On April 25th, six intrepid anglers set off to fish the Situk River in Alaska for a week. As steelhead streams go, the Situk (located just outside of Yakutat, Alaska) has a reputation for having one of the greatest runs of steelhead in the United States, both in size and numbers. Before leaving, we did all the research, read all the articles and tied oogles of flies. All the reports we read claimed hookups per day numbering from 10-25 for experienced anglers. Numbers like that are simply hard to fathom in Oregon, where six hookups in a day on flies happens a handful of times each season at best. Needless to say, we were excited.
Upon stepping off the plane in Yakutat, I was greeted by sunny skies, a warm breeze and temperatures near 60. Not exactly typical April in SE Alaska… an omen for the week to come. Excited to hit the river, we quickly strung rods, jumped into waders and were walking upstream from tidewater by 3pm.
We were greeted by a few anglers along the trail, and then a few more and some more after that. We looked at each other… kinda like fishing at home isn’t it? We walked about a mile and a half and stopped at a pool that looked fishy and free of other anglers. I made a few casts, nothing. It was a deep pool and I wasn’t feeling the bottom. Removing the indicator from my fly rod, I started another pass. The line stopped, I lifted and was in to my first fish on the trip. A chrome bright fish of about 12 lbs. The trip was off to a good start! We crossed the river to the other side of the pool for a better drift and began working the pool. We hooked 4 more in the next 15 minutes and started to think our dreams of the steelhead trip of a lifetime was about to come true.
Ah wait, but these things don’t just happen. This is fishing and this is a fishing trip. When has everything gone perfectly? Never, and we like it that way. Those imperfections, in my humble opinion, add flavor, memories and laughs for years to come. This trip was to be no exception.
After that pool of brilliance, the next 3 days were a good/news bad news scenario. The good news was, we were all getting pretty tan, drifting the river in t-shirts in Alaskan April. The angling pressure lightened up some and we caught a few nice fish. The bad news was it wasn’t close to 10 hookups a day, in fact it was more like an average day in Oregon. Couple hookups here, a couple there. Nothing to write home about. We saw a couple boats doing really well and every other boat getting fish few and far between.
Slightly dejected, we chartered a boat for the bay, to reset moods and get in on the wiggle. We only caught one halibut, but boy was it a nice one and finished up the day with a bunch of black rock fish. Just like the fish I remember catching off the jetty in Newport when I was young, only these guys were substantially bigger. The bbq that night was spectacular and it prompted a plan and change of fishing styles for the next day of steelheading.
The general agreement was these fish were acting more like Summer steelhead than Winter Steelhead and why not fish them that way, when the sun was on the water. So when the orange fireball hit the water the following morning, we went small and dark… really small and dark. The first place we stopped we went 5 for 9 and the good fishing continued the until the end of the trip. We hooked and landed plenty of steelhead and finished the adventure on a high note.
The jury is still out on if I would go back. The only thing that would keep me from visiting the Situk and Yakutat again, would be angling pressure. Other than that the people are very friendly, as are the other anglers. The shuttle and river access is easy, there are nice places to stay, good food to eat and cold beer to drink. Aw, but I just answered my own question. If it’s that good, it’s been found…
Next trip I hope to need my map and compass!
-Jesse Sampson
Small Stream Outfitters
ps. During our trip we also shot some excellent film footage to be used in the next edition of The Headwater Chronicles. Stay tuned for pictures and a film preview in the upcoming months.
