This week we welcomed back only a few past anglers, with most guests being first time anglers of the Kanektok and Alaska West.
It was really nice to see Larry Klein, who has been here many times, and his new fishing buddy Bill Manning. It was Bill’s first trip to Alaska West and we think he was blown away by the trip he had this week. We also welcomed back Dr. Doug Bryans who had to come back again to get more time on the water with Guide Whitney Gould. Barry Austin and his son Greg joined us again after many years away and got right to having a good time.
We also had the pleasure of hanging out with Joni Botha and his son Gabriel, who joined us once again, all the way from South Africa. These two may be the most hard core anglers we have all season. Gabriel fished so hard the first couple days he had to take a short mid week break just so he could finish strong.
Many of our first time guests were also first time fly anglers who had never been to Alaska. They were all blown away by the quality of our fishery here on the Kanektok. Father and son team, Gary and Matt Wilcox had a blast while learning the ways of fly fishing, Alaska style. They caught a ton of fish and really seemed to enjoy themselves the whole week.
The fishing this week was, as usual, some of the hottest and most consistent of the entire season. We think we have the best silver fishery in the world – quality fish, always fresh and chrome and ready to eat just about any fly you throw at them. Popper fishing was pretty steady this week though it was a bit tough on the days we had too much sun. Larry Klein landed one of the largest silvers we have seen in a while. Though it was not weighed, we figure it to be about 15 pounds. Nice job Larry! Overall the fishing for silvers was above and beyond what our anglers could ever imagine.
The trout and dolly fishing was on fire this week as well with some really large bows landed on the lower river. Good weather gave us good mousing and great fishing in general for bows, dollies and even grayling at times. The Arolik River fished very well this week with great silver action, though most of the anglers took advantage of the spectacular sight fishing to search out the mighty leopard bows of the upper river.
The weather was great this week, finally, and it made for some wonderfully comfortable weather to be fishing in. Good sun meant great sight fishing even for silvers. We did have some rain and wind, but the sun more than made up for it. Spirits were high and the fishing was fantastic. Fish boxes were full as the guests headed home, back to the real world.
Check out the pictures from this week on Facebook!
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