Charr, Bows, Belugas and Moosie.....

[DocSpotty]

A sprained ankle and torn foot ligament have kept me from fishing much the last month….getting old really bites. Was able to get out and fish my favorite little creek….Quartz….last Friday but it was a little late in the season. There were very few sockeye spawning and not so many dolly varden around. Those that were had been chased around quite a bit. So instead of the usual checker match with the fish…this one would be more of a chess match.

I hit the road fairly early for my 2+ hour drive to Kenai peninsula. While cruising along the Turnagain Arm the tide was rising fast and I was fascinated, as always, to spot a pod of beluga whales cruising in with the tide to chase silver salmon. Turned out to be quite a group of them…probably 40 to 50….and they were close enough to hear them calling as they moved in the murky waters. Got a few nice clips with the video on my camera….excuse all the movement hard to keep that small digital still:





After spending 30 or 40 minutes “frolicking” with the mini whales the river beckoned and I was back down the road to Quartz Creek. With all the rain we have had this summer I figured the rivers would all be high but surprisingly it was at pretty normal levels. I was shocked to only find one other fisherman on the creek for the first 4 hours.

The first dolly came quickly…about the 3 casts then it got much tougher:



I could see many in the water but they were very skittish….normally there would be herds of eggs in the water and the fish make mistakes….but there were very few laying reds. The little devils would pick it up and spit it out before I could set the hook. But sight fishing is always such a blast. I experimented with 4 or 5 different bead colors but they were equally tight lipped with all so I settled back in with the mottled tangerine color in 6mm. It took me an hour to catch another one….and a third soon after:





Then it was zero city again for awhile so I went to my favorite little backwater spot where the water is almost still but several of the little fishes are always lingering up under a cut bank and overhanging tree. This is always great fun as you can walk right up to the area (I was maybe 5 feet from the fish) and just drop the bead in and let it sit in front of the waiting dollies. Sometimes it takes several minutes but eventually they can not resist coming over and pecking at it. Unfortunately I repeatedly missed them as they were spitting it back out so fast. Did manage a few more in this backwater:





Then I fished up the creek (no paddles involved) for about ½ a mile with absolutely no success. Others were showing up and the dollies were getting harried so I took off to fish the main Kenai River for a few hours. This turned out to be way more productive for the time spent as I caught 8 or 9 trout in the 2 hours I spent there. Most were dollies in the 14-16 inch class. Lost one really nice fish and caught one good rainbow:



Heading back home I couldn’t resist stopping at Quartz one more time as this would be my only trip this year. Picked up a few dollies then in a deep, log jam hole I hooked a massive rainbow. After bulldogging for a few seconds it came flying out of the water, leaping over the main logs in the river and “pop” it was gone. Was nice to at least see the beast before he got off…..in the 25 inch range, easily the largest I have ever hooked on this creek.

Trudged back to my little backwater and spent an entire hour trying to fool this very colored up dolly. Twice I got him to pick up the bead and couldn’t hook him. Then I finally sat the bead down next to him and stood there for 10 minutes without moving it…..he finally sauntered over….and after pecking at it several times (I nearly wet my pants with the anticipation) he finally sucked it up…beautiful fish:



I was going to call it quits right there but as this fish was released another darted out into the creek directly below me. So I eased the bead down to a foot in front of her and let it rest on the bottom…she bolted up and sucked it down:



That made a fitting end to the day and I headed home. Was in the house about an hour or so and our noisy, little silky terrier (my wife affectionately refers to him as Barky, McBarksalot…accurately descriptive) starts his incessant barking. Turns out he was woofing at a young moose calf munching on our front yard bushes:





Cute little moosie….unfortunately his mother was killed by a large black bear a few weeks ago protecting him. Fish and Game let nature take its course and do nothing with the calf…probably won’t make it through the winter but we can always hope.

Tight lines,
Brian

[simijab]

Man once again looks like a great trip. I want your life(well at least your fishing life). How many good trips can one man have in a year. Wait don't answer that. Any ways great report.

[AngryAgent]

Nice man and thanks for the report. I look forward to someday fishing Alaska. It has so much to offer for both fresh and salt.

[Nessie Hunter]

Envious is not descriptive enough of a word!!!!

Always look forward to reading your reports & seeing the pics from all over..

The pictures are amazing (all the time) Makes me hate my life sometimes...
Then I see snow & ice and its not so bad being me.. LOL.....


.

[elevated]

awesome report! Ahhhh someday...lol

[gavin310]

Man, you need to come down to Southern California and do some REAL fishing in our pay lakes!!!! Lol. Juuust kidding... Great report! Thanks for sharing.

[fishinone]

Thanks for reporting. I enjoyed the whole post. Great beluga videos and fish pics.

[Greg Madrigal]

Wow, anothger fantastic post. Ak, has so much to offer. I appreciate the non fishing pics too. Good job on teh Bow that got away. Like u said, at least u got to see her.
GM<><

[murrieta angler]

Why don't you adopt the moosie!?
I'm sure it will eat some dog food...j/k
Thanks for more great pictures Doc.
Robert