The New Year promises bold new adventures for this podunk country doc. Move over beloved Kenai River... KANEKTOK KINGS are in the cross hairs for Alaska 2009. An uninterrupted streak of annual reservations at Kenai Riverbend dating back to 1988 is about to go down in flames.

It's been 10 years since I first had an interest in this fishery. Even bought a 15 foot 10 wt Spey rod from Dec Hogan with the intention of honing sufficient casting skills to one day swing a big king fly across one her productive runs.

To date, I have taken every available West Coast salmonid on that rod (coho, pink, sockeye, searun cutt, steelhead, chum) but so far, not one of the target species I originally bought it for.

All of that is about to change this summer, as the Kanektok is THE premier fly fishery for O. tschawytscha.

Just finished all of my on-line reservations for a selfish dream trip. Can't wait for that first BIG grab!

Doc,
Been to the Kanektok, and know quite a bit about it. My Dads crew had camp there for ten years. Give me a call if you want some inside help.

Guided there for Kings and everythng else for 3+ years - Can be incredible with 10 - 20 fish days on the fly. Can also be frustrating. If the kings are not cooperating make sure you take advantage of the other fisheries. During the king run there should also be trophy sized sockeye there (up to 15 lbs), chums, char, and the rainbows are simply unreal. What week are you going to be there? The prime of the king run is onle a few weeks long.

Sounds like fun.Good luck,
STRIKE ZONE

Good for you, Doc! Can't wait for the after-action report!

the ktok is pretty cool!

Nice pics Sparkey !!

Who did you.......

Never mind

Peace Fly

SWEEEEEEEEEEEEETTTTTTT Doc,
That is one place I havebeen wanting to go.

Peace
Fly

I was there several years ago and had a blast. I got to spend several days on the Arolik there as well, and would highly recommend an outing to that river!
Cheers,
Neal

I've been thinking about that trip too Doc, ever since floating the Arolik a couple years ago. What week did you decide on?

Sg

It gonna be great Doc! It has been quite a few years, I used to guide for AK West. I had the pleasure of witnessing one of the most prolific K tok King runs in history, imagine Kings moving up river like Chum Salmon. Dont worry about heavy stuff, these fish are biters and move to a fly with determination. Many times the best lines were type 3 - 6 no need to get heavy. Big fish blue is very similar to the fly you have above, just a little lighter shade of blue, no lead eyes. The leprechaun is a combo of green and white, this is a great color combo for the Ktok. I would not pass up a day of Back bouncing for these critters, it is as good as it gets.

Matt

Now that's what I'm talkin' 'bout, baby!

Will look forward to your great photo essays. Looks like a cool fishery.

I fear I may be changing my plans for 2010. You just might start enjoying catching Kings on a fly without 500 people watching you do it.
If anyone deserves a selfish dream trip it's you bud.

Fear not, Oh-Sen. If those Kanektok trips ever become a habit, they'll only be every other year. At least till I pay off the EX.

Remember what I said about an Emeritus seat on the Kenai Predator?

I'm lookin' at July 2010 on my cell calendar... last day of the Kenai king season falls on a Sat. Sounds like we fish right up to the closing bell, then we sleep in and take the kids out for silvers and pinks on Aug 1st.

I think Lionel Ritchie sang it best.... "easy like Sunday morning."

Good Gawd Doc...it's 2:00 in the friggin morning! Congrats on a great trip planned!

Damn. This Boat Ho has got to figure out a way to get back on that boat in 2010......

I saw you on Doc's boat last summer. Pretty good on the net. Now if you're good at making sandwiches, curing eggs, and cleaning a boat, I might have a seat for the Boat Ho in 2009 .

Cured eggs: Got that SOOO covered. Ask Addicted and few others about the eggs Parker has! Those Kenai kings really loved the eggs I had cured up there.

Cleaning Boat: Before and after!

Sammiches: Sure. I make one for my lunch every day.

Unfortunately, I am already going to be up on in Alaska in 2009 and don't have the time to Ho a spot in your boat.

I should have asked a couple of months ago when I made all the arrangements. I was trying to find a seat on the Kenai on Friday the 31st of July, but when I got no takers, I just set that as a travel day.

Thanks for the offer and good luck up there this year!

Doc's Idea of an easy day of Silver fishing on the Kenai is to sleep in until 6 am then fish until 10pm, cook a great meal, relax around the fire with a cocktail or two, Hit the rack by 1 or 2 then get up early the next day and do it again. This is the week after the hard core non stop week of 18 hour a day King fishing when he and his brother fish a half dozen guys into the dirt.

Francis never slows down but will occasionally come to a complete stop. Out of respect and gratitude I won't post that pic even if it is one of Drake's favorites.

I wouldn't miss it for the world.

Yeah, and it was DAMN fun, too! I need to do that again..and again...and again!

Besides, the dirt is nice and soft.

PS. You forgot to mention that after the 18 hours of king fishing, we would hit the boat ramp for another 2-3 hours to fish for the 'bows. An 1141s, and a good sized Kenai 'Bow is pretty damn fun stuff.

"Easy like sunday morning" But is it "Sleeezzy like friday night"???????.Staying home in "09".The biggest/longest fishin trip of the year will be bouy-10 this year as every year.Unless some of you start buying some asphalt driveway's/parking lots & roads.Good luck,
STRIKE ZONE

The Kenektok River brings back fond memories. I floated 6 days with friends from the headwater lake to Quinaghak in late July 1994. The Grayling, Char, and Rainbow were plentiful all the way and were willing to take streamer and egg patterns. The river was full of spawning Reds and there were big and little bear tracks at literally every pullout. We saw a huge bear fish in a back eddy full of Reds pulling them out and devouring them one by one. Fascinating and exciting to watch.

I went again in early July 2004 staying at one of the fishing camps up river from the village. We targeted Kings, Chums, and Rainbow. The Kings were just about over but I was able to land a few up to 20 lbs. There were plenty of Chums straight from the salt with bars hardly visible which were a lot of fun. The Kenektok Rainbow are spectacular; brightly colored and spotted everywhere and, if I ever go back, I’d spend more time targeting them. Make sure you take 6, 8, and 10 weight rods (add a 5 wt. for the Rainbows if you’re adventurous). Also you’ll need lines with sink tips for your 8 and 10 weights and both floating and sink-tip lines with your 6 weight.

Your Spey rod will work just fine for Kings and Chums. However, I fished very easily from an anchored guide boat and from the bank with one-handed rods.

The weather can be variable. The temperature didn’t get much above 50 degrees in 1994 but it was in the 70’s in 2004 and I spent most of the time in shirt sleeves. I’d take rain gear, gloves, and especially a good hand cream just to be safe.

The bugs can be variable also. They were especially ferocious along the upper river during the 1994 float but tolerable with bug-go-away along the lower river in 2004.

Have fun. It’s a great river. I’d love to go back. I’m glad that you have the opportunity to go.


John P.

With all of the gloom and doom spreading throughout the basins draining across one end of the Gulf of Alaska to the other, I've really been wondering how bad it's affecting streams draining into the Bering Sea on the west side. We all know that the Yukon has fallen on hard times, and the king fishing on the Togiak last year was bad.

Was glad to see this recent post in the Alaska West Facebook blog.



Perhaps a glimmer of hope... or just guide-speak?

i can verify that is not guidespeak. i had to come back 11 weeks early because i had a job offer that i could not refuse. week 1 this year was one of best in recent memory and there are no signs of that changing.

best day was 18 hooked for two dudes.....not bad when one is talking chromer kings on the swung fly.

You took another job .... and left a wide open bite on the world's greatest flyfishing river for tide-fresh kings?

The doc believes a psych referral is in order here, Sparkey!

Wha'happened?

Anyhow, thanks for the report.... the good news has buoyed my spirits.

Guess I won't be sipping any Lagavulin over the evening campfire with you next week.

Have a great time up there Doc. On my list of places to get back to someday.....
Cheers,
Neal

Have fun up there, Doc!

Have a great trip and take LOTS of pics!

Destination temporarily pre-empted.....

Delayed pushoff in SEA.... 8 planes ahead of us waiting to take off at the same time.... 100 mph head winds. Touchdown in ANC was about half hour late into a 45 minute connection.

Missed the connecting flight to Bethel literally by seconds... attendant was radioing in to authorize my boarding but the ground crew had just withdrawn the stairs.

So I'm SOL in ANC for now.

Next plane to Bethel is at 6PM... too late to make the last Bush hopper to Quinhagak tonight.

So I'll end catching the first flight in the morning. Too bad I miss out on a day of fishing.

In the meantime I get to hang out with my little 3 y.o. nephew in Anchorage. Too cute!

KK, does the title of this thread make you feel a bit dirty?


Just sayin'....

Doc-
They'll get you fishing as soon as you show up to camp....so you'll miss a morning of fishing but definitely not a whole day.

This isn't good. If he starts pulling his hair out over this he will be bald before he gets back down here. Hope when he gets there and hooks his first fish that the video guy screams LOW and to the LEFT for the whole thing...Good luck Francis just stay up there for another week to make up for it. I fear Alaska air has woken the sleeping Dragon. I hope ya went all crazy ornamental on their asses and got a butt load of free first class up grades...
Just ridicules they let the weather get out of hand like that this time of year.
Don't let it rune your trip and have a great time

Stop off on ANC & pick up an extra camera card Doc!

In more than a dozen time trying, more often than not I had a glitch with the transportation to or from that river. Part of the journey, part of the return. You can't expect to be in remote AK with everything running on a metro schedule. I've slept in pilots houses, storage containers, air service offices, and the end of a dirt runway. Part of the package, and if you avoid the pissed-off attitude it can be part of the fun. Take it in.

Mission accomplished on Day One.

Hooked my first tidewater HAWG on my first pass thru the first bar that guide Jim Palmersheim planted me on.

After a 6-7 minute battle, it came unpinned as I repositioned the rod from LOW and LEFT to LOW and RIGHT. No slime brought to hand, but nice to break the ice on my first Spey king!

Guide planted me on the next bar, and I struggled like hell to launch a Snap -T off my upstream shoulder in a STIFF upriver wind. Casting the new (to me) Skagit line didn't look pretty with a left handed delivery or a "cacked" right handed delivery. In between gusts, I cheated with the occasional standard Double Spey to launch some bonafide bombs into the travel lane. PAY DIRT!

Beautiful 20# platinum hen kicked my a$$ way worse than my birthday fish in the bay last fall! But come to hand she did. Would upload a pic, but I was advised against doing so as it might bring the whole camp computer system down.... so y'all will have to wait.

Tally for day one (or is that half day one?) hooked three kings, landed one. Hooked and landed two platinum buck chums the likes of which I've never seen.... FRESH beyond comprehension.

Hope the casting shoulder will last the rest of the week. Where's that Advil?

Sweet!

If you're hanging with a guide, I imagine that your shoulder will be fine given that you're probably not putting in 18 hr days on the river

Looking forward to more prose and pix....

Under the tutelage of the undisputed Skagit Master Jedi today. This should be good.

Time to hit the breakfast buffet line. Later!

Cool
we have contact

Sounds epic.

Find a 50!

Excellent.

Sounds good so far, Francis...let's see a genuine toad on that bugrod.

Fish on...

Todd

Doc, Did Ed eat his oatmeal today? Tell them hi for me, and make sure you get Rick to take you trout fishing. Rick Sissler knows the ins and outs of the K tok critters, have him take you for a day in Jurassic Park. Let him know that I sent you, it will all be good Make sure you tip the camp hands big bucks Most of all the Turd Rustler, it is a long way to the dump and will leave a lasting impression on the hardest of individuals.

Matt

Day 2.... three for three on kings. 23# girl went back to make babies, and two high teens bucks hit the box. Got reprimanded for filleting my own kings ala eyeFISH .... apparently no chunks allowed.

One for one on a dinker pink.... can you imagine a river pink in June? Blimey!

Opher one on another platinum chum that came unbuttoned as I was sliding him up the gravel.

BTW loaned out my eyeFISH 2009 Copper Kwik to one of the guides last night. Went 5 for 6 in a couple hours with that swimmer! And naked at that! (No bait allowed).

Gonna have to borrow a lighter faster camp rod tomorrow because the casting shoulder is on its way out. Pass the Advil, please!

Just got some video from Doc's trip!

Doc Fight's a Kanektok King!

Yeah, all them Ornamentals look alike, ya know.

Sorry about the late post, but got distracted by the good lookin' gals at the riverside bonfire with all the camp hands. Managed to get liquored up pretty good without getting hungover.

No kings for the good Doc yesterday, but caught platinum chums til my elbow ached. Partner and I put 10 in the box for the camp smoker. Caught one bruiser sockeye.

Forecast today is hot and sunny... in other word half-nekkid by hi-noon. If the nasty kings retreat from the light into the deep slot across the fly bar, I revert to the dark side armed with WMD's.

Tammy Fae and BabyGotBack haven't had their inaugural swim for the season. I'm countin' on those sickle siwash to deliver.... else Ripley gets an earful when I get back.

Later!

+1

Francis, you've got some work to do still to get over that opherthree day you posted with me this April...get those sickle siwash hooks back in the sun!

Good luck, have a great time.

Fish on...

Todd

13 for 14 on C-H-R-O-M-E piggies today. Caught kings every which way my guide Blake McHenry and I tried.... swinging flies on the double hander thru moving tide fish, twitching weighted flies under an indicator thru frogwater (think like gear guys twitching jigs), stripping leeches thru holding fish in a deep run, and of course.... backtrolling Kwiks and Mag Warts thru the tidewater travel lanes. The Ripley sickles went 5 for 6 today.... would've remained 100% if I didn't totally lose contact with a HOT HOT HOT platinum torpedo three separate times during the battle. Finally threw the hook when he came up for a somersault! As Parker would say, that fish ripped me a new one!

Another dozen or so chums on the single and double hander.

One nice rainbow on the double-handed swung fly.

A double on hooligan backtrolling Tammy Fae.

Shoulder got a nice break while reverting to the Dark Side.

More of the same tomorrow with same guide... but this time Sage Prostaffer George Cook is comin' along for the ride.

Making us jealous Doc. Keep up the good work and we want those campfire pics when you get back.

Funny to hear about you actually landing the fish yourself Doc. You usually spend your time getting fish for everyone else. Don't forget to relax and just enjoy the crap out of it. Nice to see in the vid that you finally shaved.
Good job Parker. I hope while you had Doc's computer you loaded up his Grays Harbor schedule with our names.

Thats why you are not anserwing your phone, you have been gone !!!
fu.cker, I want to go

Peace
Fly

Sounds great, man...wish I was there with ya, too!

Fish on...

Todd

Fishing with Speymaster Cook was a blast today, but gotta admit that FOD (fish of the day in AK West vernacular) came to BabyGotBack 2 equipped with the 5/0 sickle. OMFG! that hook was 100%.... 3 for three on a brand new swimmer!

BTW the other hot plug (eyeFISH 2009 ifish.net Kwik) has been re-named named Dirty Copper (as in the famous movie line "You dirty copper!") has gone an astounding 11 for 12 on a SINGLE 3/0 sickle. Music to thine ears Ripley-san?

damn i missed the '09 cryfish buyin. got any spares doc?

Gotcha covered.

For a price of course.

I already know it...and so do you...but it might be music to the ears of a few others

Sounds like a good day!

Fish on...

Todd

Last day of fishing for fNp was less than stellar ..... did manage to get a nice tan, though.

Handful of chums and a snagged sockeye.... no kings.

Will have to wait for the Kenai this weekend to get my final fix. Time to put them sickles back to work.

When can we expect the inevitable great photo essay Francis?

Sounds like a week well spent. Gotta second the need for some pics of campfire life too. Throw in a few fish photos if you want also.

Photo essay starts after I get a chance to get caught up at the office next week.

Friday was recovery day for me. Flew back to ANC to unload fish on my bro and his family. Gotta admit the smoked chum AK West put up for me was pretty damned good. Treated the whole crew to Japanese/sushi dinner. Then it was off to the local park to burn off some energy for the little ones. My little nephew is gonna be a salmon slaying machine next summer.

Picnic lunch with the fam for the 4th today, then it's off to the Kenai to catch up with Yukon and crew. Yeah baby, time to put BabyGotBack and Tammy Fae back to work on yukon's play boat Sunday morn.

Just made it home an hour ago. Running on fumes.

6 for 13 on the Kenai today (or is that officially y'day?). Big fish was a 55# tide-fesh 50 x 28.5 platinum buck.

Back to the Kanektok....



Just a couple of appetizers from the Kanektok. My very first Spey king!

Well Done!!!! Can't wait to see more photos!

Right on, Doc!

Your essay will be very entertaining and am looking forward too it!

Nice!

Check out these two platinum chum BUCKS! In the right light, some of these chums were actually purple on the back, mixed in with a little metallic aqua and pink. My camera just doesn't do these fish justice.

seems to be hooked well outside the mouth too. seems the eye doc missed that. yea the fish is bright to bad it's not a fair caught fish...

TSK TSK TSK

Must be what they call "silver brights" cuz nobody will pay 12.99lb for Chum...
Looks like a whole bunch of fun !!!

That's what the amputated hook shank and Spectra trailer is all about.

Don't cha know I "floss" nearly all of the biters in my favorite fisheries with a trailing hook?

Those chum back colors you describe can almost be discerned in the first pic. Perhaps a "close" close-up could bring those colors to light???

Did you sample them as table fare? I've heard those chrome Alaskan chums can actually cut pretty well. Certainly not like the specimens we have down here are they?

Looking forward to the rest of the pics.

Nice coho, Doc.

Yep... even at a flyfishing camp, I couldn't help but revert to the Dark Side.

Very Cool Doc Looks like you survived another year in AK in your normal stellar fashion!

Welcome home!

I'd like to see more pics, ya know, for proofs sake.

Here's a battle sequence with a chunky platinum chum that I hooked as the big gangly black/purple fly was swinging mid-river. Thought for sure it would be a king... until it showed its subtly striped flanks and toothless grin. (Kinda weird seeing chums without those huge snaggly choppers!)

By mid-day, a stiff head wind was blowing directly cross-current in the blazing sun. That effectively put the kings out of my reach as they hunkered down for shelter in the deep slot on the FAR side directly across from the fly bar. Time to target chrome chums swarming upriver in steady pods on our side of the bar! Big bucks flashing toothless grins... hard to believe they were chums! The purple and turquoise hues on their backs was especially prominent on the hens.

Closed the chum fest with a surprise wide-shouldered sockeye buck.

I like the boat.

Was it just me or did this set off everyone's GAYDAR alarms???

Jesus doc no shirt and pink earmuffs in an Alaskan fish camp. WTF were you thinkin...I am afraid this one is gona come back to haunt ya

only pics of hot chicks in camp will save you now!!!!

Welcome Home

At Camp Spey Pride? What did you expect?

Shoulda seen when I showed up for the buffet breakfast with a pair of K-16 KwikFish stuck in my hat.

OK OK.... Girl pics in the next segment.... but ain't no way I'm topping TRBO's avatar.

Notice how we Lowe Holed the boat right above us?

Kinda ruffled that other guide's feathers.

Ya mean Old Big Elbows

I stared at her for about a half hour trying to find a flaw and all I could come up with was that the pic made her elbows look big. Sooooo hot I think ill look again

OK I hadda look again, too. (Insert NON-floating image)




Crikey, Oh-sen.... you right! Good eye, good eye.

She definitely has some serious hypertrophy of her olecranon processes.

Can't believe I missed that. Guess I musta been too busy examining her other tuberosities.

and just a tiny bit of razor burn above the little gray square in the middle but that aint a flaw cuz I like it....a lot

and now that you mention it I'd like ta hypertrophy her olecranon processes too

OK OK.... so I lied. This is a FISHIN' board, right? A little discretionary exaggeration is allowed, ain't it?

There was really only one true HOTTIE in camp, but what the heck, with 20 deprived dudes all thinkin' the same thing, there may as well been 20 of her or none at all.

They called her Nikka. So I'm thinkin' she's some sort of Russian exotic or sumthin'. Turns out she's just good ol' true blue 'merican, and 'Nica was simply short for Veronica. Ethnicity aside, hot is hot, especially when it's au naturale... how many gals look this good without make-up?

Truth be told, there were two other gals in camp... a 40-sumthin' Japanese lady (not pictured) and a 30-sumthin' native gal from the "dry" village who was really enjoying (suffering from?) the side-effects of multi-flavored ethanol.

The rest of the party was a bunch of scruffy worn-out fishaholics just kickin' back, taking in the midnight ambiance before having to get up and entertain a bunch of Spey-wannabes all over again.

Well, that looked like you didn't have any fun at all. Maybe next time, Doc.

Me like Nikka! Funny pic, the one of you samarai fighting a chum. Looks like you had a great time. The campfire pics remind me of partying on the gravel bar when I went up there. I pulled out a nice bottle of crown, cork goes in the fire, and it got passed around between a few of us until gone. More followed, and next thing I know I'm waking up in my tent to my brother knocking me on the forhead with a bottle of water saying "you alive?". The pilot light had gone out in my tent, marinating me with propane for most of the night.
I hope to go back there someday. Truly an amazing place.
Neal

Great photo journal of your trip Doc! Thanks for sharing some of the memories....

As alway's, nice pics and story Doc.

Yo Doc, I looked up the definition of chrome in my trout fisherman's bible.


This pic was there...





Insanely cool.


c/22

Does Ted Turner fish out of that camp? Nicka could be Jane Fonda's secret daughter or grand daughter

I should Marry her. I already hate her Mom

Hank you let politcs get between you and a chick? You live in SF. You must not get laid much....
I gave up on that game plan a long time ago. Just learn to nod your head and say uh huh.
Put on your "i'd rather be waterboarding" shirt as a conversation starter and then start lyin.
Works for me.

Dave, I thought you left already??

The undisputed Speymaster amongst the week's guests at AK West was none other than infamous George Cook. Larger than life in the flyfishing and Speycasting world, even this dyed-in-the-wool Master Jedi fly-flicker could not resist the power of the Dark Side.

After hearing about our first day's success with Dirty Copper over a round of appetizers, he was ready to get down and dirty the next day... even wore his finest copper shirt just for the occasion.

(Thanks for forwarding the pics, Sparkey!)
.
.
.
.



Copper delivers Chrome for Cook:

Finally acquired the rest of these pics from guide Blake McHenry... man did he have a nice hi-powered digicam.

Someday....

Felt honored that he entrusted me with his multi-thousand dollar equipment. Here's Master Blake with some spectacular K'tok Krome...

Platinum pigs were the order of the day...

He was even kind enough to let me reel in a few and return the honors with the digicam.

Ready.... set.... go!

All excellent pictures, but my favorite is the first. What a shot!

What a special place.

Thanks for a GLORY day, Blake!

It's one I'll remember for a mighty LONG time.

Anyone notice the Storm ad in the latest STS?

B&W version was extracted from this image.

Throwback Thursday.... with a cautionary note.

I feel blessed to have fished the hallowed waters of the Kanektok when I did. Like so many other premier king salmon streams in the Great Land, the K'tok has literally tanked after only 5 years since my baptismal trip!

2014 saw partial closures of even the native's subsistence fishery. 2015 saw a TOTAL closure of the rec fishery for kings and restrictions on the native fishery. 2016 is poised for more of the same...

http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/sf/EONR/index.cfm?ADFG=region.NR&Year=2016&NRID=2216

http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/sf/EONR/index.cfm?ADFG=region.NR&Year=2016&NRID=2215

Doc

You're more familiar with the situation there than I. There must be some hellacious dams, hatcheries, and habitat destruction on that river in order to kill off a run that fast. Harvest alone could never be that much of a problem, could it?

Carcassman,

From what I've read, there are habitat issues (marine survival) in the Bering Sea and bycatch in the pollack harvest. With two potential causes, business is good for the dueling consultants.

Sg

But the directed salmon fisheries are held harmless, right?

The Bering Sea pollock trawl nets are a HUGE component of the "unfavorable ocean conditions" those chinook are experiencing.