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Article: A Serious Locavore
Published by Sweet Waters Adventure
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Southwest Alaska (Rainbows & Coho)
Fall Chinook and Sea-Run Cutthroats

Remote Southwest Alaska Fly Fishing Float Trip
Amazing Rainbow Trout and Grayling
July, 2007 | Gallery 2
click to enlarge images

huge rainbow trout giant rainbow trout releasing big rainbow rainbow trout and lemming
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!
camp with river in background anglers prepare to float collection of flies on gravel bar fin of grayling
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.
rafts next to river leopard rainbow trout pair of fishermen with rainbow taping a rainbow trout
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
shiny dolly varden ken with fish on jon with big grayling close-up of rainbow trout
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.
23 kissing a trout trout caught on sculpin kneeling over with trout
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.
trout splashes angler smiling with rainbow showing off rainbow trout pretty colored rainbow trout
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.