Alaska - Naknek River

I have enjoyed all your posts from Utah waters, but sadly was not able to visit any Utah waters this past year. Anytime I find myself in Utah, I am usually looking for slickrock to hike or skinny water to ply with a fly - both if possible. So without any Utah reports to offer, I thought could at least contribute a destination report and a little fish porn to the forum in return for the enjoyment I get from your posts and pictures.

October 2011 found my dad, two brothers, and I at Bear Trail Lodge in King Salmon, Alaska to pursue trophy rainbow trout in the Naknek River. We have fished here several times in past years, typically around Labor Day when the rainbows congregate behind spawning sockeye. Fly-outs to nearby streams usually lead to 50+ fish days with rainbows and char in the 18" to 25" range, with an occasional fish pushing 30" while sharing the bank with brown bear in the 500 lb to 1000+ lb range. This trip later in the season was to ply the home waters of the Naknek, where huge rainbows come out of Naknek Lake into the river to fatten up on decaying salmon flesh before winter sets in.

The weather couldn't be better for mid-October, with mornings a little below freezing, some sun, some clouds, and very little wind or rain.

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The Naknek is a big, fast river, winding its way from Naknek Lake to the saltwater. Fishing is catch-and-release for trophy sized rainbows. This time of year, the fishing consists of swinging big, articulated flies, mostly black or flesh colored, with an 8-wt and a sink-tip line. Sometimes there is just a little bump and you lift up and the fight is on. Other times, the line just starts screaming out and you are into your backing in seconds. It was a lot of work finding the fish, but once you had one on, the slow times were forgotten.

My younger brother and a 31" Naknek rainbow

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Despite the size of the river, most of the fish come from surprisingly shallow water, either in rocky riffles that occasionally just out from the banks or in an area known as "the flats" where the river spreads out across a huge gravel bar as it approaches the region of tidal influence (still many miles from the saltwater). We fished three days, and although the numbers of fish were far less than on trips earlier in the year, the size of the fish lived up to the expectations. We all caught fish every day, and although the biggest my dad could find was 27", my brothers and I all caught fish over 30".

My dad and his "baby" at 27"

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A 30.5" rainbow that rolled on my fly in knee-deep water as it swung about thirty feet below me.

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My older brother and a 31" Naknek rainbow

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What report would be complete without "the one that got away"? The last afternoon our guide Kate dropped me off about 50 yards from the bank in an area of the flats that was barely halfway up my shins, and told me to cast towards the shore! Having faith in Kate who had put us into many fish that week, I dubiously started casting and swinging my fly through the shallow water. About the third cast, the water boiled about where my fly should be and the line started singing out of my reel (I love that sound!). Another huge rainbow! After a long run, I started working the fish towards shore while the guide brought the net, but since the water was so shallow everywhere, the fish was continually rolling, a bad thing when the hooks are barbless. After getting a very good view of a fish that could possibly have bested my brothers' 31-inchers, the rolling fish finally succeeded in throwing the hook as I was trying to turn its head and bring it in to where Kate could net it. Although I caught a number of "little" 12 to 20-inchers to close out the day, it didn't stop my wondering about the size of the one that got away.

All-in-all, we had a great time, fished with wonderful guides, and caught some amazing fish. I think I personally prefer earlier in the year for the numbers of fish, but who could ever complain about a trip catching fish like these!

Behemoth rainbows! Nice work.

Someday, Alaska...Someday.

Those are some HUGE Rainbows. I need to get back to Alaska...

yea baby!!! i miss my days guiding those rivers in alaska, chasing those monster rainbows. :2thumbs::2thumbs::2thumbs:

Holy FISH batman! :hail2thechief: