 |
|
Mystic Waters Fly fishing - News, Reports and Articles
|
|
|
|
Stacy and I finally shook off winter and got out on some water. While Stacy was floating a stretch of the Kenai with some friends of mine, I was fishing in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison River in Colorado. Stacy says he landed a lifetime sized rainbow. I caught lots of 18" fish on size 20 flies. We both had great days on Mystic Waters.
|
|
|
Larry Gough of Anchorage caught this beautiful rainbow on June 7 last year. Stacy must have caught something like this.
|
|
|
Mid May to Early June:
King Salmon arrive on the Lower Kenai and Kasilof Rivers. The search for trophy trout on the Lower Kenai begins. Last season, we caught a number of fish in the 30” range and many over 24”.
Highlights: Kings or big beautifully colored Rainbows. It is prime time to catch a big trout on a streamer.
June 11 to late June:
The Upper Kenai fishing season opens. Rainbows will be hungry. Sockeye Salmon have been running strong by the opening for the past three years. The 2002 season was a record breaker. We hope to have another great early sockeye run. The Sockeye run usually tapers off by late June.
Highlights: Sockeye run anticipated to be excellent. Early run Sockeye are chrome bright and full of fight. Rainbow fishing can be fair to excellent depending on the day. Some dollies are present and they are eager.
Late June to Mid July:
As the Sockeye run tapers, the trout become top dogs again. Rainbows continue feeding on remaining salmon flesh, juvenile salmon and bugs (primarily caddis).
Highlights: Chasing rainbows! More dollies begin to appear.
Mid July to Mid August:
The second run of Sockeye Salmon begin moving through in groups starting about July 10 with the run building in volume later in the month. Some King Salmon begin spawning and the egg bite will happen wherever we find them.
Highlights: Second run Sockeye are large tackle busters. Rainbow fishing can be excellent and large dollies become common.
Mid August to September 20:
The feast is on. Kings are spawning and the egg bite is on. Sockeye begin spawning and the trout fishing jumps up several notches. Silver Salmon arrive and become great combatants.
Highlights: Lots of trout and dolly action! Silvers on streamers!
Late September to Early October:
The spawning season has peaked, but the spoils can keep trout fishing strong. Most of the Sockeye Salmon are done spawning and the river wide egg bite slows down a bit as trout begin feeding on flesh. We target specific areas and sometimes have our best shots at big trout and richly colored dollies.
Highlights: Beautiful fall colors, big rainbows and dollies, it is simply a magical time to fish Alaska!
|
|
|
Many guests from the 2002 season have already rebooked for 2003. If you are planning a return, please contact me soon as prime dates are filling up.
Email Fred
|
|
|
|
Stacy Corbin is building a beautiful cabin that will be available for rent on his new Kenai Lake property. According to Stacy, it will be the best accommodation in Cooper Landing. Many Mystic Waters guests are already signed up to stay there. As soon as the cabin is complete, we’ll get a picture online.
|
|
|
|
It started out with a bang in late May with Mystic Waters guests catching some fantastic rainbows on the Lower Kenai. There are truly some exceptional fish to be found below Skilak Lake and throughout the lower river. Ask Gordon Enk, who caught more than a dozen rainbows from 24-29” one June morning.The Upper Kenai opened on June 11 and the Russian River Sockeye came rolling in, soon building to record levels. Anglers wanting fresh chrome sockeye were seldom disappointed. The resulting by-product of angler killed salmon carcasses provided the rainbows with a big early season protein boost. Flesh flies became the mainstay for rainbows in June and July. By July 12, the second run sockeye came flooding into the Upper Kenai. On peak days, guests were landing 5-10 fish per hour. Usually, several hours of Sockeye fishing was enough and most guests were eager to chase trout for the remainder of the day. Silver Salmon made a big showing in mid August. Stripping “Egg Sucking Leeches” and “Can Openers” brought many bright silvers to hand. Silvers kept coming through mid September and maturing fish remained in the slow runs and stayed feisty through the month. While we never spent full days chasing silvers, guests enjoyed the added bonus of catching silvers on the fly in addition to experiencing peak trout and dolly action.While fighting powerful salmon on a fly rod is a blast, chasing rainbows is the main game at Mystic Waters. Trout fishing really picked up in August as Kings began dropping eggs. By mid month, the sockeye began spawning along with the kings. Trout and dolly fishing was fantastic all down the river. In early September, things changed. There were so many sockeye salmon in the river; it was tough to keep them off the line. Correspondingly, there were millions of eggs available as natural trout food. The resulting conditions changed our approach, but did not keep anglers from catching good numbers of fish. By mid September, the red tide of spawning sockeye began to subside and trout fishing again got hot through most of the river. Fishing remained excellent into early October. Late in the season, we witnessed trout and dollies with impressive girths. Many fish had humping backs and bulging bellies. We expect to see some excellent growth in our trout from this season and hope to see similar numbers of sockeye in-river in coming years. Beyond the fishing, I can easily say that in fourteen years of guiding, I have never hosted a better bunch of anglers then in 2002. Many of you are of course becoming old friends, but all of you who were new to us, were a pleasure to share our “Mystic Waters” with. Hope to see you in 2003.
|
|
|
Late last fall, after my guiding season had finally ended, Stacy and I decided to explore a side channel. We had been eying it all season. The river had been cutting into it steadily for several years. It looked like prime habitat was waiting. Now, with low water and a full day on our hands, it was time for a long explore. We fished our way down from the top, noting some major bear sign. The reason was soon clear. More sockeye remained spawning here than anywhere else on the main river. As we had hoped, the trout knew about it.
They were wild fish. Not expecting to be caught and feeling exposed in some of the shallower riffles, they took flight. Sometimes we landed them and sometimes they found sanctuary in the logjams and sweepers. It was my favorite kind of fishing, exploration, success and fun in a new place. The desire to know what was next kept us going farther and farther into the maze. Before long, we could not wade the channel, because of logjams and deep holes. I took to the woods and followed the bear’s trails. At one point, as I was reaching for purchase to cross a fallen log, I put my hand in something.
I tried to wash it in the river, I tried to scrub it in sand and mud and leaves. When we got back in the boat and continued our float down the main river Stacy noticed it. My hand was fouled. It was bad. I showered as soon as I got back to the cabin. I scrubbed my hand with antibacterial soap until the skin was raw. Feeling that I was purified, I dressed and met Stacy for dinner at the Kenai Grill. The scent came back. It was hiding in my skin. The bears left me a reminder that the channel was theirs, wild and a little bit grubby. I can’t wait to go back.
|
|
|
I have developed a great relationship with a fly shop in Colorado called Western Anglers. If you are looking for any new gear, contact me, as I may be able to help you out at a good price. In addition to hosting three group trips to Alaska with Mystic Waters, Western Anglers travels to other worldwide destinations, including Belize. It is my future goal to begin hosting some winter trips. Please let me know if you are interested in the possibility of joining a small group of fly-fishers heading to a unique destination.
Remember that Mystic Waters will tie you a batch of flies for your next Alaska fishing trip or for other destinations for that matter. Just contact Fred if you are interested.
Get your Mystic Flies
|
|
|
