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Monday, 12 September:  After spending two nights in Anchorage to clean fly lines, wax rods, do laundry, etc. we flew to King Salmon to begin our adventure at No See Um Lodge (www.noseeumlodge.com).  When we arrived, we were met by Jack, John and Matt Holman.  It was great to see them again!  We then picked up our fellow anglers who had flown in the previous day and spent the night in King Salmon.  The group was then flown up to the lodge via two Beaver float planes and a Cessna 206.  When we arrived, the rest of the crew was waiting on the dock:  Guide Jeff “Parker,”/Guide-Pilot Chris Anderson,  Chef “Cookie”, Amanda Anderson and Joy Holman (responsible for serving meals and assisting with preparation as well as housekeeping and lots of other stuff) and Dennis (cargo pilot, dock hand and handyman).

After a delicious “Cheeseburger in Paradise” lunch, several anglers opted to enjoy a few hours of shore fishing on the Kvichak River.  The lodge overlooks the Kvichak River but fishing is most productive this time of year in the braids near the river’s mouth where salmon are spawning.  Since it was rainy, windy and cold and this excursion required a one-hour boat ride to-from the river, we opted to get settled in and relaxed in the main lodge for the balance of the afternoon.  We also discussed fishing opportunities for the week since high waters from weeks of rain had blown many rivers out.

Tuesday, 13 September:  After an early 6:30 breakfast, we flew out with Matt in the Cessna and, at his suggestion, fished the Nonvianuk River.  This was the perfect place to begin fishing because it let us practice the fishing techniques used in this area while catching loads of fish. In fact, it was a fish a cast if we got the correct drift.  Lindy was able to land a 24” rainbow and numerous smaller ones.  Ed’s biggest fish was a 23” rainbow with a very thick girth.  At 4:00PM we finished fishing and then returned to the lodge enjoying the views during the 30 return minute flight.

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Wednesday, 14 September:  Today we once again fished with Matt.  We returned to perhaps our favorite river – The Morraine.  We hiked to the area known as “The Pinnacle” and enjoyed some incredible rainbow fishing.  The weather was very cooperative in that it was not cold and the wind wasn’t too bad.  It was hard to believe that it was mid-September.  The Moraine trout are great fighters and it’s a thrill to be running down the river, jumping over boulders (and, yes, dead salmon) when one of those beauties is peeling off your fly line and into the backing.  Ed was able to land two 23” beauties.  However, the highlight of his day was landing a 26”x17” rainbow which we estimate weighed ~9.4 lbs.  Wow!!  Where else but Alaska do you get these beautiful, wild rainbows of such size!  Lindy also had a great day.  She successfully landed a 25”x16” rainbow weighing ~8 lbs.  This was her biggest ever rainbow landed!

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Thursday, 15 September:   The weather turned a bit nasty and we were unable to fly out.  So our group of 10 anglers took motorboats to the braids of the Kvichak River.  Here we switched to motorboats maintained by the lodge specifically for fishing the Kvichak.  Again, Matt was our guide as we fished and floated various spots on the Kvichak.  The Kvichak is a huge water system and has the potential for 30” plus rainbows.  Lindy landed a 28.5” rainbow that was a great fighter.  Ed caught a 26.5” rainbow.  We also hooked and landed numerous rainbow over 20” as well as some nice grayling.

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Friday, 16 September:   Based on discussions during the previous night’s dinner, we arranged to return to The Moraine River with John.  This time we flew in the Beaver with two other anglers and their guide, Parker.  We had a fabulous day!  The morning belonged to Lindy.  She caught and released beautiful rainbows measuring 25”, 26” and 27”.  In the afternoon for approximately one hour, Ed had a fish on almost every catch with nothing being less than 23”.  In fact, Ed said it was one of the best hours of fishing he has every enjoyed.  The highlight of Ed’s day was catching a 27.5”x18” rainbow weighing ~11lbs.  Again, what incredible fishing!!

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Saturday, 17 September:  This morning we flew to the braids of the Kvichak River, a 10 minute flight when weather permits. We flew down with Jack and did our first fishing with him.  The day was fairly slow (in terms of the Kvichak), but we nevertheless caught great fish.  Lindy caught one 25” rainbow, two 27” rainbows and one 28”x16” rainbow weighing ~ 9 lbs.  Another new record! Ed caught two beauties measuring 24” and 25”.  We called it a day at 4:00PM. 

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Sunday, 18 September:  Our final day of fishing we returned to The Morraine with Matt.  Again, we had some incredible fishing.  This time instead of being in the sections we had previously fished, we walked along a gravel streamside that made the wading and fish landing a bit easier.  We both caught an incredible number of 20”-24” trout.  The highlight of the day was Lindy again landing a 28”x16” (~9lb) beautiful rainbow.  A great way to end a wonderful week!

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If you're interested in exploring our other adventures at No See Um lodge, just click on a link below to go to that year's trip:

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