Home Forums Fishing Flyfishing august alaska trip....

I thought that I might post this trip I took.....I get to go to alaska about once a year for usually two weeks but this was a short one....my brother lives south of fairbanks since about 86 - 88...I do enjoy the north country...

Well, this was a short one but a great one....my brother and I left Monday August the 18th and stopped and fished what we could while heading north up the Dalton Hwy....most streams and rivers were up and most were up and silty....jim river 3 was the most productive yielding about a dozen artic grayling with the first fish being the largest, a 17 incher.....thanks to Steve Yates e-foam-a-rella... until something BIG snatched it from the top of the water like it was a fly with no line attatched to it (I guessed it to be a LARGE grayling or northern pike)....that was pretty awesome.....the weather could NOT have been more cooperative...upon every hill you topped there was another breath taking scene so surreal you would think that you have just passed into and out of a Van Gogh painting....I did take 70+ pics of the trip with the digital so I will get some of those posted soon...
We arrived at the camp around 6:00p and surprised Dan and Shawn with me showing up with my brother,( they were not expecting me) .....they had been experiencing mostly inclimate weather for about 18 days already...they hiked 7 miles into the range to sheep hunt just to get to spend 4 days in a tent .....needless to say they were chomping at the bit for some good weather...well I told them that I had brought some Georgia shine with me and low and behold 4 picture perfect days, 60 - 70's in the day,40's in the nights...that is unheard of in the north country...mabey 2 in a row but not 4...
My brother had harvested a nice carabou, it might make boone and crocket, the wensday before so bow hunting for another one was out of the question but we could hike the 5 miles to get another but they just wasn't there through the glasses...the game was not as prominent as last year but we did see about a dozen lone carabou, about 70+ sheep, and the coolest thing of the trip was a lone white wolf trotting across the tundra with a carabou leg quarter in her mouth....
Well we fished some of the rivers north of the brooks range but only to land a couple graylings, again the water was up, fast, with some being silty too...Dan and Shawn did go fish a lake a few days before we arrived in their canoe and ended up producing a couple of nice 27 1/4" LAKE TROUT!!!! When he shoots me the pics I will post...
Those two headed home a couple of days before us but the other memorable times were the Northern Lights...they started appearing each night starting the last night Dan and Shawn were there and each time they were better than before... and they were literally IN THE CAMP RIGHT ABOVE OUR HEADS.... these were a light green and just doing the things they do...I had only seen some minor white ones before, so each night they would be better than the ones before....Mars would also come out around 4:30a..it looked like someone was standing atop of the ridge with a headlamp on.....
The last night for my brother and I was thursday the 21st it started to drizzle just a little and we turned in earlier than normal ...we woke up the next am and as we get ready to get up and out I say to him " Well it's still wet but at least it's not snowing or ice out"...and as we start to unzipp the door of the tent, snow flakes begin to fall....the mountains were dusted and the tundra was starting to accumalate....we pack up and headed south with in the hour and start our long trip home...
As usual, when we crest the Atigun Pass the weather changes to the same wonderful climate as before and we settle in for our trip with another stop planned for the Jim river 3...I suggested that we hike the river north a little way to see what prevails away from the beaten path...one side of the river was a very large moose's territory (hoof print the size of a dinner plate) and the other side of the river was the territory of about a 6 1/2' brown bear amongst tons of blueberry bushes...we never saw him but his track was fresh that day next to the stream, BUT my brother caught and landed his first fish on the fly rod...a 14 - 15" grayling next to that ole grizz's print...he was tickled ...I'll make a fly fisherman out of him yet...
Nearing the end of the Dalton hwy it was late, it was very cool, and it was clear...we pulled off the road and shut off the lights...the northern lights were teasing us a little at a time for the last few miles and my brother shouted out "Give em a show!" and boy did they ...it was as if my head was the center of a magnetic pole and what I experienced was undescibeable...it was part tornado, part ribbon candy which would dance by shooting sharp threads upwards and downwards as it filled the sky...what a wonderful way to end the day of a short trip..........Boots

Sounds like you had a good time...........it is something i've always dreamed about doing.........go to Alaska! Hope you got some pics of the northern lights! If so please post them as I would love to see them...

Well, northern lights are not that easy to photograph but I do have a few other shots here http://home.mindspring.com/~brduncan/id1.html which is my home page for my business and the site is new and under construction......I will be adding more photos later.....thanks Boots

Had my hopes up for the northern lights but those pics look like postcards, very nice! Thanks for sharing such a wonderful place with us.

Boots, there is no doubt about it. The northern lights can be a highlight on any outdoor trip. One of my most memorable, happened on an archery hunt for spring bear in Hudson Bay Saskatchewan. Not only were the lights spectacular, but the wolves "talking" to us from out of the dark very close to camp, imprinted the memory for ever.
The prettiest display I`ve ever seen was last year when I was back in N.J. The lights were red. I thought maybe air polution was having something to do with it, but the next day I received a call from my daughter in Jackson WY. She said "dad, you should have seen the northern lights last night. They were red".

7400hunter, these are near duplicates of what I witnessed......especially the single green strands....... http://www.everythingalaska.com/aurora1.html
......Boots

WOW!!! That is something else! It is amazing what goes on in this world, from one end to the other! Those lights I have to see someday. Photo's are very good but ain't nothing like seeing them for yourself! Thanks a Mill

Boots, Made a trip 2 years ago out in the gulf. still eating some of the Salmon-- No fly rod on that trip, but maybe next time. Our youngest son lives in ANC. so I do not need an excuse to go. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> You are right, Great country. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Every year I try to go to the Denali highway and catch a few grayling. Last year we found a creek that had a lot of grayling and a lot of them where big. The biggest one that I cought was about 17 inches also. The creek had such good fishing that if I told you the name I would have to kill you. Fish creek was a hot spot also but it seamed over fished inless you moved way up stream. My favorite fly I used was an Adams Irristable because it floated high and long.