or game, making it ideal as airline checked-in baggage. Available in Alaska at Soldotna Trustworthy Hardware, Mack’s Sport Shop and Sportsman’s Warehouse. We have used these boxes and have been very pleased.

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Gage Weather Watch Jacket, Pant and Bib MSRP: Jacket - $56, Bib - $69, Pant - $54 www.grundens.com This lightweight line of rainwear is tough, waterproof, breathable and packable, making it another good choice for adventures in Alaska. Weather Watch Hooded Jackets are offered in forest green, navy blue, black, red and hi-vis yellow, in sizes XS to 5XL, featuring a drop tail adjustable hem, full-sized adjustable hood with elastic draw string closures and two large zippered pockets. Double storm flaps and fully taped seams keep moisture out. Weather Watch Bibs come in black, red and hi-vis yellow, featuring fully taped seams with adjustable suspenders and leg cuffs for a watertight fit. An inside zippered chest pocket and right leg cargo pocket provide storage. Weather Watch pants, available in black or hi-vis yellow, have features that include a sturdy elastic belt, Velcro cinch ankles and leg zippers for easy on/off, two front zipper pockets and a right leg cargo pocket. The Gage line of products by Grundens has been impressing testers at Fish Alaska and the angling world since inception.

July 2012 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 13

Spinner Dave’s Custom Designs Alaska River Series MSRP: $3.95 to $5.95 www.sdcustomdesigns.com Spinner Dave’s Custom Designs has expanded the Alaska River Series lure to include six new skirted patterns. It is available with three different sized blades and in six different color models, and retails anywhere from $3.95 to $5.95. Check out all the available options at the online store or call 907-252-6140.

Smokehouse Propane Smoker MSRP: $259 www.smokehouseproducts.com Aided by an improved heating element and greater insulation, the new propane smoker from Smokehouse is just the ticket for those who love to smoke Alaska salmon. Along with its ability to smoke fish at low and consistent temperatures, you can also raise the temperature to 500 degrees and cook with this model. It comes with four adjustable chrome-plated cooking grills and 635 square inches of cooking area in all. An easy-start button and large temperature-control knob round out the features.

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Okuma Komodo Casting Reels MSRP: $199.99 www.okumafishing.com With rigid, diecast aluminum frames, machined aluminum, anodized spools and multi-disc carbonite drag systems, the Okuma Komodo casting reels have the features and performance you need to attack the water this summer. Perfect for Alaska’s salmon, whether fishing fresh- or saltwater, these reels will take care of business, while lasting from season to season. Backed by a threeyear warranty.

LoopRope MSRP: $19.95 to $23.95 www.looprope.com LoopRope is a revolutionary fastening system that eliminates the daily use of dangerous and limiting bungee cords, messy cargo nets and most other light- to medium-duty tie downs. From lashing down your gear to using it as a clothesline at camp, there’s nothing more versatile. LoopRope is fully adjustable, linkable, safer than bungee cords, never tangles and you can actually cut it in half and it still works. Each LoopRope comes with two stainless steel LoopClips. LoopRopes are constructed of doubled-up heavy duty 1/4-inch shock cord and come in 3-, 4- and 5-foot options.

July 2012 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 15

Phil Morin and Dave Brown of Nikiski with a nice 24-inch spring laker.

Three-year-old Damon Braden with a 5.64-pound, 31-inch burbot caught ice fishing at Juneau Lake in Cooper Landing.

Adam Ferre during an awesome day on the upper Kenai River.

Chris Spratt sent in this image of his son’s first king, which he caught while fishing the Kasilof River.

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Emma McCollum, age 12, from Houston, TX, with a nice king salmon she caught on the Nushagak River in June 2011 during her first fishing trip in Alaska.

Doc Reed with a 2012 steelhead.

Robert Baker with his first king salmon, which he caught while fishing out of Seward.

Chancellor Donald Blackketter of Montana Tech was fishing for silvers in September of 2011 near Yakutat.

It was an early Christmas on the Kenai for guide Jeremy Eubanks, junior guide David Bonathan and guide-in-training Tom Pyle, who were out fishing the second-run silvers.

Heather Hendrick caught her first king out of Ship Creek on a #5 Vibrax in June during the family’s salmon adventure.

It was a first 70-pound halibut and a first silver salmon for Devon Murphy, whose dream was to go to Alaska for the fishing. Though people with autism don’t do the “unknown” very well, Devon’s trip also included his first plane ride, first time on the ocean, first bears and first time on a small floatplane— and he did great through it all! 18 www.FishAlaskaM a ga z i n e . c o m J u l y 2 0 1 2

Lisa Hayes and her father, Jerry Funston, had an all-day process in fishing the Kenai River for reds, due to the bears. But the smiles on their face show that it was all worth it. July 2012 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 19

Roger Schofield sent in this picture of his son with a Kenai River king salmon taken on July 15, 2011. The smile says it all!

Doug Guenther reports that his son, Rob, out-fished him during their trip to Happy Valley last July. These kings weighed 32and 40 pounds.

Captain Jon Lester fishing lingcod with his mother, Vicky Sundeen, out of Seward.

Chip Brim with the biggest fish he has ever caught, his first Kenai king.

Morgan Lundt caught her first king salmon on the Kasilof last June.

SEND US YOUR BEST FISHING PHOTOS! E-mail hi-res .jpeg photos to: [email protected]. Subject Line: FFC. Please include vital caption information in the e-mail. You can also mail photos to: FFC, PO Box 113403, Anchorage, AK 99511. Include a SASE if you want it returned. Include a separate caption for the photo. Do not write on the back of the photo. We will let you know when your photo will appear in the magazine.

These three kings were taken by Bernard Rosenberg, John Lowe and his daughter, Kathleen, who was enjoying her first trip to Alaska and her first king.

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Eternal Egg Cure

Story & photos by Scott Haugen I can’t believe a decade has passed since the INGREDIENTS: book I wrote, Egg Cures: Proven Recipes & s 4WO OUNCECANSOF&RUIT&RESH Techniques, hit the market. Since that time or Ever-Fresh I’ve penned other salmon- and steelhead- s CUPBORAX related books, but none have received the s CUPSNON IODIZEDSALT continual feedback that the book on egg s mUIDOUNCEREDFOODCOLORING cures has. Whether through snail mail, e- s GLASSGALLONJARWATER mail or visiting with people at sport shows and seminar events, it is the most talked -IX THE DRY INGREDIENTS OF TWO  OUNCE about book I’ve authored. CANSOF&RUIT&RESHOR%VER &RESH CUPBOI can’t pretend to take full credit for RAXANDCUPSNON IODIZEDSALTINTOAGLASS this book, for were it not for the many ONE GALLONJAR!GLASSJARISPREFERREDASIT top guides, industry authorities and some does not deteriorate, potentially giving-off of the best anglers I know, the title would foul scent or residue. Because this cure can never have come to fruition. The book is a sit wet and remain active for years, storage solid testimony to the many anglers who INASTURDY GLASSJARISPREFERREDOVERANYare willing to share ideas in an effort to en- thing plastic. courage others to get on the river and catch With the dry ingredients thoroughly more fish. MIXED ADDYOURSKEINSOFEGGS)TDOESNT The success of any book largely has to matter if you have one skein or ten skeins, do with timing. Not only was the release JUSTPUTTHEMALLINTHEJAR WHOLE.OWlLL of the egg cures book perfect timing, but THEJARWITHWATERANDADDONEmUIDOUNCE it also helped spur an insurgence of egg OF RED FOOD COLORING -IX AND LET STAND cure-related products on the marketplace. 7ITHINHOURSTHEEGGSAREREADYTOlSH Never before have there been so many !LLYOUHAVETODOISGRABASKEIN CUTTO specialized curing ingredients as there are bait-size and you’re set. today. From dyes to preservatives, scents to The eggs stay in water, refrigerated, until additives and more, salmon and steelhead they are ready to be used. “I have eggs in anglers have countless products to choose my shop refrigerator right now that have from when it comes to concocting their been sitting in this brine for over three own curing recipe. years,” shares Johnson. “If I want to go Of all the recipes featured in the book, fishing tomorrow, I wouldn’t hesitate getthere are a handful that always seem to pop TING A SKEIN FROM THE JAR AND TAKING OFF up in conversation. Of these, the most talked about is the Eternal Waters cure. This is a recipe that was brought to my attention by longtime family friend, Scot Johnson. Scot’s been fishing salmon and steelhead for nearly 50 years, and this is his favorite egg cure. The recipe was given to him by mutual friend, Doug Dennett, another very accomplished fisherman. Dennett originally received the recipe from another friend; then, with some tweaking, finalized the recipe and the handling process to where it is today. Following is a look at the egg-curing recipe, Eternal Waters. Simple but intriguing, this cure produces a wet egg, which works well when targeting king and coho The wet brine of the Eternal Waters cure is clean and quick, making it easy for anglers to manage. salmon in many situations. 22 www.FishAlaskaM a ga z i n e . c o m J u l y 2 0 1 2

They’re incredible eggs!” Fruit Fresh or Ever-Fresh can be purchased at any local grocery store. These are intended to keep fruits and vegetables from browning and protect the flavor, thus preserving color loss and lengthening longevity. It works well on eggs, too. Even after years in this brine, the eggs are surprisingly sprite and succulent looking when this preservative is used. “Some guides who use these eggs will remove the skeins from the jar the night prior to fishing,” says Johnson. “They’ll let them air dry overnight to toughen ‘em up a bit.” Johnson notes that the eggs are messy to handle and some people prefer wearing rubber gloves when cutting the baits to desired sizes and placing them on the hook. One of the reasons this cure is so popular is the eggs take a long time to milk out. The food coloring stays locked in the eggs and the Fruit Fresh helps hold it in. In fact, guys I spoke with who have used this cure desire it because they can actually see the eggs milking out over repeated casts, not just the first few throws. One of the most amazing attributes of this cure is the fact skeins can be added to it at any time. “Say you initially place two skeins in the cure. If you catch a hen the next day, toss her skeins in, too. If you catch another hen a month or two later, throw those skeins in. It doesn’t matter when you add eggs to this brine, and that’s the beauty of it,” Johnson remarked. Simply add skeins to the mixture as you catch them. It doesn’t matter what subspecies of salmonid it is, the cure works on all of them. Just be sure the eggs are clean and in good condition, so as not to taint the batch of brine. It’s worth noting that curing an entire skein at once allows you to cut the baits to a desired size when it comes time to hit the river. For example, simply cut small baits for summer steelhead in fast water, and large baits for Chinook you’re targeting in deep holes. Other positive feedback received by anglers who’ve fell in love with this recipe is the fact it’s so easy. When they get home late at night, the last thing many anglers feel like doing is curing their eggs. With the Eternal Waters cure, all you have to do is toss the skeins into the brine and you’re done. It’s just as easy as it sounds, and it catches fish.

For signed copies of Scott Haugen’s popular book, Egg Cures: Proven Recipes & Techniques, which details over two dozen recipes, please visit www.scotthaugen.com. July 2012 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 23

Egg Curing 101 Take the mystery out of curing eggs for salmon fishing By JD Richey Here’s a fun little exercise in futility: Ask a salmon angler what’s in their favorite cure. First, you’ll get a blank stare, followed by some incoherent mumbling and then a very deliberate attempt to change the subject—it’s almost as if you’re talking to a politician about illegal campaign contributions. Guys get very protective of their cures and it’s usually one of those “don’t ask” type of deals. It’s a dead end. Luckily, there are plenty of commercially produced cures on the market that produce excellent baits. My top five in no particular order are Pro Cure, Atlas Shake ‘N’ Cure, Pro Glow, Shur-Cure and Pautzke’s Fire Cure—all in the red color. You really can’t go wrong with any of those. Each brand has it’s own suggested curing method, so all you have to do is follow the directions on the side of the container and you’re in business. If you want to really keep it basic, try something like Atlas-Mike’s new liquid Bite & Tight Cluster/Skein cure in which all you do is cut your bait into bite-sized clusters and marinate it in the fridge. Presto…in several hours, you have cured roe! Do-It-Yourself While you’ll be able to happily catch fish on store-bought cure for the rest of your days, the logical progression in egg fishing eventually leads to the desire to make your own. I’ll admit, it’s fun to play mad scientist and experiment with different recipes, and it’s extremely gratifying to out-fish everybody else with your own secret concoction. But designing a cure is no small undertaking. There are lots of factors to consider and I guarantee you’ll destroy a bunch of good eggs until you get all the bugs worked out (ask me how I know!). Egg curing is a science and requires a lot more space than we have here, so I’m going to touch on a few of the basic principles to get you started. The first thing you should know about roe cures is that salmon seem to really like salty eggs. To that end, most salmon cures are full of stuff like sodium sulfite, sodium metabisulfite and sodium nitrate. Not only do you have the salt factor there, but these ingredients help preserve the life of your bait while also helping to inhibit

The advantage of using these commercially produced cures is knowing that they have been thoroughly tested and found to be quite effective.

mold growth. There’s usually a smaller amount of sugar in the mix and then the sky’s the limit as far as additional scents go. Some folks like to add extra scents like sardine oil, anise, krill powder or shrimp oil to their cures. Additionally, baits cured with salmon fishing in mind are usually dyed bright “rocket” red. Yes, you can catch kings and silvers on plain ol’ Borax eggs, but you’ll tip the odds in your favor by adding these extra ingredients. You can also get into changing the ingredients as you move upstream—less salt for fish holding near tidewater and more salt in the mix the farther upstream you fish. I know, I know—this all sounds very complicated, but here’s a good, basic salmon cure to get you in the game: Salmon Cure Recipe s #UP3ODIUM3ULlTE (available from Pro Cure) s #UP"ORAX"UY-ULE4EAM Borax – not Boraxo – in the laundry section of the supermarket) s #UP.ON )ODIZED3ALT s #UP7HITE3UGAR s 4EASPOONOFREDBAITDYE (Pro Cure and Pro Glow make it) Wearing rubber gloves, mix all the ingredients together and then pour the cure into a clean shaker bottle (like parmesan cheese comes in). Lightly shake the cure onto the quartered skeins, making sure that you get the powder into all the folds and flaps of eggs. Once all your baits are covered in cure, drop them into gallonsized Zip-Loc bags and gently roll the

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bags around to further coat the eggs in cure. In a few minutes, the eggs will begin juicing...the process has begun! Store the bags in a cooler or old fridge overnight and turn them over every couple hours. As you do, be sure to pour out the juice. The next morning, you can add a little secret ingredient if you like. Sometimes, I’ll pour a tablespoon or two of tuna oil, anise or sardine oil to give the bait a little extra “kick.” Put the bags back in the fridge and the baits should pull the secret sauce in. A day later, you’ll have big, plump berries that are ready to fish. For a gooier egg, don’t drain off the juice as frequently ,and if you want a little tougher bait for drift fishing, take the eggs and put them in a plastic strainer for several hours. Just make sure the eggs are in a cool place and out of the sun. Go Fishing! The testing process is, of course, the most exciting part of egg curing. The only way to get feedback is to put the stuff in the water and see how the fish like it. In addition to keeping tabs on how often you get bit, pay attention to how well your bait milks, holds its color and stays on the hook. Eventually, you’ll be able to use that information to build the perfect cure.

A longtime Pacific Northwest salmon and steelhead guide, JD Richey is a contributing editor for Fish Alaska magazine. He can be reached at www.fishwithjd.com.

you must wait for the fish to not only take the eggs deeper into their mouth, but most importantly, to turn and swim directly away from you. As the line comes tight and the rod folds over, the single hook is pulled through their mouth until it lines up with the soft spot in the corner of their jaw, where it has a good chance of not only hooking but also holding the fish for the duration of the ensuing battle. In order for the single hook to line up and “find” the corner of the fish’s jaw, it must be large, sharp, fully exposed and set back from the lure and eggs. This is where our custom egg rigging comes in.

Kenai King Egg Rig By Greg Brush

Regulations mandate a single hook for Kenai kings, so make the most of it with this prime rigging.

In simple terms, our fishery managers are tasked with maximizing angler opportunity while ensuring sustainability. This is a fancy way of saying they need to make it hard enough to catch a fish so that (1) everybody gets a chance and (2) enough fish get away that we have plenty for the future. To achieve this goal, they dig into their toolbox and employ clever ways to handcuff anglers, effectively limiting their success rate and controlling harvest. It sounds harsh, but it’s very necessary. On Alaska’s Kenai River king fishery, where the demand for big, trophy Chinook almost always exceeds supply, these management tools take many forms. For example, professional fishing guides can only operate Tuesday through Saturday, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays are reserved for private boaters only while Mondays are for private, non-motorized craft such as drift boats. The bag limit is one per day/two per year and you must retire your rod for the remainder of the day after keeping a Kenai king. Multiple hooks are restricted, only one single hook can be used on your lure. As I said, these restrictions are intended to make it tough for you to catch a fish. And make no mistake, they definitely

do—all except one: the single hook. Recently, some enterprising Kenai River anglers have devised a clever (and perfectly legal) tweak for their egg rigs, thereby maximizing effectiveness to the point where fishing with a single hook is little or no handicap. And who can blame them for being innovative; with high traffic, low fish numbers and restrictions that make getting bit a challenge in itself, every bite becomes oh-so-precious. Understanding what’s happening Before we get into the nuts and bolts of how to create our custom Kenai king egg rig, I think it is important for anglers to really understand what’s happening when a king salmon strikes a lure with eggs. While an occasional Chinook will actually swallow roe, the vast majority of these big salmon just pick your bait up and move it. They almost always mouth the eggs, sometimes smashing them, before swimming away with the bait firmly in their mouth. This is why your egg rod almost always goes “yank-yank-pull” over a two- to three second period prior to the king peeling line off your reel. This means two things: whether backtrolling, back-bouncing or drifting eggs,

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The proper components I’ll be blunt here. Your rigging is only as good as the materials you use to create it. Kenai kings are big, powerful and very precious—as I said, missing a fish, or breaking one off, is not an option. Use the very best components possible. I start with 60-pound Ande fluorocarbon line. While these fish aren’t particularly leader shy, I still like knowing my leader is virtually invisible under water. But more important is the stiffness and resistance to abrasion of fluorocarbon. Some guides use 80-pound-test; I believe that 60 is sufficient. Don’t even think of going less: while I landed many Kenai kings with 50-pound-test as a young, inexperienced guide, I also broke several solid fish off as the big teeth of a buck king cut through my minimal leader. Next, decide what brand of hook you like. I’ve written plenty about the importance of an ultra-sharp hook before and won’t belabor the point, but I will say that this is one area where you do not want to cut corners. Buy a premium hook. There are numerous high-quality hooks on the market today and much of your choice will come down to personal preference. I like Gamakatsu hooks. The style of hook is as important as the brand and I have had excellent results over the years with an Octopus bend, although I will say that several guide buddies of mine, whom I deeply respect for their king fishing prowess, swear by Gamakatu’s new Big River hook. And, like the old adage goes…size matters. Not only do you need a large-gauge wire to hold a big Chinook, you need a big, gaping hook to grab the corner of their jaw. During the May/June early run, I often fish a 6/0 hook. This is due to the fact that eggs are often restricted and I use a smaller lure in this lower/slower water. Basically, I want my smaller-winged bobber, whether that is a Cheater or Spin ’n Glo, to be able to “float” my hook slightly off the bottom. In July however, where

eggs are almost always legal and the increased water current necessitates a slightly bigger lure, I opt for either a 7/0 or 8/0 size hook. Creating the Kenai king egg rig There are several different ways to create the Kenai king egg rig but they all do the same thing, namely keep the hook exposed and set the point back 2- to 3 inches from your lure. First, tie a 36- to 48-inch leader using the premium components mentioned above. If you don’t know how to tie a snell knot, now is the time to learn. Have a seasoned buddy show you, or Google “snell knot” as soon as you are done reading this column. Now, choose your rigging Some guides thread a medium-sized barrel swivel down the line, locating it precisely between four 6mm beads that they place above the single hook and below the lure. This swivel creates a makeshift bait loop above the hook, again setting the point back substantially behind your eggs. They then “open” the new bait loop, which is now laying against the barrel of the swivel (between the two eyes), to secure their gob of eggs. I prefer a simpler method. I tie a double-hook leader and snip off the leading hook at the start of the bend, leaving only a snelled shank to secure my eggs directly above the trailing hook. This method might not look as “trick” as the swivel method, but it is easier to bait with gloves on and lighter overall, allowing my lure to better float my eggs. And more importantly, it places my hook back even farther than the bead method, although I will admit that this goal could be achieved by simply running more beads above and below your threaded swivel. The final factor The final factor is critical: fish your new Kenai king egg rig with total confidence. Yes, it looks funky. You will undoubtedly get questioned by naïve anglers and might even receive a snide remark or two from a doubting buddy. But that’s okay; they’ll see the light when you land that hog of a king and need a pair of pliers to remove the custom hook that is totally buried in the corner of its bony jaw!

Greg Brush is a longtime Kasilof and Kenai river guide and frequent Fish Alaska contributor. For questions or comments, he can be reached by e-mail, [email protected]. July 2012 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 27

Beads

By Kevin Price

King

Sockeye

Chum

Pink

Silver

Every year millions of salmon make their pilgrimage from the ocean to the rivers and streams of Alaska. The fish come for one purpose: to spawn. Anglers from all over the world annually visit these waters as well: to catch the salmon, and the resident species that follow to feed off their eggs. On the Kanektok and Arolik rivers of

western Alaska, where I guide for Alaska West, we are fortunate to have all five species of Pacific salmon, so selecting an egg pattern takes a hair of knowledge in regards to the size and color of the egg, as both will change drastically as the season wears on. I address selecting beads or egg patterns for the fish of Alaska the same as I would

a bug pattern in my home trout waters of California. First I want to know what it is; second, what size it is, and third, what color it is. In the early part of the season, when eggs are freshly dropped, they are true in color and size, and in all honesty, you could probably close your eyes, pick any bead in your box that was decently similar and still get bit. But as the season progresses, several species of salmon will have made deposits, providing eggs of various sizes and colors to the resident fish. In addition, over time, those eggs will start to become more opaque, multi-colored and even deformed. The longer the salmon have been spawning, the more the fish that feed off their eggs will become wise to anything that looks abnormal, or isn’t an exact match. This is where a diverse bead box can be of huge importance to an angler. Natural king salmon eggs are generally in the 10mm size range and have a dark reddish or slightly red/orange color to them. King eggs are the largest of all the eggs that will be deposited in the river, and generally kings are the first species to start spawning. Beads for kings should range from 8mm–12mm. My favorite king egg is a 10mm translucent tangerine or dark roe bead, with five coats of Sally

Hansen Sheerly Beloved nail lacquer. Natural chum salmon eggs are in the 8mm size and are more of a light pink, or pale/dirty pink. My favorite chum egg is an 8mm peach/pearl bead, without additional paint, or an 8mm dirty roe egg with two coats of Sally Hansen Innocent Nude. Natural sockeye eggs are generally around 6mm in size and are typically a bright orange when first laid. No other salmon egg seems to grab the attention of rainbow trout like a sockeye egg, so make sure you have plenty of them, in various colors. My choices would be a mile long if I listed them all, but for a go-to starter bead, use the 6mm Cabela’s orange bead with two coats of Sally Hansen Innocent Nude on just half the bead, followed by total coverage of three coats of Sally Hansen Sheerly Beloved. Natural pink salmon eggs are typically about 6mm as well, with some smaller 4mm eggs. They tend to be a pale pink color, like a chum egg, but smaller. I use a few different beads in 4mm to 6mm size ranges. Opaque or solid color eggs have always worked well for me, and my favorite here is a 6mm solid pink bead or a 6mm peach/pearl bead, with no paint. Natural silver salmon are in the 6mm to 8mm size range on average and have a light orange color to them. The silvers are

the last of the salmon to show up, usually in late July. By the time they’re spawning, most anglers are beginning to fish flesh patterns, as by then the sockeye will be dying in huge numbers. Those who chose to fish around spawning silver salmon should fish beads in the 8mm range, with colors varied. My favorite is an 8mm nonpainted peach/pearl bead. While this is egg time, something else to consider when fishing anywhere in Alaska is thinking outside the (bead) box. When there is a lot of bead pressure, I’ve seen countless rainbows refuse egg patterns only to chase down a dead-drifted #6 Idylwilde Jimmy Legs Stonefly Nymph or a mouse pattern skated over a spawning bed. They are fish, after all, and I have yet to meet a man who can stick his head underwater, ask the trout a question and come up with an answer.

This prime fall Dolly fell for a dead-drifted sockeye bead.

Kevin Price has guided in both the Iliamna area and in western Alaska on the Kanektok and Arolik rivers, where he is in his third season at Alaska West. He also guides fulltime in Northern California and is on the pro staffs for Scott Fly Rods and Scientific Anglers, as well as being a signature fly tyer for Idylwilde. He can be contacted through his website, www.kevinpriceflyfishing.com.

Plan For Disaster

Isn’t that what PFD stands for? By Troy Buzalsky Mayhem is a word being tossed around the insurance industry to describe life’s tragic events, when a little insurance is a good investment—giving you peace-of-mind should the unexpected happen. In the boating world, too, situations can change quickly, and a peaceful day on the water can go from utopia to mayhem in a matter a seconds. Planning for Disaster should be part of every boater’s daily checklist. To illustrate, a friend of mine named Jeff McLennan forwards an annual safety message to all his fishing buddies, in which he offers the message that basic safety equipment like Personal Floatation Devices [PFDs] are incomparably important to all of us when it comes to enjoying our boats on our favorite waterways. Following are excerpts from this year’s letter: On October 3, I spent the day doing something all of us enjoy. I was fishing for fall

Chinook on the Oregon coast. While the weather was great and the fishing was good (we caught three Chinook and released three wild coho), the day was not what any of us would call “perfect.” Far from it, in fact. My fishing partners and I became the unwilling eyewitnesses to a boating accident that resulted in the death of another fisherman. This was an accident that should not have happened. This is a life that should not have been lost. Here is what happened that fall morning. At about 9 a.m., we were at the east end of our trolling pattern. After making our turn, we were again heading west. Off to the south, about 100 yards from our position, was a smaller jet-sled boat operated by one man. The boat was heading east, toward the beach at trolling speed. The man aboard was standing at the rear of the open boat, facing forward with his back to the oncoming sea. Without warning a large swell rose and broke over the boat and its operator, sweeping over the hull from the stern. The boat skidded forward like a surfboard at the base of the pounding whitewater and the open hull was partially filled with seawater. We watched as the man in the boat stood up at the stern of the boat and tried to regroup. The man did what many of us would have done in the same situation and, in hind-

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sight, it was probably the worst thing he could have done. Instead of going for a life preserver and trying to slowly power his boat toward the beach (therefore, going with the waves), he applied power to his motor and tried to turn his boat into the next breaker. Unfortunately, he was unable to complete the turn before the next wave broke over him. The boat took the next wave almost broadside and between the breaking wave and a hull almost full of water, the boat pitched, flooded and sank by the stern within about 10 seconds. The man was thrown from the boat into the breakers. In spite of knowing exactly where he had gone into the ocean, none of us were able to see the man after the second wave strike. All we knew for sure was that the boat was gone from the surface and that the man had been tossed out and was somewhere in those breakers. We alerted the Coast Guard of the emergency and held our position in order to reference the location of the man in the water. Shouting and pointing seemed to help direct the crew of the motorized lifeboat. What probably took only a couple of minutes seemed to take forever. The motorized lifeboat pulled out of the surf-line and made its way toward our position. The boat’s operator yelled to us to

confirm that there was only one person seen aboard the boat. While we answered, we could see two rescue swimmers on the rear deck of the lifeboat performing CPR on the lifeless body of the man they had plucked from the waves. Off they roared toward the Tillamook station at Garibaldi where a waiting ambulance took the man to an area hospital. This morning, the news carried the story that the 38-year-old man had died in the accident. Every one of us who witnessed this tragedy learned something from it. We learned that life can be taken in the blink of an eye. We learned that the sea does not forgive our mistakes. We learned that the margin for error is just about zero. I believe that this accident could have been avoided. Obviously, had the boat been in a safer location to begin with the waves would not have crashed over the hull. Had the boat been facing the sea instead of the shore the design of the hull would have kept the water out and the boat would have probably survived the wave strikes. Had the man not been distracted, alone and facing into the rising sun he may have been able to take evasive action that would have saved him. All of these are good lessons, but the most important lesson is that a personal floatation device would have saved his life…unques-

Wearing an angling-friendly PFD – like these offerings from Stearns and Mustang – is much preferrable to the generic life jackets sitting on your boat in plastic.

tionably. I know they can be uncomfortable. I know they can look stupid. I know that you may know how to swim. I know you can get to it in the locker on the boat if you really need it; but how often do you actually wear one? Please take a second and think about this. When you start looking at fishing in “big” water, like the ocean or anyplace where things look like they could get weird, take the time to put on that vest. The incident described in Jeff’s letter is just one of many that happen each and every year, regardless of whether boating on a

skinny stream, in big whitewater, on lakes and reservoirs, or in the ominous open sea. If looking the part and being comfortable is an important consideration to get you and your passengers committed to wearing PFDs, consider expanding your search to angling-friendly options. They are less cumbersome, more comfortable, more practical and they “look the part,” too! Mustang Survival is an industry leader in PFDs as well as other life safety equipment and apparel. Most of us have seen their trademark Mustang Integrity Float Coat, but newer to the market is the MV3224 Integrity Floatation Vest. Designed for

July 2012 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 31

comfort and warmth in cool weather, the vest provides enhanced mobility coupled with a USCG Type III floatation rating. The Integrity Vest is also excellent for layering over other clothing, making it both great-looking and convenient. Comfort is a key factor when wearing a PFD and the Integrity is garnished with a fleece-lined collar and hand-warmer pockets to maximize comfort and an inside pocket for secure storage. For an angling enthusiast the Mustang Integrity Vest provides the best of all worlds: warmth, comfort, convenience and safety...four items every Alaska angler can appreciate when it comes to the climate, the water and of course the PFDs. NRS might be best known for their line of inflatable boats, but their madefor-fishing Chinook Fishing Mesh Back PFD has been turning heads within the fishing community for the last few years. This is no ordinary PFD, it’s a PFD that’s been designed, engineered and field-tested by the best in the industry...and it shows! The Chinook features a total of eight stacked pockets, which are great for lure boxes, weights, fly boxes, tippets and of course, your camera or phone. The chest is equipped with an integrated rod-holder loop and fly -drying patch and the back with a net-holder ring. Attachment point loops are conveniently located for pliers, clippers and accessories, and there is a pinon tab for adding a retractable lanyard. Eight adjustment points allow for that perfect fit regardless of undergarments, and the high back floatation allows for the ventilated mesh back, perfect for kayakers. Reflective piping and stripes provide visibility and the Chinook offers 16.5 pounds of floatation, earning a USCG Type III rating. Stearns has earned a reputation as “the lifejacket experts,” and has taken creating angling-friendly PFDs to the next level. Offering several fishing versions, the Stearns SOSpenders Inflatable Fishing Vest, with 33.7 pounds of floatation, is the crown jewel in their lineup. Inflatable PFDs are nothing new for the industry, and for many they are the choice due to their lightweight and unencumbered feel. The SOSpenders Fishing Vest is more than an inflatable vest, it’s a true fishing vest complete with storage pockets, loops, D rings, a chest-mounted rod loop and of course, the stealthily designed inflatable air-chamber. The SOSpenders Fishing Vest features a state-of-the-art manual inflator mechanism with an easyto-read single-point indicator and carries a USCG Type III rating. For better moisture wicking and overall comfort, the collar is lined with fleece. Stearns really got it right with this design, combining form and 32 www.FishAlaskaM a ga z i n e . c o m J u l y 2 0 1 2

function that translates to good looks and wearer safety. In the end, there are over 140,000 drowning victims each year worldwide. Although most of these deaths are swimmers, the disturbing fact is that 80% of the boaters who drown actually had life vests on board but were not wearing them when disaster struck. Remember, PFD stands for Personal Floatation Device, but it also stands for Plan For Disaster. Whether you’re running your 5 HP kicker, pulling 5 knots or 5 Gs, don’t leave home without yours—and more importantly, wear it!

As a native Oregonian, Troy Buzalsky grew up fishing the McKenzie River from his hometown of Eugene. He currently lives in West Linn, OR, and works as a division chief in the fire service. Personal Flotation Devices (PFD) are classified by “Types” indicated below: Type I Offshore: Has the greatest required buoyancy and is designed to turn most unconscious persons in the water from a face down position to a vertical or slightly backward position. The Type I PFD provides the greatest protection to its wearer and is most effective for all waters. Type II Near Shore: A wearable device designed to turn its wearer in a vertical or slightly backward position in the water. The turning action is not as pronounced as with a Type I, and the device will not turn as many persons under the same conditions as the Type I. Type III Flotation Aid: A wearable device designed so the wearers can place themselves in a vertical or slightly backward position. While the Type III has the same buoyancy as the Type II PFD, it has a little or no turning ability. A Type III is designed for use when waterskiing, sailing, hunting, fishing or engaging in other water sports. Type IV Throwable Device: A device designed to be thrown to a person in the water and grasped and held by the user until rescued. It is not designed to be worn. The most common Type IV devices are a buoyant cushion and a ring buoy. Type V Special Use Device: Any PFD approved for restricted use. Approved flotation devices which are partially or totally inflatable must be worn to be accepted as a legal device. July 2012 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 33

Getting Down With The Nauti Lady—Et Al by Terry W. Sheely

Poor man’s downrigger my foot. This thing is a fish-catching machine. Tim said it and I already knew it; the Pink Lady is always hot, always ready to go steep and deep. And so is her first cousin, the Nauti Lady, and the extended family, Dipsy Diver, Deep Six, Double Deep Six and Comet Tail. And no, they’re not leftovers from a good night in a bad bar, but they are leftovers from a far less technical era of salmon trolling—the ’80s and ’90s. And except for the Nauti Lady, may she rest in peace, they continue to troll hard into the 21st century, bagging fishermen from the shelves of savvy tackle stores and still quick to dive into wakes and come up with silvers, kings and pinks. Divers may be old school, but they do the job, and in my estimation going down with one is one of the most productive trolling advantages ever to be jilted by sports in a heated fling for the latest salmon bling. Salmon divers deserve a second date. I have two downriggers, port and starboard, on my center console and I’d love to have a bucket of king crab legs for every time they were outfished by a Pink Lady or Deep Six diving straight into the cavitation bubbles behind the outboard. Some sort of magic mojo is at play here. Exactly what—I don’t know. Divers hit the market with four touted purposes: to attract salmon, replace problematic lead trolling weights; control depth and to eliminate or nullify resistance between fishermen and fight. That of course is the same market niche that downriggers fill. The staggeringly big differences are that I can buy three, maybe four dozen divers for what one respectable downrigger cost; I never have to buy wire, faulty releases and specialty bling and I never, never puzzle over how to mount one on a small skiff or rental boat. Every diver is interchangeably portable in a variety of designs in multiple sizes, depth-diving ranges and colors and can be packed in any decent tackle bag or boot sock. Divers operate on a simple concept. Most are shaped like the blade of a shovel with a weighted-rudder on the front (wide) end. A bait or lure leader is knotted onto a split ring or swivel at the (pointy) back end. The mainline is connected to a release that’s hinged to the front edge of the diver but folded back and secured

Sometimes it pays to go old school.

roughly midsection. Most divers, like the Deep Six, have a wire arm attached to the blunt front that folds back to snap into place near midsection, repositioning the mainline to come off at the middle. Others, like the Pink Lady, have slip-and-trip mechanisms. For fishermen the most significant difference is that the slip-trip release on a Pink Lady can be easily reset in the water under troll by throwing slack into the mainline. Without rod tension, Pink Lady’s flutter and go horizontal long enough for the trip ring to reposition, and will redive when the mainline draws tight. After a strike-and-a-miss, the models with folding arm releases like the Deep Six need to be retrieved and manually reset. The only real advantage to the slip-trip in-water reset feature comes when trolling hardware, spoons, plugs or unsweetened hoochies; because they can be reset after a light bite goes bad without removing from the proven strike zone. Whenever fresh bait is trolled, especially herring, the most subtle salmon bite and rejection requires that all divers be retrieved for a bait check. Divers work on a principal as basic as a grapefruit spoon. When trolled the diver morphs into an inverted spoon or shovel blade that angles down and digs into the water. The bigger the “shovel,” the more line out and the greater the water resistance, the deeper it

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dives. When a salmon strikes—and one will strike—the release trips, the mainline connection repositions from midsection to the front lip of the diver and the device streamlines into a horizontal unit offering little or no water resistance. A small number 000 Deep Six will dive to about 40 feet and the large 002 (a swaggering five-inch model) will dig down to 90, according to the manufacturers. As a general guide figure that for every two feet of line off the reel a diver goes down one foot until reaching its maximum rated depth. That’s plenty deep for most kings, silvers and pinks. Divers can be used to sink just about any typical salmon rigging, including flashers and dodgers. The only rule welted into granite is that the leader, flasher, tippet, bait/lure combo beyond the mainline can never be longer than the rod. Tough to control a thrashing king that’s still 15 feet out when the swivel on the mainline bangs into the tip top of an 8 ½-foot rod. Colors? Just pick your favorite salmon poison. One of the developers responsible for designing divers recommends for humpies and coho knotting on bright red, pink, silver or orange. For kings, he prefers blue, silver, chartreuse, greens and a wild flutter called a clear-silver disco. Chum salmon love green. When king or chum salmon are the targets, artificial lures the incentive and depth the problem, I’m becoming

increasingly convinced that visibility-enhanced UV coated lures attract more fish. The preeminent diver manufacturer, Luhr-Jensen, now owned by Normark, the Rapala company, went one step up on the attractor ladder with the Comet Tail, a garish Deep Six flagged with footlong streamers of Mylar. They claim it attracts fish like no other and I believe it—it could flash me across a street full of teenage drivers. Another twist on the diver principal, pun intended, is a model called the Dipsy Diver. Instead of the standard shovel shape it is round, with a moveable base plate that can be twisted and positioned to run directionally out to the side of a trolling path, well away from the boat. Dipsy Divers can be tuned to run left, right or straight, will dig down to 100 feet and feature a hinged release similar to a Deep Six. It’s the diver of choice when trolling multiple rods. While I’ve caught plenty of kings with divers, I’m convinced these little devices are at their zenith in coho season. I like to fish them straight over the transom, three maybe four pulls of line off the rod tip, so the diver and lure/bait ride right at the edge of the wake bubbles. I’m about 80 percent convinced that feeding coho home in on wake bubbles, possibly mistaking the turbulence for a flashing ball of baitfish or a feeding melee, or maybe they’re just curious about the disturbance. Fished off the transom, rod right over the top of the motor, a hot pink diver digs down behind the spinning prop, the leader carries the lure/herring to the back edge of the cavitation bubbles and bang—another hooknose goes down with a Pink Lady. Divers are also the trollers’ answer to congested water. Because they fish directly below the boat they can be trolled effectively and without tangling when fishing boats are gunwale to gunwale on a hotspot. Lead-weighted trolling lines and even downriggers will kite considerable distances behind a trolling boat and in crowds, tangles become unavoidable. But because divers work almost directly under the boat conflicts are rare. And that Nauti Lady that dove into the front of the story—Yakima Bait took her off the tackle shelf a long time ago, reserving her tantalizing dips and wiggles for collectors.

Fish Alaska contributing editor Terry W. Sheely writes and fishes from his home in Black Diamond, WA. He can be reached at www.tnscommunications.net. July 2012 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 35

Dog Days

by George Krumm The water was glassy and smooth. The sun was searing by Alaska standards, and the thermometer said it was 75 degrees on that early July day. My sunglasses didn’t seem dark enough. I was still damp from the hike down into Long Lake, and I wished a breeze would come up— both to ruffle the surface to provide some cover for fish, and to cool me down. But it didn’t happen, and I searched for fish over the shoals without much to hope for. I could clearly see the chara beds eight-, 10-, even 15 feet below, and occasionally a small fish. But at two in the afternoon, it Try fishing early in the morning or late at night. quickly became clear to me that the shoals would be relatively fish- mid- and late summer. Rainbow trout are less until either a breeze came up or the most active in temperatures around 58weather cooled. or 60 degrees. When the surface is warm, The dog days of summer (if we can call trout will spend much of their time in it that in Alaska) do affect trout, and a deeper water. Sure, they’ll move into the calm, clear, hot day in midsummer pres- warmer shallows to feed, especially when ents difficult conditions, perhaps the most light levels are low due to time of day or difficult of the entire open-water season. a ripple on the water; however, they will There are two reasons for this difficul- spend considerable time in deeper water ty—extremely bright light and warm wa- if it’s available because the water is cooler. ter temperatures. The fish don’t like eiBright light is also something trout ther. During the middle of the day during will avoid, if they can. They seem to inthese conditions, fish will move to parts stinctively know they are more visible and of the lake that are more comfortable. vulnerable in shallow water if the surface It’s common in Southcentral lakes for is undisturbed and light levels are high. surface temperatures to hit 70 degrees in Trout don’t have sunglasses. They’ll avoid

bright light to the extent they can, and in lakes that usually means they move deeper, if deeper water is available and oxygen levels are sufficient. One way to beat the heat is to fish very early in the morning and very late in the evening. At those times, light levels are low and fish will move out of the depths up onto the shoals to feed. The surface temperature will be coolest early in the morning. During these unusually warm midsummer days you may have to be on the water at daylight to capitalize on this situation. By mid-morning, most fish will have already returned to the depths. On the day I described in my introductory paragraph, I got into fish by abandoning the places and techniques I usually employ. I put on a fast-sinking fly line, a big, black, weighted leech, and essentially trolled in stop-and-start fashion in water from 25- to 50 feet deep. I’d cast out 40- or 50 feet of line and let it sink until it was almost straight down; then I’d kick and occasionally twitch my rod tip until my fly line began to rise to the surface. Then I’d let it sink back down again. The fish were suspended at various depths, but all were well below the surface. Though fish that are suspended like this are usually not feeding heavily (unless there is a heavy chironomid hatch), they are opportunistic and will bite. This stop-and-start deep-water presentation allowed me to show my fly to fish at various depths and the result was I caught several nice fish on a day that seemed hopeless.

George Krumm is a lifelong fly fisher and fly tyer who began fly fishing stillwater in 1976. He can be reached at [email protected].

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Quartz Creek

By Kalb Stevenson, PhD Have you glanced at the price of gas lately? Many Alaskans are easily paying over a hundred bucks to fill up at the pump. Flights are more expensive, too, and even the neighborhood kid who mows everybody’s lawn is billing a fuel surcharge. So, how can you buy less gasoline and still get your fishing fix? Two strategies come to mind. First, extend your trips a day or two, and pick out some new places to wet a line. Fewer, but longer, trips will save on fuel if your fishing destinations can be accessed along a single route of travel. Second, pick a place that’s relatively close to home. For many that reside in the urban or suburban centers around southcentral Alaska, Quartz Creek meets both criteria. Quartz Creek feeds Kenai Lake and lies just off the Sterling Highway about eight miles west of the Seward Highway junction. From Quartz Creek, it’s about an hour to Soldotna or Seward, two hours to Anchorage and less than three hours to Palmer, Wasilla or Homer. It also is not too far out of the way from other popular destinations—whether you are deep-sea fishing out of Seward, Ninilchik or Homer, stream fishing the Kenai or Russian rivers or dipnetting near the city of Kenai. Quartz Creek can be accessed from the Sterling Highway, but a popular choice is to take Quartz Creek Road to either the Quartz Creek Campground or the Kenai Lake boat launch; from there it’s less than a half-mile walk around the beach to the mouth of the stream. The boundary between the brilliant blue waters of Kenai

Lake and the clear freshwater of Quartz Creek provides excellent foraging habitat for natural populations of Dolly Varden and rainbow trout in spring and fall. Hello, Dolly! Have you ever wondered why “Dolly Varden” is capitalized? Well here’s a bit of trivia with which to impress your friends: The name is actually borrowed from a fictitious female character in the Charles Dickens’ novel Barnaby Rudge, published in 1841. In the novel, a character named Dolly Varden is the love interest of the story’s main character, who goes off to fight in the Revolutionary War. Dickens describes young Dolly as flirtatious and wearing flashy attire and colorful dresses, including one that is green with pink polka dots. The Kenai River system is assumed to have populations of both resident and ocean-going Dollies, both of which spawn in freshwater streams in fall. Resident Dollies are present in the river system and its various inlet streams throughout the year, while anadromous Dollies spawn in the fall, overwinter in Kenai or Skilak lakes and then head out to sea in April. Dolly Varden are a prime target at Quartz Creek. In late July, thousands of sockeye salmon exit out of Kenai Lake and into Quartz, and the Dollies follow in pursuit. Salmon are off-limits to fishing here, but Dolly Varden and rainbow trout are fair game. However, the Dollies that move into the stream probably won’t touch a colored bead until actual eggs begin appearing in the streambed about a month after

A spring angler works the mouth of Quartz Creek. 38 www.FishAlaskaM a ga z i n e . c o m J u l y 2 0 1 2

the first appearance of migrating salmon. A few Dollies and rainbows will frequent the stream before the salmon enter to spawn, but it’s nothing compared to later. Fishing can be fantastic from August through September, and the easily walkable stream is jammed with riffles and runs, pools, logjams and cut banks. Glo-Bugs, various chenille eggs or beads are good options for scoring lots of Dollies in late summer and fall. If possible, use a good pair of polarized sunglasses to sight fish; find one or two Dolly Varden suspended in the water column and spend time watching what they eat. Note the size and color of eggs the fish are taking and select a bead that will best imitate the food source. When the salmon spawn tapers down in early September, some resident Dolly Varden migrate upstream of the Sterling Highway bridge at Mile 40.9. It is here that they reportedly spawn, flashing their radiant colors and carrying on in a manner consistent with the flirtatious character for whom they are named. It is this spawning activity that requires the closure of the water above the Sterling Highway bridge to fishing in mid-September. Open fishing periods above the bridge are from early June to mid-September and from November through April. Following spawning, some Dolly Varden will ultimately drop back toward the mouth, while others move to different sections of the Kenai River. By late September, many Dolly Varden will have left Quartz Creek, but several rainbow trout remain to feed on pieces of rotting salmon carcasses. Articulated peach or white flesh flies, or the more sophisticated combination flesh-egg flies, are smart options for hooking into rainbows at this time of year. Elusive Rainbows Fishing Quartz Creek in late summer and fall is certain to produce good action, but what about spring and early summer? Below the Sterling Highway bridge, the creek is open to fishing at all times except from May to early June. In mid-to-late April, the creek is actually very fishable and presents formidable challenges. It is running strong with melted snow, and at the mouth, enough ice has usually been pushed away to try different techniques. Fishing Quartz Creek at the end of April before the May closure is no walk in the park; the rainbows are sparse and still a bit sluggish due to the cold water temperature. I have fished Quartz twice in late April, and twice I have struck out. However, I have seen fish both times. The first time, about four years ago, an angler fishing next to me at the mouth of the stream hooked up using a small wet fly (perhaps a 40 www.FishAlaskaM a ga z i n e . c o m J u l y 2 0 1 2

small white flesh fly or a beaded nymph). Not catching on that trip, I decided to pack it in and try again later. This past April, I was determined to hook into a spring Quartz Creek rainbow. Armed with a light-tackle spinning rod, two different fly rods, an array of lures and flies and a fishing buddy, I hit the creek from morning to late afternoon. In the morning around 10 a.m., we were encouraged to see rainbows rising out in the open water of the lake—right up by the ice shelf several hundred feet off the mouth. Presumably, they were chasing smolt near the surface. We fished for eight hours and covered every possible space of open water. We threw all colors and types of flies, from white beads to weighted neon green bunny-hair streamers, not to mention an array of nymphs, leeches and smolt patterns. Nothing doing. We threw out different gold and silver spinners as well, often covering sections of deeper water off the ice shelf around the portions of the lake that were exposed. Again, we had no luck. It wasn’t likely that the fish were up in the stream so early in the year, but after six hours of fishing at the mouth, we needed a change of scenery. The wind was also whipping across the beach, so we were happy to get up in the stream and around the first few bends for protection. As expected, we saw no fish and got no strikes, although we did lose quite a few flies on snags. We headed back to the mouth after an hour of wind-free fishing, reminding ourselves of the risers early in the day. We continued our effort, but it was ultimately futile. Despite the poor fishing, we could not complain. It was hard to beat the view of the towering snow-covered mountains and beautiful gravel beaches around Kenai Lake and the mouth of Quartz Creek. Perhaps it is true what they say after all— a bad day fishing really does beat a good day at work. Quartz Creek is close to home, on the way to other popular fishing destinations and relatively under-fished. It’s a beautiful setting and presents a fun challenge in different seasons. I will certainly return to target Dolly Varden this summer or fall, and will probably also one day attempt to catch my elusive spring rainbow at this location in a future outing. For all these reasons, Quartz Creek really is a great prospect for tight lines on a tight budget.

Kalb Stevenson’s goal is to bring the best in affordable fishing to Fish Alaska readers looking to maximize their angling budget. July 2012 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 41

ers I’ve fished around the state. Egg patterns are highly effective there, but even on the Nush the angler still has to get the fly down and make it act naturally when it gets there. Wilson addressed the problem by tweaking an old pattern and resurrecting it as “Flip’s Fat Freddie.” Kings like big egg patterns, and the effect of all the buoyant yarn needed to create one is to make it even more difficult for the fly to reach its target near the bottom. Wilson solved the problem by incorporating both lead wire and barbell eyes to produce a big, highly visible pattern with a sufficiently brisk rate of sink to get down in the Nushagak’s robust early-season current. Since detailed tying instructions appeared in a succinct piece by Rich Bobby in the May 2006 issue of Fish Alaska, (available for purchase through the maga-

zine), I won’t repeat them here, but I will offer a few notes on fishing the pattern. The FFF is of necessity a heavy, bulky fly, and you’ll need at least a 9-weight to handle it with any comfort. While I usually fish egg patterns on a classic dead-drift, kings often strike this one as the fly rises at the end of the drift, so fish every cast out until the fly is downstream behind you. Finally, the original version calls for a trailing hook with a loop for those who choose to sweeten the pot with some eggs. I don’t, but I’ve noticed that kings—notorious for subtle strikes—often wind up hooked on the trailer, so I usually leave it in place. A recent return trip to the High Adventure camp on the lower Nush simply confirmed the impression this pattern made on me when I first met Wilson there years ago. After getting my ya-ya’s

Simulated eggs need to behave like real eggs to be very effective.

Wilson, like most experienced fly-rod anglers, appreciated early on the importance of egg imitations in pursuit of almost all of Alaska’s freshwater gamefish species. He also recognized that the traditional approach to the problem—spin a piece of Glo-Bug yarn onto a hook, trim it into a round glob and go fishing—left plenty of room for improvement. Given an innovative approach to the tying bench and abundant opportunity to observe results on the stream—where they matter—he set out to build a better mousetrap. In fact, Wilson’s approach to tying better egg patterns rested on a principle I’ve emphasized many times over the years: in pursuit of anadromous fish, presentation trumps the appearance of the fly more often than not. In the case of egg imitations, how the fly behaves in the water column matters more than what it looks like resting in your fly box, even in terms of such basic variables as size and color. The curious angler can learn a lot about this matter simply by standing midstream in any of the state’s great red salmon drainages during the “egg drop” and watching displaced eggs tumble along in the current. (Rest assured that plenty of big rainbows should be watching those eggs, too!) Salmon eggs have a specific gravity 44 www.FishAlaskaM a ga z i n e . c o m J u l y 2 0 1 2

slightly heavier than water…but not by much. Because of the buoyancy of most synthetic yarns used to tie egg patterns, these imitations naturally tend to rise in the current, as opposed to sinking slightly like the real thing. Meanwhile, migrating steelhead and salmon tend to hug the bottom where the current demonstrates smooth laminar flow characteristics, as do the gamefish feeding on their eggs (rainbows, char, Dollies). Getting a naturally buoyant egg imitation into the “zone” requires weight, but the traditional sinking-tip line plus a split-shot ahead of the fly makes for a difficult casting package and produces an “egg” behaving unnaturally in the current. Wilson originally needed an egg imitation that would be effective on king salmon in the lower Nushagak, where he guides for High Adventure King Camp during the peak of the run. The Nush, in my opinion, is the best fly-rod king salmon destination in the world, and not just because of the huge numbers of fish that return there in June and early July. From a fly-rod perspective, this is user-friendly water characterized by good visibility and manageable current, and it’s certainly an easier place to play the challenging fly-rod king salmon game than many other riv-

Here’s the famous Wilson Egg, shown from the start to the finished fly. July 2012 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 45

46 www.FishAlaskaM a ga z i n e . c o m J u l y 2 0 1 2

An An arsenal arsenal of of egg egg patterns patterns to to aid aid in in the the

pursuit pursuit of of many many of of Alaska’s Alaska’s gamefish. gamefish.

out on a number of bright fish during our first morning on the river, I set out to do some experimenting. That’s one great thing about the Nush; the kings are so abundant during the peak of the run that anglers don’t have to exercise Spartan discipline just to catch a fish or two, even when armed with fly rods. Because I enjoy catching salmon using the classic swing technique, I’ve worked out with an assortment of Bunnies and Buggers while Lori kept at it with Freddies. Any scientist will recognize numerous design flaws in this study, including the statistics of small numbers and the possibility that my wife can just plain fish better than I can. But she drew more strikes than I did from the same water, and we repeated enough versions on the theme over the next several days to leave me convinced that Flip’s Fat Freddie is the most effective king salmon fly I’ve ever fished. But as noted earlier, egg imitations are important in the pursuit of many Alaska gamefish in addition to king salmon. Effective as it is on kings in brisk current, the bulky FFF obviously wasn’t going to cover all of those bases, so Wilson went back to the tying bench to tinker some more. The result: the Wilson Egg. Like many professional tiers, Wilson produces this version of the single egg quickly and efficiently using an Egg Gun (substitute the clipped off barrel of a ballpoint pen if you like). The catch is the hook: a lead-headed #10 made by Eagle Claw for 1/80-ounce crappie jigs. The extra molecule of weight is all it takes to make the fly act like an egg in the current. I’m only one season into my experience

with the Wilson Egg, but the results have already left me impressed. It’s effectiveness on grayling and char really comes as no surprise; those two species strike so readily that they really can’t be used as yardsticks to measure any fly’s real worth. But the Wilson Egg has proven more effective than any egg imitation I’ve ever fished on rainbows and silvers—two species that offer considerably more challenge. And in contrast to a lot of egg-pattern setups, it’s a pleasure to cast, especially in low-water situations that don’t call for any additional weight ahead of the fly. The tiny hook may raise some eyebrows when large anadromous fish are the target, especially in situations when #2s or even larger hooks are customary. In fact, small hooks have a number of advantages, none greater than the ease of releasing a fish unharmed in the case of steelhead and rainbows. I haven’t noticed any problem hooking fish and keeping them hooked with the little Wilson Egg, and I have yet to break a hook even on big, vigorous steelhead and silvers. As far as I’m concerned, those delicate little hooks are a positive rather than a drawback, and I’m sure I’ll feel even more strongly about the subject the first time I sink one into my own finger. Back on the coast, I’ve given the steelhead lie half an hour of rest while I thought about life and re-rigged my gear. Now I’m fishing with 4x tippet and a Wilson Egg, terminal tackle delicate enough to look right at home on a Montana spring creek. And since the first shot at spooky, low-water fish is always the best, I’ve studied the July 2012 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 47

Another trout succumbed to a well-presented egg imitation.

current carefully so that I can drop the fly gently a dozen feet ahead of the upstream fish, give it one careful mend and have it tumbling naturally above the bottom right when it passes the fish’s nose. While the best laid schemes o’ mice and men indeed gang aft agley, just as Bobby Burns warned, this time, for once, everything goes according to plan. The water is so clear that I can easily see the tiny orange pixel of color as it drifts toward its target, at which point it suddenly disappears. Low-water steelhead can act loggy on the end of a line, but this one has other things in mind. The moment I strip-set the hook with my line hand, the little stream comes alive in a shower of spray, leaving me face to face with the reason why I did all I had to do to get here. And despite my record of nihilism with regard to fly selection for anadromous fish, I’m honestly not sure it would have happened without that tiny Wilson Egg.

Don Thomas and his wife Lori divide their time between homes in Montana and southeast Alaska. Don’s latest book, How Sportsmen Saved the World, documents the contributions hunters and anglers have made to the conservation movement. His 17 outdoor books are available through the website www.donthomasbooks.com.

MEET THE EGG MAN To obtain any of the patterns discussed in this piece, contact Jeff “Flip” Wilson during the Alaska guiding offseason at [email protected]. 48 www.FishAlaskaM a ga z i n e . c o m J u l y 2 0 1 2

Left: Geared up and ready to go float fishing. Below: The rewards of an egg job done well.

I’ve said it a thousand times…silver salmon can drive you nuts! Especially since they often hold in slow, snaggy, “bassy” water that’s typically best covered by casting hardware like spinners, spoons and plugs. Which is not a big deal—if they’re in the mood to bite lures. But here’s the rub: Coho aren’t always receptive to such offerings, and at times, you can cast until you need rotator cuff surgery without getting so much as a sniff from the fish. Here you have a situation in which the fish are completely ignoring your lures, yet are holding in frog water that’s not at all conducive to traditional drift-fishing methods. What to do? Hit ’em with a float and eggs. Silvers will often eat freshly cured roe when all else fails—and suspending it under a bobber gives you the opportunity to get your bait into their faces. If you tried to drift a glob of eggs with a chunk of lead in some of the slow, snag-infested holding areas coho prefer, you’d never really get your gear into the strike zone…and you’d lose a bunch of terminal tackle in the process. A float rig will drift downstream in places regular gear would stall out and end up anchored to the bottom. Plus, it keeps your bait above the snags and right where the fish can see it. As an added bonus, bobbers allow you to fish distant seams and holding lanes both above and below your position. You can also extend your drift by simply letting more line off your reel—all things you will be hard-pressed to do with conventional methods.

Spinners weren’t doing the trick on Cordova’s Ibeck Creek, so the author switched to roe suspended under a float and the bite went ballistic.

The Drag-Free Drift Before we get too far along, let’s cut to the meat of this technique and discuss the number one thing you have to master: The drag-free presentation. When fishing bait under a float, your gear needs to travel downstream at the speed of the current. While there are times when silvers will grab a bait that’s traveling a bit slower than the current (more on that later), you generally want to keep your gear moving with the flow of the river. To keep the proper speed going, you have to keep as much line off the water as possible. When a belly forms in your line between the rod tip and the float, the current will grab it and drag your line downstream too quickly. Similarly, a bow in the line can also occur upstream of the bobber (in eddies and calm spots behind rocks, for example) and that will make your bait slow down and lift off the bottom. To keep the belly out of your line, you’ll have to lift and “mend” it to make sure it remains free from being influenced by grabby sections of current. When a bow starts forming on the water, gently reel towards your float and then, just as you come tight to it, lift the line in the opposite direction of the belly. Take care to avoid violently jerking the float as you 52 www.FishAlaskaM a ga z i n e . c o m J u l y 2 0 1 2

mend, as that can cause your bait to drift unnaturally, too. While I’ll cover float-fishing gear later, it is worth mentioning that braided line is far and away the best choice for this technique. Most braid floats and that buoyancy makes mending quite a bit easier. Mono and fluorocarbon lines sink—and thus catch a lot more current. Float Attitude By closely paying attention to your float as it drifts, you can get a better feel for what’s going on beneath the surface. As a basic rule of thumb, you want your bobber riding straight up and down, which is an indication that you’ve got the allimportant drag-free drift going. If the top of your bobber is pointing downstream, you’ve either got a downstream bow in the line that’s pulling your gear too quickly— or your hook and/or sinker is dragging on the bottom. In either case, your bait doesn’t look natural and is less likely to get eaten by a silver. When the float is leaning upstream, you may not have enough weight on and your bait is getting blown out towards the surface. Or, perhaps, the line between you and your float hit a slower pocket of water and is reducing the speed of your drift.

Holding Back the Float Now that you’ve got a grasp on the dragfree drift, I will say that there are a handful of cases in which intentionally slowing down your gear can help you get bit. When salmon are suspended off the bottom of a slow hole, I like to slow my float’s speed slightly by applying pressure to the line with my fingers or thumb. This causes the float to “hold back,” which in turn makes the bait rise higher in the water column. This also is effective when the water is slow and really clear and ensures that the fish see your bait before they notice your swivel and sinker. Holding your float back is also handy when the silvers are sitting, as they sometimes do, on the break at the downstream end of a hole or slot—just before it transitions into a riffle. Fish in those spots can be a little tough to get with the float on the dead-drift because the bottom comes quickly and your gear can end up actually passing under the fish. Say you’ve got your float set at 10 feet so that it puts your bait just off the bottom of a hole. But the fish sitting on the break are only in four feet of water….when your eggs get to that shallow spot, they’ll be out of the fish’s window of vision. By slowing down the bobber as it approaches such a spot, the bait will rise to the fish. July 2012 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 53

The Bite When a salmon picks up your eggs, the type of “bobber down” you get depends a lot on the speed of the current. In swift water, the float goes under more quickly, while it tends to go under somewhat slowly and methodically in softer flows. Either way, reel any slack out of the line, and then when you feel resistance, set the hook. It’s critical that you to try to keep a tight line between your rod tip and the float when fishing so that you don’t have to reel up a bunch of slack before setting the hook. Bobbers Now, let’s take a look at floats and their uses. The two basic styles of floats commonly used for river fishing are fixed and slip. With the slip variety, you run the line through the center of the bobber and it can slide up and down your line. An adjustable bobber-stop is placed on the line above the float, which can be moved up or down, depending on the depth of the water. A fixed float is attached to the line via tight-fitting rubber bands that hold it in place wherever you set it. I will use fixed floats like Thill’s Turbo Master in situations that call for a stealthy presentation—low, clear water where light weights are necessary. Because a fixed float can be hard to cast when you’ve got it set for anything deeper than about 6- or 7 feet, they also work best in spots where the fish are holding shallow. Slip floats are much easier to cast and come in a wide array of sizes that can accommodate anything from a half-ounce of lead to 5-ounce sinkers. For silvers, they allow you to cover the widest range of situations. In big water, I’ll go with Salmon Stalkers (usually in the 1- or 2-ounce models), and on smaller streams, Thill’s Big Fish Slider is tough to beat. The best way to choose a float is to first figure out how much lead you are going to need to get your offering near the bottom. Then, pick a float rated for that amount of weight. A properly weighted bobber will ride straight up and down in the water— too much lead and it will be barely visible or sink, while it will lay flat on the water if you don’t have enough weight. Gearing Up When float-fishing for silvers, you can go with either spinning or casting gear. I prefer spinning tackle when I’m using light weights or have to make difficult casts under trees and brush. A baitcasting rig works great when you’re fishing weights of a halfounce or more. They also give you better control of your presentation because you can easily play line out under your thumb to extend the drift.

As far as rods go, use the longest model you can get away with. Typically, I fish 9 ½- to 10 ½-footers unless there’s a lot of overhanging vegetation. A long rod makes mending the line to get the drag-free presentation so much easier than with a short stick. You’ll want a bit of a slow tip but also plenty of backbone in the lower two-thirds of the rod so you can horse big coho out of the wood. Braided line is absolutely the way to go when float-fishing. Most braid floats, so it sits on top of the water, rather than down in it. Again, the buoyant nature of this type of line really helps with the mending process. I like 30- or 40-pound Berkley FireLine, but you don’t want braid all the way to your hook, so I’ll finish off my rig with a fluorocarbon leader—20-pound Sunline Super FC Sniper is extremely reliable. Basic Float Rig There are several ways to rig for float-fishing for silvers, but let’s keep this simple and give you a basic one with which to get started. Once you master the fundamentals, then you can branch out and try other rigging styles. Start by tying (via an Albright knot) a 10-foot section of 25-pound mono to the end of your braided line. Then, slide a bobber-stop up the line followed by a small plastic bead. Next, run the line through your float and then it’s time to add your lead. You can use an egg sinker and finish the rig off with a bead and a quality barrel swivel. Even better is to tie an inline sinker (I like the kind sold by

First Bite Jigs)—they’re torpedo shaped with a line attachment eye on either end—to the end of the 25-pound mono. Finally, add an 18- to 36-inch section of 20-pound fluorocarbon leader and tie on a size 2 to 2/0 octopus-style hook with an egg loop and you’re in business. Egg Cures Silvers seem to like sodium sulfite cures in either bright red, hot pink or orange shades and you can find plenty of commercially produced cures that are relatively easy to use from the likes of AtlasMike’s, Pro Cure and Pautzke’s among others. In low, clear water, I’ll use egg clusters ranging in size from a nickel to a quarter. When the water’s off-color or has a glacial tint, you sometimes have to go with baits that are nearly the size of a ping-pong ball. In any case, use the freshest eggs you can get your hands on. Give it Time Mastering float-fishing and the drag-free presentation takes a little practice, so be sure you give yourself some time to figure things out. You may not have immediate success, but once you get the hang of it, those crazy, lock-jawed silvers will never know what hit ’em! A longtime Pacific Northwest salmon and steelhead guide, JD Richey is a contributing editor for Fish Alaska magazine. He can be reached at www.fishwithjd.com.

Eggs under a float can catch silvers when all else fails. 56 www.FishAlaskaM a ga z i n e . c o m J u l y 2 0 1 2

Story & photos by Scott Haugen

Salmon season is upon us. While residents may walk out their door and catch spectacular kings and feisty coho, fellow anglers from around the globe have prepared for the opportunity of a lifetime in hopes of seeing what this fishery is all about. When it comes to chasing Alaska’s most famed fish in river systems, having the ability to change the way cured eggs are offered can make a difference. The key is being able to recognize what approaches will work best in which situations. First, a word of warning: Before rigging up a rod and fishing eggs or any bait, be certain to check river regulations and current laws. Note that bait restrictions may be in place on some rivers. These restrictions can change from year to year, but also from week to week. For this reason, go beyond simply reading the annual printed regulations. Check regulatory updates made through websites, newspapers, radio and other reliable media. Calling regional fisheries departments is a good idea, as is inquiring at local sporting-goods stores. Local anglers are another valued resource. It’s the responsibility of every angler to keep abreast of current fishing laws and any regulatory changes that may have taken place, including when and where bait is legal for king and silver salmon.

The Approaches When it comes to presenting cured eggs to salmon, there are many options. The application of these options, however, often comes down to not only the gear you have, but also where you’re fishing and whether or not you are fishing off the bank or from a boat. Following, we’ll take a look at four very effective ways to present bait to king and silver salmon. Under ideal conditions, each of these presentations can be made from a boat or from shore. Though there are other ways to present cured eggs, based on my 40-plus years of salmon fishing, I’ve found these to be most effective for the simple reason that they are controlled presentations. While eggs can be dragged, side-drifted, trolled and suspended beneath a float, what we’re going to focus on here is back-trolling, back-bouncing, plunking and drift-fishing eggs. The four methods to be detailed are all good ones, and every serious salmon angler should eventually attempt to master each one. Why? Because each approach can be applied in specific situations, increasing your ability to cover water that might not otherwise be fished. True, you might be able to plunk and back-bounce

the same water, but in situations where salmon may hold in a certain spot, it’s better to take the bait to them through backbouncing rather than wait in hopes that the fish will arrive to find your stationary bait sitting on the bottom. Keep in mind that each approach to be covered entails keeping your eggs on the bottom. Why? Because that’s where salmon travel and often hold, and salmon have some of the best noses of any creature on the planet. Measured in parts per billion, imagine spending up to five years in the ocean, then being able to smell your way back to where you were born. If human noses were anywhere near as acute as that of salmon, life would be unbearable. Cured eggs are arguably the best natural bait when it comes to targeting salmon in river settings. Eggs can be dyed, laced with a variety of scents and cured in a wide range of textures, sizes and flavors. What works best for you will only be realized through practice, but everyone who fishes eggs will agree that this is one of the best little packages there is when it comes to delivering something that smells, looks and tastes good to migrating salmon. Additionally, herring and other baitfish strips can be used alone or in combination with eggs.

July 2012 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 59

Back-trolling is a great way to get bait into waters that are otherwise tough to fish. Moments after this photo was taken, a 42-pound king was landed. Many anglers might pass by this hole, thinking it’s too slow and deep to fish.

With all this in mind, let’s take a look at four popular and very effective ways to present bait to salmon. Keep in mind that the size of gear being used—from rods to reels, lines and hooks—can vary based on where you’re fishing. For instance, if targeting Kenai kings, the setup you’ll use will be different than that when fishing streams where coho may average 10 pounds. Deep-river gear will also be different than shallow-stream gear. So, rather than detailing specifically with gear that can run a vast gamut, we’re going to focus on the approaches, where they can be applied and why they work. Back-trolling Back-trolling cured eggs can be done in many ways, including with a diver, plug or flashing attractant. No matter how you go about back-trolling, the objective is to present the bait in such a way so as to lay a scent line fish can follow. This scent-based delivery will allow fish to track the smell, following it to its point of origin (the bait). Of course, the better the quality of the cured eggs, the greater the likelihood of fish finding it. The diver, which takes the bait down, can either be attached to a fixed swivel or rigged on a sliding setup. In most waters I prefer rigging it on a sliding system so when a fish grabs the bait and takes off with it, there is little resistance. In shallow, rough water where the diver is hitting the bottom and the chances of hanging up are greater, a fixed position diver can be good, allowing you to better detect if you’re hung up. Leader length can vary from 18 inches

to six feet. If targeting fish in shallow water that are on the move, a shorter leader will allow you to keep the bait in the target zone. In deeper holes, a longer leader will offer more movement, increasing the odds of finding salmon that may be partially suspended off the bottom. Back-trolled eggs can be topped with any of a number of drift-bobbers or run alone. When back-trolling, back down the presentation about one-third the normal flow of the current. This is a great way to cover water and search for salmon, and then focus on catching more fish once they are located. It’s a very controlled presentation that can be applied in a range of waters, from fast to slow currents, through deep holes with slight currents or deeper rapids and runs of fast water. In other words, it’s one that’s worth the effort of mastering. One time while back-trolling bait on the Nushagak, we were having trouble finding kings. Once we did find a pod, they were tucked tight to shore, in a short run of water. In this case we pitched anchor and ran our presentations out the back of the boat, rather than backing the boat over them. It worked and we were able to catch fish. If fishing from shore, back-trolling can be done on the inside corners of some streams, where cut banks bring main currents close to shore. Side planers are also an option. Back-bouncing One of my best egg-fishing days for coho came while back-bouncing on the Kasilof River. For those who’ve done it,

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Bait can be presented in many ways and the more prepared anglers are to apply a range of methods, the better the chance of catching a fine-eating king.

back-bouncing is a favorite approach as it provides the angler total control of the presentation. The key to this technique is having an oarsman or motor operator and an angler, or anglers, working together. Back-bouncing works well in slow, deep holes that are tough to drift-fish or run divers through. Faster water–especially seams–can be good for back-bouncing, too, as long as the boat can be held. Generally, look for long, deep, slow-flowing stretches of river moving large volumes of water. This type of water makes it easy to control the boat, while allowing anglers to “feel” what’s going on. The boat operator should maintain a straight line, running approximately twothirds the rate of the river flow or slower. This will allow the anglers to fish directly off the bow or stern of the boat, depending on which boat is being used. If the angler finds the terminal gear wanting to be carried downstream faster than the boat is moving, the boat operator can either let up a bit or the angler can add more weight. A baitcasting reel will allow anglers to maximize efficiency here. Because salmon are holding on the bottom, fishing directly over them is preferred when it comes time to set the hook. If the terminal gear is backed down too far ahead of the boat, the bait can be pulled from the fish’s mouth during the hook-set. Back-bouncing is not a passive approach. The angler must constantly be aware of where the line is. Work the rod parallel to the water and go no higher than 45 degrees to maximize feel. Aggressive bites are the exception rather than the 62 www.FishAlaskaM a ga z i n e . c o m J u l y 2 0 1 2

rule. Often the bite will be subtle, usually nothing more than a tiny peck. When the hook is set, however, hold on tight. You can also back-bounce from an anchored boat, even off shore, along a cut bank. In either case, use a heavy enough weight to feel bottom, but not too light so that it’s pulled downstream, out of control. Keep the bail open, putting pressure on the spool with your thumb as the rod is lifted overhead. Slowly drop the rod, letting off the pressure of your thumb, which allows the bait to move downstream a foot or two before finding bottom again. Repeat the process and keep working the presentation downstream until it no longer maintains contact with the bottom. It’s a great way to cover water and is one of the best salmon approaches. Drift Fishing Drift fishing is the most common way to deliver cured eggs, whether from shore or a boat. The beauty of drift fishing is that it can be applied in a wide range of waters, some of which can’t be fished in any other way. You can’t always back-bounce or back-troll deep swirls, back eddies, fast currents, heavy riffles and turbulent seams, but they can normally be drift fished as well. A proven drift-fishing setup for Alaska’s salmon consists of a two-foot leader tipped with eggs and a Corky or Spin-NGlo, with about a six- to eight-inch dropper tipped with a teardrop sinker, all tied to a three-way swivel. A cannonball sinker is also a good choice for drift fishing. The purpose of the drift-bobber is to add color, movement and keep the bait just off the bottom, in front of the salmon’s nose. In order to maximize your drift-fishing efforts, thoroughly cover the water. Don’t get caught simply going through the motions, hoping to catch fish. With each cast be sure to position the terminal gear so that as it drifts downstream, it covers new water. This is the best way to seek out salmon. Once the sweet-spot is located, then you can keep casting to that slot. If you’ve fished a riffle, chute, eddy, swirl or stretch of swift water with no results, try fishing it again with a different egg cure or bait. Even if you catch a fish, changing the color of drift-bobber or egg cure may entice other fish into biting. Sometimes all it takes to turn on a salmon bite is a different sight or smell. Remember, salmon have a strong sniffer, so targeting that sense is critical to consistent success. July 2012 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 63

Plunking There’s nothing new about the method of plunking. In fact, if there’s one downfall to this approach, it’s that it is so old school, not many young anglers are willing to give it a shot. Nonetheless, in the right conditions it’s one of the most productive means of catching salmon. It’s particularly effective when water levels run high and turbid. Under such conditions, salmon often travel tight to shore and getting to them any other way than plunking can be nearly impossible. The principle behind plunking is that, given the conditions, the angler knows where the fish will be moving through. Pinpointing that slot, then anchoring a bait in the middle of it is all it takes. Plunking is a great way to get a bait on the bottom and establish a consistent scent line salmon can follow. For added visibility, slip a Spin-N-Glo onto the leader. The action of this spinning drift-bobber can make a big difference when it comes to attracting kings, especially in turbid or tannic-stained rivers. The setup is simple. First, tie your mainline to a three-way swivel. Next, attach a short, six-inch dropper with a sinker to another eye, then a two- to threefoot leader to the third eye of the swivel. A pyramid sinker works best, as it firmly anchors terminal gear in place. A bank sinker or teardrop sinker will also work. Use enough weight so the terminal gear stays in place, not moving downstream. When plunking, be patient and keep your eyes open. Watch for salmon rolling and see where fellow plunkers are catching fish, as both are solid indicators as to where the travel paths of fish are in any given water conditions. This season, consider diversifying your approach when it comes to fishing eggs. Salmon can be finicky, which means the more methods anglers can apply, the better the odds of catching fish. If some of these approaches are new to you, don’t be afraid to try them. Even if you increase your salmon-fishing arsenal by one method, you’re helping improve your odds of success. Hopefully this will equate to fishing new water, more thoroughly fishing certain sections of a river, and ultimately, more great-eating meat on the table.

Scott Haugen is a contributing editor for Fish Alaska. His best-selling book, Egg Cures: Proven Recipes & Techniques, is available at www.scotthaugen.com.

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Above: A bright coho in the grass. Right: Fishing Bird Creek during a low-water stage.

the course of approximately six hours, this water pushes against the water from Bird Creek, slowing the current in the creek and eventually causing the water level to rise. This will continue throughout the cycle. Eventually the water will completely inundate the mudflats, and the water upstream from the bridges will begin to slow and get deeper. You can actually hear when this is happening, as the noise from the rushing creek diminishes as the current slows. The area from the bridge to the cliffs then begins to fill up. If the tide is big enough,

you invaluable information about this. What’s important is to know that the tide can limit where you fish. Near high tide, it’s usually not possible to fish on the mudflats downstream of the bridges. In fact, on really large high tides, such as those predicted to be 30 feet or more, much of the area open to fishing becomes difficult to access and fish. A warning is in order: If you are fishing from the big grass flat upstream of the bridges on a 30foot or larger tide, there will likely be a period of time where you will be stranded

WARNING: Fishing on the mudflats can be dangerous. Exercise caution and keep your feet moving so as not to get stuck in the mud. If there is any question at all, it is better to avoid them than to take any risks. the island at the upstream end of the grass flat will be completely covered, and on a big high tide, the grass will be flooded, all the way up to the ADF&G marker. A few hours after high tide, Bird Creek will again transform into a rushing river. From high slack to low slack takes about six hours as well. Your tide book will give

on whatever high spot you can find, and you’ll be stuck there until the tide begins going out and the water recedes. Additionally, it is possible to get stuck in the mud downstream of the bridges. People have drowned on the mudflats of Turnagain Arm; be very careful, and keep your feet moving to avoid getting stuck.

© Doug Hamann

I needed 30 salmon for the year’s smoking quota. Since it was early July, I knew I had options. I could fish for sockeye in the lower or middle Kenai, or I could fish for silvers out of Seward and probably get it done in a few weekends. I could fish the Parks Highway streams, but at two fish a day it would take 15 trips of limits to make it happen. I didn’t have that much time. The choice became clear—I’d fish Bird Creek. My goal was to catch 30 silvers in ten trips. I knew this was possible; but I also knew I’d have to think about which days I would go, and what the tides were going to be like on those days. I got out a tide book and began planning 10 trips. Over the years I’ve found I can catch a limit of silvers at Bird Creek more often than not. However, it’s not just a matter of going down to the creek any old time. The Bird Creek fishery is a tidal estuary, meaning it’s in a perpetually dynamic state. The fish must be present, and specific tidal situations must be understood in order to consistently score at Bird Creek. Getting dialed in requires multiple trips at various tides to understand how the water changes and how fish relate to these changes. It took me years to begin to understand tides, and how salmon relate to them in estuaries. This article is intended to give your understanding of this particular fishery a boost. I picked Bird Creek for a number of reasons: It’s close to home; it gets a good run of chrome-bright, excellent-eating hatchery silvers; the daily limit is three silvers; access is easy with a huge parking area; the fish bite well and finally, the fishable area is about 500 yards long, and depending on the tide, fish can be caught from the mudflats all the way up to the ADF&G marker. The land above the marker is private property—do not fish upstream of the marker without permission. There are probably silvers present in Bird Creek by the first of July, but fishable numbers don’t appear until the middle of the month. Appropriately, the creek doesn’t open to salmon fishing until July 14. Fishing will be fair on the opener, but it will get better as the month progresses. Fishing usually peaks in early August, but fish can still be caught through the end of the month. When the tide is out, Bird Creek is a relatively small, rushing river that is only a few feet deep in most places. However, when the tide is in, the creek looks more like a lake; it may be as deep as 15 feet in places, with very little current. Shortly after a low tide, water from Cook Inlet will begin pushing up Turnagain Arm. Over

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Erik Mitchell holds up a day’s worth of silvers.

Salmon enter Bird Creek on incoming tides. How many salmon enter is subject to run timing and the size of a given tide. There is a huge difference in how Bird Creek is affected by a 25-foot tide compared to a 30-foot tide. Correspondingly, there is a huge difference between a low tide of two feet and a low tide of threeand-a-half feet. These variables affect how fast salmon enter the estuary, how far upstream they go and whether they swim upstream out of the fishing area or drop back down to Turnagain Arm. A 24-foot high tide will not change the water level at the ADF&G marker. On a tide like this, few fish are going to swim that far up the creek. However, on a 28foot high tide, most of the fish that come in will likely make it that far. In a basic sense, this means most silvers will follow the leading edge of the tide. If you know a given tide only backs up the water to the middle of the grassy flat, you have an idea of where the fish are going to be. This

kind of knowledge makes it easy to repeat a good fishing day in the future during similar tidal situations. If you want to do well consistently at Bird Creek, take notes on every trip you make. Note the date, time of low tide, the time of high tide, when fish were caught where, and how far the incoming tide affected the creek. I mentioned that silvers will follow the leading edge of the tide up the river. As long as there is current, the fish will be in it. However, at high slack, there is almost no current for the fish to relate to, and they spread out and mill around until the tide begins to go out and current reforms. Some fish will swim upstream and out of the fishing area, but many will slowly back down the creek with the receding tide, all the way back into Turnagain Arm. At low tide, or any time the creek is a rushing river, few silvers will be left in the fishing area. Those that are still there will be seeking whatever cover they can find, such as a deep hole or a big rock.

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BIRD CREEK NOTES July 28, 2011— Low tide: 1.4 feet, 2 p.m. High tide: 27.3 feet, 8 p.m. Started fishing downstream of the bridges. At 3:45 p.m. the water began to slow and deepen. Fish began to be caught at 3:50 p.m. At 4:15 p.m. the water became unfishable as it muddied; was afraid of getting stuck in the mud, so I went upstream of the bridges. The water just upstream from the bridges began to slow and deepen at 4:30 p.m. At 5:15 p.m. the water was slowing and deepening at the downstream end of the grass flat. At 6:30 p.m. the island at the upstream end of the grassy bank was submerged. Water at the ADF&G marker slowed some, but didn’t get much deeper. Didn’t get flooded out of the spot just above the bridges, and fish were occasionally being caught so I stayed there. At 8:20 p.m., the water began dropping and speeding up. Caught my last two silvers at about 8:30 and 8:40 p.m.

Bird Creek Bobber Rig s 4HREADAMMTOMMBEADONTOYOUR mainline. s 4HREADA7EST#OAST&LOATSBOBBER rated for 3/8 ounces onto your mainline. s 4HREADANOTHERMMTOMMBEAD onto your mainline. s 4IEASMALL HIGH QUALITYBARRELSWIVEL onto the end of the mainline. s 4AKEATWO FOOTPIECEOF POUND fluorocarbon line and tie a 1/0 or 2/0 octopus hook to it, using an egg-loop knot. s #UTTHELEADERTOALITTLEOVERINCHES and tie it to the barrel swivel. s 4WISTA OUNCERUBBER CORESINKER onto your mainline just above the barrel swivel. s 4IEABOBBER STOPKNOTTOTHEMAINLINE above the bobber and beads. Leave the tag ends of the bobber-stop knot about an inch long. Adjust your bobber-stop by sliding it up or down the mainline to the depth you want to fish. s "AITUPWITHYOURFAVORITEEGGSANDSTART fishing. The bobber slides freely on the line. You can adjust the depth of your presentation by simply grasping the tag end of the bobber-stop knot and pulling it up or down the line. Early in the incoming tide, I usually start with my bobber-stop about two feet from my barrel swivel and weight. This will allow my bait to be a little over three feet deep during the drag-free portion of the drift. As the water slows and deepens with the incoming tide, I slide the bobberstop up my line until it’s about three feet from my weight and barrel swivel. To fish this rig, cast out and slightly upstream of your position. Imagine straight across the current from your position is 12 o’clock. If the current is running from your left to your right, you’ll want to cast to 10 or 11 o’clock. Wind in excess slack, and keep your rod somewhat high to keep most of your mainline off the water. Allow the float to drift downstream. Eventually your line will tighten and the float will begin dragging across the current towards your bank. When it reaches a point nearly straight downstream of your position, wind in and repeat your cast. With this relatively small, streamlined bobber, when you get a bite the bobber will usually go all the way under water. When this happens, point your rod at the bobBER QUICKLY BUT SMOOTHLY WIND IN SLACK line until you feel the weight of the fish, then set the hook with a swift, firm upward sweep of the rod.

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Fishing can be productive even in the mudflats, but exercise extreme caution, or better yet, stick to upriver areas.

Since few fish are available during these water conditions, this is the hardest time to catch a limit at Bird Creek. The second hardest time to catch silvers in Bird Creek is at high slack. The fish mill around, are unpredictable in their locations and don’t seem to bite as well as they do when there is a little current. Thankfully, high slack doesn’t last long. The best tidal stage to catch fish in Bird Creek is when the estuary has slow to moderate current. This happens both on the incoming and the outgoing tide. The best area is a moving target. When the tide is incoming, the fish slowly but surely march upstream into the deepening water and softening current. When the tide is outgoing, most fish slowly but surely drop downstream towards Turnagain Arm. Because of this, you should be prepared to move. If you and the people around you have hooked a few fish, but then the bite stopped, it’s likely because the majority of the fish have moved past you—either upstream if the tide is incoming or downstream if the tide is outgoing. In my 17 years of fishing Bird Creek, I’ve found one technique that consistently outperforms other techniques. It can be used during both incoming and outgoing tides, rarely if ever results in snagged fish and is not all that attractive to pinks and chums, thereby preventing wasted time through incidental catches. It’s also easy, even for kids or beginners. That technique is using a bobber and eggs. I typically use an 8-foot, 6-inch to 10foot, 6-inch casting- or spinning rod rated for 8- to 10-pound line. I prefer rods on the longer end of the spectrum and most of the rods I use at Bird Creek are longer than nine feet. This aids in casting, as well as in controlling the bobber, and long rods are soft enough to make it difficult to break fish off or tear the hook 72 www.FishAlaskaM a ga z i n e . c o m J u l y 2 0 1 2

out. I use 10-pound-test monofilament mainline, a West Coast Floats bobber rated for a 3/8-ounce weight and a 3/8-ounce rubber-core sinker placed just above a small barrel swivel. To this I tie an 18-inch leader tied to a 1/0 or 2/0 octopus-style hook. My favorite bait for this fishery is eggs cured in Pautzke’s Fire Cure (red). No matter how deep the estuary gets, I rarely put my bait more than four feet below the bobber. Most silvers will suspend in deep, slow water, and they will typically suspend just deep enough that you can’t see them. In the glacially-tinted water of Bird Creek, that’s usually threeto four feet down. To fish this rig, cast slightly upstream of your position and allow the float to drift downstream with the current. Hold your rod tip high so that most of the line between you and your float is off the water. At the end of the drift, your float will begin to drag across the current towards your bank. When it is out of the ‘fishy’ water, wind it in and repeat. Fish will bite at any time during the drift, even when the bobber is dragging across the current at the end. When the bobber stops drifting downstream or sinks, point your rod at the bobber and immediately wind until you feel weight, then set the hook. In the end, and particularly when you’re just starting out, a tidal fishery like Bird Creek can be baffling. If you follow the suggestions above, however, you will be on your way to consistent success. And by the way, I didn’t make it to 30 silvers in 10 trips last year. I wound up with 28 instead. George Krumm is a lifelong fly fisher and fly tyer who began fly fishing stillwater in 1976. He can be reached at [email protected]. July 2012 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 73

For the Tlingit, salmon eggs are among the rst oo s e to in ants, eginning at st eight or nine months o age t s not an n ommon ra ti e among the ati es o las a, as note r eston ri e, ho isite se eral s imo gro s in the s hile in estigating his seminal oo , Nutrition and Physical Degeneration. n it he re orts that rom a hemi al stan oint, sh eggs are one o the healthiest oo s o n an here, so ght a ter or their ni el n tritio s an e elo mentall ene ial al e That i es ith to a s resear h, in l ing a re ent st rom the ni ersit o lmer a in ain, hi h anal e the roe o marine animals an etermine that omega le els ere arti larl high in salmon roe ma ing more than er ent o the total att a i s o n in the eggs t means that o n e or o n e, salmon eggs o tran e en the attiest sh as so r es o s er health omega s s anglers amiliar ith the resh ater en ironment in las a alrea n erstan , it also means that o r state s tro t are arti larl ell e an o lations o las a s il rain o tro t share a ro ensit or attaining er large, orl lass si es This is a ro t o the istin ti e li es the lea , ith si e in en e not onl geneti om osition t also the a n an e o their rimar so r e o oo the a i salmon n las a, it s an a age s the re s go, so go the rain o s t hen is ssing the re erre men or the state s resi ent resh ater s e ies, in l ing Oncorhynchus mykiss irideus the oastal rain o tro t e an go e on st the so e e, ringing in the hinoo , oho, h m an in salmon as ell From egg to ale in to r to smolt, an a ter the a lt sh ha e s a ne an are eginning to e om ose, esh it s all oo ring the right time o ear, shing imitations ase on the enile salmon stages ale in, r an smolt an o er some in re i le angling a tion arti larl the ann al smolt o tmigration on ertain ri ers i e ise, er late in the season, s inging ario s sha es o esh ies ro es strong res lts an some o the largest sh o the ear n et een, as the mat re salmon ret rn to their natal streams an egin to air on the s a ning gro n s, the tro t ollo , staging elo the e s an aiting or the start o the egg ro , hen the ll egin a tr e o er eating inge in an e ort to store n trients or the long las a inter t rst the om etition on the s a ning e s an ma e egg shing i lt n man areas, es e iall those ith monster so e e r ns, the tro t ten to lear o t ntil the s a n is set to start in earnest t on e eggs are in the ater, there are almost ertainl going to e tro t aro n

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A regular sight: the bead-caught Alaska rainbow.

en a single air o s a ning sh might attra t ar s o a o en rain o s The tro t, it sho l e note , are ee ing on eggs that ha e een ashe or no e o t o the re s not eggs that ere e ent all going to iel a salmon a itionall , among those eggs ertili e an in ate in a re , onl a o t in s r i es to hat h n the istant ast there as a o nt la e on oll ar en in the state in a misg i e attem t to ai salmon ro tion From to anglers o l t rn in tail ns at a a ing rate o t o an a hal er n , on the it i er alone, , tro t an oll ar en ere estro e The rogram as

sh t o n in a ter lose e amination o some , tails ro e that o er hal o those t rne in ere a t all rom oho salmon an o the remain er, most ere rain o tails For to a s tro t angler in las a, egg imitations are an im erati e ring the ea o the egg ro , most o a gi en stream s rain o s ill e ongregate elo the s hools o s a ning salmon, o e ing or rime real estate in or er to ta e ll a antage o the ri ting et itting it st right o ten means the est a tion o the o en ater season To egin to sh egg imitations, anglers m st a attention to a air o initial etails the si e an the olor

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Ted Bryant

of the eggs on offer. After all, the trout definitely know what they’re eating. On the matter of size, each of the five Pacific salmon species that return to Alaska each year produces eggs of a different diameter. For instance, king eggs average about 9.5 mm in size while sockeye eggs range from approximately 5.3- to 6.6 mm. Despite the difference in diameter, when first dropped most salmon eggs are a very bright orange, but also carry an almost translucent sheen. This will change in short order, as they begin to take on a milky white tint. The overall orange color will also fade through various stages of pink as the season wears on. The closer to the end of the cycle one gets, the whiter and more “washed-out” the eggs. Where things become particularly complicated is when there are multiple species of salmon spawning in the same system. Take, for instance, the Kenai River, where August might find kings spawning in the main channel, with sockeye paired up and dropping eggs in a soft, inside seam just a cast or two downriver. In many rivers of the Bristol Bay region, with four or five species of salmon in the stream at once, it can be even more confusing—and critical to get the color and size combination right. In general, both Alaska’s Chinook and sockeye tend to spawn in July and August, the kings mostly in larger streams and rivers, as they can handle the larger substrate and greater flows of main channels. The state’s sockeye spawn almost exclusively in streams that connect with large lakes. The salmon of Bristol Bay exemplify this lacustrine tendency, as nearly every sockeye population in the region returns to spawn in the rivers feeding or draining the big systems: Lake Iliamna, Lake Clark, and Naknek, Kukaklek, Kulik, Nonvianuk and the Wood-Tikchik lakes. Not without coincidence, these areas also host a significant portion of the state’s most prolific trophy trout fisheries. Pink salmon return to freshwater streams from late June to early October, with the later in-migrations typically occurring in the southern parts of their range. They do not travel far upstream to spawn, notable exceptions being populations returning to the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers. Chum salmon tend to spawn near the coast within days of entering the river as well. In most cases, summer runs are typical for streams in the northern part of the species’ range, with fall runs occurring in southern drainages. Returning to most streams from August through September, Alaska’s coho are typically the last to provide fresh egg-fishing potential for trout anglers. To properly fish egg imitations, Alaska

Choose the right bead and find where the salmon are holding, and you may be rewarded like this angler.

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anglers need to first devise strategies tailored to the water being fished, as, for example, autumn angling on the Kenai will present decidedly different conditions than the Naknek—and neither are anything like Moraine Creek. In glacial rivers, such as the Kenai, trout are not leadershy. Casting over these fish and using a heavier leader will not affect success rates. However, when fishing clear streams with moderate to heavy fishing pressure, sloppy presentations will spook fish, as will heavy leaders and non-stealthy approaches. In these smaller waters, sight-fishing is the norm, and most productive, while in larger waters fishing blind is typically necessary—though it’s made much easier by knowing what kind of water is favored by the spawning salmon and starting there. Nymphing is the name of the game when egg fishing for trout, which for the majority means indicators. A good nymph angler can see the ever-so-slight hesitation in the line that signifies a pickup, but for the most part, fish will lift and reject egg imitations without the angler ever knowing they were there. Along with general nymphing protocols comes the need for split-shot; the egg imitation needs to bounce along just off the bottom, like the real thing. Expect snags. The basic cast when nymphing eggs is the three-quarter up-and-across-current cast, landing the fly upstream of the target (usually a pod of salmon, easy to see in their spawning colors). As the fly (or bead) tumbles downstream, follow the indicator downstream with the rod tip and manage the slack line. The imperative here is to produce an absolutely drag-free drift. Salmon eggs do not swim. Last, a note on beads—while technically not a fly at all (and not classified as such by the State of Alaska), they easily outpace other egg imitations when it comes to pure production on the stream. They also can be much more ethical means of pursuit for catch-and-release anglers, since trout can be aggressive when they see an egg and standard egg flies like GloBugs often wind up hooking a fish deeply. On the other hand, properly pegged or free-sliding beads tend to result in a hook that settles neatly into the outer part of a fish’s jaw. In the end, when the salmon have returned, the rainbows have stacked up and the spawn is on, it’s simply a matter of giving Alaska’s trout what they want. Let them eat eggs.

Properly pegged or free-sliding beads tend to result in a hook that settles neatly into the outer part of a fish’s jaw.

Troy Letherman is editor of Fish Alaska magazine; he can be reached at tletherman@ fishalaskamagazine.com. 78 www.FishAlaskaM a ga z i n e . c o m J u l y 2 0 1 2

July 2012 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 79

Angler’s Tips s 7HENADDINGAhPAINTJOBvTOYOUR BEAD USENAILLACQUERINSTEADOFNAIL POLISHORENAMEL4HELATTERWILL CHIPEASILYANDWEARSOFFAFTERONLY AFEWDRIFTS WHILEMULTIPLECOATS OFTHEFORMERWILLMAKEFORAMORE DURABLEEGGIMITATION s 7HENCONNECTINGTIPPETTYPICALLY INCHES TOLEADERFORYOUR EGG mYRIG DONOTCLIPTHETAG ENDAFTERTYINGYOURBLOODKNOT 4IEANOVERHANDKNOTATTHEEND OFTHETAGENDANDAFlXYOUR SPLIT SHOTHERE4HISSAVESTHE LEADERFROMUNNECESSARYWEARAND TEAR WHICHCANBECRITICALWHEN TARGETINGLARGEAUTUMNBOWS s )FYOUCANSEESALMONONTHESPAWN BUTARENOTPICKINGUPTROUTWITH YOURDRIFTS CHANGETHECOLOROFYOUR EGGIMITATIONIMMEDIATELY)FYOU RUNTHROUGHAFEWCOLORSANDARE STILLSTRIKINGOUT GOTOADIFFERENT SIZE Choosing Your Basic Beads "EADSCANBEBOUGHTINBULKFROM AVARIETYOFSOURCES INCLUDINGLOCAL mYSHOPSANDONLINERETAILERSSEVERAL SPECIALIZEINEGGIMITATIONSALMOST EXCLUSIVELY ASWELLASATCRAFTAND SPECIALTYSTORESLIKE!LASKA"LACK %LK,EATHER "EADSAND3TONESIN !NCHORAGE3TARTWITHTHEPRINCIPAL BASECOLORS ANDADDYOUR3ALLY (ANSEN"ARELY0INKOROTHER FAVORITES TOPERFECTPERSONALIZE Matching the Hatch – Bead Sizes +INGS MM MM 3OCKEYE MM MM #HUM MM #OHO MM MM 0INK MM MM Alaska’s Special Bead Regs )NAREASWHERELEGAL BEADSlSHED AHEADOFAmY LUREORBAREHOOKMUST EITHERBElXEDWITHINTWOINCHESOF THEHOOKORBEFREETOSLIDEONTHE ENTIRELENGTHOFTHELINEORLEADER !BEADISCONSIDEREDANATTRACTOR NOT AmY)NWATERSDESIGNATEDASmY lSHING ONLY ABEADlSHEDONTHELINEABOVE ABAREHOOKISNOTLEGALGEAR)NTHIS CASETHEBEADMUSTBEATTACHEDABOVE AmYˆMOSTANGLERSINTHISSITUATION PREFERASMALLmESHmYTIEDONBELOW THEBEAD

In the fly-fishing only Russian River, regulations state that weights, if used, must be at least 18 inches ahead of the fly. As always, check the current regulations thoroughly before heading out on the water. Gear Rods: Standard Alaska fly gear is the norm (5- to 8-weight rods, depending on the water being fished and the average size of the trout present). If anything, slightly longer rods are favored, due to the nymphing techniques necessitated by fishing egg imitations. Longer rods allow for more control of the drift, and achieving a drag-free drift is critical. Lines: When fishing floating lines with indicators, choose lines that load fast, which will help turn over unwieldy indicator rigs. Ideal are some of the Nymph lines offered by companies like RIO, Scientific Anglers and Cortland.

Leaders: Leaders should vary with the conditions—length and tippet size are regularly dictated by spooky fish and shallow or deep flows. Leaders need not be too complicated, but a great setup for Alaska nymphing conditions (that will turn over indicators and split-shot) would be nine feet of stiffer monofilament or fluorocarbon, tapered down to a 2X (.009) tippet section. Start with 32 inches of 30-pound-test mono connected to 21 inches of 25-pound. Follow with a pair of 12-inch sections, 20-pound to 15-pound, then eight inches of 12-pound and another eight inches of 1X, which is knotted to the 18- to 24-inch tippet section. Blood knots should be used for all connections save tippet-to-fly, where an improved clinch works well. Indicators: Standard store-bought foam or yarn indicators are fine. For skinny water, ram’s wool or poly yarn tied onto the leader just below the fly line can work well. Keep a bottle of Gink or other flotation aid handy to apply to any yarn or wool indicators.

Taleen Lundale caught this nice rainbow on the Kenai. 82 www.FishAlaskaM a ga z i n e . c o m J u l y 2 0 1 2

Poached Salmon with Ginger

by Chef Paul Warner of Alaska Supper Club Serves 4

Ingredients: 1 skinless salmon fillet 1¾ to 2 pounds cut into 4 equal pieces with the pin bones removed 1 lemon sliced into ¼ inch slices 1 lime sliced into ¼ in slices Fresh parsley, one small handful Fresh tarragon, one small handful 1 small shallot, diced ½ cup white wine ½ cup water Salt and pepper 4 medium size cloves garlic Equal amount of ginger 2 spring onions cut into 1½ to 2 inch lengths then sliced lengthwise several times to make thin slices 4 tbs of soy sauce ¼ cup olive oil

84 www.FishAlaskaM a ga z i n e . c o m J u l y 2 0 1 2

Wine Pairing Ring of Fire is a local Meadery in Homer, Alaska that makes mead wine from honey. Our choice to complement our Poached Red Salmon with Garlic and Ginger is Ring of Fire’s Raspberry Melomel, A dry raspberry mead made with raspberry honey and whole local Alaska raspberries.

Instructions: Arrange the lemon and lime slices in a single layer across the bottom of a 12 inch skillet. Lay the parsley, tarragon and diced shallots on top of lemon and limes slices. Add the white wine and water. Place salmon fillets skinned side down in the skillet on top of the lemon slices and herbs. Set pan over high heat and bring liquid to simmer, reduce heat to low and cover. Cook until instant read thermometer inserted in thickest part reads 125˚, this should take 11 to 15 minutes. Remove fillet with a thin spatula, and place on a paper towel lined plate. Cover with tent foil loosely until ready to plate. Place a fillet on serving plates. Crush one clove of garlic on each fillet, then crush an equal amount of ginger on each fillet, place about 7 to 10 slices of spring onion lengths on top of the ginger and garlic. Heat olive oil to the point of smoking. Carefully pour the olive oil on top of the garlic, ginger and spring onions. Dot soy sauce on top of the fillet, then add salt and pepper. Serve.

Alaska Supper Club P.O. Box 39856 Ninilchik, AK 99639 www.aksupperclub.com 907.299.0984 Alaska Supper Club offers specialized four course gourmet meals nightly each summer featuring Alaska’s wild seafood. Guests can add on wine pairing as well as a stay at the lodge. Make a reservation for your group one night in The Great House Lodge on Chautauqua’s grounds. Each night’s dinner can seat up to 12 guests. July 2012 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 85

Becharof Becharof Rapids Camp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Anchorage 6 Robblees Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Alaska H2O Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Alaska Performance Rv & Marine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Alaska Sausage & Seafood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Arctic Chiropractic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Best Way Auto LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Black Elk Leather & Beads. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Boating Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Central Plumbing & Heating. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Donalson Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 Equipment Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Gallo’s Mexican Restaurant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Intuitions Day Spa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Jens’ Restaurant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Millennium Hotel Anchorage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Mossy’s Fly Shop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36,37 Oomingmak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Pen Air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Rural Energy Enterprises. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Rust’s Flying Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 SeaGalley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Stellar Designs Sportswear. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Suite 100 Restaurant, Bar & Lounge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Swan Employer Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 TC-TJ Courier Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Tebow Financial Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Trail Ridge Air Service. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Bethel Arctic Chiropractic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Big Lake Margaret Billinger, Prudential . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Sunset View Bed & Breakfast Resort. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Bristol Bay LaRose Guide Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Trout Unlimited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Valhalla Lodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Chignik Bay Chignik Bay Adventures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Cooper Landing Gwin’s Lodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Kenai River Sportfishing Lodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Delta Junction Arctic Chiropractic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Dillingham Arctic Chiropractic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Nushagak River Adventures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38,81 Dutch Harbor Arctic Chiropractic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Eagle River Eagle River Polaris and Arctic Cat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Fairbanks Alaska Fishing & Raft Adventures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Arctic Chiropractic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Equipment Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Girdwood Chair 5 Restaurant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Seven Glaciers Restaurant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Glenallen Alaska River Wrangellers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Haines Alaska Sport Shop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Outfitter Sporting Goods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Homer Bob’s Trophy Charters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Homer Chamber of Commerce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Subway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Iliamna Rainbow River Lodge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 The Alaska Sportsman’s Lodge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Valhalla Lodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Indian Indian Valley Meats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Juneau Alaska Boat Brokers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Western Auto Marine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Kanektok River Deneki Outdoors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28,29 Kasilof Busy Beaver Log Furniture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Katmai Anglers Paradise Kulik Lodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Valhalla Lodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Kenai Kenai Convention & Visitors Bureau . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Kenai MediCenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Subway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Ketchikan Naha Bay Outdoor Adventures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 King Salmon Katmai Trophy Lodge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Kodiak Alaska 1 Realty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Andrews Airways . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fish Kodiak Adventures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kodiak Combos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kodiak Island Convention & Visitors Bureau . . . . . . . . . Koniag/Karluk Wilderness Adventures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ocean View Lodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Olds River Inn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Shelikof Lodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

60 61 61 62 61 47 40 61 61

Kotzebue Arctic Chiropractic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Mat-Su Arctic Chiropractic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 CAC Plastics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Denali Lodges & Alaska Denali Tours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Mat-su Convention & Visitors Bureau . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Matanuska Susitna Borough . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Nova River Runners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Mendeltna Mendeltna Creek Lodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Naknek The Alaska Sportsman’s Lodge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Ninilchik Alaska Supper Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Nome Arctic Chiropractic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Nushagak Bristol Bay Adventures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48,81 Nushagak River Adventures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38,81 Palmer Fishtale River Guides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Noisy Goose Café . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Reindeer Farm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Tebow Financial Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

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Prince of Wales Island Alaska’s Fishtales Lodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Log Cabin Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . McFarland’s Floatel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Off the Hook Taxidermy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Treetops Lodge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

58 58 58 58 58

Prudhoe Bay Arctic Chiropractic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Seward Alaska Northern Outfitters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Glacier Fishing Charter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J-Dock Seafood Co.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pacific Fishing Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

70 70 85 45

Sitka Totem Square Inn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Soldotna Alaska Trading & Loan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Anglers Lodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Arctic Chiropractic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Drift Creek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Froso’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Hooligan’s Sportfishing Lodge & Saloon . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Kenai River Guides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Kenai River Sportfishing Lodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Soldotna Hardware & Fishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,23,92 Soldotna Professional Pharmacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 St. Elias Brewing Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Subway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Sweeney’s Clothing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 TC Guide Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Southeast Admiralty Charters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Sterling Alaska Canoe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Talkeetna Phantom Salmon Charters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Talkeetna Denali View Lodge & Cabins . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Togiak Togiak River Lodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Valdez Eagle’s Rest RV Park. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Fish Central . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21, 35 FNM Alaska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Solomon Falls/Valdez Fisheries Development Assoc . . 21 The Fat Mermaid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 The Prospector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Totem Inn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Valdez Convention & Visitors Bureau . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Valdez Fish Derbies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Wasilla Alaska Frontier Fabricators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 CAC Plastics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Krazy Moose Subs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Mat Valley Meats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Settlers Bay Lodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Willow Willow Air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Yakutat Glacier Bear Lodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Icy Bay Lodge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Statewide Alaska Department of Fish & Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84,85 Alaska State Forestry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Alaska State Troopers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Alaska Wild Gear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Arctic Chiropractic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Bureau of Land Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Diamond Airport Parking and Self Storage . . . . . . . . . . 16 Diamond D Leather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 ERA Aviation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Fred Meyer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,18,33,56,65,71,82,90 Maurice Sporting Goods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Medallion Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Nature’s Head . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Renewable Resources Coalition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Spinner Dave’s Custom Designs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Sportsman’s Warehouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 TC Guide Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Trout Unlimited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 National Ande Monofilament. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Blue Fox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Carhartt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Clackacraft Drift Boats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Cold Fold Fish Boxes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Counter Assault . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 DeLorme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Eagle Claw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Fikkes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Foodsaver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Gamma Fishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Glacier’s Edge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Grundens USA, Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Hawg Quest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 helpwantedalaska.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Kast Extreme Fishing Gear. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 L’Escape Travel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Little Hotties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 Loop Rope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Luhr-Jensen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Mack’s Lure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Mepps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Mr. Heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Mud Hole. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 New World Manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 North to Alaska. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 NTA Enterprise, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 Pavati Marine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Phantom Jet Boats. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Plano Molding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Pure Fishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Silver Horde . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Smokehouse Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Western Filament . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 International FNM Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Hot Spot. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Pacific Fishing Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

(Continued from page 90) He tail-walked across the water and made another headshaking run. Then he turned and came straight at me. I stumbled backward, rod raised high, trying to bring in line as fast as I could. He crashed and splashed and dashed downstream again. I followed, keeping the pressure on but trying not to break the 8-pound tippet. Finally, I had him in the slack water and into the rubber landing net. A couple of pictures, a quick release and he was well on his way back to the buffet line. I thought, “If this is ‘slow’ fishing, then I can’t imagine what it’s like when really hot!” In a couple hours, we had caught several fish over 20 inches and two in the 28-inch range. I had to force myself to get in the boat and head back for our fly-out trip. However, the chance to fish new water is always filled with optimism and great expectations. I would leave the Naknek to take a detour down the river less traveled. But sometimes, as the poet wrote, that makes all the difference. We flew out that evening and set up camp. To say this was an impromptu trip is an understatement, and to much amusement, the tent we hastily purchased in town turned out to be less a two-man tent than a two-kid tent. We improvised

The bears were after the salmon, and we were after the rainbows, so there were no problems.

another out of a blue tarp and some large rocks. Bush Alaska is not a place you want to be with substandard gear, but we were fortunate for good weather, the minimum required essential gear, a GPS and a satellite phone. Just to spice things up, we counted 30 or so grizzly bears on the river as we flew. The next morning we hiked to the mouth of the river under clear skies. The wind was just strong enough to keep the no-see-ums away. One grizzly followed us along the beach to the mouth and then went into the brush, disappearing instantly. Our heads were on a swivel as we started to fish. We had as many as

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15 bears, including cubs, in sight at one time. Several even floated and fished on by us. Thankfully, these bruins were as interested in fishing for salmon as we were fishing for trout. The freestone river flowed crystal clear, with deep pools and runs followed by shallow riffles. We used leech patterns in the pools and drifted beads in the riffles. We caught fish after fish after fish. These weren’t ordinary rainbows either; these were the famed leopard ’bows. They were almost all in the 20-inch range, with the largest being 24 inches. We had doubles and triples at times. It was another epic day of fall fishing in Alaska. The brilliant colors, the massive brown bears, the variety of trout and the great company made this a very memorable trip. The Naknek was fantastic, but I’m also happy to have taken the chance on a stream less traveled.

Ted Bryant is a fisherman with a writing problem. He loves to spend his free time exploring Alaska, by plane, boat, car, or snowmachine. When he’s not fishing, you can find him at home in Wasilla, planning his next adventure.

The Stream Less Traveled

By Ted Bryant

Fall in Alaska is the ultimate dichotomy. By mid-September the leaves on the birch trees have begun to turn a vibrant yellowgold. The berry bushes have changed to various shades of crimson and the quaking aspens dance and shimmer in the wind. The spruce trees remain “evergreen” and add some dark contrast to the kaleidoscope of bright colors seen across the landscape. Fall storms bring cooler

temperatures and thus termination dust to the tops of the mountains. The sun’s rays find holes in the clouds, reflecting off the powdered-sugar peaks with astonishing brilliance. Sadly, it also means the end of another amazing summer in Alaska. But every cloud has a silver lining. For many Alaskans it is the beginning of the hunting season, from moose to goose. For me, autumn is trout season. Most of the

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salmon have already spawned and died. Some silvers will continue to enter the rivers for a while but it is past their peak. The loose salmon eggs and decaying flesh are drifting downstream, providing the rainbows with a moving smorgasbord like some demented aquatic sushi train. The big ’bows move out of the lakes to greedily dine on the all-you-can-eat buffet, growing bigger and fatter with each passing day. Fall fishing in Alaska equates to hefty, hard-fighting trout, and lots of them. I had planned to float Lake Creek this fall in search of my favorite quarry. But as fate would have it, I was given the opportunity to join some friends to fish the fabled Naknek River instead. The Naknek, the Kvichak and the Kenai rivers are three of the top trophy trout streams in the state. I jumped at the chance. We took the hour-long flight from Anchorage to the small town of King Salmon, which is located along the shores of the Naknek River. Our contact in town said the fishing had been slow all week, so he had an alternate plan. He would fly us out that night to another river in the area that had been fishing well. In the meantime, we could borrow his boat and fish the big river until it was time to go. The Naknek is a wide, clear river, best accessed with a boat. During the low water of very early spring and late fall, there are places you can wade. We ran the jet boat up river, passing a beachcombing grizzly along the way. The shoreline was littered with dead salmon carcasses and smelled as good as it looked. We found a likely section of water and pulled the boat onto the grassy shore. Methodically casting and mending my line, I sought out the most likely looking lies. I waded out as far as I dared and put out as much line as I could handle. At the end of my drift, the ’bow hit like a runaway freight train. Line peeled off my reel as I braced my footing in the heavy current. Fifty yards downstream a chrome behemoth leapt clear of the water, shook his head twice, and was gone. He took my fly and a little bit of my pride, too. I rigged up again and this time I thoroughly checked my knots and leader for any flaws. I was determined not to lose another fish of that size to carelessness. The next fish smashed my fly at the end of the swing. He put me into my backing in short order. This rainbow had huge shoulders and knew what he was doing. (Continued on page 88)