AKnook
Well-Known Member
I just obtained one of the best days on the water yesterday. I fish often, sometimes too much (is that possible?) and have taken my family with me in some trips but it has been five years since I have fished with just me and my wife. Today was the day that we would hit the water just the two of us.
I fish in bear infested areas literally every outing. I see them pretty frequently but for the last year and a half I hadn't come across one. Plenty of sign like tracks, scat and eaten salmon carcasses but not the actual bear. My wife is seriously scared of bears. Born and raised in AK and homesteading in the wilds she grew up around bears and watching her dad defend the cabin as multiple bears were trying to break in. Justified fear for sure. During the two hour drive to the river I remember I forgot my pistol. Well there is no way I'm turning around but I keep this tid bit to my self.
We get to the river and I park the truck. I'm excited and start pulling out all our gear. My wife is gearing up on the passenger side and I'm at the tail gate when a huge brown bear comes out of the woods near us. I tell her to get in the truck pretty sternly and the bear hearing me runs down the road at 35miles an hour I assumed. So freaking fast you would never guess a bear so fat could move so fast could. The bear heard us and saw me and ran away. Perfect bear encounter but it shook my wife up. Really ? Out of the countless days on the water I encounter one now? I had to calm my wife down and ensure we were alright and that once we get through the trail we would be on a gravel bar in the middle of the river with vast vantage points. Took a bit but we were soon making the trek over a hill to get to the river on the other side. The hill was littered with salmon carcasses brought there by bears. She pressed on and made it fine the rest of the hike.
It was hard teaching her to fly fish in this area as one needs to double haul to get the fly way out. Then you strip the fly in until you get a strike. She couldn't cast too far but stuck at it. I was proud thst she stuck to it and stood in freezing water with me.
I get the first hook up as I was instructing her where to cast and how to strip in fly line.
After about a half hour of her on her own next to me it happens. The water erupts near her. I'm stoked and try to keep my excitement in as I instruct her how to fight and land this dime bright coho. She let the line go slack twice and I thought she lost it but she stuck the fish good. She cast, striped line in, set the hook and landed her first coho on the fly!!
So proud of her.
Got a photo I have been wanting......
I was stripping streamers for cohos and caught a few incidental catches that were welcomed.
Awesome Saturday
I fish in bear infested areas literally every outing. I see them pretty frequently but for the last year and a half I hadn't come across one. Plenty of sign like tracks, scat and eaten salmon carcasses but not the actual bear. My wife is seriously scared of bears. Born and raised in AK and homesteading in the wilds she grew up around bears and watching her dad defend the cabin as multiple bears were trying to break in. Justified fear for sure. During the two hour drive to the river I remember I forgot my pistol. Well there is no way I'm turning around but I keep this tid bit to my self.
We get to the river and I park the truck. I'm excited and start pulling out all our gear. My wife is gearing up on the passenger side and I'm at the tail gate when a huge brown bear comes out of the woods near us. I tell her to get in the truck pretty sternly and the bear hearing me runs down the road at 35miles an hour I assumed. So freaking fast you would never guess a bear so fat could move so fast could. The bear heard us and saw me and ran away. Perfect bear encounter but it shook my wife up. Really ? Out of the countless days on the water I encounter one now? I had to calm my wife down and ensure we were alright and that once we get through the trail we would be on a gravel bar in the middle of the river with vast vantage points. Took a bit but we were soon making the trek over a hill to get to the river on the other side. The hill was littered with salmon carcasses brought there by bears. She pressed on and made it fine the rest of the hike.
It was hard teaching her to fly fish in this area as one needs to double haul to get the fly way out. Then you strip the fly in until you get a strike. She couldn't cast too far but stuck at it. I was proud thst she stuck to it and stood in freezing water with me.
I get the first hook up as I was instructing her where to cast and how to strip in fly line.
After about a half hour of her on her own next to me it happens. The water erupts near her. I'm stoked and try to keep my excitement in as I instruct her how to fight and land this dime bright coho. She let the line go slack twice and I thought she lost it but she stuck the fish good. She cast, striped line in, set the hook and landed her first coho on the fly!!
So proud of her.
Got a photo I have been wanting......
I was stripping streamers for cohos and caught a few incidental catches that were welcomed.
Awesome Saturday
