Fishing Alaska
June/17/2009 Filed in: Fishing
It’s been a busy month since the Minnesota Opener. Fishing has been good in the Midwest and I was able to take a few days out of the crazy schedule and take a trip to Alaska to visit my son Jason and get in some fishing...
Jason has been guiding in Alaska for many years (www.frontiersafari.com), both fishing and big game, so he knows the resources well. My wife Rae was along on this trip and her brother Mark joined us as well. We stayed in Cooper Landing at a great spot right on the Kenai River (www.aktroutfittters.com) and fortunately for us the run of sockeye salmon was a big one. Our first day out was the opener and fishing for sockeyes was a bit slow. We caught fish but there was some time between bites. The rainbows were a little shy to bite as well, but the ones we caught were nice. The local anglers were attributing this to a warm spell that dropped the water temperatures and us pilgrims were assured it would get better. IT DID!
The second day those reds were running. We were battling fish non-stop on nine-weight fly rods and having a blast. A brown bear noticed we were having some luck and visited us. While on the other side of the river the bear didn’t seem too intimidating, but at one point it decided to swim over to where we were. Jason and another angler shooed the bear back to the other side of the river where it harassed another angler who while running to his vehicle dropped one of his catch to slow the bear down. It worked.
I’ve been to Alaska a number of times and when you hit a salmon run right the fishing is extraordinary. Surrounded by the sheer beauty of the land while trying to land fish that make powerful runs in fast current is truly one of the most enjoyable experiences one can have.
The region at the start of the Kenai River is a tremendous setting for a base camp. There are plenty of accommodating resorts in Cooper Landing and the fishing guides are second to none. You can drive there from Anchorage and you are in close proximity to Seward and Homer, both great ocean fishing hotspots. So if you want a day on the biggest of big water you’re not far.
Check out a few of the photos we shot of the trip and you’ll see why it might be time to book a trip to Alaska if you’ve not been there before.
The second day those reds were running. We were battling fish non-stop on nine-weight fly rods and having a blast. A brown bear noticed we were having some luck and visited us. While on the other side of the river the bear didn’t seem too intimidating, but at one point it decided to swim over to where we were. Jason and another angler shooed the bear back to the other side of the river where it harassed another angler who while running to his vehicle dropped one of his catch to slow the bear down. It worked.
I’ve been to Alaska a number of times and when you hit a salmon run right the fishing is extraordinary. Surrounded by the sheer beauty of the land while trying to land fish that make powerful runs in fast current is truly one of the most enjoyable experiences one can have.
The region at the start of the Kenai River is a tremendous setting for a base camp. There are plenty of accommodating resorts in Cooper Landing and the fishing guides are second to none. You can drive there from Anchorage and you are in close proximity to Seward and Homer, both great ocean fishing hotspots. So if you want a day on the biggest of big water you’re not far.
Check out a few of the photos we shot of the trip and you’ll see why it might be time to book a trip to Alaska if you’ve not been there before.