Alaska Part 3

The first 2/3 of our Alaska expedition was marked by breathtaking scenery and complete solitude.  We made our way through the rugged mountains and into the flat abyss of endless tundra.  It was sad to see the mountains slip away, and even sadder when we saw our first people.  As the land flattened the river did as well allowing guide boats,  from a fishing lodge 30 miles down stream to navigate the river with small john boats and jet props.  

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It was a really sad moment when we met the first boat on the river, actually one of the lowlights of the entire trip. From that moment on boot tracks were mixed with bear, moose and caribou, and the sound of engines was not uncommon.  The boats seemed so much less authentic of a way to experience the river from our perspective, after being totally alone and reliant on ourselves and the river to navigate.  


Coincidentally, I almost drown minutes after seeing the first guide boat.  My boat partner and I had beached the raft on the bottom of an island to fish a braid in the river. As soon as the guide boat moved on I began fishing the narrow braid where a gravel bar dropped into a deep bend with logs on both sides creating a fast moving tailout before joining the main channel which created a deep, fast moving seam and eddy.  I spotted two big fish sitting on the gravel bar just in front of the drop into the pool.  These types of locations was where I was finding the biggest trophy rainbows.  I cast a jig streamer onto the gravel flat about 2’ in front of the fish and immediately a big rainbow at the fly.  It shot down into the pool then towards the logs on the near side tailout.  I stepped into the river to attempt to keep the fish out of the log, which I did, but it rapidly continued down into the big water where the braid met the side channel.  At this point I made a really stupid decision.  I waded down along the log instead of going back up and around it on dry land.  As I waded in the water dropped off and I was swept off my feet.  I attempted to grab hold of the log but failed and swam down the river into the churning eddy at which point I was unable to swim back to shore and began to sink.  I remember seeing my boat partner Andy running down the bank toward me and thinking he may be too late so save my life.  My waders were filling with water and I had a hip pack and gun around my chest.  I often wear an inflatable emergency rescue tube on my hip, and remember thinking id like to pull it, but the CO2 canisters were not allowed on planes.  I was sinking and swimming for my life when my feet finally touched bottom and I waded out. Remarkably, yet so stubbornly stupid, I had not let go of my rod and I still had the fish on, and yes I landed the 20+” Rainbow.  I happened to have a Go Pro,  and the footage can be viewed on my instagram page.


That evening and the next were the lowest of the trip.  Knowing I was only a day or two float from being out and having 5 days left in the tundra made me a bit homesick for a couple hours before bed.  One of our other group members also had a scary drowning experience when he stepped out from the boat and the bank gave way, sweeping him under the boat in deep water. Thankfully he was holding the bowline and pulled himself up. The last scary moment of the trip was when a Brown bear spent way too long just outside of our tent in the dark.  I woke to hearing it grunting and growling feet away from me.  Close enough I could hear it slobber as it breathed.  I laid on my cot with gun in hand, going over in my head where the other tents were located, planning how on earth I could safely protect myself should it try to enter the tent. 


As we got lower on the river we hit the Silver Salmon.  Fresh out of the ocean these fish were big, mean, and fought like hell.  Throwing a pink streamer or gurgler on the surface while stripping as fast as you could produced savage takes.  You would actually see the wake of the fish coming for your fly.  One of the highlights of the trip for sure. It was a fitting way to end the adventure of a lifetime, though I suspect I’ll be back out there exploring another wild river in the future.

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