With an evening like the first one behind us, there were plenty of fish dreams running through my head during the night.....much better than dreaming about bears. The next morning, the pace started just as good as it ended the night before, with Dad landing a gargantuan Grayling first thing. Not a bad way to set the tone for the day. Since we hadn't really explored more than the hundred yards or so of river right by the tents, I decided to leave a known incredible holding area and go explore a little bit. Leaving Dad and John at the tents, I headed off downstream to do some scouting.
Luckily I left a net behind too, because Dad decided to show me how it's done. I heard the fight early on, and could see him upstream and across the river making his way downstream, proclaiming he had something special. I guided the fight the best I could from across the river, and John was there to assist with the undersized net, but he did all the work. In the end, the Arctic Char of the trip came to hand, a beautiful male with a deep, strong body, and huge kyped jaw that could easily swallow a fly the size of your fist. After a few pics, off he went. Moments like those are true gifts from the river.
As the morning progressed, it was clear that the Grayling and Char here meant business, as we were all having a great morning. Camp life isn't all fun and fish games though, and eventually it was time to take a break and do some camp chores.
First on the list of things to do was to take advantage of the relatively dry weather and contemplate a fire-roasted dinner.
That means wood, and preferably dry wood. Luckily camping on the shores of remote lakes in Alaska means there's usually a supply of driftwood piled up on the banks, sometimes back pretty far the water line due to the frozen vs thawed water line and high winds that come up now and again, pushing it up into the brush.
Turns out we were in luck, and having a versatile pack like an Eberlestock Gunslinger II can make managing unruly loads like this MUCH easier. With a short hike, simply make mini piles along your way, and pick each of them back up on your way back out, adding to the bundle. The Eberle packs load straps and carry system (not to mention the rod tube/rifle scabbard system) make it very helpful and dependable tool in the Alaskan backcountry.
After a few wood runs, it was time to make sure the Grayling hadn't gone anywhere. I knew it wasn't the case, and sight fishing to blue-ish footballs is pretty entertaining.
We also started to find some new company -- of the furry and curious variety. I had found some bear sign in the area, but very limited, and we hadn't seen any out during the day. I had also seen some other tracks, probably from this Arctic Fox that decided to take an interest in what was going on at camp. No doubt also to see if he could snatch a nibble every now and again. His company was welcome though, and provided some good entertainment, watching him sneak around the tents, and lay on the sun on the hillside behind the tents, watching over things.
The other new company that started showing up were Silver Salmon -- chrome bright and full of fight. Dad stumbled onto the first one while fishing for Char. John immediately followed, bringing in a double. With a fresh pile of firewood waiting and a relatively clear evening, a relaxing night roasting fresh salmon over the fire seemed the proper thing to do. I gave Dad a quick lesson in streamside fillet techniques on his first Silver (always remember to hike downstream to keep hungry critters away from camp), and put my chef hat on.
Didn't I mention camp life would be good :)
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