As promised, I am going to get a little more into last week’s Alaskan adventure here…starting with the awesome diversity of species you can catch armed only with a spinning rod, rental car, a handful of lures and a healthy sense of adventure!
We obviously didn’t get our mitts on everything that swims around the island — not even close — but we did pretty well considering we had no access to a boat! Here’s a look at some of the critters we caught…
Silvers were, of course, atop the "desirables" list and we found some pretty sweet action on them after a big rain riased the rivers. Of course, a few found their way into our box!
The only way you couldn't catch some of the ever-present humpies (pink salmon) was to not fish at all. These fun little scrappers were everywhere!
While wandering the beaches prospecting for chrome humpies and early silvers, we also encountered several saltwater species, including greening...back in my Humboldt County days, these were the bomb as lingcod bait!
We also managed some flounder in the surf. I'm not sure what variety these guys were but we did see several nice-sized starry flounder...
Getting back to salmon for a minute, we caught a handful of these sweet-looking (and aptly named) red salmon. I told Ron I was going to Photoshop some kokanee lake into the background and make him a hero among landlocked sockeye fans!
Tiger-striped chums were also present in decent numbers. I've always thought these guys look cool when they're all barred up like this one.
We ended up catching 5 species of Pacific Salmon...without landing a king. I caught this odd-looking critter on the Buskin River which appears to be a hybrid...probably a Pinook Salmon.
Fish Stix time! While working some rocks with swimbaits, we ran into some other species including the tatsty but not-so-hard fighting Pacific Cod...
And who could forget this kooky-looking kritter that looked like a rock with fins!
In the tidal areas of creeks and the bays, we encountered plenty of sculpin or "bullheads." Just like most things in Alaska, these dudes were a lot bigger than the ones back home!
While strolling a beach one morning, I saw a bunch of seagulls crashing on a school of candlefish. So, figuring there might be some coho or halibut under the bait, I winged a spoon into the fray and...came away with a Puffin. Luckily, I had a single barbless hook and he was released to fight again!
Of course, "Alaskan Squawfish" were everywhere too. That's the funny thing about Alaska: Dollies from 2 to 5 pounds would be a hot gamefish just about anywhere else. There, however, dollies are barley considered more desireble that a carp!
tim says
I never heard of some of the salmon you mentioned. This is very interesting -thanks
CAL PICCOLO says
Goor read buddy, keep up the good work. Alway enjoy the site to waste time at work!
Tommy G. says
Awesome , pictures enough said thankyou for letting us live vicariously through your reads keep them coming bro…Tommy G.
JD says
Cool, thanks!
Richard from England says
Great pictures JD. I like the look of those Dollies, bet they would be good on a fly rod.
Was on the net last night, looking at the map of Kodiak. Can see the road system. All those lakes and rivers !!!