Waking to a frost covered tent and seeing your breath in the dawn’s light is an abrupt reminder of the season’s creep. The long sunny dog days of summer are decisively closing. For some, this brings a time for relaxation and reflection. But for us, this is the busy season to cram as much fishing and hunting into the progressively shorter and colder days.
I had the privilege to partner up and fish with new friends this past summer in the name of research and development. Ken Mckenna with South Central Bead Company has dialed in painting beads to emulate a plethora of eggs.
I assisted Ken and Matt Crowe of Alaska Rod Company with some fun R&D…delivering succulent beads with precision rods right into tout and dolly’s faces.
Seasoned Alaskan fishermen can almost pinpoint the dates and location of anadromous fish returning or predict the movements of catadromous species with previous years’ weather cycles. This year’s anomalous phenology tested the best of us, pushing us to create new tactics and break old habits. Early summer in my neck of the woods we saw record heat and sun, followed by record rain and flooding. Planning a remote backcountry fly out trip didn’t go as anticipated, but it was not a disappointment.
Visiting stretches of creeks and rivers often overlooked were actually areas that produced quality fish. This was especially true for bows with big, blushed cheeks and vibrant red stripes. During the summer it wasn’t hard to pursue trout with hefty streamers. My favorite was fishing a creek known to hold a large quantity of Dolly Varden with Matt and Ken. This was a testing stage for Ken’s magic beads and Matt’s newly designed blanks. Right away we realized something was off! Typically it’s hook set after hook set. We were greeted with a mass of sockeye. We assumed sockeye’s aggressive spawn mannerisms would push the Dollys out of the creek and into the mouth of the lake. This was in fact the case, and it paid off rewardingly once we got in them. Sight fishing is every fly fisherman’s dream. We could clearly see what bead would turn the fish. Fighting them on the new Alaska Rod Company blank made me question my arsenal of flyrod.
The back country trip to remote Alaska for big Dolly Varden was almost a bust, as we watched water levels exceed the record high. We committed to the adventure and set forth, unknowing if the fish would be there. Anadromous Dolly Varden acquiesce to streamers and beads. We hunted miles of beautiful meandering river surrounded by accent tundra and vast openness. The days were brutally long, as Alaska’s sun doesn’t set until midnight, but at night we reveled in the delightful display of Aurora Borealis during the short twilight.
Due to record high water, the amazing and mysterious salmon phenomenon was postponed and was followed by the anadromous Dolly Varden. After following miles of empty stretches of river, we found them entering the river with the declining flows. Fresh Dollys aren’t the most beautiful, but the fight is significantly more
energetic and chaotic.
Every fisherman, no matter the location or weather, relies on experiences and superstitions from the past. Could be that lucky fly, the honey hole stretch in the creek or the lucky hat. I learned more this year then ever before to enjoy the company, take in the scenery and think like a fish.
Contributed By
Tyler Schwab
Hello, I am Tyler, an avid outdoorsman that grew up in Murrells Inlet South Carolina with childhood spent on coastal waters and in the Great Smokey Mountains. Hunting and fishing have always been cornerstones in my life, and when my service in the Air Force took me to Alaska in 2009, I knew I would visit this wild place again. Alaska has been my home for the past five years, with flyfishing and hunting adventure at my doorstep. Photography has been a recent journey to capture and document my experiences through the lens. The goal is to capture nature in its glory and share it with others with hopes of having an impact on local conservation.
