The purpose of this blog is to show friends, family, and curious folks what my day to day, week to week adventures provide as a fly fishing guide. Enjoy!
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Fresh Wild Salmon Please!
Alright, so keeping up with my blog while guiding in Alaska this season has been more difficult than anticipated. With a few days break between guests I have found the time to make a recap blog of the first month of fishing, but not without the help of a cup of freshly brewed kona coffee. What a treat.
King salmon and sockeye salmon season was very successful here at Valhalla Lodge. The Nushakag River and the Kvichak River provided generous runs of salmon filling up freezers and putting smiles on the faces of guests. We are in a transition period from salmon to trout. When the salmon find their spawning ground and the eggs begin to drop the trout show up in mass numbers to gorge on eggs. The anticipation here is contagious.
Mid June through mid July is the best time to visit Alaska if you are looking to fill up your freezer with fresh, wild pacific salmon. Almost 50% of the world's wild pacific salmon come from the Bristol Bay Region of Alaska. Watching thousands of sockeye salmon swim by you per hour for several weeks is something I am still not use to; yet salmon is not the reason why I love Alaska. I am here for the big, wild rainbow trout which survive on salmon eggs and salmon carcasses. Without the nutrients from the salmon the trout would not make it through the harsh winter. This "need to feed" attitude of the rainbow makes them reckless feeders. You know when a trout is on your line just from the hard take of your fly. The big trout practically rip the rod out of your hand. The salmon are here which means trout season is near. If you want to chase 25 to 30 inch rainbows visit www.valhallalodge.com to joins for some epic trout fishing.
I came from Jessica's blog and was scrolling down and read with interest about how important salmon are to other fish. I had read about the problems some of the dams in the US caused by blocking the salmon from spawning up stream and how little was known about the value of the nutrients from the dead salmon to the land reached by the river below..once again..humans screw things up.....Michelle
Well Michelle, unfortunately humans are trying to screw things up here in Alaska. The Bristol Bay Region is home to nearly 50% of the world's pacific salmon and they are wanting to put one of the world's largest open pit mine which will destroy salmon spawning grounds and potentially poison thousands of miles of fresh water. Visit www.savebristolbay.org and under the take action section you can sign a petition that says no to pebble mine and you can find out more about this issue. Thanks for stopping by.
Video comments:
ReplyDeleteAwesome! Great technique with the skiff beaching. Like a pro. You bay rat.
Don't be scared of the plane, be scared of the pilot!
Sounds like the wind can be brutal. Take care.
Have a fun summer bro! Hope to see you in the fall.
You like the way we park our boats huh Jeff. It takes some practice to get it on the ramp right.
DeleteI came from Jessica's blog and was scrolling down and read with interest about how important salmon are to other fish. I had read about the problems some of the dams in the US caused by blocking the salmon from spawning up stream and how little was known about the value of the nutrients from the dead salmon to the land reached by the river below..once again..humans screw things up.....Michelle
ReplyDeleteWell Michelle, unfortunately humans are trying to screw things up here in Alaska. The Bristol Bay Region is home to nearly 50% of the world's pacific salmon and they are wanting to put one of the world's largest open pit mine which will destroy salmon spawning grounds and potentially poison thousands of miles of fresh water. Visit www.savebristolbay.org and under the take action section you can sign a petition that says no to pebble mine and you can find out more about this issue. Thanks for stopping by.
DeleteVery interesting blog! Good to see you're enjoying your time in Alaska. How are the bears?
ReplyDeleteSo did you end up holding on to any salmon meat for smoking? Mmmmmmmm.....
ReplyDelete