Alaska Fishing Report :: September 4 – 11, 2009
View from the co-pilot's seat. © Jon Crispin 2009
As the season gains momentum tumbling ever faster toward winter, minutes of daylight bleeding away each day, we become characters cast in the midst of a delicate cycle were fish begin to feed with fervency, a feverish determination. Kvichak rainbow trout, looking for a bigger meal than salmon eggs, tear into a swung fly, burning up yards of fly line and backing before being slowed by exhaustion. Mike Landert and Rand Peyton both wore themselves out tangling with those fish, amazed at their spirited leaps and runs. Secret Creek trout with their heavily speckled shoulders and brilliant, double-red stripes continually test the mental fortitude of those angling after them. Jon Crispin, brother of longtime Mission Lodge guest, Bob Crispin, matched mettle with the largest rainbow he had ever seen and finally won out when their guide netted the 28 inch goliath. The sheer volume of fish that the Agulukpak produces this time of year is absolutely staggering and there does not seem to be an easy fish in the bunch. Carla Matlock tangled with an arctic char that tested her fortitude and when it was finally landed taped out to 29 inches and set the bar just a little bit higher when the tale of the tape revealed it’s weight to be 10.9 pounds. If you need something to break-up the endless parade of trout and char then the silver salmon of the Togiak River are waiting for you, fresh from the ocean. Doc Taggert bested one of those Togiak behemoths that tipped the scales at 16.3 pounds, setting a new seasonal record for silvers caught using gear. Everywhere we fish is producing great experiences and memories for our guests. It does not seem to matter where they go, when they get there truly great fishing is waiting for them all set in the brilliance of Fall in Alaska. We would like to thank our guest from this past week for sharing this very special time of year in Southwest Alaska and hope they return next Fall to do it all again. We look forward to it.
