The Ivishak River 2003

When rains drove Chris and I from the Wulik in 2003, we turned Northeast towards the Ivishak River. Weather on the Ivishak was not cooperative either.  We had to land on the tundra about 20 miles upstream from where we wanted to be.

The Tundra Flat that we landed on was about 300 yards from the Upper Ivishak River.  We pitched the tent right next to the airplane and spent the night on the tundra. We were did not find any Char or Grayling this high up into the Brooks Range on the Ivishak River.

The following day dawned sunny and bright.  Following the advice of North Slope Guide Larry Rivers, we flew to a location downstream to the foothills of the Brooks Range (about 25 miles). We were able to find a beautiful pea gravel bar in the middle of the Ivishak upon which we landed and set up camp.

The Ivishak River is a much larger piece of water at its lower end.  In 2003, the water was a little higher than usual.  We found it a challenge to find locations to cross the river at this end.

We worked very hard to find any Char on this section of the river in 2003.  We eventually found a few and were each able to land a handful. This was one of very few Char that I was able to bring to the net in 2003.

Chris holds the very first Char that we were able to find on the Ivishak in 2003. All of the fish that we were able to catch in 2003 were of average size (about 26 inches).  We did see one fish that was well over 30 inches, but we were unable to get a good presentation to him.  Though not nearly as successful as most of my North Slope trips, this was still a great opportunity to get out and see this beautiful country.