Somebody, please send us some rain! Seriously, 31+ years of running this river on the regular now and it’s as low as I’ve ever seen it, but the Salmon are determined and are finding their way home in short burst and waves regardless… (Rain looks very promising for Wednesday and maybe Thursday/Friday… 🤞)
Sorry I haven’t posted here on our web site, (Have made a few posts on my social media pages that are linked below this report at bottom of the bio intro.) but I’ve been waiting on something substantial to report and, once again, John did a fantastic job in his post Alaska report you’ll find here if you haven’t seen it.
It’s still not what anyone would call “game on” around here, but if you cover enough water and know where to look most sections have at least a pod or two staged up in what passes for deeper water, but don’t expect to find what you normally would now by any means.
Mid to lower river is your best bet for now, but even in the far lower reaches it can still be here today and gone tomorrow. We had probably our best day of the season so far just this Saturday on a busy holiday weekend in a lower river section where it seemed that everyone in that particular area was having a good day.
The stars just lined up correctly with a nice push of fish that happened to be going thru that section and an overcast day that keep the bite strong. Four our three-boat group trip it was all on Thundersticks, but other anglers were having luck on large soft beads or skein under bobbers as well. Same section yesterday was a much tougher bite for all with most of those fish having moved on up somewhere then sunny skies to top it off, but a “few” were still being found.
I’ve been out quite a bit this past week or so and sticking to the lower river as I always do for as long as I can. Had we gotten the rains that were predicted, but wound up going both north and a whole lot south I’m sure it would have been great, but as it stands, there were several days where all we wound up with were a few good shots and battles and one day where I think all we counted was two short strikes or something… That’s fishing. 🤷♂️
Today and tomorrow never did fill in for me, but that’s fine. It’s not like I’ve been calling all my best customers and telling them to get on up here! Dennis and I did gamble on that rain that didn’t make it for last week, but he always prefers the gamble to the crowds early and late anyway and it pays us more often than not. We had our shots, some cool rides and lots of fun!
I’m off Wednesday as well for a dentist appointment and then it’s game on again except for my usual blocked off Saturdays until mid-October. I did have a cancellation for October 1st that I’m sure will fill if anyone wants it and then I’ve done something different… I have October 15th thru the 20th blocked off, but I will open those dates for the “right trip”.
Basically put, I really enjoy what it is that I do, and I want to continue to enjoy it for many years to come. That being said, by about the 15th or so of October I’m usually getting a little tired of the Salmon game these past few years so I’d rather just take a break before peak fall Steelheading begins or go scouting for some of those early runners! If you’re down for scouting early runners let me know and I’ll open that day or days for ya! (We’ve also got plenty of great late October and November/December dates to fill as well…) BBT 231 745-3529
Slow start to be sure, but we’re filling in nicely now with new pushes coming thru the lake and I expect it to be a much better story by next weekend. With that in mind the shop hours will remain 8am to 6pm daily thru this Friday but starting on Saturday the 9th we will switch to 7am to 7pm daily.
Please stop in and see us if there’s anything you need or even might just want as the shop is well stocked with all the necessities and cool gear for the season for your particular preference be it fly, float or spin fishing and our great staff is ready to help you out in any way they can! (Motel rooms are still available at times throughout the season as well.)
That’s about all I’ve got for ya on the Salmon front for now, but I’ll try my best to update more often now that we’re “in it”. Below here is a bit of a photo dump from our fantastic week at Alaska’s Naknek River Camp back in August. As mentioned before John did a great report on that as well so all I’ll add is my thanks to go along with his to all of the great clients that came along for the ride and the awesome staff, crew and guides that took such good care of us while up there!!! If you’d like to join us next year, you’ll find our dates and rates here!
Till next time, be safe, have fun and try to respect one another out there!
-Steve-
