Exploring a favorite Alaskan stream
By
Troutnut on May 30th, 2020
Late May is an odd time to hunt for rainbow trout along Alaska's road system. The adult salmon aren't in yet, most of the smolts aren't really running yet either, and the rainbows are in limbo between their mysterious headwater spawning locations and the places they enjoy salmon smolt and egg buffets later in the summer.
Last year, when the rivers were atypically low due to a light snowpack, I fished three miles of a favorite creek and moved only three rainbows, all of monstrous size. This year, greater snowmelt had the creek swollen beyond long-distance wadeability, so a friend and I explored some absurdly off-the-beaten-path access points, the kind where it takes an hour to reach a piece of water in which nobody else has set foot for years.
On this new water, I caught one 19" female and briefly saw a nice male rocketing downstream post-spawn. Mostly, though, the scenic new reaches were a bust from a catching standpoint. At the end of the day, I bashed through half a mile of alders and devil's club (R.I.P. my waders, 2019-2020) to reach a known hotspot and caught six fish, mostly 18-21", before a storm rolled in and chased me back to the car.
Date AddedJun 8, 2020
CameraiPhone XS
Date AddedJun 8, 2020
CameraiPhone XS
Date AddedJun 8, 2020
CameraiPhone XS
Date AddedJun 8, 2020
CameraiPhone XS
Date AddedJun 8, 2020
CameraiPhone XS
Most recent comments on this post (latest on top)
Martinlf | June 11th, 2020, 1:10 pm | |
Moderator Palmyra PA
Posts: 3233 | Amen. |
| "He spread them a yard and a half. 'And every one that got away is this big.'"
--Fred Chappell |
|
Partsman | June 9th, 2020, 1:07 pm | |
bancroft michigan
Posts: 420 | Awesome country, enjoy that hiking while your legs are still young!
Mike. |
|
Martinlf | June 9th, 2020, 9:05 am | |
Moderator Palmyra PA
Posts: 3233 | Beautiful water. |
| "He spread them a yard and a half. 'And every one that got away is this big.'"
--Fred Chappell |
|
Comment on this post
You must
log in at the top of the page to post. If you haven't registered yet, it's this easy: