Fall in the North Cascades: Part 1

So far this year, the "egg hatch" in the Pacific Northwest has provided some phenomenal fishing for beautiful native trout. With this "hatch" winding down on some of my favorite rivers, my friend Dyllon and I made plans to travel a little further afield to the rivers of the North Cascades where the salmon spawning was still going strong. We got on the road by mid-morning and after battling our way through Seattle traffic, we found ourselves driving up the river valley and into the towering peaks of the North Cascades by mid-afternoon. We had selected a river were Dyllon had done well in the past and luckily when we pulled up we were the only ones there. On top of the salominds that I am used to targeting such as Coastal Rainbow and Cutthroat Trout, this stream also happened to be one of a handful of places where it is legal to target Bull Trout and the possibility of encountering one of these elusive char just added to the excitement. 

Fall colors along the steam

Anticipation was running high as we grabbed our gear and headed for the water. When we reached the stream we found a side channel packed with spawning Pink Salmon - a good indication that we were in the right spot.  

Pink Salmon spawning in a side channel

Although the few deep pockets in the side channel failed to produce anything thing, when we got to where two braids came together, I drifted and egg imitation over a drop off and watched my indicator to shoot under. When I set the hook, it was clear that this fish had some size to it and while it took some good runs, the fish stubbornly stayed down and deep. After a couple minutes of back and forth tug of war, I finally got an eye of the fish and was happy to see it was a solid Bull Trout!  Moments later I was able to slide it into the net and admire the beautiful 20” Bull Trout. Across my native trout adventures and especially in the Pacific Northwest, Bull Trout have always been one of the must elusive salmonids. These predatory char are emblematic of quality habitat and as such have become rare across much of the region. This resulted in them being listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act and with so anytime I find one at the end of my line is something worth being excited about.

Off to a great start! A beautiful Bull Trout!

After I released the Bull Trout, Dyllon decided to head upstream and fish a riffle, while I kept working the drop off. The next dozen drifts along the seam failed to produce any grabs, but when I put a cast in the slower water on the inside of the seam, my indicator made it about halfway through its drift before once again plunging into the depths. While the Bull Trout had been a solid fish, it was immediately clear that this fish had a bit more size to it, but the fight was way different than the Bull Trout. While this fish also stayed down and deep, it also started doing under water cartwheels, which gave me a solid hunch as to what was on the end of my line. Sure enough after putting my trusty 6WT Scott S4 through the paces, the fish finally tired and I brought bright wild Coho hen to the net.

Second fish of the day, a wild female Coho just starting to show some spawning colors

At this point, we were less than half an hour into our trip and I had already caught two native species and when I looked up Dyllon was hooked into a decent fish as well, (which turned out to be another Bull Trout) so things were definitely off two a good start!

Dyllon working a log jam just upstream

While Dyllon continued upstream, I switched over to my streamer rod and started twitching a black sculpin through the depths. After several casts I had a massive Coho chase my streamer right up to the rod tip, but didn't take and when I lost my streamer in a tree a few casts later I decided it was time to move on and catch up with Dyllon.

On my way upstream I decided to fish the riffle Dyllon had been working and within a couple casts I hooked into a nice fish, which appeared to be another Bull Trout, but it got in the fast water and tossed the hook. After several follow up casts failed to produce any other takers, I decided it was time to catch up with Dyllon. When I caught up with Dyllon he was wrapping up working riffle pouring into the mess of logs and indicated that he had already caught three Bull Trout. While he had already worked the spot pretty thoroughly, I was fishing a slightly different looking egg than him and decided to give it a shot. After a few casts I briefly hooked up with a fish, but lost whatever it was and nobody else seemed to be interested in the riffle so I shifted my attention to the back of the hole. To do so I had to play things on the dangerous side and float my rig tight against the log jam, but right as it floated past a root wad my indicator shoot under and I hooked into and landed another Bull Trout, which was followed by yet another on the next cast.

A darkly colored Bull Trout

After releasing these fish, I moved upstream to the next run and got a surprise when I tossed my line in the shallows to set up for my next cast and a humped out Pink Salmon shot over and latched on to my egg pattern. This Pink was not particularly fresh and beyond a few quick runs didn't put up much of a fight so I was able to swing it into the shallows and remove the hook and send it back on its way.

A male Pink or "humpy" Salmon

Once I turned the Pink Salmon loose, I continued on to the next riffle. The tailout upstream of this riffle had a bunch of spawning Pink Salmon and there were 4 or 5 Chinook holding at the head of the riffle as well. With all of this spawning activity, Dyllon was able to get a decent Bull Trout just behind the Chinook and when he moved on I gave it a try. With the best holding water just downstream of the Chinook, I started by casting upstream and to the right of them and letting my rig sink and after a few casts I had a Bull Trout grab but I lost it. I decided to put in a few more casts to see if there were anymore trout around, but was surprised when one of the male Chinook broke from the group and took my egg imitation. This was not a small Chinook and it immediately took off and started peeling line, making it clear that I was severely under-gunned with my 6WT. As soon as the fight began it was over as the hook popped loose mid run. While I certainly would have loved to land a Chinook, I was also relieved when this fish popped off, as my rod was clearly outclassed.

. 

Looking upstream

Not wanting to risk another encounter with a Chinook, I kept moving upstream and caught up with Dyllon at a trench where the side channel split from the mainstem. Dyllon took the lower part of the trench, while I took the head of the trench and after just a couple casts my indicator shot under and I was hooked into a hefty fish. This fish stayed down and I had a hard time getting an eye on it to see just how big it was. However, once it finally came up Dyllon said I was going to want a hand with the net one this one and I had to agree. Luckily the fish stayed in the hole and most played a game of tug of war and after a few minutes, I guided it over to Dyllon waiting with the net. The Bull Trout in the net, was 25" battle scarred beauty that was starting to show its spawning colors with a gorgeous pale yellow tone showing along the belly and was definitely my fish of the day.

Releasing a beautiful 25" Bull Trout - my fish of the day

After releasing the big Bull Trout, Dyllon and I continued upstream, to a gorgeous run that screamed fish. This time Dyllon took point and headed for the top of the run, while I decided to fish my way upstream with a streamer. It didn't take long for Dyllon to start getting into fish and it seemed that every time I looked up he was hooked into a Bull Trout. While it wasn't lights out with the streamer, about halfway up the run, I watched a female Pink Salmon dart across the run to chase it down. 

A female Pink Salmon that took a black sculpin pattern

After releasing the Pink Salmon, I had a long gap between grabs before another fish hammered the streamer. This fish immediately began doing the underwater cartwheels characteristic of Coho Salmon and despite being a big fish, it basically just cartwheeled its way straight to the net. After snapping a quick photo I watched the Coho shoot back into the pool and decided it was time to switch back to my nymph rig again.

A beautiful rose red hook-nosed male Coho Salmon

While I had been working the streamer though the hole, Dyllon had managed to pull four Bull Trout out of the riffle at the top end run. However, despite this when I came in with a slightly different colored egg imitation, it seemed like I had first water and I proceeded to catch four nice Bull Trout out of the spot myself. As we worked our way upstream, the fishing continued to exceed anything that I would have expected, with each run, riffle or side channel producing several more solid Bull Trout, until we finally came to a particularly challenging river crossing and opted to head back downstream. With a good stretch of water between us and the car, we decided to fish our way back downstream, and while things were a bit slower each spot continued to produce another Bull Trout or two.

Dyllon hooked into another Bull Trout

This was until we came to a nice run that I had passed over, but Dyllon had caught a single Bull Trout out of. With our previous light coverage of the run we decided to work it a little more thoroughly and it didn't take long for it to produce results. With both Dyllon and I hooking into a pair of solid fish just moments from each other, resulting in a 20" Bull Trout double. 

Not bad for a double - dual 20" Bull Trout

After releasing our double, I noted several Chinook on a redd towards the back of the run and when I threw a cast next to them, sure enough my indicator shot under and I landed yet another mid-teens Bull Trout. Slightly downstream of the Chinook there were even more Bull Trout and Dyllon and I took turns working the run and landed another 4 between us including my second best of the day at 22".

Me with another big Bull Trout

Spawned out salmon along the river

By the time we reached the car, we both had long since lost count of how many fish we had encountered, but needless to say it goes down as one of the best days on the water I can remember and certainly by far the best Bull Trout fishing I have ever had. 

While the day had already far exceeded my expectations, we still had a bit of daylight left and Dyllon said he had a couple spots in mind, so we headed back to the river. Unfortunately the first two spots already had folks fishing them targeting salmon and when we finally found a piece of water to ourselves, daylight was running very short indeed. That didn't stop the Bull Trout though and as soon as we found a riffle with some spawning salmon, the Bull Trout once again started showing themselves although keeping them on provide challenging and I only went 1 for 5 on my hook up to landing ratio.

Yet another Bull Trout

Right as we were getting ready to leave, I saw a nice sized fish that looked be a Coho roll in the tailout and I was pleasantly surprised when I tossed a casted just upstream and it went for it. After a couple of minutes I brought a beautiful rosy red Coho to hand, making for a perfect time to call it a day.

A last light hook nosed Coho

All I can say is that this day will go down as one of the best I can remember having outside of Alaska and fishing behind all of the spawning salmon, it really felt more like Alaska than the Pacific Northwest. However, this wasn't the end of our North Cascades adventure, as we had planned to this to be a multi day affair with our friend TJ meeting in the evening so the three of us could be back on the river first thing in the morning.

The season marches on

This time of the year, it is amazing the difference that a few days makes on the river. After getting out a little over a week ago to try my luck for trout behind spawning salmon, I was able to find a half day to get back on the water once again. During my last outing, spawning had been intense, with a mix of Chinook, Pink and Chum Salmon, but just a few days later much of the spawning appeared to have dropped off. Chinook had completely died off and the Pinks that were left looked to be nearing the end of the line as well, but now the Coho had started streaming into the river in earnest. 

However, with the season of plenty winding and one of the best opportunities to pack on the pounds winding down, I knew from experience that the trout often key in on any remaining pockets of spawners. However, I have also found this time of the year to be incredibly inconsistent, with some days producing amazing results for egg eating trout, while the trout seem to avoid eggs and switch back to streamers on others. As such, I came prepared for anything, armed with three rods (egg/nymph rig, streamer rig and mouse rig), and also decided to try out a different spot, than last time with some slightly later spawners hoping that this was where the trout would be. 

Fall on the river

My intuition on the spot appeared to pay off, as I could see a number of active spawners right when I got to the river. Furthermore, as I snuck up to the first hole I could see a couple fish holding towards the tailout. This hole had a slow deep bowl behind a log jam, so I opted for my streamer rod, rigged with a black sculpin and started casting. On the first cast, a nice sized fish, which looked like a Coho chased my fly across the hole, but after that the fish seemed to know that something was up and I couldn't get as much as a look as I worked my way towards the top of the pool. With the streamer not producing, I switched to my nymph set-up and within a few casts I had a solid grab and landed my first fish of the day, a plump little steelhead smolt. 

First fish of the day - a little steelhead smolt

After quickly releasing this smolt, I got one more smolt before I hit a long stretch of slow water where a handful of Pink and Chum Salmon were either actively spawning or guarding their redds but no Trout were tI found.

A pair of salmon on their redd

As I approached the top of this stretch, the river made a 90 degree turn with a riffle dropping into one of the best pieces of water that I have seen on the river. This spot was a classic holding water and sure enough on my first cast, my indicator shot under, but I was too slow on the set and missed the fish. I put my next cast a couple feet further out and this time when my indicator plunged into the depths I was ready and found myself hooked into a nice trout. The fish initially stayed deep, but after a few moments it went airborne and appeared to be about an 18" Cutthroat. Unfortunately, after jumping the fish took off on a run and somehow managed to spit the hook. Having lost the fish, I continued to methodically work the riffle from top to bottom, but there was no more interest in what I was offering, so it was time to try the streamer.

After a dozen casts in the riffle and pool, the streamer appeared to be garnering no attention, but I decided to stick it out and continue working it downstream into a pocket against some rip rap in the tailout. I landed my first cast tight against the rip rap and noticed a shadow emerge behind my fly as I started stripping it back. I lost sight of the shadow as my fly was crossing the pocket and I had nearly stripped all of my line in when something big hammered my fly in the shallows right at me feet. The fish immediately started taking line and with several logs in the pocket my 5 WT was put to the test keeping the trout away from them. In classic Rainbow Trout fashion, this fish made several big jumps and blistering runs, before it finally tired and I netted it. 

A streamer eating Coastal Rainbow Trout

This Rainbow was a flawless gem that was every bit of 18" and as I released it I was already thinking about what was just upstream around the next bend. However, as I continued on upstream it was like somebody had flipped a switch and the spawning salmon just disappeared. In fact, after covering about a 1/2 mile of river I only spotted a single old redd, one dead Pink Salmon, and the only fish I found were a few parr that took the egg imitation.

End of the line for a Pink Salmon

With the upstream stretch not producing, I decided to turn around and try my luck downstream of where I had started. The first 1/2 of river I covered on my way downstream only produced a single steelhead smolt, before I came to a deep run that often produces some nice Cutthroat on streamers. As such, I positioned myself on the edge of a drop off and started working my streamer through the hole. Eventually, I placed an upstream cast along the far bank, just above an overhanging tree and after stripping my fly a few times a fish hammered it. Right away it was evident that this fish had some weight behind it, but it had a completely different feel to the Rainbow I had gotten earlier and when it started doing underwater rolls that I have coined as the "Coho death roll" it was clear what I had hooked into. Armed with just my 5WT against a bright Coho, this fight easily could have gone against me, but luck was on my side and I was able to keep the fish out of the wood littering the bottom and landed a beautiful ~7 lb wild hen.

A surprise bright Coho Salmon

After snapping a few quick photos, I released the Coho back to continue on with her journey to the spawning grounds, then got back to it. I placed my next cast right back where I had put the last one and after stripping my fly back a quarter of the way, once again the black sculpin pattern was hit by a savage grab and I was hooked into another fish. Once again a "death roll" indicated that I had another Coho on and while the last Coho had fought hard, this one fought even harder, putting in numerous runs before I was finally able to bring it to the net. While I had gotten a bright hen last time, this time I got a wild buck that was starting to turn fire truck red and already showing a pronounced kype.

A buck Coho starting to show its spawning colors

A headshot of the Coho

I released the buck, then continued working the run, but didn't have so much as another grab. However, once I reached the tailout of the "Coho" run, I started seeing numerous redds and active spawners and decided it was time to switch back to my nymph (egg) rig. 

A spawning riffle downstream of the Coho water

This tailout and riffle was absolutely packed with spawning Pink Salmon and within just a few casts my indicator shot under I was hooked into a decent trout that turned out to be my first Coastal Cutthroat of the day.

An egg eating Coastal Cutthroat

For the next 10 minutes, the action in the foot to foot and half deep riffle was fast and furious, but I just couldn't seem to hook up with the fish. After this happened couple of times had checked my rig to make sure there was nothing wrong, but this just confirmed that it was down to operator error. This finally changed when I fished my rig off the drop-off where the riffle went to about 4 feet deep. My indicator was nearing the end of the drift when it shot under and I was hooked into a big fish. This fish put a serious bend in my 6WT and when it jumped several times it was clear to see why, as it was a chunky Rainbow easily over 20".  I fought this big Rainbow for a few minutes and got it close to the net once, but it took off for another run but mid run, my line just went slack and it was gone. After that the riffle went quiet and it was time to move on again.

Chinook Salmon carcasses sampled for otoliths, genetics and coded-wire tags

Downstream of the riffle, the spawning dropped off substantially, although there were a few scattered Pink Salmon redds, old Chinook redds and carcasses along the banks. However, with less spawning activity, there were also less trout around and it wasn't until I hit what I am now calling the mousing run that I finally saw some activity. This stretch of river is bordered by a dense stand of Western Red Alder and with a number of them having fallen in the river or overhanging, it is a perfect spot to toss a mouse pattern. This is where I had hooked a Cutthroat on a mouse pattern over the summer and I wanted to see I could repeat the feat this time as well. As such I got my 5 WT rigged up with a mouse pattern out and started working it tight to the woody debris. It didn't take long for the mouse to catch the attention of a trout, with one chasing it across the river in an attempt to grab it. Unfortunately, I couldn't get this trout to hook up and after that first cast it refused to come back again and nobody else seemed to be interested in the mouse either.

Mousing water on the river

With the mouse only getting the attention of one fish, I switched back to my egg imitation and almost immediately hooked into a Cutthroat that managed to wrap me up on some branches in the water and get off. As I fished my way downstream towards a particularly good run, the clouds which had been building all day finally decided to let loose and a steady misty rain began to fall. This rain didn't seem to mess with the fishing at least I had a few brief hook ups, but nothing stuck until I got to the run I had been heading for. On my third cast in this deep trench of a run, my indicator shot under and I set on what felt like a hefty fish. Initially, I thought that this might be a Pink or some type of salmon, as it stayed down and dogged me, but after a minute or so the fish came up and thrashed on the surface and I was happy to see a thick Rainbow on the end of my line. After a few minutes with a couple of jumps thrown in, the 19" Rainbow finally tired and I brought the beautiful fish to my net.

A chunky native Rainbow

After releasing the beautiful native Rainbow and with rain falling in earnest I decided that it was time to turn around and head back upstream. However as it would be on my way I figured that I along the way I might as well try the riffle where I had lost the big Rainbow earlier in the day along the way.

Time to head back upstream

After trudging upstream for a solid 15 minutes, I finally made it back to the riffle and started working the shallow waters behind the spawners once again. After a couple casts I started working the zone where I found the Cutthroat earlier and almost immediately had a take but missed it. However, on the next cast my indicator shot under once again and this time I was ready and hooked into a fish. Given that I was fishing in about a foot of water I was expecting a smaller fish, but instead I found a solid 18" Rainbow on the end of my line. This time luck was one my side and despite a few jumps and long runs, I was able to keep the fish on and within a couple minutes I was netting my third nice Rainbow of the day.

A heavily spotted Rainbow

While the first two Rainbows looked to be males, this one was clearly a female that had heavy spotting across its body and a vibrant pink band that made it quite striking. After a couple quick photos, I watched her dart back into the riffle and I continued working the river. There weren't any more willing takers in the riffle, but in the tailout just upstream, I hooked into another much smaller fish yet spunky fish that looked to be a steelhead smolt. With the my hat and coat starting to soak through due to the rain and having come full circle and found another steelhead smolt, I decided that it was the perfect time to call it a day and hike the 1/2 mile back upstream to the car.

Ending the day with another steelhead smolt

By the time I reached the car, I was good and soaked but with an amazing day on the water I was happy to be back on the road again and headed home.

A wet rainy end to a great day on the water

Oregon Coastal Cutthroat

At the beginning of April I decide to make a major career shift and after 11 years with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, I accepted a position as the Science Advisor for the Trout Unlimited's Wild Steelhead Imitative. June, I found myself in Reedsport Oregon for a weeklong work retreat. While we put in long hours during the day, the evenings were reserved for team building time (i.e. fishing time!!). 

Since the retreat was taking place during the off-season for steelhead (too late for winters and too early for summers), we had opted to do our part for the Umpqua River steelhead and instead targeted Striped Bass for a few days. The Striped Bass population on the Umpqua River have experienced a recent boom and are currently considered on of the leading threats to wild steelhead in the basin, especially the summer-run population which was at critically low abundance in 2021.  As such suppressing the non-native striper population is through angling is one of the strategies that ODFW is suggesting to aid the struggling native summer steelhead population.

The Umpqua River estuary

We fished stripers on a variety of top water poppers, flies and swimbaits. The fishing never quite it the "red hot" level, most likely due to the cooler to normal spring. However, we did get into some decent fish and hopefully saved a few steelhead smolts in the process. For more details the our post about Stripers and our retreat on the Wild Steelheaders United blog.

A solid Striped Bass caught on top water

The last day of the retreat, the weather was predicted to be much rougher and my coworkers and I decided to change things up a bit and try some small stream fishing for Coastal Cutthroat. Based on research I had down there was a stream a short distance away holding a robust population of both resident and sea-run fish and as such we decided to head there.

A beautiful day for smalls stream fishing

The stream flow through a beautiful canyon with mature stands of Douglas Fir, Western Hemlock and Red Cedar, with the wild Rhododendron in full bloom. Given the small size of the stream, I decided to go with my trusty 2wt and rigged up with a #12 Royal PMX and a #16 Blowtorch nymph dropper (new fly for me). While my coworkers headed upstream, I started off at a deep hole below some cascades not far downstream of where we parked. It was immediately apparent as soon I a got in the water that this stream was healthy and full of life, with crayfish, newts and small fish inhabiting the shallows. Additionally, the Cutthroat population appeared to be quite healthy as well and my second cast produced a bright 10" sea-run fish with its cutthroat slash just starting to reappear on the nymph. 

A bright sea-run Coastal Cutthroat

I managed to get one or two smaller Cutthroat and caught a small dace (possibly an Umpqua Dace?) before I decided some exploring further downstream. 

A small dace

With this I headed down the road to look for some more good water. While I saw plenty of good water, the problem was getting to it, as the riparian zone was a dense ticket Red Alder, Big Leaf Maple and Salmonberry bushes and occasional briars of invasive blackberries. However, I finally found a deer trail and was able to get back on the water. The first piece of water that I started on was a nice run with a log across riffle at the top end. While the run didn't produce any results, the fast water and pocket just upstream of the log looked like good holding water. Sure enough on my second cast, a big Cutthroat (~15") rose to my dry fly and doubled my 2wt over. Unfortunately with the current speed I didn't get a good hook set and after a little thrashing on the surface my fly popped loose. Several more casts with the dry/ dropper rig didn't entice the fish to return, so I switched to a small streamer. This did get a few vicious strikes from under the log, but nothing hooked up, so I switched back to my dry/ dropper and continued on my way upstream.

Quality Cutthroat holding water

A newt in the stream margins

The next run upstream had a perfect fishy looking riffle that swept along a large boulder. The first few casts didn't get the attention of any trout, but by fully covering the water I got a nice rise and hooked into a solid fish. This fish gave my 2wt a good workout, but this time I had a solid hookset and was able to bring the beautiful 12" native cutthroat hand after a short fight.

My big native Coastal Cutthroat

Upstream of this spot, the stream picked up gradient quickly and the abundance of trout also increased. While, most of the fish were cookie cutter 6-8" juveniles, I was able to dredge up another bright 10" sea-run on my dropper in a deeper pocket right below the hole where I got my first fish of the day. As I had covered all of the water up to the hole that I started out on, I found a path back up to the road and was able to meet up with my coworkers.

Another sea-run Coastal Cutthroat

After each having success working our initial patch of water we decided to head up the road a bit and try another location. However, after spending another 45 minutes here the habitat seemed subpar and we each had only found a couple of small Cutthroat or juvenile Coho. At this point the weather was degrading on us we decided to head back into town.

A juvenile native Coho Salmon

My coworker Alexei working a good run

A beautiful day on the water

This trip was a great kick to summer, with a productive week of work, time to get to know my new coworkers and some great fishing while we were at it. The summer trout season is now in full swing and next week I am off to the Lahontan and Bonneville Basins to hunt for Cutthroat, with a report to follow soon after!

End of Summer Alaska

After having to cancel a trip to Alaska in 2017, I was able to reschedule for late-August of 2018. This was more of a vacation than a fishing trip, as my daughter and I were joining my sister (who had a conference to attend) and her two kids. However, as much of the trip was taking place on the Kenai Peninsula I did have some time to get out fishing. The primary thing that I was hoping to do was catch my first Arctic Char as the Kenai Peninsula has several lakes with the Taranets subspecies (Salvelinus alpinus taranetzi). However, getting some fishing in for some salmon, Dollies and Rainbows with Valerie was also in the plans.

The first spot that we hit was a little stream where the Coho were running and it didn't take long to find a willing biter- one cast to be precise. However, with Valerie being just shy of her second birthday, we didn't spend to much time on the water as and instead redirected efforts to enjoying some streamside raspberries.

The Kenai River tributary

A first cast Coho Salmon and an excited Valerie

On our second day, I was able to break away for a bit and try my luck for the Arctic Char. I knew from the start that this was going to be a long shot as these Char usually hang out in the depths until early October, but as I was here I was going to try. 

The first spot I tried was Cooper Lake, which has a robust population of both Arctic Char and Rainbows. The conditions on the lake were beautiful and I did manage to get a couple of takes, but this was big water and I just couldn't connect with anything so I decided to relocate.

Cooper Lake

The second lake I fished was much smaller and is known to have a decent char population. However, it was accidently stocked with Rainbows destined for another lake a few years prior. This along with being shore bound proved to be the deal breaker with this lake. There were only a few spots along the shore where I could get a good cast in, and every cast resulted in a 8" Rainbow prior to the fly sinking deep enough to get down the to Char. However, you couldn't ask for a more beautiful spot and if I can pull an October trip in the future - and bring a float tube, I think that this lake will be a good candidate for finding an Arctic Char.

 

The Arctic Char lake

The final spot that we were able to fish before having to leave the Kenai Peninsula was on the Kenai River. I had fished this same spot a couple of years prior and found it to be lights out. This time the flows were significantly higher and the river was more crowded, however the sockeye were spawning and once I found a spot with some back cast room the fish were there just like before.

The Kenai River

Spawning sockeye salmon

A spawned out salmon

The Sockeye Salmon were in the river and starting to dig redds, so I fished beads imitating Sockeye eggs and just like my previous trip the first cast produced a nice fish.

 

A nice first cast rainbow - with a curious onlooker

After this first rainbow, the action did not slow down and I got a couple more smaller Rainbows before I started getting into a some nice Dolly Varden. These Dollies averaged 16-18" and while they didn't put on the same show of acrobatics that a Rainbow might, were scrappy fighters.

An egg eating Dolly Varden

Another Dolly Varden

A Dolly Varden starting to show its spawning colors

After couple of hours of fishing, it was time to call it quits and hopefully I will be able to schedule another trip to Alaska to check some more fish (2 subspecies of Arctic Char; Northern Dolly Varden and Lake Trout) off the native trout list in the future.