Ok! Ok! So it has been a LONG time; too long, since we last connected here at The Bay Rat Sketch, and a lot has happened. To start, I spent the winter of 2010-2011 in beautiful Vail Colorado where I experienced a record year of snow fall; which meant lots of amazing skiing, full of powder and new experiences for me. LOVED it! Let's be honest though, I'm a fisherman. More specifically, I'm a fly fisherman, and Vail, in the winter time, is not a good place to be if you NEED to fish on a regular basis. I NEED to fish on a regular basis. It is who I am. It is my drug of choice. So most of my winter (when I was not skiing or spinning skis at Troy's Ski Shop) was spent thinking about my next adventure. An adventure that would prove to be a learning experience with many trials and fewer triumphs. I was going to be spending my summer guiding in Alaska, on the mighty Kvichak River. Near a tiny native village called Igiugig. (Picture above shows Lake Iliamna and the start of the Kvichak River).Lake Iliamna, the largest lake in Alaska, is the headwaters of the Kvich
ak River. The river runs for 60 miles until it drains into Kvichak Bay, an arm of Bristol Bay and it is home to the largest natural salmon run in the world. The Bristol Bay Watershed is widely viewed as the greatest fishery in North America and could be damaged by the proposed pebble mine. To learn more about the proposed pebble mine and it's potential effects to the Bristol Bay fisheries, and or to donate to aide the efforts to prevent this environmental threat of the World's largest sockeye salmon fisheries and spawning grounds, visit http://alaskaconservation.org/conservation-issues/bristol-bay/?gclid=CPqTkITjvq4CFVCb7QodY3z_Pw The Kvichak can be divided into 3 sections, the upper, the braids, and the lower section. The fishing is concentrated in the upper 12 miles of the river, which includes the upper and the braids sections. The lower section is deep, wide, and featureless. The crystal clear waters of the Kvichak in some places, look tropical with suspicions of clear, lite-greens, and lite-blues. Its bottom is littered with smooth, round rocks of all sizes, and some large boulders in some areas. It is the 8th largest river in Alaska, with flows around 18000 cubic feet per second, which varies depending on the time of year and combined with seasonal rainfall. People don't come to this mighty Bristol Bay river system to see the features of the river. No, they come here for the world's largest sockeye salmon run (8 million is the 20 year annual average, but populations have been on a decline and have been from 2 to 6 million the last 4 years), and mostly, for it's big fat rainbow trout.
The rainbows in the
Bristol Bay Region are historically bigger and feed with a greater sense of urgency than the average trout in North America; mostly because their food sources are rich in proteins and a limited feeding season forces the trout to gorge on salmon eggs and dead salmon flesh. These trout feed aggressively in late May after ice out, and into early June on salmon smolt migrating from Lake Iliamna to the ocean. On clear sunny days you can see these migrating smolt in giant schools, with trout circling, waiting for that opportune moment to dart in and grab a meal. I was able to witness this in early June, just before the fishing season officially opened, and it rivaled the time I saw multiple pairs of spawning trout in water just inches deep, amongst a small creek in backwoods Colorado. Catching a glimpse of these rare, wild moments in mother nature are just icing on the cake in my line of work. I look forward to many more to come.
Bristol Bay Region are historically bigger and feed with a greater sense of urgency than the average trout in North America; mostly because their food sources are rich in proteins and a limited feeding season forces the trout to gorge on salmon eggs and dead salmon flesh. These trout feed aggressively in late May after ice out, and into early June on salmon smolt migrating from Lake Iliamna to the ocean. On clear sunny days you can see these migrating smolt in giant schools, with trout circling, waiting for that opportune moment to dart in and grab a meal. I was able to witness this in early June, just before the fishing season officially opened, and it rivaled the time I saw multiple pairs of spawning trout in water just inches deep, amongst a small creek in backwoods Colorado. Catching a glimpse of these rare, wild moments in mother nature are just icing on the cake in my line of work. I look forward to many more to come. The weather in this area of Alaska from June till October is variable. Just like most of Alaska, it can range from mild to extreme. By mild, I mean, calm to no wind, with temps in the high 50's to the high 60's. It rarely gets in the 70's. By extreme, I mean, steady winds with gusts in the 40mph range combined with rain. The weather this past season was very mild. W
e saw minimal amounts of rainfall and about a week of extreme weather. You can count on at least a one week of intense weather at some point during a season in the Bristol Bay region. It is life in Alaska. To survive a season in such a variable environment, having the right gear is vitally important. A high quality rain jacket, together with a solid pair of waders and wading boots, plus layers of clothing to take off, or add, depending on the weather changes.
e saw minimal amounts of rainfall and about a week of extreme weather. You can count on at least a one week of intense weather at some point during a season in the Bristol Bay region. It is life in Alaska. To survive a season in such a variable environment, having the right gear is vitally important. A high quality rain jacket, together with a solid pair of waders and wading boots, plus layers of clothing to take off, or add, depending on the weather changes. Alright, now lets get down to the nitty gritty, the fishing. On the Kvichak you can not legally wet a hook until June 8th. The anticipation before this date is painful. You have seen schools of smolt being ambushed by large trout. You have read about the epic fishing the Kvichak River is famous for. All you want to do is get out there and tame those monster bows (nickname for rainbow trout) you have read about and have only seen in pictures. The first few weeks of the season are all about the rainbows. These trout are migrating back and forth from Lake Iliamna to the Kvichak River, chasing schools of small salmon ranging from 2 to 3 years of age. These young salmon are called smolt, and using flies resembling smolt is a solid way lure in a hungry trout. Though, smolt flies can be successful, purple, black, and white egg sucking leech flies are the most effective patterns in the early season. Once the sockeye salmon start to arrive in late June, these trout scramble. Most move back into Lake Iliamna and the tributaries of Alaska's largest lake.
Sockeye salmon or red
s, as they are affectionately know, make the extended journey from the saltwater to within a few hundred yards of the rock beds in which they were born; swimming 50 to 100 miles up a very strong current by using only the scent of the water for navigation. The scent is programed into their tiny pea sized brains from birth. During the peak sockeye run, usually the first week of July, 3oo thousand to half a million sockeye will swim by you in a 24 hour period. This amazing feat of nature is something only one can witness, and is not worthy of descriptive words portraying an image. It is frightfully amazing, even as I reflect upon it some six months later. Keeping a sharp fillet knife is a prerequisite, when guiding in Alaska. Cleaning 15 sockeye a day for about three weeks, puts any good blade through the ringer. You can't wait for sockeye season to start and just as soon as it starts you are ready for it to be. The popular saying amongst the guides prior to the beginning of the sockeye run is, "Can't wait for them sockeye." This quickly turns into, "Can't wait for them silvers," which are the next big run of salmon targeted on the Kvichak. In late July and continuing on into early August, the sockeyes have all reached their spawning grounds and there they meet a mate. A male sockeye may be a suitor for more than one female. While the sockeyes have reached their spawning grounds and are pairing up for reproduction, the silver salmon(coho salmon) are just begin to make their journey up river, towards reproduction. Once they reach their spawning grounds they will find a mate and ultimately complete their life's purpose; to ensure further generations of
coho salmon. Then they slowly die a miserable, decaying death(all species of salmon reproduce and die). Silver season was slow, and every fish landed was earned. There just were not very many thick schools of silvers on the Kvichak in 2010. It was a disappointing silver run. I'd rather just forget about silver season all together. They are an aggressive, hard fighting pacific salmon species, and it's exciting hunting for them amongst the banks and slack waters of the river, but I could not wait for the late summer rainbow season to begin. Months of waiting, reading, and hearing about the fall trout fishing on the Kvichak was taking it's toll on me. I was ready for it. Then it was almost over night, like a switch went off. The cow (female) salmon started dropping eggs and the fun began. A few weeks of fat, feeding-frenzy rainbows, gorging themselves on salmon eggs and salmon flesh. This is what I came to Alaska for! Big, wild, rainbow trout. The possibility of landing a 30inch trout on the Kvichak River is real. Real, like nowhere else on the planet, kind of real. These final weeks of my first season as an Alaska fishing guide were filled with fiery, chin-up moments. It was what I expected out of my summer but was only able to find it at the end of m
y experience. After crushing big rainbows and dealing with the late summer, early fall weather, my summer on the Kvichak was over. The big rainbows of the Kvichak lived up to the legend and I only hope the legend lives on through proper fisheries management, lack of development, and lack of industrialization. Again, if you care about preserving our natural resources in the Bristol Bay Region please visit the link listed above.
s, as they are affectionately know, make the extended journey from the saltwater to within a few hundred yards of the rock beds in which they were born; swimming 50 to 100 miles up a very strong current by using only the scent of the water for navigation. The scent is programed into their tiny pea sized brains from birth. During the peak sockeye run, usually the first week of July, 3oo thousand to half a million sockeye will swim by you in a 24 hour period. This amazing feat of nature is something only one can witness, and is not worthy of descriptive words portraying an image. It is frightfully amazing, even as I reflect upon it some six months later. Keeping a sharp fillet knife is a prerequisite, when guiding in Alaska. Cleaning 15 sockeye a day for about three weeks, puts any good blade through the ringer. You can't wait for sockeye season to start and just as soon as it starts you are ready for it to be. The popular saying amongst the guides prior to the beginning of the sockeye run is, "Can't wait for them sockeye." This quickly turns into, "Can't wait for them silvers," which are the next big run of salmon targeted on the Kvichak. In late July and continuing on into early August, the sockeyes have all reached their spawning grounds and there they meet a mate. A male sockeye may be a suitor for more than one female. While the sockeyes have reached their spawning grounds and are pairing up for reproduction, the silver salmon(coho salmon) are just begin to make their journey up river, towards reproduction. Once they reach their spawning grounds they will find a mate and ultimately complete their life's purpose; to ensure further generations of
coho salmon. Then they slowly die a miserable, decaying death(all species of salmon reproduce and die). Silver season was slow, and every fish landed was earned. There just were not very many thick schools of silvers on the Kvichak in 2010. It was a disappointing silver run. I'd rather just forget about silver season all together. They are an aggressive, hard fighting pacific salmon species, and it's exciting hunting for them amongst the banks and slack waters of the river, but I could not wait for the late summer rainbow season to begin. Months of waiting, reading, and hearing about the fall trout fishing on the Kvichak was taking it's toll on me. I was ready for it. Then it was almost over night, like a switch went off. The cow (female) salmon started dropping eggs and the fun began. A few weeks of fat, feeding-frenzy rainbows, gorging themselves on salmon eggs and salmon flesh. This is what I came to Alaska for! Big, wild, rainbow trout. The possibility of landing a 30inch trout on the Kvichak River is real. Real, like nowhere else on the planet, kind of real. These final weeks of my first season as an Alaska fishing guide were filled with fiery, chin-up moments. It was what I expected out of my summer but was only able to find it at the end of m
y experience. After crushing big rainbows and dealing with the late summer, early fall weather, my summer on the Kvichak was over. The big rainbows of the Kvichak lived up to the legend and I only hope the legend lives on through proper fisheries management, lack of development, and lack of industrialization. Again, if you care about preserving our natural resources in the Bristol Bay Region please visit the link listed above.