Not a trip report yet! Getting excited though. Head out early Wednesday and the weather looks promising. Water is cool now, so will be interesting to see how the trout are reacting. Coho are in. Going to be fun. 12 days on a remote river. Got a new tent that should be perfect for gravel bar camping in Alaska. An updated version of one I have used before, with very thought out adds.
Bristol Bay
- Thread starter Dekartes
- Start date
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Dekartes
Kill Pebble Permanently
Another trip in the books. Lots of firsts on this one. Not all good.... Alaska Airlines lost a bag on the way in. Unfortunately it had a boat in it. Luckily we were able to find one to rent locally. The bag is still MIA. I am still not sure how you lose a single bag? A luggage handler that really wanted a packraft?! In all the mayhem to get in we forgot our fuel. Usually we source our own, but the pilot stocked what we needed, so we just went with that. Slipped our mind to make sure it got loaded. Those are the most expensive cans of isobutane I will ever purchase in my life, as they had their own flight! We considered just cooking over a fire, but this was an 11 day trip and we had mostly freeze dried food. Forecast was wet. Maybe we should have done that; would have been a good diet program!
For the gear guys I included a pick of my lower river rods! Not a purist when it comes to Coho. Love them on the fly and gear. Sometimes they just hammer gear better.
In the first photo is a gift from my niece. A fire in a can from a company called Radiant. I threw it in to get a photo of me using it for her. It was actually really cool. Burned for hours and threw off a lot of heat. At lake drops wood is about non-existent. This was a nice way to cap an evening.
In the end a good trip. Love the freedom to stop wherever you want and lay up for the night. Good amount of big trout. Grayling, Rainbow, Artic Char, and Dollies. Rainbows were all large. Had one that I didn't land that had to be over 25. Landed many in the 23 range with shoulders. Dollies were unusually low in count, but we still caught them. Would love to learn more about their ocean life cycle. Lot's of Coho in the lower river, but they were unusually hard to catch. They were on the move and tight lipped. We did find a few holding areas where we pulled many in a short period of time. Lots of bears. Lost count. Fun.
For the gear guys I included a pick of my lower river rods! Not a purist when it comes to Coho. Love them on the fly and gear. Sometimes they just hammer gear better.
In the first photo is a gift from my niece. A fire in a can from a company called Radiant. I threw it in to get a photo of me using it for her. It was actually really cool. Burned for hours and threw off a lot of heat. At lake drops wood is about non-existent. This was a nice way to cap an evening.
In the end a good trip. Love the freedom to stop wherever you want and lay up for the night. Good amount of big trout. Grayling, Rainbow, Artic Char, and Dollies. Rainbows were all large. Had one that I didn't land that had to be over 25. Landed many in the 23 range with shoulders. Dollies were unusually low in count, but we still caught them. Would love to learn more about their ocean life cycle. Lot's of Coho in the lower river, but they were unusually hard to catch. They were on the move and tight lipped. We did find a few holding areas where we pulled many in a short period of time. Lots of bears. Lost count. Fun.
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Dekartes
Kill Pebble Permanently
On a side note... If you ever fish one of the Bristol Bay rivers up high, catching the large Grayling on top water is pretty damn fun. I used a small orange muddler and they hammered it many times. Grayling in this area average close to 20, and there are tons of them.
Nice report. I was in that area in 1980, my first trip to Alaska. I was at a lodge and fished multiple drainages. Interesting that your results fish wise were almost identical to mine back then. Nice to know that things haven’t changed much in that area. Hope we can keep it that way for future generations. Thanks for sharing.
Dekartes
Kill Pebble Permanently
That is a good idea. My daughter lost her iphone at the terminal and they kept telling me they didn't have it - that the airport would have it. I tracked it to their luggage center away from the airport. I just wouldn't leave until they looked for it. I was afraid it would move again and be gone forever. They found it shortly after I convinced them it was there...
BDD
Steelhead
Not trying to discount caution and respect for bears and I know some have a real fear of them but I wonder how much of it is in our heads? I'd be curious as to the statistics of bear attacks on people sleeping inside their tents if properly storing their food and maintaining a clean camp?
And nice report...Bristol Bay is still a dream trip for me. Hopefully some day.
And nice report...Bristol Bay is still a dream trip for me. Hopefully some day.
For the number of people out and about in bear country (huge!), bear attacks are uncommon, which is why they are so noteworthy when one does happen. I'm concerned about bears for the simple reason that when I'm in "their house" I know I'm not the baddest bad ass around, which can be discomforting. However, I haven't let concern about bears keep me away from the region. I leave them alone and so far they have left me alone. On river floats in the Bay area, trees for a food bag hand are totally absent. Sometimes the best we could do is place our food box about a 100' down the gravel bar. Never had any issue. I don't think I would sleep any better by having one of those portable electric fences. I'd still wake up every time I hear those heavy footsteps thumping down the trail near my tent. A float fishing trip in the BB region is one of the best experiences imaginable. I must go again soon before I get old.
Lance Magnuson
Smolt
Obviously traveling in bear territory your chances of unwelcome encounters are greater than other wilderness areas without many bears. I do believe you’re correct that much of this fear is in your head. I’ve fishing rivers and streams throughout Alaska. I’ve camped in tents in both western Alaska, Kodiak and the Arctic.
Hanging food from trees, not camping where you cook and keeping a clean camp are smart and vital to avoid bad encounters. I’ve used electric fences to surround our sleeping tents but always have kept food preparation a good distance from where I sleep.
I’ve camped both armed and unarmed (spray only). If there are salmon in the river, the bears are focused on that protein.
I’m not going to let the fear of bears stop me from these pursuits. Your chances of dying on the highway due to an accident are greater than being attacked by a bear in Alaska. People continue to drive without a care.
Lance Magnuson
Smolt
Obviously traveling in bear territory your chances of unwelcome encounters are greater than other wilderness areas without many bears. I do believe you’re correct that much of this fear is in your head. I’ve fishing rivers and streams throughout Alaska. I’ve camped in tents in both western Alaska, Kodiak and the Arctic.
Hanging food from trees, not camping where you cook and keeping a clean camp are smart and vital to avoid bad encounters. I’ve used electric fences to surround our sleeping tents but always have kept food preparation a good distance from where I sleep.
I’ve camped both armed and unarmed (spray only). If there are salmon in the river, the bears are focused on that protein.
I’m not going to let the fear of bears stop me from these pursuits. Your chances of dying on the highway due to an accident are greater than being attacked by a bear in Alaska. People continue to drive without a care.
Gyrfalcon22
Legend
I feel the same evolution now in my late 50's about our angus bulls.
Heading to being a Chicago Bulls fan! haha