"Jake, how about you pick anywhere you want to go fishing in Southwest Alaska and we will go there for a day or two in the fall." This is what my Dad said to me over the phone last April. My instant reaction: Holy Sh*t!!!
I really couldn't believe what he was saying. I instantly got that similar rush like when you hook into an epic fish that comes out of the water just enough to taunt you and then break you off leaving you sitting on your ass replaying it in your mind. Thats how I felt after I got off the phone with my Dad. I have really been wanting to fish the SW part of Alaska for some time now and I didn't even know where to begin. I had to do all the research which was fine by me since he was taking the time to fly us there. Our means of transportation was my Dads Super-cub, Happy, which is righty named because of the constant use and unbelievable scenery the plane has seen. Since it was April when we decided we were going to make this trip I had some time to plan. I wanted to go really late fall when most of the bead bite was gone and because I wanted to swing for bows.
Our initial plan for the first day was to fly in, rent a boat and explore the Kvichak by boat. For the second day, we were planning to fly the area and fish a few small streams until the sun began to set. All of this, though, was dependent on the weather which ended up canceling our plans. Since the Bristol Bay area weather can be fierce and always changing, we weren’t too surprised. But finally, on day three of one of our scheduled departures, the fish God’s finally showed us some mercy and granted us a one day pass to Bristol Bay.
As we landed at our first creek we wasted no time getting down to the river. Not 5 seconds went by before I saw one of the biggest rainbows I have ever seen. I instantly got the buck fever feeling and frantically tried to get my fly in the water. Wind made things a bit more difficult but its really no excuse. After a few drifts through the run the fish jetted up stream and he was gone. We proceeded to catch a few more small ones. The fish we were catching had a much different spot pattern than a lot of the leopard bows that we catch in south central. It was really nice to see some different looking trout. The best fishing of the day was in the last hour before we had to leave. We spotted a large school of fish and decided that thats where we were going to hang the rest of the day. Not a minute after the first cast there was chaos. Swinging "The Magnet" my Dad hooked up on the swing. These fish meant business. Soon after he released his fish I hooked up. The take was amazing! After hammering the fly they would come directly up to the surface and head thrash while coming at you at the same time. This would make for hard solid hook sets. In about 30 minutes to an hour my Dad hooked 4 and landed 2 and I had hooked 3 and landed 0. I was a bit confused on how my Dad managed to land more fish than me, being how he rarely fly fishes anymore and thats all I do but I concluded that he is much wiser, more experienced and has more than paid his dues. Although I am a little disappointed that I didn't get to hold one, I'm also grateful that I didn't get spoiled on my first trip down. In fact, it just bolsters my desire to get down there as soon as possible next summer and show those fish whose boss.
