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]

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

Safety in numbers…

 

[Brute]

 

[Brute]

 

[Brute]

On the Lower American…a bunch between 20”-24”…on size 14 drys…

 

[Brute]

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On the Lower American…a bunch between 20”-24”…on size 14 drys…

 

[Brute]

26” guide n a simi seal leech…that I tied

 

[Brute]

 

[Brute]

Not much more exciting watching a big bow crash a dry fly

 

[Brute]

A great day hiking the Upper American…this was one of three gluttons that ate the dropper, then ate the dry for good measure

 

[Brute]

The UA is a pretty river…

 

[Brute]

Skwala orgy…

 

[Brute]

I found some of the placards on the Helios & Beavers funny…this one on the dash

 

[Brute]

And this one on the pilots door…

 

[Brute]

Another killer sunrise, this one accentuated by smoke from a big fire west of King Salmon

 

[Brute]

The fog lifted this morning just in time for my flt out to Iliamna…almost turned back as the smoke reduced vis to a mile…

 

[Brute]

The flt back to Anchorage is picturesque

 

[Brute]

 

[Brute]

 

[Brute]

Just boarded my flt back to SEA…wish I wasn’t…

 

[RyRy82]

View attachment 19802
A great day hiking the Upper American…this was one of three gluttons that ate the dropper, then ate the dry for good measure

Awesome photos. Thanks for bringing us along. What weight rod are you using on these rainbow pigs? I noticed a loomis imx spey in one of the first pictures. How about for the drys?