AK 2010: All Good Things Must Come to an End

It's been a while since my last post, so I figured I should wrap up this story, so I can catch up!

We knew it would be tough to beat Dad's monster Char, but with days left to fish and nowhere to go, the river
was still full of opportunities and entertainment. After the blitz of the first couple days, water levels dropped, the weather shifted a bit, as did the fish, and the whole scene slowed down a bit.

As the cycle of the Sockeye egg drop progressed, Char activity shifted downstream of camp, and Silver Salmon
activity at camp picked up. Grayling habits shifted a bit too, but, every day I tried to bring just one last
Grayling to hand, and just couldn't get over their quality here.

Sight fishing to dark, purple footballs hunting in packs amongst the salmon is a visual I will never forget.

I was having to hike a little further for each load of firewood, but it was a nice way to break up the day and take
a mid-day break. I had no agenda anymore, and had come to terms with this place. We understood each other. The river
had rewarded all of us for our efforts.

Some local lodges started to fly in guests for the day, but with the mornings and evenings all to ourselves, it was easy to have privacy on the water. That's one thing about Alaska fishing -- once a good spot is known, if a plane can get there, people will be there. It's ironic, but sometimes it's easier find solitude by hiking on a well known river on the road system versus flying into the middle of nowhere as it seems nobody else is willing to put in that amount of effort.

There were bear in the area, as evidenced by feeding remains on the banks, but they stayed out of sight during our visit. Our foxy friend on the other hand, got bolder and bolder. One night I awoke to what I thought was a bear tampering with the bear canisters, only to find a frustrated fox licking them and desperately looking at me for help.

Dad continued his hunt for huge Char, landing one that reminded me of a Taimen from Mongolia. Maybe one day, that's
what stream dreams are all about though, right?

John was getting into the swing of things, and despite being new to the Alaskan fly fishing game, was settling in
just fine. Silver Salmon couldn't have timed their arrival any better for our dining and entertainment purposes,
and he focused on them towards the end. The last double came to hand only minutes before our plane arrived for our
pre-determined departure time. Despite the incredible quality of the Char, Grayling and salmon here, he really
wanted to add some species to the mix. He had NO idea just how good he had it :) He did manage a legit smile for the camera though.

After an unfortunate baggage delay on our way back to the mainland via King Salmon (no thanks to Penn Air), we were
back on the road, in the rain, again, looking for fish. My first couple options for John were un-fishable due to high water, but we finally found some good fishable water for John to go after some quality Alaskan rainbows and Dolly Varden to round out his week in Alaska.

With Fall colors on the trees, on the fish, and salmon carcasses piling up, signals were there that it was time to
call this adventure done and head home. The last photo of this post with the rainbow in my hands was my last fish of the trip.

A few hours later we were on a plane. Not that I didn't try to delay my return flight, but you can only leave
momma bear alone in the den so long if you catch my drift....