Day 3...

Driftboat Monday. My host for the day is none other than fishook.... and for the entire Alaska calendar year, he LIVES for two Mondays. I feel privileged that he sees it fit to regularly include me and my posse for one of the coveted days.

We would split the drift trip with Tanner and I starting at Riverbend and working our way down to the Beav. Noel would ferry Alex and Silas down with the powerboat to a tidewater flossing bar for reds.

The sockeye were really moving this day. At Fall In, there was a solid 20 ft wide swath of rollers/jumpers in 3-4 ft of water for about 150 yards. At any one time, 15-20 reds were out of water. With the LOW water conditions, flossers found new and productive runs that would be unfishable with another foot of water in a normal year.

King fishing was dead slow again in the upper holes. The fantastic weather helped to ease the pain. It wasn't until we were just above Eagle Rock that Tanner got his first bite bouncing bait.... premature swing and a miss.

Caught up with Noel Alex and Silas above the Convergence Bar where they were already up to 65 sockeye on two rods! Silas was a bit outgunned by these powerful sockeye, but he was content to play in the anchored boat and take it all in while Dad and Uncle Noel put the hurt to the reds. We were anxious to stock up on beer this fine July afternoon... JFC, we launched without a single bottle in fishook's drifter!

With a nice beer/lunch break behind us, fishook boldly stroked out into the middle of the Crossover at full flow. Mind you, this is a run that we backtroll with a powerboat at 1100-1200 RPM with the big motor. It takes courage, determination, strong arms and a spine of steel to try it with the sticks.

We're about 3 boat lengths into the pass when my plug rod slams down, dips twice, and then absolutely flattens in the FOLBE. Yee Haw.... Measles with an albacore belly wrap! I've got the fish on for about a minute when the rod tip suddenly pops up and I feel my heart sinking as the telltale throb of a free-swimming KwikFish tells me the fish is no longer attached.

Undeterred, fishook starts stroking harder to get us re-deployed and keep us fishing the productive run. The tuna wrap is destroyed so this time, I put out a Lemon Lime Uni-Bomber Combo laced with fishooks freshly cured Nates bait. A few strokes later, my rod is buried and line is absolutley screaming from the Revo Toro! Fishook strokes us over to the Convergence Bar where I beach the fish (despite guide Capt Bligh's ignorant attempt to prop-chop that fish off as he motored right over my line.... dip$hit!) I release the dirty hen after getting some nice beach pics.

We drop down in to the Beav where a steady bite has been going most of the day. The wind is frickin howling, making it ever so difficult to gauge just where the boat's gonna end up when we drop the hook. Boats are hooking up all around us, but finally it's fishook's turn. He puts out a gold SnG/Nates bait and starts bouncing. Pay dirt... a beauty buck in the 30-35 range. As we're beaching the boat to set up the photo shoot, the big boy abruptly comes unbuttoned.

At this point Tanner and I trade places with Noel.

I go on to have a great afternoon with my nephew. We floss up another limit of reds above Convergence, then motor up to the Honeymoon Bar where the action is fast and furious. Alex and I pick up another 25 fish in the next hour while Tanner struggles with the mechanics of a hookset and fighting big strong sockeye in HEAVY current with a flyrod and single action reel with no anti-reverse. It ain't pretty.... but at least he's trying.

Meanwhile the wind squelches fishooks/Noel's plans to fish down thru Mud. Noel hooks and lands a mid-20's buck at the Beav. They get as far as the Wall where Noel plucks a big boy that was on for several minutes before coming unbuttoned... 50-plus I was told.... maybe bigger. Course I've heard that one before.