The Naknek River 2013

In 2013, my rotation to Afghanistan allowed me to visit the King Salmon area in both the Spring and the late Fall.   In early April, John and Walker Hamilton flew out to King Salmon in my C180F for a shot at Rainbow Trout prior to the river closure. This photo of beautiful Mount Iliamna was taken on our way to King Salmon from Anchorage.  Note the plume of steam still venting from the Volcano.

The weather did not cooperate very well with us in April of 2013.  A bitter Cold Front blew in the night after we arrived.  Temperatures dropped to 19F, and the North Wind blew 20 - 25 Knots throughout the four days we fished. Walker demonstrates the brutal cold that we endured to fish the Naknek on this trip.  Though we did catch a few fish, we didn't catch many, and we had to work very hard for each of them.

I was only able to bring in a handful of fish on this trip.  One day, I found a pocket of Dolly Varden (18 - 22 inches).  But, I don't think I caught more than two Rainbow Trout on any day of the trip.  I believe I caught NOTHING on two days. This is a beautiful 28-inch Rainbow Trout that I caught in the bitter cold.  It was the only large fish that I caught.

It would really be a stretch to call this fishing trip "fun".  I was a constant battle to keep ice out of the guides, off the line and prevent the reel from freezing. Walker Hamilton is as tough as they come, when it comes to enduring poor conditions.  He kept working right to the bitter end.  Here is a nice Dolly Varden that he was able to bring to hand.

As has been typical of John on the Naknek River lately, he was able to find the largest fish of the trip.  But, he didn't catch many either. This fish was 30 inches long and was the only large fish that John caught on the trip.

In October 2013, I had just returned from another trip to Afghanistan.  John and I visited the Naknek River again.  Walker was unable to accompany us on this trip. Though conditions were better than we had encountered in April, it was still a pretty tough trip.  It wasn't nearly as cold, but the wind was howling.  This is a nice 24 inch Rainbow Trout that I was able to find.

I didn't catch very many fish, and these were the only two fish that I caught that exceeded much over 20 inches. This 26 inch Rainbow Trout was caught at the hole I call Three Rock.

On the last day that we fished the Naknek River, we fished the hole known as Shawback's Cabin last.  Standing right next to me, John immediately hooked a strong, powerful fish that took him downstream about 200 yards. This was a beautiful chrome-colored Rainbow Trout that measured 31 inches.

Within five minutes of releasing the 31 inch fish, John hooked another big fish!  He is beginning to get on my nerves! He landed this 29 inch male in the same back-eddy he landed the previous fish.  The Naknek River has been very kind to John!