Northern Images, As If From A Dream

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Trout Bum

Trout Bum

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These are some pics from the incredible trip I just took to remote and wild Alaska.

Shot from the plane going through Lake Clark Pass




Another dreamy Lake Clark Pass shot (goes through the Alaska Range)





Shot of the interior of Phil's hunting cabin (father in law, Alaskan bush pilot and all around woodsman) Iconic Alaskan cabin interior... built in 1939 or so (AK has only been a state since '59, so this is pretty ancient)




This is me fishing for Salmon nearby at Telaquana Lake



My buddy Marty with a sweet Dolly Varden ( a char) that was simply fantastic cooked over the campfire!



This was a HUGE pike that really does not translate well from this photo. This fish was well over 30 inches and well over 20 pounds!



We also flew to Phil's brother's place, which he is still building. This is a shot of the main cabin, complete with Dall Sheep skull.



Me at midnight with a very nice lake trout, caught on a mouse pattern. This fish ripped off almost 100 feet of line (on a four weight rod) before I managed to turn him!



I am the luckiest bastard on the planet, me thinks. This is any given Sunday up here for me, so if any of the Brothers want to come up and fish, smoke pipe, drink coffee and howl at the moon, drop me a line and I will hook you up! (I am serious, this is an open invitation to all Brothers of the Mighty Briar)

Good on ya, boys.

TB










 
WOW! :cheers:

I hope I can take you up on that one day, brother!

Thanks for sharing the pics with us ! ! ! ! !
 
Thanks for sharing ,,,heaven on earth for sure,,,,that pike musta been a bear to land,,,
 
Fantastic images. You really are one lucky guy. Life is good in AK if you have your priorities right - & you sure do.
 
Just amazing, you are a blessed man for sure. AK, is on my bucket list. I can only hope for you that you enjoy it as much as I know I would :cheers: :D

 
Absolutely beautiful, TB. Thanks for taking the time to share the pics! :cheers:
 
wow, last one on a 4 weight?

thanks for sharing the photos!

very envious.

camoham
 
mark":tfy6wfwa said:
Thanks for sharing ,,,heaven on earth for sure,,,,that pike musta been a bear to land,,,
Click to expand...
Mark -- I was fishing an eight weight rod with 20 pound test, so I was loaded for bear, so to speak. Most of the pike we caught were probably eight to ten pounds, but this pike was an absolute monster. Pike are very predatory, and are known for their incredibly violent strikes. They are not known, however, for stamina. Most pike will hit your fly with a vengeance, fight really hard for a minute or two, and then just kind of roll over. But that minute or two is usually pretty exciting. But this pike just about whupped my ass. WHAM! He hit my gear, then immediately peeled 80 feet of line. I thought for sure I would lose him. I managed to turn him, got him within ten feet, then he exploded out of the water, tail walked (yes!) for about ten feet, went back in, then jumped again and did a complete back flip about four feet in front of my buddy's face. This was really unexpected, for pike rarely run (they usually put their head down and try to bull dog you) and I have NEVER heard of one jumping, let alone tail walking and back flipping. Imagine a three foot fish doing that on the end of a fly rod! At any rate, after he jumped, he made another blistering run. I really thought I would lose him now, but managed to keep him on. It probably took about 20 minutes before I got him to hand. I would have to say that next to a 25 pound king salmon, that this was one of the toughest fish to land that I have caught on a fly.
(The king salmon is another story all together. Suffice it to say, that it was not too far off from being in a street fight)

I am glad that you guys enjoyed the pics. I am looking forward to catching some monster rainbows come September; I'll keep you posted.

TB
 
I doff my hat to you, Sir. May you have many many more trips just like that one!!!! :shock:
 
I appreciate those pics, you are da man for sure. As a fellow fly fisherman, that was quite a feat. Do you get to go up there once every year?

Marty
 
Love that Pike! I haven't had the pleasure on fly gear yet. What pattern did you take him on? Will they take stuff on top or is it all underneath?

 
hobie1dog":vggiyu2q said:
I appreciate those pics, you are da man for sure. As a fellow fly fisherman, that was quite a feat. Do you get to go up there once every year?

Marty
Click to expand...
(I am assuming you realize that I live in Alaska and that you are referring to fly-in, remote locations) I fish in remote waters at least three or four times per year. But I fish around the road system a lot, floating the upper Kenai, and many of the smaller streams north of Anchorage. I have a one-man cataraft for small streams, and my buddy has a sixteen foot cat for bigger waters.

MisterE":vggiyu2q said:
Love that Pike! I haven't had the pleasure on fly gear yet. What pattern did you take him on? Will they take stuff on top or is it all underneath?
Click to expand...
Believe it or not we caught all of our pike on top, using mouse patterns, deer hair poppers, and big foam terrestrials, like hoppers and such. Didn't really matter much as to the pattern; these fish hit just about anything that had some action on it!
 
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