February: MO State parks Catch and Release season

Bennett Spring SP below the Suzy Hole in zone 3

February 7, 2016 Sunday: Bill Taylor, Bob Randall and I rode with Rod Pennington from Springfield to Bennett Spring State Park. It has been tradition the past several years to fish on Super Bowl Sunday, hoping the football fans stay home in front of their television set instead of fishing. But on this seasonably warm day, there were many fishermen in the park. Another factor for a larger than normal crowds would be the number of trout one could catch in a day.

Started below the Whistle Bridge and fished zone 3 entire trip; a few trout and very few fishermen

It was a cloudy days to occasional broken clouds allowing the sun to break through. There was a western wind that was not much of a faction in zone 3. Bob started in zone 2, Rod, Bill and I started below the whistle bridge and Bill and I fished from there going down stream for the afternoon. Rod fished above the Suzy hole for several hours before hiking to the bend below the stone bridge. We totaled 100 trout for the day. My numbers were down due to the entire fishing trip in zone 3. There were several areas with fish, with the fishing below the Suzy Hole much slower. I fished soft hackles and adult caddis on the surface. Which is fun watching the trout’s reaction to the skating caddis.

The DNR waiting for an inspector to verify the Whistle bridge to be structurally secure

We fished until the horn sounded at 4 PM and returned to Springfield. We saw a few turkey and numerous deer in the fields along I-44. This will be my last trip to Bennett Spring for the catch and release season, it ends Feb 9, 2016. I will check out Bull Shoals and the streams near Power site dam for walleye. The water continues to be high at 672.7 ft and falling with the top of power pool 659.0 ft. I am not sure what I will find, knowing there is plenty of water.

from left to right: Kim Schultz, Rod Pennington, Dr Bill Taylor and Bob Randall

Overall, it was an outstanding catch and release season with Bennett Spring SP provide exceptional fishing due to the flooding and many thousands of extra trout in the spring creek. I heard there will be a discussion with the hatchery managers as to a plan for the trout before opening day.

January 2016: Missouri State Parks

Roaring River State Park

Recent damage from the flood waters last week

January 3, 2016 Monday: The weekend after New Years, I invited my 5 year old grandson to fish on the following Monday. Des has fished with me before and the weather was unseasonably warm. 

His mother, Jenn over heard the conversation and she wanted to go. So, we tried to figure out what to do for Fiona, Jenn’s second child and my second grandchild. Jenn thought it would be a great idea to take Fiona along; bundle her up and let her experience a day at Roaring River State Park. 

The day was forecast to be cooler than we thought, with the high to be near forty degrees. Jenn and I decided to give it a try and made the decision if it was too cold, we would make a short day of it. 

Desmond fishing the upper section at Roaring River State Park

We arrived before noon and parked near the hatchery. The water was high with some chalkiness to the water clarity. Jenn had Fiona bundled up and place her in a child carrier on the front, so Fiona would not miss anything. Des had his waders on and was busy collecting rocks and getting his boots wet. He did fish with me for a period of time and demonstrated his roll cast. We managed to hook a few and he was more than happy to bring them to shore. 

We took a hike through the hatchery. Fiona had a good time watching the trout with Des throwing fish food to them. The cave was flooded due to recent rains with the walk to the cave under eight inches of water. We released four trout everyone getting into the action. 

We packed to leave at 3 PM, the sun was reaching for the western horizon and it was cooling off. Before we left the park, we drove down to zone three below the camping area. There were a number of down trees and many of them in the camping area. There was a crew on hand with a dump truck starting the cleanup operation. The handicap access ramp was spared but the trees just below were taken out by the last high water. I am sure they will shore up the banks and have the park back in shape in short order.

It was good to get out with Fiona and her first fishing trip. Des had a good time and it was fun watching him explore and develop his skills. Jenn enjoyed the day, just to get out. Fun for all

Roaring River State Park

January 9, 2016 Saturday: Bob Randall, the new MTFA Springfield chapter president; one of his suggestions; to have a monthly outing with members. The first outing was to meet at Roaring River State Park for a day of winter catch and release fishing. The winter had been mild up to this weekend. On this day, the temperatures dropped to freezing, snow fell and I did find ice in my guides at the end of the day.

I met Fred Brown, a new member at 7 AM in the Springfield Nature Center parking lot. Fred drove and we met Bob Randall and John Bush in Monett. Another member, Cody Lowery was to drive from Branson and he was to meet us at the park. For most of the drive to Roaring River, snow fell as we trek along Hwy 60. There was a forecast of snow with some areas getting up to five inches. It was after 8:30 AM, when we arrived. We started near the hatchery fishing near and below the low water bridge. The trout were active with cruising trout near the surface; I tried soft hackle, dry flies and small jig patterns. The fishing was challenging, trying different presentations, dead drift, quick strips. My ability to hook fish came in the afternoon farther down stream from the hatchery with the elk hair caddis taking trout off the surface. There were periods of heavy snowfall, and one must wonder when it’s time to quit for the day. But the snow flurry was brief and I continued down stream. There were several large trout in the waters in zone 2, in the flowing waters from dry Hollow Creek.  This area has changed with more gravel and large stones placed at the in flow to Roaring River. The trout were lined up in the fast moving water. I did not hook up with a large trout, but I am rethinking what would work.

Fred Brown fishing below the bridge at Roaring River State Park

It was after 3 PM, the others had packed it in calling it a day. They were bitten by the cold and had enough. Bob walked over to me, and I reeled in line for the day. We took a few photos and called it a day.

From left to right: Kim Schultz, John Bush, Bob Randall and Fred Brown.
Not pictured Cody Lowery

The snow did not continue with along Hwy 60 with the roads back to Springfield clear and dry. Thanks to Fred for driving and hope we have another opportunity to fish together.

Bennett Spring State Park

Photo by Bob Randall: Bennett Spring State Park

January 15, 2016 Friday: There were rumors, that many of the trout from the Bennett Spring Hatchery washed into the spring creek two weeks ago; as a result of the epic rains (8-10 inches) and flooding that occurred at the state park. There were several MTFA members calling Bob Randall reporting last weekend, fishermen were reporting 100+ trout caught for a day of fishing.

Washed debris below the stone bridge

Bob and I meet at Harry Morgan home at 7 AM and we rode together to Bennett Spring State Park. We started fishing after 8 AM below and near the hatchery outlet in zone 2. We fished below three other fellows standing in the outlet flow. The three of us started catching fish from the moment we put a fly in the water. Harry and Bob started with a jig; I used a #18 brown and black soft hackle. We all caught fishing in rapid succession. I did not bother counting caught trout, too many to bother. After an hour and a half and with the sun on the water, I moved up stream. I put on a caddis dry fly and caught a few more trout. I fished my way up to a couple of anglers near the loop access and took to the path to the hatchery.

Harry Morgan fishing below the outlet water in zone 2 photo by Bob Randall

It was 11 AM, I decided to find and talk with Ben Haven, the new Bennett Spring Hatchery manager. I found Ben in his office, he told me about the flood, the on going clean up operation and the current condition of the trout. Ben is knowable and has agreed to speak with MTFA members at the March meeting. The floodwaters were about two feet below the all time high with a watermark on pavilion B near the roofline. The waters from above the dam and Niangua River filled the spring creek and submerge the hatchery raceways; some of trout were able to escape to the river. Ben said he had a count of the trout before the flood and they are now sorting and recount the number of fish in the hatchery waters. So, he will have an idea to the number of trout in the spring creek.

One of many brown caught photo by Harry Morgan

We talked for forty-five minutes, and I went back to fishing. I crossed the stone bridge and went above the dam into zone 1, to see if any hatches were occurring; I saw nothing and figured with the water 10 feet level reach during the flooding, many of the aquatics insects have been washed out for this year. The water was turbid, a white chalky appearance and it remains a few inches high. I made a quick assessment and decided to go below the dam and fish the opposite bank from the hatchery. There were a few fellows dispersed throughout this stretch of water.

Bob Randall fishing zone 2 below the hatchery outlet

I met up with Bob at the stone bridge and I told him about the conditions above the dam. It was 1 PM, we let Harry know where we would be and walked to the waters below the stone bridge. Bob fished rest of the day near the outlet water near the hatchery. I started there and fished my way down stream, eventually crossing the stream and finding fishing to be outstanding. Fishing on nearly every cast, 30% brown trout and 70% rainbow trout. I did finished the day with dry flies, using caddis and #20 BWO. A bald eagle made a pass overhead at 3 PM. We fished until 4 PM, calling it a day.

We had an excellent day of fishing, hope to see you at Bennett Spring S.P. 

We estimated between the three us, hundreds of trout were caught and released. It was an A+ day of catching, I personally have never seen an entire day of frenzy catching with one after another fish being hooked and released with numbers exceeding a hundred. If you have not been to Bennett Spring State Park lately, you better set a date and get there while the catching will be beyond your wildest imagination.

Bennett Spring State Park

Ice formations along the creek bank at Bennett Spring State Park- Photo by Bob Randall

January 18, 2016 Monday: Bob Randall was driving from Billings and stopped by my house to pick me up at 9 AM.  We were off to Bennett Spring State Park for the day trout fishing. The morning temperature was in the single digits with an 8 degrees reading and a bright blue sky, there was an arctic high over the Ozarks. The drive to Bennett Spring going down I-44 provided many deer sightings with many of them standing and feeding in the middle of the fields; it could be due to the cold weather or a winter storm on the way. We saw deer in the fields on the return trip to Springfield and counted 80+ deer in groups from two to a dozen.

There were a few fishermen fishing this day in Bennett Spring SP, maybe 15-20 anglers in the water. There was a fog over the water swirling by the winds and it persisted most of the day. The wind was light and variable; it was predicted to be out of the north. Bob and I dressed in several layers and speaking for myself; I was comfortable most of the day. I did carry knitted wool fingerless mittens, but only wore them went walking the trails. If my hands got cold while fishing and standing in the water, I’d warm them by dipping them the waters of the spring creek.

Zone 2 

We parked the truck and started fishing in zone 2. Bob fished below the outlet waters and I fished above the outlet. I found the trout to be less active then on Friday, I tried moved from one spot to another and it was 1230 PM and had caught/released twenty trout. I walked to Ben Haven’s office to check with him, but he was scheduled off and not in the office. I crossed the stone bridge and walked up above the dam to look at zone 1. I saw no surface activity and only a few trout in the water.

The dam with the photo taken from the stone bridge

I walked back to zone 2 across from the first hatchery outlet on the opposite bank and fished down stream. I used an adult caddis dry fly and skated it from the bank to deeper water searching for trout. It was a blast watching the trout give chase and some of them took the fly, for the next hour took twenty more trout. It was 2 PM, near a dry creek outlet and I switched to soft hackle wet flies. I took 72 trout the next two hours, with a majority of them being brown trout. I threw the fly down stream and varied the strip or movement of the fly. I finished the day with 112 trout.

Walking back to parked truck near the outlet water on zone 2, spotted an eagle perched in the sycamore tree over the hatchery and was able get a few photos. As we left the park, a pair of eagles sat together on the same branch of the tree. 

I did not get a photo of the pair, this was taken 10 minutes before

We spotted a pair of deer on the top of the hill as we left the park and saw many deer in the fields returning to Springfield. There was ice in my guides the entire day and de-iced the rod by dipping the it in the spring water. Again, an outstanding day to fish, few fishermen in sight, plenty of trout to grab a fly and watching nature up close. It does not get much better than this, winter fishing at its best.

Here is Bob loading up and leaving after a day at Bennett Spring SP

Bennett Spring State Park

January 23, 2016 Saturday: I spoke with Rod about the current fishing conditions at Bennett Spring State Park and he wanted to go. So, we met at his office in Springfield, Saturday morning and computed to the state park. Springfield was under a heavy cloud cover with snow on the ground from the last storm. I was looking forward to fishing with my white coat to blend in with the background, but as we drove out of Springfield the snow disappeared with traces of snow on the ground in wooded area without sun. I left the coat in the car and wore my green hood for outerwear while fishing this day.

Rod getting ready to fish near outlet #4

We drove through the park at 11 AM. There were 20-30 fishermen in the stream. We looked at zone 1 from the dam to the spring. Rod agreed the stream was washed out with no visible weeds on the surface or signs of trout on breaking the surface water. There were half dozen fishermen below the stone bridge and a number of fishermen in and below the outlet waters in zone 2 to the whistle bridge. There were orange cone barriers across the whistle bridge, closing the bridge to vehicular traffic. So we parked near the bridge and started our day below the whistle bridge in zone 3.

We fished zone 3 for 1.5 hours and each released about twenty trout each. I suggested to Rod to finish the day at outlet #4 in zone 2 for the rest of the day. There was no one in the area when we started and became more populated late in the afternoon. Rod fished at the outlet and I ventured farther down stream to fish for the brown trout. I caught trout in rapid succession until the horn blew at 4 PM. Rod and both caught near 100 trout this day, actually my count was 95 with the last thirty minutes taking them with a small clouser pattern with a few fibers left on the hook.

On our trip back to Springfield, we saw 50+ deer feeding in the open fields. I will begin a long stretch at work and it will be at least two weeks to get back to fishing. Remember the last weekend to fish the catch and release season is February 8, 2016.

December: Steelhead fishing in Michigan

Pere Marquette River near the Maple Leaf access

My brother has had tremendous success fishing for steelhead trout for several years in December. In the past, we have spent time on the surf at river outlets for migrating steelhead in the month of November. My brother, Kirk and his sons spend time traveling several hours north to fish the Pere Marquette River near Branch in an area called the maple leaf. I have visited these waters many times over thirty-five years, usually in the spring. I made plans to fish for steelhead the first full week of December. Before I left, Kirk called me to discuss the recent rains and the high river levels. So we changed our plans and decided to fish later in the week waiting for the river water to recede. I stayed with my parents for a few days to update their computer and left Thursday to fish with my brother and sons.

Thursday December 10, 2015: I followed Kirk and his youngest son, Turner from Battle Creek to Reed City near Baldwin. Kirk’s second son, Trent drove from Detroit and met us in Reed City. From there we, caravan to Emerson Lake near Walhalla to park a few vehicles and there piled into Kirk’s truck to drive to the Maple leaf access.  It was a cloudy day with mild temperatures, the wind did pick up in the afternoon. The river was in good shape. I was using a center-pin reel with an 11-ft rod for the first time on the river. I did practice in the yard before the trip to figure out how to cast a reel with no drag. It is suppose to work like a bait-casting reel, but the mechanics to loading the rod slightly different. The advantage is a long drag free drift with the line coming off the reel without drag. The reel actually moves backward as the bobber and flies/bait move down stream in the seam of the stream. I watched several videos teaching myself to fish and cast this new set-up. Needless to say, there was short learning curve to get the drift in the holes and hook up with a steelhead trout. The fishing was not great, we all hooked up with steelhead. I lost one mid- day and then landed a five pounder late afternoon. Trend released a steelhead and broke off two others. Kirk and Turner stayed up stream and they hooked a few but none came to hand. We called it a day near dark, 5 PM and returned to Emerson Lake to get a bite to eat. Trent had to get on the road for his drive back to Detroit and left before we ate. After dinner, Kirk and Turner returned to Battle Creek and I stayed across the way and spent the night at the Alpine Lodge for the night.

Friday December 11, 2015: I woke late in the morning, drove to Walhalla to find a restaurant. It was a seasonally warm day, overcast with a light wind. After breakfast, I drove to the river access, paid the daily $5.00 fee and parked the truck for the day at the Maple Leaf access. I decided to hike up to Ackerson’s Cabin and fish above this area. I walked past the old beaver dam, fished this area going up stream. In short time hooked a seven-pound female steelhead and brought her to hand. I decide to take one fish back to Missouri to smoke and swiftly dispatch the fish. I continued up stream for most of the morning and by afternoon crossed the river to fish holes on the retreat working my way down stream. I caught a few small trout rainbows and a few brown trout. I fished until dark, which was near 5 PM.

It felt good to go back to a river I know from years past, the paths are more worn, a few additional trees have fallen into the stream, changing the course of the current. But, the places I know to cross the river and the holes we named a kids remain the same. It felt good to be back on the Pere Marquette River.

September: Return to Kodiak and on to Saltery Lake Lodge

The view from the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC) - Alaska

Overview of the Alaska trip Sept 18-24, 2015: It was the driest trip to Kodiak Island Rod and I had made. Dave Magoffin said there had not been a significant rain for six weeks. There was a little rain shower on Sunday but for the rest of the week we saw mostly sunny skies. The rivers were very low; most of the silvers salmon are dispersed through the first mile or so in Saltery River up from the estuary. We spent most of our time in the lower Saltery and Rough Creek fishing the brackish waters of the estuary and the salt of Ugak bay. 

Ugak Bay

The silver salmon holding in the stream were struggling due to low oxygen saturation levels. The rivers were choked with dead pink salmon, chum salmon and a few sockeye salmon. The last significant rain for the Saltery watershed was six weeks before we arrived when the sockeye run was on. So, most of the fishing were in the lower Saltery river near the salt water of the estuary. 

Where the Rough Creek flows into Ugak Bay

The silver salmon were much smaller the year, probably in the eight to ten pound range with the fresh sea run fish more lively and bright with sea lice attached. We spent seven days at Saltery Lake lodge and we managed to bring to hand 118 silver salmon. Prior to the stay at the lodge, Rod and I flew in on Friday and stayed two days on Kodiak Island in Kodiak city. The trip was without incident and went smoothly. We flew into Alaska earlier in the day than past years and had an opportunity to see the snow capped mountains surrounding Anchorage. We touchdown In Kodiak before supper time and had an opportunity to stroll the marina and dine at Henry's Great Alaskan Restaurant.

Sept 19, 2015 Saturday: We left at 8 AM to deep-sea fish for rock fish and halibut. We booked a trip with Capt. Dave on Fish Hawk; the Fish Hawk had been upgraded with dual 300 hp Suzuki outboard motors which pushed the water craft to 45 knots on calm seas. 

Capt. Dave's modified water craft, Fish Hawk

There were five paying customers on board with the other three fellows from Switzerland.  Two of them spoke excellent English, with Claude speaking five different languages. The other Swiss was Eddie, he's an architect having traveled the world and this was his first trip to Alaska. We found out there are four official languages spoken in Switzerland; French, German, Italian and Latin. When they found out we were from Missouri; they asked about Ferguson and the races riots. St. Louis made world news and not in a good way. 

The three Swiss: left to right Eddie, Claude and Bruno

Capt. Dave found rock fish and made several passes over the fish before we caught our limit of five apiece. A time later, he moved us to deeper water to find halibut; we caught only five small halibut. We returned to Kodiak harbor by 4 pm and dropped off the fish at Island Seafood Processing with instructions to pick up the box the following Saturday. 

Halibut and Rock fish in the box going to the processing plant for a trip back to Springfield

Rod and I return to the Best Western Hotel, rested and watched a football game for a short time. We decided to check out a sport's shop down the road known as Mack's and renamed Big Rays. When we walked past Kodiak Brewing Company, we spotted a Saltery Lodge vehicle and found Dave Magoffin with a pint in his hand. He showed photos of his Cessna airplane that flipped over after a windstorm a month ago. He plans to move the plane in parts to the beach and barge it to Anchorage and trailer the plane to Fairbanks for his mechanic to rebuild it. Rod and I returned to our room for the night. 

Waiting for our ride to Saltery Lake Lodge

Sept 20, 2015 Sunday: At breakfast, Rod and I sat next to a group discussing their upcoming fishing trip, after inquiring we found out these fellows would be at Saltery Lake Lodge and waiting for Dave to make the trek. The group known as the scientist, they all study/studied endocrinology. Rich is a professor  at Yale. John works at the NIH in North Carolina. Audrey is retired and living in Florida and Kelly a professor in Chicago. We were to meet Dave with over the road transportation to the lodge at 10 AM from the Best Western. Dick Compton was in the lobby, he flew in Anchorage that morning and just arrived. Dave was late 1.5 hours before picking us up.  We made it to the lodge a few hours later. After lunch, we fished four hours in the lake near the lodge. We hooked and landed a few silver salmon, but the fish were very dark. The lake was probably eight inches lower than last year with the few salmon laying low in the deeper water. We did find numerous Dolly Varden in the lake. It was good to get back to Saltery Lake and breathe in the fresh air of Alaska. R 3 k 3 

Trekking the trail along America River to the lodge

Sept 21, 2015 Monday:  We started at the lower Saltery River in brackish water in the estuary. Everyone caught fish with the pinks, chums populating the area with the silvers mixed in from the salt to the crossing. No bears or buffalo seen. Upstream from everyone else near the crossing, I saw several spots were the Bears caught and ate salmon with the remains on the bank. We stayed the entire day at the estuary with Chris and Dave providing lunch at the fishing site; allowing everyone to stay out the entire day. The day stayed cloudy with rain in the morning. R 17 k 12

Thanks to Chris and Dave for a shore lunch

Sept 22, 2015 Tuesday: We started at the lower Saltery near the estuary. It was near high tide with a few silvers caught. We moved to Rough Creek near Ugak bay around 10 AM. Several of us started to move up stream and found the creek populated with silvers, chum and pinks. We were targeting the silver salmon. John and I were the first fishermen up the stream and saw a bear fishing. We retreated and fished our way back. At 2 PM, Kelly met us and John decided to return to the vehicles for some water. Kelly and I went back up steam. Soon, Chris our guide and Tony caught up with us and they move above us sighting another bear. There were several spots with 50+ silvers holding up and one could take a few before alerting the other fish. Chris and Tony saw another bear in a hole with Kelly and I seeing a pair of bears up farther. Rod met us later in the day. We finished fishing at 5 PM and returned to the lodge. We saw buffalo on the gravel near Saltery River and five wild horses near the spot we started to fish that morning. R 13 K 11

Rough Creek looking upstream to Bread Loaf Mointain

September 23, 2015 Wednesday: We started at the lower Saltery with the high tide at 1030 AM. A fresh run of silvers had moved in with the eight of us getting our limit within two hours. A group of ATVs drove and we packed up and moved to the Rough Creek. In a short time, Bill and Doyle brought a church group by ATVs to fish Rough Creek. They took the ATV’s up stream and out of sight of us at the beach. Dick and I fished the mouth of Rough Creek in the salt. Dick took two silvers out of the salt. We both caught and released several sculpins. The day started in the thirties with frost on the grass and ice covering the mud puddles, but the day warmed to the lower sixties. The number of silvers caught on Rough Creek was down with the fish refusing the flies but are in large numbers in a dozen holes. We finished the day driving back and checking out the holes in Saltery River near the lodge. There were silvers holding in holes with four feet of water but the fish were very lethargic and appear to be gasping for oxygen. Even if one could hook up, the silver did not have enough energy to put up much of a fight. There was a need for some rain to fill and flush the river with fresh water. We saw four bears, a doe and fawn with the buffalo standing on the trails a short distance from the lodge. R 6 K 5

There was many opportunities to see the bison

September 24, 2015 Thursday: There was a frost covering the ground with the outdoor thermometer reading 30 degrees. We started at the lower Saltery River with everyone having success. We stayed until 10 AM and moved to Rough Creek. Rod, Dick, Rich and I stayed at the mouth of Rough Creek. Dick and Rod pulled in a few sculpins with Rick, Rod and I catching silver salmon. We fished until 12:30 PM and then grouped together to have lunch on the river. Chris made the extra effort by serving up Rubin sandwiches and soup on the river bank. He did an excellent job cooking for us this week. After lunch we went back to the same spots, I heard later in the day fishing was very good with most of the guest catching silver salmon in the salt. Our guide, Mike took Rich, Aubrey, and me to the mouth of the Saltery River traveling along the berm. We saw a few wakes but did not find fish. After an hour, Mike took Rich and Aubrey back to Rough Creek. I stayed by myself and continued to move up the estuary and came to Hearst Creek. With high tide at 11:30, the water level in the afternoon dropped off. The silvers were moving the skinny water, so it was easy to spot the fish. The seals left the area due to low water levels but the silvers were concentrating the area with holes and Hearst Creek provide them with a holding area. The silvers were taken in rapid succession, with seven taken in two hours of fishing. The buffalo were off in the distance but at 5 PM started to move my direction. I was able to get good video of them. Chris picked me up at 5:30 PM and we called it a day. R 8 k 15 

Wandering bison in the estuary waters of Saltery River near Ugak Bay

September 25, 2015 Friday: The last day to fish. Still no rain the rivers are very low with many spent pink salmon, chum and sockeye. We started the day in the lower Saltery River and fished for a few hours. The catching was down a little and the silvers caught were beginning to turn. I return a couple of the early fish I caught back to the river. We moved to Rough Creek, Rod, Dick, Rich and I fished the mouth of Rough Creek in the salt. We all caught silvers before lunch. We had several close encounters with Harbor seals without incident. Our guide Chris threw rocks at them to keep them at a distance. John had walked the beach looking for moving salmon, when he returned he fished the out flowing waters and hooked a large sculpin.

John showing off a sculpin caught in the salt water near Rough Creek

The day was mostly cloudy with signs of rain for the next day. We all regrouped for lunch and decided to stay put for the rest of the day. High tide was at 1230 PM and it past after we finished our meal. Later in the day, a group went back to Saltery River to finish on the lower section. I walked up stream to find a spot to fish for my last cast last fish. Upstream a few miles on Rough Creek, two years ago,  I spread a few ashes from Sean and wanted some time to reflect on the time we spent here together.

Our guides for the week left to right: Chris and Mike

That evening we did not return to the lodge for dinner. Chris and the girls set up a campfire and provide us with Alaskan surf-n-turf. He demonstrated his cooking skills and we were all impressed with the results.

Setting up for a sea side meal with Chris and the girls

The view from sea side meal; Ugak Bay

Note from Dave Magoffin: 2015 turned out to be another amazing season for Sockeye with unprecedented numbers once again. Over 40,500 Sockeye made the run through the weir and many new fishing holes were born due to some high water conditions during the 14/15 winter. It was awesome to try out new locations while always being able to fall back on the old standbys. We also witnessed another increase in the amount of Rainbow Trout waiting under logs and brush for that perfectly presented fly. The weir consistently reports big numbers in June, and the earlier the better for weather, so the Sockeye season will start on the 26th of June this year. -Dave 

wwww.salterylakelodge.com

The entire 2015 season was very dry and warm which we don’t complain about, but it delayed the Silver Salmon run a bit. This larger species do not like low water conditions so making the commitment to enter the Saltery drainage was not in their best interest. Luckily we found that the Silvers do not give up and the entire run was waiting within casting distance of the Saltery Cove beach. We had a great time catching the freshest, brightest silvers we have ever seen directly from the ocean, on fly rods! The delay didn’t last forever luckily and we were inundated with fish at the very end of the season. After many years of wishing we had guests in October to catch the 20 pounders, I am extending the season this year for the simple fact that the BIG Silvers always wait until then to make their move.

Two new activities that we have always enjoyed but not offered commercially will be introduced. For one, If anyone is interested in a more photography oriented vacation we will have pro outdoor photographer Jon Gurry guiding in August.  That time frame also offers the best sport fishing for Chum Salmon. I am here to tell you that If you have never caught a 25lb Chum on the fly, you are missing out! Also, for the fans of the “cast and blast,” Sitka Blacktail Deer, Bison hunting, along with Silver fishing will be added through the 2nd week of October this year!

As many of you know Saltery as a business took a substantial hit on August 28th when a hurricane force windstorm had its way with our beloved Cessna 185 float plane. N2772J was purchased new from the Cessna factory in Wichita, Kansas in 1969 by my Grandfather, and remained in the family her entire life.  Although the aircraft was not a total loss, she will not fly again for many years, unfortunately.  But... The show must go on! I have decided to use the loss not as a setback, but as an opportunity. I have just taken possession of a 1978 Cessna 206 amphibious float plane. This beauty is quite a bit larger and can hold 2 additional passengers.  She will allow us to land on paved runways, and operate off the main airport in Kodiak so much less ground transportation will be necessary. 

Here’s to another great season of fishing at Saltery Lake Lodge. I do hope you will all join us to make 2016 the best year yet! 

Tightest lines,

Dave Magoffin

1-907-350-2646