Well, per usual, I managed to get myself sick either during or right after my return home from a fantastic trip to Alaska and the result is that anyone with stock in Alka-Seltzer cold and flu plus and/or Mucinex should be doing well right about now… 🙄🤣

Our greeter on the beach at Brooks on day one.
I think Jake had takes his first three cast in Alaska before bringing his first “bow” to hand…

Anyway, since then, I haven’t accomplished much of anything except having the starter replaced on my truck that went out on our way home from the airport and missing out on a couple of river trips that would have paid for it as well as the lap top computer that got fried with glass of spilt water right after…  To be fair, the water wasn’t actually me, but still, a nice run of “luck” that I hope is now over! 🤪🤷‍♂️🤣 (Minor bumps in the road of life compared to many so, I’m not crying or complaining, just explaining my lack of activity. 👊👍) 

A few more pics from our day at Brooks… (I moused all day just for fun having been there so many times.)

Good times with the newlyweds Kam & Monica!
And of course, the gratuitous Brooks Falls photo.

I had planned to write up a nice long and detailed report about our adventures in AK, but you’ll have to forgive me for not doing that since all that you’re getting now is being “typed” on my phone. (I am feeling quite a bit better today but I am still not fully recovered.)

Sunrise from our porch at camp…
Jake pulled this one from a smolt boil while we were waiting on a flight to contact Creek on day two.
Great day for a flight once the fog cleared!

Contact did not disappoint!

Suffice it to say that once again, my cousins up at Alaska’s Naknek River Camp and their staff did a top-notch job for us and our entire crew. The meals, the lodging, the staff, the guides and the fishing were all that we could have asked for and a huge shoutout goes out to everyone involved including our BBT guest Brandon, Paul, Jeff, LuAnn and Scott!

I spent all of about ten minutes fishing this flesh-colored mouse that John tied up for me before hitting this little rainbow and spent the rest of my day playing photographer…
Here’s just a few of those shots…

Great crew, great day!

The big bonus this year was giving our manager Jake this nice bonus and having him along for the incredible ride! Secondary bonus… Jake has now been there, done that and not only can he send you our information letter if you’re interested in going, but he can also tell you about it firsthand! 😎👍 We do have several cabins reserved for August 8th to 15th 2026. More information can be found at this link.

Day three was Scott and I on the Naknek with Kam catching Silvers on streamers and it was, of course, both fun and productive!

Day four found our crew back out on a beautiful early morning flight to the Moraine with Cousin James and our very own Kam again…
One of many greeters!

Zoom in for the closeup. I love this series of photos where I actually caught a rainbow jumping behind these two playing…

I’m sure that most of you are actually just waiting on a river report from right here on the Pere Marquette, but as stated above I’m not much help on that end right now. John has been busy with projects of his own since our return, but he has also been out several times now and does plan to report this week sometime.

More shots from the Moraine…

Most of my information has been gained the same as yours scrolling thru my various social media contacts and groups but I haven’t spent a lot of time looking at those this week either. The gist of it is that we’ve seen a few small pushes into the river per usual and I see that many of the “normal early holding spots” are producing a few hookups, but you could just as easily get blanked.

If anything, I’d say that we’re a bit behind most years with so much warm water, but that bodes well for a lasting season and the guys out deeper in the colder waters of Lake Michigan are doing great for the most part. (Jigging and trolling closer in appears to be hit and miss with the water temps as well.) Rest assured that we will be out there on the regular pretty much from here on out and we will report accordingly!

Days five and six were both back on the Naknek fishing primarily Silvers but mixed in with some Rainbows and more. (I did a very poor job of taking photos those days, but they were active!)

This was my personal “fish of the week.” A 30″ trophy caught out on my own in the evening from a smolt boil after a comedy of errors that really should have lost it! 🙄🤣😉
A huge thanks to Joshua Woltmann for racing down to help out or I wouldn’t have gotten a single good picture… (I did manage to land it solo however! 👍😎)

The shop is stocked up with everything you’ll need and even a few things you might just want so if you get a chance, stop by or give us a call. (We hope to continue to earn your support if you’ll give it to us.) Some great guide and motel dates are still available for Salmon season with a few cancellations on the books and some key fall Steelhead dates are open as well but are filling right up… Call (231) 745-3529 8am – 6pm daily for now to check on dates or to make that reservation.

I love that flight in and out of Anchorage on a clear day…
Jake at one of the important places to visit as a first-time visitor to Anchorage!

That’s pretty much all I’ve got for you right now. I’ll be spending the next couple of days doing what I should have been doing last week, just gearing up for the season and its game on shortly after that! Keep an eye on our reports right here for more frequent updates now as well as our social media pages.

Best of luck to everyone! -Steve-

 

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