DocSpotty
08-25-2009, 09:31 PM
Last Friday came and I had no one to go fishing with……so I didn’t get up at the crack of dawn….somewhere around 7:15 am….when the daughter was getting ready for school. Hated to let an off Friday go without fishing so after volunteering to drop the midget off at school I headed down to the Kenai and Quart Creek. Nothing like hitting the river at 0 dark thirty….for me about 10 am…okay not so early. But hey, the fish have oodles of sockeye eggs to eat so I figured they might be sleeping in too. It always befuddles my why, on the days I go fishing myself, I frequently have those exceptional trips that I wish someone else could enjoy in.
Anyway, my wisdom was to fish away from most of the bank wanderers so the car was parked on a pullout with no others around, I walked to the river and started downstream. Walked quickly through the first quarter mile with few salmon around then I rounded a bend and was greeted with a plethora of spawning salmon:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/wReds.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/wSpawningReds.jpg
My first drift through this batch of salmon I was buttoned up to a nice dolly:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/wDollinwater.jpg
In a few minutes he was on the shore waiting to for his brief photo session:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/wfirstdoll.jpg
The next cast produced another good dolly…..
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/wOrangelips.jpg
and in the first 20 minutes 5 dollies had been released. About this time I hung up the camera and just enjoyed the fishing for about 3 hours…..catching and releasing a couple of dozen nice dollies. I experimented using a strike indicator and not…..the numbers were similar but both techniques worked better in certain types of water. During this time I had a beautiful dolly between 24 and 25 inches into shallow water….as I did the ritual search to get out my camera she slipped the hook and cruised away….one of the largest I have ever seen on Quartz. Never ceases to surprise me the many variations in spotting and color on these fish…..close ups show some outrageous spotting:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/wSpotting.jpg
Decided to break here for some water and a Subway roast beast sandwich I had brought. Drove around to the camping area on Quartz and it wasn’t too horribly crowded so I fished here for a while catching a few nice fish:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/wDolly.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/wDollyinnet.jpg
Fished around a few bends then caught this cute little merganser family moving through my fishing hole:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/wMergansers.jpg
Looking closer I saw the wayward child (reminded me of myself) out on his own:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/wWaywardchick.jpg
Decided to hoof it back to the car for one more swing through the earlier stretch of water. Pulled a nice one out from under my favorite tree on the way back:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/wPlayingDoll.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/wDollywRod.jpg
Hopped back and around to the other, less occupied, spot and after catching something like 30 dollies during the day I finally hooked a nice rainbow:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/wRainbow.jpg
Aren’t many bows this far up the creek so it is always fun tagging one. My day finished in this deep hole where I had spotted a few nice fish earlier. Problem was getting the bead down to the bottom through this rather deep, heavy hole….after teasing my float out from under the tree branches covering the hole, I spotted two dollies taking turns whacking my bead…..finally one picked it up long enough for me to hook it:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/wFirstDummy.jpg
After getting this one’s photogenic side I dropped back in and the other dim fish immediately grabbed the bead and I farmed the strike….ahhhhh. Well he was still just sitting down in that deep water so I kept after him. After several casts there was a perfect drift leaving the bead dead on the sand right in front of him. Knowing that dollies just cannot stand the suspense I waited patiently for a few minutes and when he finally darted forward and picked up the bead……”SUCKER”….
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/wLastdummy.jpg
It was a nice way to finish up the day and still get home early….which the wife always appreciates.
Brian
Anyway, my wisdom was to fish away from most of the bank wanderers so the car was parked on a pullout with no others around, I walked to the river and started downstream. Walked quickly through the first quarter mile with few salmon around then I rounded a bend and was greeted with a plethora of spawning salmon:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/wReds.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/wSpawningReds.jpg
My first drift through this batch of salmon I was buttoned up to a nice dolly:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/wDollinwater.jpg
In a few minutes he was on the shore waiting to for his brief photo session:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/wfirstdoll.jpg
The next cast produced another good dolly…..
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/wOrangelips.jpg
and in the first 20 minutes 5 dollies had been released. About this time I hung up the camera and just enjoyed the fishing for about 3 hours…..catching and releasing a couple of dozen nice dollies. I experimented using a strike indicator and not…..the numbers were similar but both techniques worked better in certain types of water. During this time I had a beautiful dolly between 24 and 25 inches into shallow water….as I did the ritual search to get out my camera she slipped the hook and cruised away….one of the largest I have ever seen on Quartz. Never ceases to surprise me the many variations in spotting and color on these fish…..close ups show some outrageous spotting:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/wSpotting.jpg
Decided to break here for some water and a Subway roast beast sandwich I had brought. Drove around to the camping area on Quartz and it wasn’t too horribly crowded so I fished here for a while catching a few nice fish:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/wDolly.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/wDollyinnet.jpg
Fished around a few bends then caught this cute little merganser family moving through my fishing hole:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/wMergansers.jpg
Looking closer I saw the wayward child (reminded me of myself) out on his own:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/wWaywardchick.jpg
Decided to hoof it back to the car for one more swing through the earlier stretch of water. Pulled a nice one out from under my favorite tree on the way back:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/wPlayingDoll.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/wDollywRod.jpg
Hopped back and around to the other, less occupied, spot and after catching something like 30 dollies during the day I finally hooked a nice rainbow:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/wRainbow.jpg
Aren’t many bows this far up the creek so it is always fun tagging one. My day finished in this deep hole where I had spotted a few nice fish earlier. Problem was getting the bead down to the bottom through this rather deep, heavy hole….after teasing my float out from under the tree branches covering the hole, I spotted two dollies taking turns whacking my bead…..finally one picked it up long enough for me to hook it:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/wFirstDummy.jpg
After getting this one’s photogenic side I dropped back in and the other dim fish immediately grabbed the bead and I farmed the strike….ahhhhh. Well he was still just sitting down in that deep water so I kept after him. After several casts there was a perfect drift leaving the bead dead on the sand right in front of him. Knowing that dollies just cannot stand the suspense I waited patiently for a few minutes and when he finally darted forward and picked up the bead……”SUCKER”….
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/wLastdummy.jpg
It was a nice way to finish up the day and still get home early….which the wife always appreciates.
Brian