Nixon Fishing Report: Part One

When I catch fish, Joe is a happy man.  When both Reese and I catch fish, he gets almost giddy.  He has been walking around after our fishing trip yesterday acting as if he just won the lottery.  In his world, maybe he did!

Modeling her new waders

Reese is vacationing with the 'rents over the next 10 days so we booked several fishing trips and assorted excursions with her in hopes she has so much fun she'll want to come back.  Yesterday was the first fishing trip and I'll have to say it was quite a memory maker.

We left Kenai at 4 a.m. to meet Mike, our favorite guide, for an all day drift through the Kenai Canyon.  It was the first time Joe and I had fished this particular part of the river.  It is difficult to get to and even more difficult to fish due to the erratic currents and remote location.  Our trip would prove to be even more challenging due to the rain that fell non-stop until the last hour of our trip. 

After our safety instruction, we cast off.  It was as though we had the entire river to ourselves.  The first sockeye salmon run had ended earlier in the week and the rainbows and dolly varden weren't as active as most like.  Mike warned us that any fish we caught we would have to work for. 

So excited!

The Kenai Canyon trip is about 6-7 hours long with the last hour spent motoring across Skilak Lake, a large glacier-fed lake.  A great portion of the trip is so remote that should the weather suddenly change or if there was an emergency, we had to be prepared to leave the boat and hike out about two miles.  Mike was constantly checking the weather conditions along our route and we were pleased to learn that conditions were favorable.

Reese's first trout

Mike gave Reese a short fly fishing lesson and in no time, she was casting like a pro.  Within the first hour, she landed the first fish of the day; a beautiful rainbow.  The pressure was on!  Shortly after, I landed my first rainbow; a smaller trout which Mike deemed "above average."  I think he was being diplomatic.  It would have been above-average for a sardine and definitely not picture-worthy.

She's a pro!

As we floated down the river, Mike would anchor the boat and we would get out and fish the areas along the banks.  We were all mindful of bears but it is so nice to wade into water and not have to worry about something (i.e. snakes) swimming by.  The river was so clear we could see the bottom in most places and when Mike had access to a higher vantage point, he could actually point out where we should cast because he could see the fish.  Even though the rain began falling harder, we weren't about to quit after one fish!

Reese's trophy

Reese saw her first bear along the bank and we had fallen into a lull and were enjoying the scenery but continued to fish when she got another hit.  She landed a huge rainbow and Joe and I were thrilled.  We might actually get her to come back to Alaska!  She posed for pictures and for the first time in our history of fishing with Mike, he let her hold her own fish.  

An historic moment

As we were all examining the fish, Mike pointed out that the fish had been tagged by the Wildlife Department at some part in her fish life.  He also noted that this particular hen had had a run-in with an eagle, most likely, in the past day or so.  She was missing part of one of her fins and he told us it probably happened when she was in the spawning beds and vulnerable to eagles and other predators.

Poor Joe!

Joe and I had to get serious about our fishing.  We were getting no hits so Mike switched us from fly rods to spin rods.  We were using shiny lures that he told us work to agitate the fish rather than attract them.  I must have really agitated one because I had a strike and landed a beautiful rainbow.  It wasn't quite as large as Reese's earlier fish but I had never seen one so vivid.  It looked as if it had been painted.  Gorgeous fish...  Not only were we agitating the rainbows, but now Joe was agitated.  Reese and I were definitely pulling ahead of him in the number of fish we were catching and he was catching nothing but twigs and old fishing line.

"Most Photogenic"  the fish, not me!

We continued down the river and Reese caught a few more as did I.  Joe...nothing. Mike made one last phone call and reviewed our safety instructions and we proceeded into the Canyon.  We were at the point of no return.  The walls there were sheer granite on either side and the water was flowing so swiftly there was no logic to whether you cast upstream or downstream.  We were only able to fish from one side of the boat there so we took turns while Mike would point to the best places to cast.  I enjoy fishing but I would have been content to sit there and enjoy the beauty that very few people get to see.  It was still raining, but even in the rain the water would turn from teal to turquoise in the deep areas and was still so clear we could see the boulders underneath us.

As we worked our way out of the Canyon, Mike pointed out that the river was actually flowing upstream.  The river water had nowhere to go so it would flow upstream back through the narrow canyon walls causing the strange currents we had experienced.  Very interesting.

Joe's Trophy Rainbow

Another historic moment

Reese and I were naturally giving Joe a hard time about his lack of fish.  Mike turned the boat over to a calm pool along the edge when Joe got his first strike.  We were all cheering him on as he fought his fish and I know he would have been happy if it had only been above-average but it wasn't.  Joe landed the largest rainbow he had ever caught and earned the privilege of getting to hold one for the first time, as well.  I think Mike was just as excited as we were for Joe.  Because this part of the Kenai is catch and release, Joe gently returned his trophy rainbow to the river.  We watched her for 10 minutes or so sit quietly in the shallows regaining her strength.  She had put up a good fight and would live to be caught our next trip through. 

We caught a few more "above average" trout before hitting the "restrooms" on our last leg of the trip.  As Reese and I left to visit the "ladies room" we were told to talk loudly or sing to ward off bears.  I think our laughter was enough.  Men have no concept about having to get out of chest waders and about 3-4 layers of clothes and long underwear.  I don't know what we would have done had we seen a bear when we were so vulnerable but there may very well have been two moons over Kenai!

Headed home.

The last part of our trip was across Lake Skilak.  At this point, Mike put away his oars and turned on his boat motor.  The rain had stopped and the water was like glass.  The hour trip was the perfect end to a perfect day...and Reese even spotted a huge black bear on the cliffs above the lake.

There is still some ribbing going on about the number of fish caught.  Joe claims that Reese's trophy doesn't count because it wasn't a "whole fish" due to the chunk missing from its fin.  I concede that my trophy wasn't as large as either one of their's so I've claimed that my fish is "Most Photogenic".  In the final tally, Reese caught the first fish as well as the most.  Joe caught the largest and I caught the most photogenic.  It was most definitely a successful day.

Today, we are trying to recover so we can go on our next adventure tomorrow but the trip yesterday was truly one of those that will forever remain in our memory.  To fish the Kenai Canyon is a privilege few enjoy and I'm glad to say we did it!