No See Um '08

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On 30 June, we flew from Anchorage to King Salmon to once again spend a week of fishing (our 5th year in a row) at No See Um Lodge (www.noseeumlodge.com). At King Salmon, we were met by our pilots, John & Matt Holman and Chris Anderson. We, along with 10 other anglers, then boarded one of the three Beaver aircraft for the flight to the lodge. After settling into our “honeymoon” cabin and enjoying a delicious lunch prepared by Chef Gerald we headed out for an afternoon of fishing with guide, Garreth, and fellow angler, D.J. We boated up to the braids of the Kvichak River. We all had fun catching grayling and we even caught a few small trout. Ed stole the afternoon, however, by landing and releasing a beautiful 18.5 inch grayling! It was a great way to start the week.

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On the first day of July, we flew with Chris to the Upper American River. This was our first experience on this section of this gorgeous river. The setting was truly incredible with snow still at the rivers edge! Then, came fishing to match!! Ed stole the show in the morning by catching fish after fish using his dry fly foam beetle pattern (a “foamie”). Since Lindy didn’t have any strikes on the fry pattern, she too moved to a foamie and her action began. As we returned home, Chris flew us up a beautiful canyon and we then saw a double waterfall. It was the perfect way to end this wonderful day.

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	Ed and Chris with a fat, healthy rainbow
	You can tell it's a late Spring when the snow is still on the river bank
	Lindy and Chris with her 23 inch rainbow
	Another beautiful 23.5 inch trout
	The highlight of the day (and the trip)! Chris holding Ed's 24 inch rainbow with a great girth
	Our limousine
	A beautiful view from the plane
	Look closely and you'll find a double waterfall

On 2 July we once again set out on a new adventure. Our quest today was to try to hook and land a King Salmon on the fly. Chris flew a group to the Nushagak River, including us and our guide, Caleb. We spent half the day trying to hook one of the elusive Kings. Caleb did a great job of walking the boat so we had a high casting platform and were able to cast a 6” fly well into the center of the runs. Unfortunately, however, this was not our day to get one of these beauties. Between us, we had only one strike. So, we decided to fish for chum salmon for a while. We hooked and landed so many of these “bulldogs” that our forearms were aching. These salmon are incredibly strong and the fight for one of these 8-10lb. guys would take at least 15 minutes and sometimes more. Ed also had great fun using a “popping” bug which the chum struck like a rainbow trout rising for a fly. We did have a wonderful break for lunch at the tent site the lodge uses to keep its equipment on the river. Our other set of anglers, Becky & Bill, did catch King Salmon using traditional bait casting hardware and drifting. So, we enjoyed fresh salmon cooked streamside by Chris (yes, pilot/guide Chris is also Chef Chris) in a beautiful setting. After lunch we tried for those Kings on the fly without luck. So, we spent the final hour or so again fishing for chum. Just another day in paradise!

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	Ed and Caleb with one of Ed's chum salmon (also known as dog salmon since the natives fed this type of salmon to their dogs)
	Lindy and Caleb with a chum salmon
	Pilot Chris is also Chef Chris We all enjoyed a delicious lunch of fresh salmon
	Everyone enjoying the feast

On July 3, we set out for a day of rafting the Big Ku (Kukaklak River) with Parker. However, the winds were high and the day was nasty. So, Pilot Matt and Parker flew over various rivers looking for our best alternative. In the end, we once again went to what was for us a new river, the Alagnak. Despite the cold and rain we had fun fishing the braids of this beautiful river. We each caught several rainbows and a nice grayling and enjoyed another great day in the Alaska wilderness.

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Happy 4^th of July! We once again went fishing today with Parker. This time we were able to fish the Big Ku. Matt dropped us off on a lake at the start of the river and then picked us up on a small lake nearby the river at the end of the day. It was the first time this year that anglers from the lodge attempted to fish the river so it definitely was an experiment. That being said, we discovered that the river was about 3-4’ over its normal flow so fishing was difficult. The water was very swift and very, very cold and there were only three places where we were actually able to wade. Thankfully, we did catch a few nice trout and that made the day worthwhile. That being said, we doubt another attempt to fish this beautiful stream will be undertaken for several weeks. In the evening, the traditional 4^th of July festivities were the order of the evening. They included fireworks & waterskiing for those brave enough to attempt it.

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	A nice rainbow for Lindy
	Ed holding another nice rainbow
	Parker and Ed with another bow
	The raging Kukaklak River
	The boys packing out the gear; Parker with the raft and Ed with the balance of our things

On 5 July, we again got to fish with Master Guide Jeff Parker (he made the decision that he would once again be our guide and chose the river for us; as he said, “third time must be the charm”). The river we went to was Headwaters, another first for us. To access the river, we first had to make a 1.25 mile hike across the tundra. Despite the weather being unseasonably cold, we soon took off layers of clothing so as not to overheat on the walk. When we made it to the river, it was awesome. It looked like something out of the movies – a winding creek with lots of deep pools for fishing. Speaking of which, the fishing – phenomenal. At every pool we cast into we hooked (but not necessarily landed) fish. We caught so many we lost count! For the most part, the fish averaged between 18-20 inches long. However, the highlights of the day were Lindy’s 23 inch beauty and Ed’s 25 inch beauty.

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	Parker holding one of Ed's rainbow trout
	Ed with another beauty
	Lindy with one of her own rainbows
	A shot of us (thank you, Parker) on the tundra as we hiked out

We flew out with Matt on 6 July to fish the Middle American River with Caleb. We once again had a short hike (one mile) to access the favorite spot where char are typically caught. Unfortunately, we once again encountered incredibly high waters. So, the area which should have held lots of “soft water” was very small – only 5-6’ off the shore – before raging waters swept through the area. We understood from Caleb that often times anglers spent the entire day at this one spot. We stayed there till 12:00 noon but had only a few strikes and two rainbows and one char landed. After lunch, we worked pockets of soft water near the shore as we walked upstream. We once again found fish and hooked a few big ones but weren’t able to land most of them due to the swift current. Ed had fun hooking one and chasing it down river for several hundred yards through rapids and down waterfalls before getting lucky enough to land it.

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	Lindy and Caleb with one of her rainbows landed
	Ed with one of his fighters

In the evening we all enjoyed a delicious send-off dinner prepared by Chef Gerald (just as delicious as all the other meals he prepared during our visit). Then, we watched a slide show composed of photos taken during the week. Always great fun! We also got to see a video of John Holman lobbying against The Pebble Mine. After it, those who wanted watched a video called “Red Gold” which discussed the pros/cons of an open pit mine in the Bristol Bay watershed. As avid anglers, the group definitely was against its development.

In closing, it’s hard to believe that a week of fishing could pass so quickly! As usual, we had an outstanding time! No See Um Lodge is truly a first-rate operation! The pilots, guides and staff are all terrific. We also think that Chef Gerald does an amazing job in making delicious meals for the guests and guides to share together. In fact, Ed and I feel a bit spoiled! We’ll be back again in 2009 and we again enjoy the company of most of the same group of individuals who comprised our group of 12 anglers!

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	Our hosts, John and Matt Holman (John is on the left; Matt on the right)
	Chef Gerald (In his kitchen and, as always, working away)
	Katrina and Judy

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

	Lindy holding one of her grayling
	Ed with a beautiful 18.5 inch grayling

	One landed on Ed's secret fly!
	Making the most of a cold, dreary day!