09/05/2012
I am guiding another fishing trip today. Conditions look rather tough with high water and the weather report calling for 100% chance of rain. In addition, since it is now September we will be fishing artificial single hook lures rather than the Fire Cured salmon roe that worked so well for us during our most recent trips. It is very windy at our house — but according to the weather report not so much out where we be fishing. Check back late this evening or tomorrow for a more detailed report on this fishing trip.
Sept. 5 Trip Report —
I fished with two guests, one of whom hooked and lost a silver salmon and also caught a grayling. The second guest did not hook a fish. I also caught and released one dark silver salmon. We spent the entire trip casting #3 – #5 Flashtrap Spinners. There was plenty of rain during the trip and water levels in the 3 streams we fished were all high. We saw a few fish surface, but otherwise not much action. We briefly saw one other angler during out trip.
I think it is safe to say that the salmon catching is pretty much done for the season. I left my boat at the landing and may do a bit more fishing focused on trout and grayling if and when the water drops a bit. The weather is getting cooler now, so fishing on clear afternoons would likely provide one of the better trip opportunities.
09/08/2012
I fished for trout with fellow guide, Ben Allen on a stream swollen with recent rains, but on which the water level had been dropping. Between the two of us we caught over 20 rainbow trout and about 15 Arctic grayling. It was a very enjoyable and rewarding sunny day, and we fished many different spots along the river searching for fish. For the most part the fish were scattered, but near the end of our day we found one hole where we caught close to half of the fish landed for the entire trip.
I casted a #3 silver/black Flashtrap Spinner using a light spinning outfit with good results for the entire trip, while Ben caught his fish by fishing large streamer flies and drifting spawn-colored beads with fly rods.
During the trip we only saw a very few very rough looking salmon — and we did not hook any salmon, so the salmon catching, at least on this river, looks done for the year. Fall has definitely arrived with vibrant-colored foliage along the river, and we did not see another person fishing until near the end of our trip when we saw two people fishing near our boat takeout point.
I still have a boat at one of the boat launches we use, and may fish or guide a few more trips for trout if people want to go. I would expect results could vary considerably depending upon conditions. What I expect would likely remain constant is that experienced anglers would likely have considerably better opportunity to catch fish under the current trout fishing conditions.
09/13/2012
I decided to pull my final boat from the river, on Thursday, so I went to the landing and went fishing for one last time. I was on my own and targeting rainbow trout, Dolly Varden, and Arctic grayling. I fished with #3 Flashtrap Spinners the entire time, using an orange blade, pink blade, and silver / black patterns. I managed to hook 2 rainbow trout, but lost both fish before I could get them to the boat and release them. The water was still rather high, but fairly clear. In addition to the two fish that I had on the line, I also felt a fish hit my lure and was able to see the flash of its side in the water, and at another spot I saw what looked to be either a nice rainbow trout or Dolly Varden charging my spinner just as I was reeling it to the surface and lifting it out of the water. After both of these near chances to hook a fish, I continued to fish the areas with the thought that I should shortly hook the fish — but no further luck.
There were no other boaters or anglers out on the river, and I enjoyed having the whole place to myself. It has been over a week now since I guided my last fishing charter, and although I had a few interested anglers call, there has been no abundance of salmon to fish for, and nobody was interested in a trout / grayling trip with uncertain results. Therefore, it is time to put most of my open water fishing gear away for the season.
I’ll be doing some fishing for my self over the next week or so — and will mention the results on this report page.
For those interested in guided salmon fishing trips — Now is a great time to start thinking about and making reservations for the 2013 season. We currently have space available on ALL of our 2013 charter dates — and guests may choose any dates they would like to reserve at this time.
In 2013 I’m hoping to guide king salmon trips starting as early as May 10 and running through July 13. The later part of the season is the most uncertain portion as if there are shortages of king salmon returning that is the most likely portion of the season to see a closure.
Starting about July 7 I will have availability to guide for chum and coho salmon, and we should have availability to catch those salmon species through August 25 — and possibly even into September.