DocSpotty
09-05-2016, 09:33 PM
Yes…..it is now time for the annual report on the fabulous, if not underrated, Quartz Creek. No secret it is my favorite little stream in Alaska to fish…..it may be that many of you just don’t care, but it is certainly no secret ;-). Hit it on back-to back days at the end of July with its normal fantastic dolly fishing. First I would like to display the following photo with the affirmation there is no photoshopping or manipulation involved:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/1_zps55srplqz.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/1_zps55srplqz.jpg.html)
I know, I know….none of you can actually believe there is a SIX lane freeway in Alaska but it is all too true. Count ‘em, three on a side. Of course I should mention that said 6 lanes only exists for about 12 miles but, hey, it’s there. Anyways after driving on the luxurious, just like down in the lower 48, 6 lane Glenn Highway (well for the 11 or 12 minutes it lasted) I was on my way to Quartz. Had a brand new 4 wt Winston flyrod I was prepared to torture while there. Parked at my favorite spot only to be assailed by numerous signs indicating a large brownie (that would be the bear, not the girl scout) was frequenting the area. So marching up the heavily forested trail I was whistling loudly and even singing (which would surely send any bears screaming in terror) as it was 7 am and no one else was to be found on the creek. It only took about 5 minutes and my new flyrod was into its first dolly:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/2_zps3opa0hmc.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/2_zps3opa0hmc.jpg.html)
In the next 15 minutes I was able to tag 4 nice dollies and a 19” rainbow in this little spot:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/3_zpsh2idjy1f.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/3_zpsh2idjy1f.jpg.html)
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/4_zps94zk9kwh.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/4_zps94zk9kwh.jpg.html)
BTW I should have warned those reading this that if you do not have the stomach to observe lots of dolly varden and a few bows…well you may get nauseous. Anyway, there were sockeye all over in the river but they were just getting ready to spawn, none were actively laying eggs that I could see. So the bead color used wasn’t very critical and the fish were still a bit on the lean side. Once the eggs start being laid these suckers fatten up in a few days, it’s amazing. Kind of had a slow stretch but there were dollies to be had all along the way:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/6_zpsft3miwxn.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/6_zpsft3miwxn.jpg.html)
This was another nice one in the 19” range:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/7_zpsxxk3iptj.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/7_zpsxxk3iptj.jpg.html)
Then I actually ran into a couple of back-to-back rainbows:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/8_zps0exjv8yo.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/8_zps0exjv8yo.jpg.html)
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/9_zpsdp72i1ov.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/9_zpsdp72i1ov.jpg.html)
It started raining harder but that didn’t deter the fish, after all they were already wet. But I put the camera away and just fished. Went back up and fished the same stretch 2 more times and then hung it up for the night…..fished about 10 ½ hours straight. Didn’t think my archaic bod could take that much (just turned 61 a few weeks ago). But I got a campsite and just slept in my car for the night….pretty good first day with 58 fish caught…..I slept very well.
Got up about 8 am the next morn and probably had just a bit too much caffeine for breakfast:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/10_zpsgi2x9hie.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/10_zpsgi2x9hie.jpg.html)
My first catch was less than sterling this morning:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/11_zpsj1uhwfq1.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/11_zpsj1uhwfq1.jpg.html)
But I soon found something besides the ubiquitous “rock” fish:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/12_zpskgnofh6a.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/12_zpskgnofh6a.jpg.html)
Pretty much the same story as the day before…..just lots of fish eager to eat:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/13_zpsxnpolbhg.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/13_zpsxnpolbhg.jpg.html)
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/14_zpsidxtpqhb.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/14_zpsidxtpqhb.jpg.html)
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/15_zpsgscdwzpm.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/15_zpsgscdwzpm.jpg.html)
Unlike the day before where I only had 2 inadvertent red hook ups today I was inundated with them…..had to break them off as I didn’t want to take a chance on stressing out the 4 wt….got really tired of tying on new tippet, hooks, etc…..life is soooo hard with this many fish in the water.
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/16_zpsufbcbbnf.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/16_zpsufbcbbnf.jpg.html)
Caught several nice rainbows in a little flurry on one short stretch of the river:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/17_zpsidgbdfei.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/17_zpsidgbdfei.jpg.html)
You can see all the reds in the water behind another beautiful rock….you’ll notice the rocks are getting bigger.
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/18_zpszdgrl6f8.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/18_zpszdgrl6f8.jpg.html)
Hit another 20+ inch model of dolly….notice how beat up the mouth is?? I hate that but many people (Alaskan and visitors) don’t handle the fish very well….
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/19_zpswh6wugcd.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/19_zpswh6wugcd.jpg.html)
Getting near the end of my day I hooked another incidental red and decided I would try to play him in as I had just retied twice in the previous 10 minutes. As I got near shore I stepped into some soft sand and sunk into mid thigh. Got a little exciting trying to get leverage to pull the one leg out. There were several areas like that where your foot would just disappear:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/20_zpsbwhzey30.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/20_zpsbwhzey30.jpg.html)
Anyway….called it a day a bit earlier than the previous as my legs were so sore and my feet hurt so bad I could hardly walk on dry land…..ahhhh but the pain was worth the rewards. Not quite as good as the day before but an even 50 fish. The drive back to town was gratifying.
After a couple of days of actually working I was going to head back down to Quartz Creek but my work partner called and asked if I wanted to fly out for a day on the Kuscatan River for some silvers and dollies. Who am I to refuse such an invitation? We took a 90 minute ride in the piper cub and slept the night in a very old cabin. In the morning we ate some breakfast and hauled the fine boating craft we had out of the bushes into the water:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/Kuscatan%20730/1_zpsicq9ah9l.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/Kuscatan%20730/1_zpsicq9ah9l.jpg.html)
That lovely 6 horse Johnson is about circa 1950….about 100 yards from our targeted little stream on the side of the Kuscatan the darn thing seized….water intake was clogged. So we paddled down to our spot and parked the boat. Usually this confluence holds the silvers like crazy….turns out we were just a week or so early as I only hooked 1 and it threw the hook on a 3rd jump. There were a bunch of reds in there but after a couple we left them alone:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/Kuscatan%20730/2_zpsarxekubd.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/Kuscatan%20730/2_zpsarxekubd.jpg.html)
So we headed up the little stream wading right up the middle throwing vibrax’s upstream as we went. After a while of nothing we hit a large gathering of dollies and were catching them nearly every cast. Bob was going to take a picture of a fish I had on when one grabbed his vibrax literally at his feet…he almost lost the camera:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/Kuscatan%20730/3_zpsqpeqq1gk.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/Kuscatan%20730/3_zpsqpeqq1gk.jpg.html)
Most of the dollies were fat and in the 13 to 16 inch category. There were a few that were larger:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/Kuscatan%20730/4_zpsos9igxpn.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/Kuscatan%20730/4_zpsos9igxpn.jpg.html)
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/Kuscatan%20730/5_zpsyjhd4oa6.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/Kuscatan%20730/5_zpsyjhd4oa6.jpg.html)
We had another sterile stretch then hit a deep hole that was just stacked with dollies. For an hour we were catching them, nearly always doubled up. After it slowed a bit we moved up so we could see in this hole and there had to be a couple of hundred dollies packed in it….amazing. I took another cast in there and this spawning pink salmon just ran out and whacked the vibrax and lead me a merry chase in the small stream:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/Kuscatan%20730/6_zpsopbonahu.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/Kuscatan%20730/6_zpsopbonahu.jpg.html)
After that the fish petered out so we hoofed it back to the non-functional boat. We lost count but in the 2 or so hours we fished up the little creek we must have been in the neighborhood of 60 to 70 fish between us. We had to drag the boat up some skinny side water for about half a mile….that was FUN (said with great sarcasm). Bob thought we should head the plane down river and look for some silvers closer to the ocean but I was happy and told him just to head home.
Brian
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/1_zps55srplqz.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/1_zps55srplqz.jpg.html)
I know, I know….none of you can actually believe there is a SIX lane freeway in Alaska but it is all too true. Count ‘em, three on a side. Of course I should mention that said 6 lanes only exists for about 12 miles but, hey, it’s there. Anyways after driving on the luxurious, just like down in the lower 48, 6 lane Glenn Highway (well for the 11 or 12 minutes it lasted) I was on my way to Quartz. Had a brand new 4 wt Winston flyrod I was prepared to torture while there. Parked at my favorite spot only to be assailed by numerous signs indicating a large brownie (that would be the bear, not the girl scout) was frequenting the area. So marching up the heavily forested trail I was whistling loudly and even singing (which would surely send any bears screaming in terror) as it was 7 am and no one else was to be found on the creek. It only took about 5 minutes and my new flyrod was into its first dolly:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/2_zps3opa0hmc.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/2_zps3opa0hmc.jpg.html)
In the next 15 minutes I was able to tag 4 nice dollies and a 19” rainbow in this little spot:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/3_zpsh2idjy1f.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/3_zpsh2idjy1f.jpg.html)
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/4_zps94zk9kwh.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/4_zps94zk9kwh.jpg.html)
BTW I should have warned those reading this that if you do not have the stomach to observe lots of dolly varden and a few bows…well you may get nauseous. Anyway, there were sockeye all over in the river but they were just getting ready to spawn, none were actively laying eggs that I could see. So the bead color used wasn’t very critical and the fish were still a bit on the lean side. Once the eggs start being laid these suckers fatten up in a few days, it’s amazing. Kind of had a slow stretch but there were dollies to be had all along the way:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/6_zpsft3miwxn.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/6_zpsft3miwxn.jpg.html)
This was another nice one in the 19” range:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/7_zpsxxk3iptj.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/7_zpsxxk3iptj.jpg.html)
Then I actually ran into a couple of back-to-back rainbows:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/8_zps0exjv8yo.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/8_zps0exjv8yo.jpg.html)
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/9_zpsdp72i1ov.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/9_zpsdp72i1ov.jpg.html)
It started raining harder but that didn’t deter the fish, after all they were already wet. But I put the camera away and just fished. Went back up and fished the same stretch 2 more times and then hung it up for the night…..fished about 10 ½ hours straight. Didn’t think my archaic bod could take that much (just turned 61 a few weeks ago). But I got a campsite and just slept in my car for the night….pretty good first day with 58 fish caught…..I slept very well.
Got up about 8 am the next morn and probably had just a bit too much caffeine for breakfast:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/10_zpsgi2x9hie.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/10_zpsgi2x9hie.jpg.html)
My first catch was less than sterling this morning:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/11_zpsj1uhwfq1.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/11_zpsj1uhwfq1.jpg.html)
But I soon found something besides the ubiquitous “rock” fish:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/12_zpskgnofh6a.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/12_zpskgnofh6a.jpg.html)
Pretty much the same story as the day before…..just lots of fish eager to eat:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/13_zpsxnpolbhg.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/13_zpsxnpolbhg.jpg.html)
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/14_zpsidxtpqhb.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/14_zpsidxtpqhb.jpg.html)
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/15_zpsgscdwzpm.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/15_zpsgscdwzpm.jpg.html)
Unlike the day before where I only had 2 inadvertent red hook ups today I was inundated with them…..had to break them off as I didn’t want to take a chance on stressing out the 4 wt….got really tired of tying on new tippet, hooks, etc…..life is soooo hard with this many fish in the water.
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/16_zpsufbcbbnf.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/16_zpsufbcbbnf.jpg.html)
Caught several nice rainbows in a little flurry on one short stretch of the river:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/17_zpsidgbdfei.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/17_zpsidgbdfei.jpg.html)
You can see all the reds in the water behind another beautiful rock….you’ll notice the rocks are getting bigger.
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/18_zpszdgrl6f8.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/18_zpszdgrl6f8.jpg.html)
Hit another 20+ inch model of dolly….notice how beat up the mouth is?? I hate that but many people (Alaskan and visitors) don’t handle the fish very well….
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/19_zpswh6wugcd.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/19_zpswh6wugcd.jpg.html)
Getting near the end of my day I hooked another incidental red and decided I would try to play him in as I had just retied twice in the previous 10 minutes. As I got near shore I stepped into some soft sand and sunk into mid thigh. Got a little exciting trying to get leverage to pull the one leg out. There were several areas like that where your foot would just disappear:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/20_zpsbwhzey30.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/QuartzCr%2072627/20_zpsbwhzey30.jpg.html)
Anyway….called it a day a bit earlier than the previous as my legs were so sore and my feet hurt so bad I could hardly walk on dry land…..ahhhh but the pain was worth the rewards. Not quite as good as the day before but an even 50 fish. The drive back to town was gratifying.
After a couple of days of actually working I was going to head back down to Quartz Creek but my work partner called and asked if I wanted to fly out for a day on the Kuscatan River for some silvers and dollies. Who am I to refuse such an invitation? We took a 90 minute ride in the piper cub and slept the night in a very old cabin. In the morning we ate some breakfast and hauled the fine boating craft we had out of the bushes into the water:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/Kuscatan%20730/1_zpsicq9ah9l.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/Kuscatan%20730/1_zpsicq9ah9l.jpg.html)
That lovely 6 horse Johnson is about circa 1950….about 100 yards from our targeted little stream on the side of the Kuscatan the darn thing seized….water intake was clogged. So we paddled down to our spot and parked the boat. Usually this confluence holds the silvers like crazy….turns out we were just a week or so early as I only hooked 1 and it threw the hook on a 3rd jump. There were a bunch of reds in there but after a couple we left them alone:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/Kuscatan%20730/2_zpsarxekubd.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/Kuscatan%20730/2_zpsarxekubd.jpg.html)
So we headed up the little stream wading right up the middle throwing vibrax’s upstream as we went. After a while of nothing we hit a large gathering of dollies and were catching them nearly every cast. Bob was going to take a picture of a fish I had on when one grabbed his vibrax literally at his feet…he almost lost the camera:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/Kuscatan%20730/3_zpsqpeqq1gk.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/Kuscatan%20730/3_zpsqpeqq1gk.jpg.html)
Most of the dollies were fat and in the 13 to 16 inch category. There were a few that were larger:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/Kuscatan%20730/4_zpsos9igxpn.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/Kuscatan%20730/4_zpsos9igxpn.jpg.html)
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/Kuscatan%20730/5_zpsyjhd4oa6.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/Kuscatan%20730/5_zpsyjhd4oa6.jpg.html)
We had another sterile stretch then hit a deep hole that was just stacked with dollies. For an hour we were catching them, nearly always doubled up. After it slowed a bit we moved up so we could see in this hole and there had to be a couple of hundred dollies packed in it….amazing. I took another cast in there and this spawning pink salmon just ran out and whacked the vibrax and lead me a merry chase in the small stream:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Alaska/2016/Kuscatan%20730/6_zpsopbonahu.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/DocEsox/media/Alaska/2016/Kuscatan%20730/6_zpsopbonahu.jpg.html)
After that the fish petered out so we hoofed it back to the non-functional boat. We lost count but in the 2 or so hours we fished up the little creek we must have been in the neighborhood of 60 to 70 fish between us. We had to drag the boat up some skinny side water for about half a mile….that was FUN (said with great sarcasm). Bob thought we should head the plane down river and look for some silvers closer to the ocean but I was happy and told him just to head home.
Brian