2013 Halibut

The annual Halibut trip from 2013.

We were able to get out for 5 days and got our fish.

2 days of heavy weather forced some down time on us but we found things to do.

I've got about 100 pounds of filet in the freezer.

My wife has at least 50 recipes and counting.

 Thanks to the bounty of Alaska!

 

                                           The smooth waters in front of Illiamna Volcano

                                                                 One day limit for three

Home Sweet......Home Lake

 

The Home Lake Trek from the Dosewallips side of Constance Pass is not for anyone who hates to climb. This was a tough route to say the least. 8.5 miles from Dose Forks Campground and 13.5 miles from our parking spot. Over 5000 ft of elevation gain, 95% of that in the last 5-6 miles, up to the high point , then a drop of over 1000 ft into Home Lake.  A 27 mile round trip.

We lucked out with the weather not a cloud in the sky for 4 days. Good Brookie fishing at Home Lake too! Lots of wild flowers and an excellent campsite with access to the lake for a quick dip.

 

 

Rene taking a breather.

 

Rene on the way into Home Lake

Home Lake solitude

Willing Brookies

Wildflowers everywhere

Cutthroat Days

The Rainbows are scarce this year.

Nice cutthroat that have been taking dry flies

Hard to complain

Mostly taken on parachute green drakes

 

 

Sea Runs and Chum fry migration

 

The migration of the Chum (dog) salmon fry, from the local rivers and creeks, into estuaries of the Puget Sound, Hood Canal etc. in late March and into most of April, is an event that savy anglers in the region, herald as much as a Golden Stonefly hatch or the October Caddis.  Fry by the millions enter the shallow waters of these estuaries and become easy prey for the Sea Run Cutthroat that inhabit these same waters. Many locally famous patterns have evolved to take advantage of this great fly fishing opportunity. Bob Triggs "Chum Baby" is perhaps the most famous and some say the most effective. The late Doug Rose, created the pattern the "Keta Rose", another home grown fly that closely mimics the Chum fry and has proven to be very effective as well. Bottom line, these fish are hungry and the Chum fry are a huge bounty and great source of protein. Aggresive strikes are the rule. When the tide is right and the wind has laid down, the fishing is magical. It can start with a bang last for an hour or two and be done just as quickly as it started.   

 

 

 

 

The Alaskan country side beckons again.

Flooding in Talkeetna earlier this fall, resulted in broken and jammed ice on the Big Su and Talkeetna Rivers.

This forced us off the rivers surface and made for a more difficult time as we broke trail along the shoreline areas. We had decent temperatures or the bulk of our outing -12 to start and low +20's near the last day of our trek.

Rene Trekking across Finger Lake at -12 F

Wind blown snow and Birch

Clear ice on Finger Lake

Low hanging sun on the Big Su

Karl on the Goldmint Trail

Crossing "Z" Lake

Talkeetna River

Erik surveys the Goldmint trail on the way to trailhead

Silvers, chum and rain

 

So the end of the season comes with the hard rains of November.

Water levels in the local rivers will run high and dirty until a prolonged dry spell.

Even then,they will run swift and wading becomes much more of a challenge.

Its time to start tying some flies and waiting out the weather.

I'll look to beach fishing for cutthroat over the winter months, along with a few winter steelhead outings, to help keep me sane .

 

Silver

            Chum

Rainy crossing

Alpine Hike

Rene and I enjoyed a great hike last weekend.

4 mile each way with 3300 feet of gain             

Plenty of goats hanging around                         

Steep and deep we drank lots of water!