The Ivishak River 2005

In August of 2005, Chris Pettine and I flew to the Ivishak River in our C180F.  Our friend and fellow AKANG Pilot Doug Bradbury flew his Citabria as well.  The performance differential between the two aircraft precluded us from flying in formation, however we timed our takeoff times to arrive at the river at roughly the same time. Doug has a beautiful airplane.  Just before our arrival at the Ivishak, Chris and I passed over Doug and took this photo.

From the vantage of his Citabria, Doug was able to take this photo of Chris and I in N2162Z as we prepare to land on a gravel bar on the Ivishak River. The Spring run-off from the Brooks Range must be fairly impressive.  Each year we have visited the Ivishak, we have found the features of the river completely changed from the previous years.  This year was no exception, so the gravel bar must be thoroughly scouted before attempting a landing.

We set up our camp in a grove of Willows about 100 yards from the river.  A spring right next to the camp provided water for our weeklong adventure. Doug and I prepare to head for the river on a bright, sunny day of about 65F.

Chris Pettine caught the largest fish on virtually every fishing trip in 2005.  This trip to the Ivishak River was no exception. This was the first large colorful male Char that Chris has caught.  This was a beautiful 30 inch fish.

Though Caribou hunting is not the primary goal of our trips to the Ivishak River, we are usually able to find a few cooperative animals to make the adventure a true Cast & Blast. In 2005, we found the Caribou plentiful.  We killed two Caribou on this trip.  A group of Caribou can be seen behind Chris in this photo with a young Caribou that he took.

The weather was absolutely beautiful for the first two days of our trip in 2005.  The afternoon temperatures were in the 60s. We thought it would be very funny to take a photo of the three of us fishing in the buff in the warm weather.  Do you recognize anyone?

The weather on the North Slope can change very quickly.  The following morning we awoke to wind, snow and 25F temperatures. We decided to take this photo to show the contast of the weather from one day to the next.  The rest of our trip was cold and windy.

It was a constant battle to keep the ice out of the guides of my 7WT.  Even the reel froze up on me a few times.  A quick dip in the river would provide temporary relief from the ice. Dressed warmly, I display a nice male Char that I caught on the standard Egg-Sucking Leech.

This is one of the best fishing photos that I have ever taken.  Doug is holding a very brightly colored male of 28 inches.  A close look reveals the ice on the fins of this beautiful fish. These Char tend to hold together.  In 2005, we walked up and down the river about one mile either side of this deep hole right next to our camp.  We found only about half a dozen fish outside of this spot.