doug draper
07-09-2002, 04:32 AM
Just got in this morning from the annual trip to alaska. The fishing was pretty good . Seven of us flew into anchorage arriving on the 28th. We picked up a few goods and headed 1 1/2 north to a susitna river tributary. We arrived about 3:00 a.m. and were on the river within 10 minutes. Within an hours time everyone had landed at least one king salmon .;some up to 40 lbs. Everyone hooked a lot of fish that day. We probally land about half. The following day we headed to another nearby creek that one has to hike to. We fished alone. WE averaged about 4 kings a piece. Dan caught a 50" fish at this river.The russian was next on the agenda for some hard fighting sockeye salmon. WE arrived about 6:00 p.m. There was only the occaisional fish swimming through so I only managed 2 fair hooked fish that evening. The next day things changed. We got up about 4:30 a.m. and within a few casts fish on. I probally hooked 30 by about 2 P.M. as did Dan. The other 5 guys did'nt fare as well as they were all rookies. But all managed to catch a few. WE decided to head back up north to a river called clear creek. You pay for a boat ride up the Talkeetna (35-45$) The best thing to do is hike up the river until you find fish instead of fishing the mouth with the crowds. The further you hike the bigger the pods of fish. This river was quite productive. We hooked a lot of kings and Dan landed another 50" Not to be outdone I decided to get serious. I spotted a big fish finning with a group of about 40 fish. I had to cast all the way to the other side of the group and throw an upstream belly in the line to get the proper presentation. Perfect cast as the fly drifted right in the zone. The take was soft as the only indication was the fly did'nt come down stream with the line. SEt the hook and the battle was on . Well it is bed time. I landed him several hundred yards downstream. My biggest fish yet 52" with a 30" girth. I bring a cloth tape measure. More to tell not enough time now. Maybe later.