TR: An Alaskan River Revisited

Last year I had the privilege of spending ten days floating down the Arolik
River, Alaska, and because we enjoyed our trip we revisited the river again
this year. I like the river because of the many different species to fish
for in the 45 mile float, but the two fish that are my main intrest are the
leopard rainbows, and the king salmon.



This year I brought my bamboo fly-rods. I enjoy the feel of the split cane
5wt when hooking a fish. I also casting it because of the slow and delicate
presentation of the dry fly, but my 7wt cane rod was used to throw
streamers.

http://home.comcast.net/~tomnak/Alaska_07_1.jpg



Our adventure started out with a drop off by seaplane onto the Arolik Lake.
This year we decided not to fish the lake to get a jump on the river,
although last year we took out some pretty big trout out of there.

http://home.comcast.net/~tomnak/Alaska_07_2.jpg



Since there were only two of us, it took us awhile to assemble the raft and
load everything up, although we were anxious to get rolling. Once we got
started it felt like we were in a different world, secluded from everyone.

http://home.comcast.net/~tomnak/Alaska_07_3.jpg



This year we took much of the guess work out, as we were equipped with GPS
and topo map of the lay of the river and our waypoints from last year. We
also knew the fly patterns, plus our knowledge and skills of presentation,
made fishing quiet easy. We also had a tentative agenda on our campouts,
and food to eat. It only rained one day in the evening, so we were blessed
with dry fishing weather throughout our journey.



The first fish we see on our float are the grayling, and for me that's one
fish I could do without because they'll hit on just about anything.
Unfortunately we unintentionally caught quite a few of them.

http://home.comcast.net/~tomnak/Alaska_07_4.jpg



The Arolik is noted for their trophy leopard rainbows, and one of the main
reasons I had to revisit. I have never in my life felt a trout put up a
fight like they do. They are huge and solid, and to hook one on a dry fly
pattern is a real battle. I was surprised the punishment the bamboo rods
can take, amazing how can they bend.

http://home.comcast.net/~tomnak/Alaska_07_5.jpg



A little less than half way down river, we were into some huge rainbows, and
we were catching them all day long. They were hitting mostly streamers, but
once in a while they would aggressively take a dry fly. It's a lot of fun
hooking a big one with a 8' 4wt.

http://home.comcast.net/~tomnak/Alaska_07_6.jpg



This year I took my solar shower enclosure, as we laid the solar bag on the
raft which heated up quit quickly to 100+degrees. It feels good to get
cleaned up before a nice salmon dinner.

http://home.comcast.net/~tomnak/Alaska_07_7.jpg



Catching a huge king salmon on the river is quite an experience. Some of
them can run up to 50+ pounds. Although most of ours were in the 30 pound
range, they still put up a great fight. And the taste of a freshly caught
salmon is hard beat, especially when you're hungry.

http://home.comcast.net/~tomnak/Alaska_07_8.jpg



Well there you have it, I made the report short and sweet, but I enjoyed the
trip very much. It's easy to fall in love with the Alaskan Rivers, and I
hope to return again someday.

-tom

"Tom Nakashima" wrote in message
...
Last year I had the privilege of spending ten days floating down the
Arolik River, Alaska, and because we enjoyed our trip we revisited the
river again this year. I like the river because of the many different
species to fish for in the 45 mile float, but the two fish that are my
main intrest are the leopard rainbows, and the king salmon.

snip
http://home.comcast.net/~tomnak/Alaska_07_8.jpg



Well there you have it, I made the report short and sweet, but I enjoyed
the trip very much. It's easy to fall in love with the Alaskan Rivers,
and I hope to return again someday.

-tom


Very nice report & pictures (though I could have done without the shower
scene 8) ). I would have really enjoyed some pictures of the salmon "in
the 30 pound range" that you mostly caught rather than the 8-10# fish
pictured.

Bob Weinberger

On Tue, 18 Sep 2007 12:54:40 -0700, "Tom Nakashima"
wrote:

Well there you have it, I made the report short and sweet, but I enjoyed the
trip very much. It's easy to fall in love with the Alaskan Rivers, and I
hope to return again someday.

Great report and pictures, tom (except for the shower scene d;o( )

Not to pick nits, but catching big fish on a small rod is a no-no in
most folk's book. It puts to much strain on the fish. I wouldn't
fish anything less than a 6 weight for 30 inch trout and big salmon
require at least a 7 weight.

Dave

On 18 Sep, 21:54, "Tom Nakashima" wrote:

Well there you have it, I made the report short and sweet, but I enjoyed the
trip very much. It's easy to fall in love with the Alaskan Rivers, and I
hope to return again someday.

-tom

Great report and very good pictures. Thanks for that. I really would
like to visit Alaska, but it´s not likely.

TL
MC

On Sep 18, 3:54 pm, "Tom Nakashima" wrote:

Last year I had the privilege of spending ten days floating down the Arolik
River, Alaska, and because we enjoyed our trip we revisited the river again

Too cool, Tom, but really now, an enclosed shower in the middle of
nowhere?!?

:-)

Jon.
PS: Yes I could see how it'd be useful for avoiding the alaskan state
bird...

On 18-Sep-2007, "Tom Nakashima" wrote:

Last year I had the privilege of spending ten days floating down the
Arolik
River, Alaska, and because we enjoyed our trip we revisited the river
again
this year. I like the river because of the many different species to fish

for in the 45 mile float, but the two fish that are my main intrest are
the
leopard rainbows, and the king salmon.



This year I brought my bamboo fly-rods. I enjoy the feel of the split
cane
5wt when hooking a fish. I also casting it because of the slow and
delicate
presentation of the dry fly, but my 7wt cane rod was used to throw
streamers.

http://home.comcast.net/~tomnak/Alaska_07_1.jpg



Our adventure started out with a drop off by seaplane onto the Arolik
Lake.
This year we decided not to fish the lake to get a jump on the river,
although last year we took out some pretty big trout out of there.

http://home.comcast.net/~tomnak/Alaska_07_2.jpg



Since there were only two of us, it took us awhile to assemble the raft
and
load everything up, although we were anxious to get rolling. Once we got
started it felt like we were in a different world, secluded from everyone.

http://home.comcast.net/~tomnak/Alaska_07_3.jpg

Ditto re 30 Lb fish and the shower scene but a great report and pics

Thanks
Fred

Tom Nakashima wrote:


Great stuff, Tom! I especially liked this photo.


http://home.comcast.net/~tomnak/Alaska_07_2.jpg



This one is a bit scary though.



http://home.comcast.net/~tomnak/Alaska_07_7.jpg



Thanks for sharing.


Russell