Yeah, and it was DAMN fun, too! I need to do that again..and again...and again!

Besides, the dirt is nice and soft.

PS. You forgot to mention that after the 18 hours of king fishing, we would hit the boat ramp for another 2-3 hours to fish for the 'bows. An 1141s, and a good sized Kenai 'Bow is pretty damn fun stuff.

"Easy like sunday morning" But is it "Sleeezzy like friday night"???????.Staying home in "09".The biggest/longest fishin trip of the year will be bouy-10 this year as every year.Unless some of you start buying some asphalt driveway's/parking lots & roads.Good luck,
STRIKE ZONE

The Kenektok River brings back fond memories. I floated 6 days with friends from the headwater lake to Quinaghak in late July 1994. The Grayling, Char, and Rainbow were plentiful all the way and were willing to take streamer and egg patterns. The river was full of spawning Reds and there were big and little bear tracks at literally every pullout. We saw a huge bear fish in a back eddy full of Reds pulling them out and devouring them one by one. Fascinating and exciting to watch.

I went again in early July 2004 staying at one of the fishing camps up river from the village. We targeted Kings, Chums, and Rainbow. The Kings were just about over but I was able to land a few up to 20 lbs. There were plenty of Chums straight from the salt with bars hardly visible which were a lot of fun. The Kenektok Rainbow are spectacular; brightly colored and spotted everywhere and, if I ever go back, I’d spend more time targeting them. Make sure you take 6, 8, and 10 weight rods (add a 5 wt. for the Rainbows if you’re adventurous). Also you’ll need lines with sink tips for your 8 and 10 weights and both floating and sink-tip lines with your 6 weight.

Your Spey rod will work just fine for Kings and Chums. However, I fished very easily from an anchored guide boat and from the bank with one-handed rods.

The weather can be variable. The temperature didn’t get much above 50 degrees in 1994 but it was in the 70’s in 2004 and I spent most of the time in shirt sleeves. I’d take rain gear, gloves, and especially a good hand cream just to be safe.

The bugs can be variable also. They were especially ferocious along the upper river during the 1994 float but tolerable with bug-go-away along the lower river in 2004.

Have fun. It’s a great river. I’d love to go back. I’m glad that you have the opportunity to go.


John P.

With all of the gloom and doom spreading throughout the basins draining across one end of the Gulf of Alaska to the other, I've really been wondering how bad it's affecting streams draining into the Bering Sea on the west side. We all know that the Yukon has fallen on hard times, and the king fishing on the Togiak last year was bad.

Was glad to see this recent post in the Alaska West Facebook blog.



Perhaps a glimmer of hope... or just guide-speak?

i can verify that is not guidespeak. i had to come back 11 weeks early because i had a job offer that i could not refuse. week 1 this year was one of best in recent memory and there are no signs of that changing.

best day was 18 hooked for two dudes.....not bad when one is talking chromer kings on the swung fly.

You took another job .... and left a wide open bite on the world's greatest flyfishing river for tide-fresh kings?

The doc believes a psych referral is in order here, Sparkey!

Wha'happened?

Anyhow, thanks for the report.... the good news has buoyed my spirits.

Guess I won't be sipping any Lagavulin over the evening campfire with you next week.

Have a great time up there Doc. On my list of places to get back to someday.....
Cheers,
Neal

Have fun up there, Doc!

Have a great trip and take LOTS of pics!

Destination temporarily pre-empted.....

Delayed pushoff in SEA.... 8 planes ahead of us waiting to take off at the same time.... 100 mph head winds. Touchdown in ANC was about half hour late into a 45 minute connection.

Missed the connecting flight to Bethel literally by seconds... attendant was radioing in to authorize my boarding but the ground crew had just withdrawn the stairs.

So I'm SOL in ANC for now.

Next plane to Bethel is at 6PM... too late to make the last Bush hopper to Quinhagak tonight.

So I'll end catching the first flight in the morning. Too bad I miss out on a day of fishing.

In the meantime I get to hang out with my little 3 y.o. nephew in Anchorage. Too cute!

KK, does the title of this thread make you feel a bit dirty?


Just sayin'....

Doc-
They'll get you fishing as soon as you show up to camp....so you'll miss a morning of fishing but definitely not a whole day.

This isn't good. If he starts pulling his hair out over this he will be bald before he gets back down here. Hope when he gets there and hooks his first fish that the video guy screams LOW and to the LEFT for the whole thing...Good luck Francis just stay up there for another week to make up for it. I fear Alaska air has woken the sleeping Dragon. I hope ya went all crazy ornamental on their asses and got a butt load of free first class up grades...
Just ridicules they let the weather get out of hand like that this time of year.
Don't let it rune your trip and have a great time

Stop off on ANC & pick up an extra camera card Doc!

In more than a dozen time trying, more often than not I had a glitch with the transportation to or from that river. Part of the journey, part of the return. You can't expect to be in remote AK with everything running on a metro schedule. I've slept in pilots houses, storage containers, air service offices, and the end of a dirt runway. Part of the package, and if you avoid the pissed-off attitude it can be part of the fun. Take it in.

Mission accomplished on Day One.

Hooked my first tidewater HAWG on my first pass thru the first bar that guide Jim Palmersheim planted me on.

After a 6-7 minute battle, it came unpinned as I repositioned the rod from LOW and LEFT to LOW and RIGHT. No slime brought to hand, but nice to break the ice on my first Spey king!

Guide planted me on the next bar, and I struggled like hell to launch a Snap -T off my upstream shoulder in a STIFF upriver wind. Casting the new (to me) Skagit line didn't look pretty with a left handed delivery or a "cacked" right handed delivery. In between gusts, I cheated with the occasional standard Double Spey to launch some bonafide bombs into the travel lane. PAY DIRT!

Beautiful 20# platinum hen kicked my a$$ way worse than my birthday fish in the bay last fall! But come to hand she did. Would upload a pic, but I was advised against doing so as it might bring the whole camp computer system down.... so y'all will have to wait.

Tally for day one (or is that half day one?) hooked three kings, landed one. Hooked and landed two platinum buck chums the likes of which I've never seen.... FRESH beyond comprehension.

Hope the casting shoulder will last the rest of the week. Where's that Advil?

Sweet!

If you're hanging with a guide, I imagine that your shoulder will be fine given that you're probably not putting in 18 hr days on the river

Looking forward to more prose and pix....

Under the tutelage of the undisputed Skagit Master Jedi today. This should be good.

Time to hit the breakfast buffet line. Later!

Cool
we have contact

Sounds epic.

Find a 50!