ALASKA

2006

This years trip to Alaska was to be a special adventure! I was not only going back to the Tsiu River for Silver Salmon, but I was also going to fish the Kenai River for large Rainbow Trout. In between we were going to fish the Anchor River near Homer for Steelhead. The part that I was most excited about was the Rainbow fishing on the Kenai. For many years I have been seeking to catch a wild Rainbow in excess of ten pounds, so far the closest I had got was in the range of 5-6 lbs. The Kenai River is known to be the habitat of Rainbows well above my target weight, and from information gleaned from friends Don Mittlestaedt and Ted Morrison, they knew the guide that would help me reach my goal.

So, three of us, Craig McMullen, Ed Rabinowe and myself, set off on a trip put together by Ed in mid September. We planned to fish the Kenai for two days, then move down to the Anchor for another couple of days and eventually end up on the Tsiu for five days. If everything went well, we would have the delightful experience of catching all three species and hopefully the big Rainbow.

Our first base of operation was a B & B in Cooper Landing, right on the Kenai about mid-way between Anchorage and Homer on the Kenai Peninsula. On our first day on the Kenai we did not have the guide we sought, as he only had one day open when we booked and that would be the next day. However we had a good guide and got into large Rainbows and Dolly Varden. All of us caught very nice fish, but no 10 pounders. The next day we fished with Fred Telleen, the guide so highly recommended. Well, we had a great day, immediately got into big fish, both Rainbows and Dolly's. One of my first went about eight pounds.....getting close! We were chased off this spot by a couple of Brown bears, so we moved down river and fished another gravel bar. Almost at once, we were all into some really big fish, and then I hooked up with a monster. When he rolled his back looked to be about six inches wide. He got into my backing very quickly and I only had a few turns left on the reel when he finally stopped, however he had managed to hook the line over a submerged snag and it looked as if I'd lose him. By getting into the boat and drifting over the snag, I was able to get it loose, then returned to the gravel to finish the fight and eventually land him. As you will see from the photo, he was a monster, weighing in at twelve pounds. Shortly after this I also caught the very large Dolly Varden pictured below, it was in excess of ten pounds also. A day well spent !!!

The Anchor turned out to be a disappointment as the Steelhead were not yet in. Only Ed caught one, so we canned the second day and returned to the Kenai on our own, and had some early success, but nothing like the day before.

The Tsiu was also a little disappointing as the Silver run was either late, light or both. We all caught fish, but nothing like the numbers we were used to on this river.

Below are photos grouped by river:

KENAI RIVER