Katmai 2022

Arrived last night in Anchorage…of course one of my bags didn’t make the plane. I learned a long time ago to carry on my rods & reels, and pack and extra days worth of clothes and jacket in my backpack …just in case. My bag showed up on a later flt and was able to retrieve it this morning before heading out to Iliamna to transfer to a float plane…

 

[Brute]

The sun last night from my hotel room…at 9:30 pm

 

[Brute]

The best part of watching my Celtics get pummeled by the Dubs in a bar in downtown Anchorage…

 

[Brute]

To be continued…

 

[Dr. Magill]

Following!!

 

[DimeBrite]

Jealous, should be a great time

 

[Brute]

Royal Wolf Lodge

 

[Brute]

Fish on…mouth of the Big Ku

 

[Brute]

Mac Attack…

 

[Brute]

Another of three (that I landed)…

 

[Brute]

On Brooks, swinging a streamer

 

[Brute]

Typical Brooks fatty…

 

[Brute]

For about two hours, the fish were rising…the dry fly action was great

 

[Brute]

Right after I took this pic of momma/babysitter merganser, a large gull attacked, killed and swallowed one of the chicks in front of me. Alaska can be brutal…

 

[Brute]

Brooks was one of two rivers that I’ve never fished before on this trip. The very first school of sockeyes just showed up, bright and chromed…I didn’t even go to the falls; fished the mouth and above the falls…in fact, this was the first trip to Alaska where I didn’t see a single bear. 4 weeks from now, they will be thick here…both the salmon and the bears.

 

[Brute]

 

[Brute]

There is a serious NPS ranger presence here…you cannot fish if within 50 yds of a bear; if your hooked up within this space, you have to break off the fish

 

[Brute]

There is a serious NPS ranger presence here…you cannot fish if within 50 yds of a bear; if your hooked up within this space, you have to break off the fish

 

[Brute]

After leaving Brooks, our pilot took us on a quick side trip over the Valley of 10,000 Smokes…

 

[Cabezon]

View attachment 19776
Right after I took this pic of momma/babysitter merganser, a large gull attacked, killed and swallowed one of the chicks in front of me. Alaska can be brutal…

That picture is a good example of "creche" behavior where one experienced female guides the chicks of multiple females (seen in flamingoes, penguins, ostriches, several tern species, and eider ducks). These non-guarding females can head off to molt without the parenting responsibility. And another way to view this is as anti-predator "schooling" behavior. The guardian females' own chicks are mixed in the group and their chances of being eaten are reduced because of the presence of all the non-related chicks in the group that spread the impact of predators over many more chicks (dilution principle).
Steve