Well as you all know by now, the Internet connection here is not all that good this year. So I am putting together a weeks worth of pics and vids together in this one post. The fishing is really good now, and the Pink Salmon are starting to show up in the lower river. This only means that the Silvers will be right on their tail fins. The amount of Sockeye entering the river is still staggering. The evening tides have brought in real good number from what I have observed in the boat. I have been on the river nearly everyday for the last 2 weeks, so I believe what I am seeing is correct. The King season is still closed, and will surely remain that way for the rest of the run. Even though we are not targeting Kings, there have been some incidental catches along the way. While throwing small spinners for Jack kings, (Any King Salmon under 20”), Dolly’s, and Pink’s, we have been lucky enough to have some large want to play the game. I was able to get some great underwater video’s of these monsters taking line, and making wakes. Hope you enjoy it all. If you have tried to use the E-mail button and have got no response, that is because it is not working properly. If you would like to comment or reach me, then use the comment button, this will reach my E-mail. The weather in Yakutat has been wet this July, but we are hoping that this will bring a mild September. Yakutat Lodge is gearing up for a busy August and September, so if you have a chance to get up here, now is the time to book a trip. Call them at 907-784-3232 and talk to either Ken or Kip Fanning about dates and times. We are Looking forward to seeing all the return, and new clients that we be here in the greatest place on earth, and most important, the best fishing there is in S.E Alaska.

Anderson and Ensel groups:

The Milam Family:

Stauffer group:

West and Stiles group:

Strange group:

Good luck out there

Flymstr;

Well last week I would have said this is the best place in AK to fish right now, but then the rain hit, and now the fish are shooting up river in a hurry. The water is on the drop, and I do expect it return to the good fishing we had, but it may be three or four days out. Hope to have better report in a couple of days.

Good luck out there

High Water Flymstr;

You could not ask for better fishing right now anywhere in Alaska. The fish are coming in big numbers, and they are pushing up the river at a good pace. If you are familiar with the place, then you will understand when I say, “Holy crap there are alot if fish at nine mile bridge!”. I think there are at least 1,500 to 2,000 thousand just in this one hole. Below the weir is “Sick” with fish. The water is boiling on every incoming tide. The King season is still closed, but I have seen big numbers in the last week, on the incoming tides. I have not seen that many above the weir though. Any incidental catches of Kings should be released unharmed if possible. Please don’t fight the fish till it is exhausted. Bring them in quick if you can, or just cut the line and let them go. The more kings we can save now, will enhance the system in the future. If you are cleaning your fish at the river, Please make sure you throw the carcasses and scraps all the way out into the main stream. If you don’t, then the bear you deal with the next time will be your doing. There is a 2 year old and larger bear working the area around the bridge, so please watch how you handle your catch, and don’t fight the bear for the fish, just let them have it if you are confronted. If you see the bears coming, then put your catch away immediately and stay away until the bear moves on. If you are fighting a fish, and a bear is coming towards you, then cut the line and walk away. Here are some vids from the bridge.

Good luck out there.

Flymstr;

Ok if you can stand to put up with this one, then you may see what you are looking for. I put my camera on the end of the line on my fly rod, and cast into the middle of a school of Sockeye. I got some real good shots, even though the current made it hard to get it steady. At one point I got it perfect on the bottom facing up, but I thought it was upside down, so i screwed it up trying to get it right. You will see that I pull it up at one point. I was done filming, when my buddy hooked one. So I threw the camera back in, but the knot to the camera had come loose when I brought it in the boat. So you will see the camera fall to the bottom and hit sand. It took about five minutes to retrieve it with a hook at the end of the fly pole. i removed most of this time in the video, but you will see what I mean. All in all I think it is not to bad. Tell me what you think. I am going to try to get some real good underwater Sockeye shot’s this season.

Good luck out there;

Flymstr;

Well the Reds have hit hard this week, and they are all the way to the bridge already. Looks like it is going to be a great season. I start on the river tomorrow, with several trips in a row, so the post’s should start being updated more frequently. They had a 327 pound Halibut the other day, “One big fish!”. Kings closed in the fresh water as of last night at 12:00 am, so that’s it for now in the river, but the bay is still producing Kings. We had a little rain the last couple days, so the water level is great for floating, and the clarity is perfect.Here are some great pics from the river and from the Ocean.

Halibut fishing has been great so far this year!

Good luck out there;

Flymstr;

Good luck out there

Flymstr;

Well the Sockeye are in the river, and the halibut in the ocean are biting, and also the kings in the bay are on the bite. All species are on the attack, and it’s time to show them who is boss around here. I have been out a few times this last week, but the Sockeye were still in the lower mile of the system. So this meant that we had to row for 13 miles, to be able to fish the last one. This is a bit of a grind, and those who have seen the river already, would prefer to just walk up to the fish, but the rain hit two days ago, and just finally stopped today. If the past shows us anything, this means that the Sockeye should have made a hue push up river. The Steelhead are virtually out of the picture now, and it looks like our final count may be under 6,500. That is pretty low from what I have seen in the past 10 years at the Yakutat Lodge.  Also I have been given the news that the King fishing is open in the river as of right now, and they will determine if it will stay open depending on the numbers through the weir. So far there have been some Kings already passing through the weir. I have some pics from the last couple times I went down, also some Halibut and Ling Cod pics.

Also some pics from our lost guide Ryan. He is down South catching Red fish!!!!  

Keep it it up bro. Good looking fish!

Good luck out there;

Flymstr;

Well the Steelhead are on their way out of the system, and are stacking up in the lower holes of the Situk. There are now about three holes that are holding around 300 fish, and a big school of a couple hundred just at the the weir. The females are on the bite big time right now, but they are still Steelhead, and sometimes they just won’t co-operate. With the Keller group, I just fished them above the forest service cabins / airstrip, (About 3 miles down river) and then I got into a plane and went to the Situk lake for the rest of the day, with other’s from the Keller group. We got two nice Steelhead at the top end, and then caught tons of Dolly Varden and Rainbow trout at the lake. Here are some pics from that day.

Paul and Clancy have graced the site many times in the past, and they were back for more. On the day we headed down the river, the sun was shining, and it was way to bright for the fish. We pounded the river hard all the way down for 11 miles. Finally we came across a real nice group of about fifty fish, and proceeded to pound on these fish with everything we had, and nothing. I could not take it anymore, and I said “Ok guys, it’s time to pull out the plugs!”. Well that was the ticket. In less than an hour, we hooked up with 14 fish, and landed 6 of them. That was the ending we needed to hard fished day. Overall we had a great time, and the finish was the best for all of us. I will see them again next year I am sure. Here are the pics.

Good luck out there.

Flymstr;

Another great group of guys to fish with. Internet is still down most of the time, so the posting will continue to be sporadic until that is fixed. The kelts are everywhere now, and the bite seems to be picking up a bit now. Water temps are good, but low and clear conditions are still hurting the fishing. Season is closing up, and the Sockeye are starting to show up in the river. Reports the other day, said a group came in, but then turned back around and went back out. Any day now it will hit hard, and the fishing will be good again. See ya all soon.

Good luck out there.

Aaron;

Well Situk lake did not completely live up to it’s former glory, but it still produced some great Steelhead, Rainbows, and Dolly Varden. The early spring caused the winter Steelies to head out earlier than normal this season. With out the ice on the lake, they felt the sun and got down fast. The spring fish on the other hand, came in early because of the early spring, and shot right up to their spawning grounds. So the lake suffered from all this early movement. The fish just did not stay up there long enough to really get into them good. Here are some great pics though from the times that did work out.

Good luck out there.

Flymstr;