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Jon hooked this rainbow while fishing leeches from the raft. The biggest rainbow of the trip, this fish measured 28.5" and was an estimated 8-10 lbs |
We've fished for a lot of years and a lot of days in this part of Alaska and this is the biggest river native (non-lake run) rainbow trout we've ever seen. |
One for the personal record books, Jon prepares to release his trophy rainbow. What an amazing catch. |
Jesse with a big leopard bow so voracious that it coughed up a dead lemming while it was being landed. Cool! |
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Hooked up in front of camp, with the bear protection in the foreground |
Getting started, Sean documents the first few oar strokes across the lake and into the river. |
Flies, Flies and more flies. 9 anglers x 4 fly boxes each x 4 dozen flies a box = about this many |
Jason with a healthy grayling. These fish, along with 14-20" rainbows were everywhere in the upper river. |
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Looking upriver from confluence camp. After two days of fishing a small fork of the river it was joined by another drainage and became a good sized stream. |
Releasing a brilliantly colored leopard rainbow. |
Sean and Jesse with another 20+ inch rainbow |
Getting out the tape, rainbows were common from 18-21", a few from 22-25" and just a couple in the 26"-28" range |
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Unlike other drainages we've fished this one didn't have a lot of dollies. Enough to keep it interesting, but not too many to get bored. |
Ken is hooked up to a big bow. Find an active spawn bed and it was game on. As fast as you could catch them. |
Jon with a nice grayling, after the first 3 days their numbers dwindled as salmon became more prevalent. |
In 8 days of fishing we saw one other group of 3 anglers in 55 miles of river. A wilderness experience beyond amazement. |
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Jesse with a 23" rainbow sight cast off a chum salmon spawn bed |
Jon Sr. gives his thanks to this upper drainage bow, his first of many during the trip |
Ken and Jason with another great rainbow. We fished a lot of leeches, sculpins and egg patterns. They all worked. |
Jesse shows off the new Small Stream Outfitters ball caps while releasing a big bow. |
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Jon gets a little payback splash while releasing this bow. |
Ahhh, isn't he cute, Sean with a good trout on any lower 48 stream and just a wee baby here. |
Russ with a fat 22-23" rainbow. The bigger rainbows were lived lower in the river, but the numbers were great throughout the system. |
Of the dozens of river systems we've fished in Southwest Alaska, the rainbows in this river take the cake, for size, numbers and agressiveness. |