A really fishy dude and a really chrome Dolly.
Photo: Cameron Miller
Besides the salmon and the leopard rainbows that are usually targeted while fishing in Alaska, we have a whole lot of fun fishing for Dolly Varden.
Dolly Varden and Arctic Char are really closely related in this part of Alaska. So closely related, in fact, that the Alaska Fish and Game biologist responsible for them thinks we\’ve got both in our river. They have complex life histories and in our neck of the woods =they\’re indistinguishable without a genetic test…we tend to call them all ‘dollies\’ regardless but we know for sure they\’re a ton of fun to catch.
Most of these dollies spawn multiple times. They run up the Kanektok pretty much all summer long, with a number of noticeable \’sub runs\’ overlapping and containing fish of different shapes, sizes and colors. In general they\’re chrome with a slight green tint when they enter the river, and some in their spawning phases turn the wacky circus colors that led to dollies near the spawn being called ‘clowned up\’.
Dolly the Clown.
Photo: Cameron Miller
They sometimes eat flesh and streamers, but most of our time spent targeting dollies involves fishing beads. Fishing your 5 weight on a productive dolly flat is a whole heck of a lot of fun. Some sections of river have an almost uncountable number of fish. The action is fun, fast-paced and easy!
If you find yourself on the Kanektok one of these years, make sure to spend some time fishing lightweight gear for dollies. You\’ll be glad you did.
See the original article at GotHunts.com
Tags: alaska-fishing, cameron-miller, dolly varden, dolly-the-clown, fishing, kanektok, linkedin, river, time
by Deneki Outdoors
Pretty cool, actually. Photo: Cameron Miller
True, not many anglers head to Alaska specifically to target pink salmon. That\’s OK though – we still think they\’re pretty awesome fish. Here\’s why.
- Every other year there are billions of them. OK, not billions, but on even-numbered years on the Kanektok, our pink numbers are very, very large.
- They eat poppers. Find ‘em where they\’re fresh, and they\’re more than happy to eat surface flies, and surface flies for salmon are cool.
- They\’re a ton of fun on a 6 weight. It may not be a big-game experience, but fishing a lighter-weight rod can be a nice break when you\’ve spent most of your week pulling on the big boys.
- They make a great shore lunch. Pinks don\’t keep well in your freezer over the winter, but on the bank of the river, just minutes from swimming, they\’re awfully delicious.
- They\’re great for kids. We love hosting family groups, and pinks are ‘friends of the family\’! Easy to hook and fun to fight, but not too heavy or powerful…perfect.
- Their metamorphosis is pretty amazing. All salmon change physically when they enter fresh water, but a pink\’s Jekyll and Hyde transition from silver and slender to pink, toothy and humpbacked is just a neat natural thing to witness.
See the original article at GotHunts.com
Tags: cameron-miller, deneki-outdoors, facebook, family, fishing, international, kanektok, linkedin, river, winter
