Alaska July 2025

[BilletHead]

11 minutes ago, Terrierman said:

Have I said anything like "Way to go PAT!!!" yet?

             She's a go getter for sure.

[BilletHead]

Saturday day 5,

   The night before Duane said lets get up early and go to the town beach to catch salmon. It's an easy place to fish. We will get there before the other lodges fly in for their clients. We can fish and then get out of their way. 

  So up at five am we got some coffee down and headed up to the mouth of the Kvichak in the beach below Igiugig. I tried to get Pat's halo as the Sun was rising while we were traveling.

  We all caught sockeye. Here is Dave cornfielding one. It's much easier beach it than using the net in this instance.   

 

  Pat had a rainbow take one of her flies,

When we got back to the lodge to clean fish Pat made some biscuits and gravy for breakfast,

 

       Duane said he was going to do some work. He calked around windows. Mike got a brush and tan paint and painted the lodge outside wall. I grabbed the red and painted the outside of the deck. 

    Time for shower faucet work after that. I was taken back when I found Duane, Mike and brother Dave all in the shower together 😂. 

    

 

[dpitt]

On 7/20/2025 at 12:11 PM, BilletHead said:

           Let's go fishing!

          Some of you know some of you don't. Sockeye don't bite when they enter the river to head for spawning grounds. What they do however is swim in groups in a line upstream with their mouths open along the banks in two feet of water or more depending on the current speed. IMO after learning and fishing for them too shallow would be hard as well as too deep. We are what is called flossing for them. Rig up with a straight piece of 12 to 17 pound mono or floro. Split shot to get the line down quickly and a one or two flies. Flip the line out with the fly rod (chuck and duck). Let the line sink and follow line downstream with shot bumping the bottom through the line of salmon. Repeat and repeat. When you feel tension of any kind give it a hookset. Could be the split shot catching on the bottom and could be hitting a sockeye. I will tell you that a very high percentage if you are doing it right are caught in the corner of the mouth and it's a good thing you do. These fish are powerful and in the mouth is a better way of landing that fish. There will be runs that will take you into your backing multiple times. Fish will jump and I mean jump trying to throw the hook upstream and downstream. Your drag should be set tight, or you can be spooled. This happed to Pat, and she was freaking out. Luckly the weakest link is the leader and knots for your flies. If you break off wind all that backing and fly line up and re rig. Then get back to swinging those flies. Good, polarized sunglasses are a good deal making sure you see fish to make sure you are swinging in the correct zone. Murky water is not your friend from boat wash as boats are going buy but those fish are still there and still moving upstream to complete their life cycle. I know this doesn't sound appealing to some of you catching this way, but it works, and you have one great fight to land them, fine eating I will add. We fished until ten thirty PM. That night we cleaned fish, ate a meal, took showers and went to bed at midnight! Pictures from that first night. Everyone caught fish but that first trip all we got picture wise was Pat and I. Too busy fishing than taking photos.

          Some pictures from inside the lodge,

   Some reading material.     

Sockeye Salmon Species Profile, Alaska Department of Fish and Game

                                                                                                                                           More to come fingers resting!

Great report! Thanks for sharing the technique. Also, used to watch SOF on TV and they often talked about that lodge.  

[BilletHead]

   Just after noon Duane, brother Dave and Mike went to town checking for Mail and freight. I decided to walk down the Jeff the bears trail to the braid trying for greying again. Took a long bet so if I caught one I could reach it not having to get into the water. It was pretty windy. I worked down the bank looking for fish a rises. Seen both but I was spooking fish. I got back from The bank walking way down and started working back throwing upstream. This is when I seen a big greying looking upstream tight to the bank. I tried a couple casts that just died into the wind and finally got my fly tangled up. I crept up and got it loose without spooking the fish. The next cast was over The fish three feet in front of the fish in his feeding lane. He smashed it and I had it. Got it netted. Trying to get my phone out here comes Pat walking down the Bear trail. She said you okay? Yes what's wrong. I heard someone strange while I was catching some sun at the picnic table. It was kind of a growl. Right then I thought she was messing with me. Little did we know maybe not. Pat took a couple pictures of my prize. I laid the fish in the crook of my arm and It was long enough it made it past my fingers.

   This was my largest greying of the trip. A little over 18 inches. I can tell you these are one if not the coolest fish I have ever caught on the fly. 

[BilletHead]

        Back at the lodge we were just taking things in here came the guys back from town and boat riding. Big eyed and laughing. I don't know if I want to call those three Manny, Moe and Jack the pep boys or Larry,Moe and Curly the three stooges but when those guys get together crazy things happen. What's so funny? We just seen Jeff just down river from here. Duane said he ran the boat up on the bank and told Dave to chase Jeff off the island. Well sure enough Dave got out of the boat and chased Jeff. Wish I had a video of that. I told them about Pat hearing something and came looking for me. Dave said this is where Jeff was and he had a bed in the grass really close to where I had been. Was Pat messing with me or did Pat really hear Jeff maybe?  That poor bear must think we're crazy 🤣. 

  Duane said lets go exploring. We grabbed some gear. Duane and his compadres jumped into one boat and Pat and I in another. Downriver we went Duane is amazing with boat control. Mike and Dave were working dries along a bank just drifting as Duane kept it lined up in the current and wind. I tried doing that for Pat with not much luck. It was hard and hurting my bad shoulder that need replacement. I was having to reach way back to control the tiller because of the boat seat. It was okay we just watched the other three and the eagles and the salmon moving along the bank. 

 

 

 

[Foghorn]

That last picture had the old "looking for land " look to it. Or da bear! Keep those reports coming.

[BilletHead]

1 hour ago, dpitt said:

Great report! Thanks for sharing the technique. Also, used to watch SOF on TV and they often talked about that lodge.  

             Yes and the think is this place is a bargain.  I can't stress enough how fun this was and will be for anyone that wants to take advantage of the best price around. I say to anyone to take the dream trip and do it if you can. 

[BilletHead]

 Sunday morning day 6,

  Up early again and heading towards the town beach and more salmon. The three amigos in one boat with Pat and I followed in another boat. 

  Sunrise over lake Illiamna on the way to the beach,

  We spread out and went to fishing. 

   We stayed a little longer than the day before. We started seeing other lodges float planes in the air coming in. Then boats of guides and clients coming up river. One boat came bye looking for places to fish. They pulled into shore above us. Duane being Duane put down his rod and went up to them. Then they begin to push back out. I know what you all are thinking but it's not that way. Duane told them there is plenty of room. We will tighten up and everyone can fish. So that boat went down and bleached. Spread out just below us. This was the area they had fished before. Right away fish were being caught. 

     We caught more and called it a morning. Back to clean and process salmon. 

   The sockeye are stacking up!

 

   Some stickleback hanging at the back of one of the boats. For a second there is a sculpin in the bottom of the video. 

    Something else to tell you. No on got a picture of this but we were sitting in the lodge looking out the window. A duck kept flying out front and landing somewhere right by the boats. Leaving and coming back every few seconds. We thought maybe she had some young somewhere. Finally Duane went out to watch. This duck even landed on the gas grill on the deck right out the window. I got a good look and it was a hen GoldenEye. Duane said there was a bunch of dead stickleback down there. She was getting those. 

  This next thing relates to that. I was texting Ham one morning. We were chatting so much better I just called him and rested the fingers. We discussed the stickleback. He said there is a parasite that those fish get. When getting afflicted more the fish become sick and swim to the top and eventually die. The birds eat them and as the parasite evolves that bird is the next host. They become effected and pass it back into the water for the stickleback to pick it up again and repeat the process. 

 

 

[Quillback]

Never heard of the term "cornfielding" when dragging a fish up on the beach.  I have to remember that one!

Back in my salmon and steelhead fishing days, that is how I landed them, wear them out and slide them up on the bank.  

Cool trip, thanks for sharing!

[Foghorn]

24 minutes ago, Quillback said:

Never heard of the term "cornfielding" when dragging a fish up on the beach.  I have to remember that one!

Back in my salmon and steelhead fishing days, that is how I landed them, wear them out and slide them up on the bank.  

Cool trip, thanks for sharing!

Reminded me of both of my Grandpa's beaching their catch and then pouncing on them!