The Kiklukh River 2003

Alaska Guide George Davis provided us with some information about a small stream called the Kiklukh River.  The Kiklukh is about 75 miles East of Cordova (about 20 miles West of the Tsiu River).  George told us of a small strip he had cut along the river some years back. This photo shows me making my second landing along the Kiklukh River in N2162Z.

This "strip" ended up being a little rougher than I had anticipated.  It wasn't much wider than the wheel-base of the airplane, but we got in and out without incident.

The Kiklukh River is a small stream, but there are good numbers of Silver Salmon and the river gets very little pressure (there is one Lodge that operates on the river).   This photo of Steve fighting a Silver Salmon also provides a perspective of the intimate nature of the stream.

The Kiklukh River seemed to have larger Silver Salmon on average than the other rivers we fished in 2003.  I taped one Silver at 34 inches. Scott holds up a big, bright Buck he caught on the Kiklukh.

Though the numbers of Silver Salmon on the Kiklukh River were not anything close to what we saw on the Tsiu River, there were plenty of fish to keep us interested. Steve and Randy pose for a double Silver Salmon photo-op.

Not all of the Silvers we caught on the Kiklukh River were huge. Here I pose with the tiniest Silver Salmon that I have ever seen.

We had wanted to try a technique we had all read about using Top-Water Flies to take Silver Salmon.  We used variations of the Pink Pollywog in this attempt. We found moderate success when fishing to Silvers holding in somewhat slack water.  Here I am stripping in my "Wog" over a group of Silvers.

There were a few Pink Salmon in the Kikluk River as well.  Surprisingly, we found they were quite willing to come up for the Pink Pollywog as well.  In addition to Pink Salmon, we also found a few small Steelhead and quite a few Coastal Cutthroat. This is a Humpy that Randy caught on a Pink Pollywog.

Another Pink Salmon taken on the Pink Pollywog.  This fly is fished much like a Bass Popper.  The fly is stripped noisily across the water over holding Salmon. Often times the fish will follow the fly with an unnerving wake before striking.  The anticipation of the strike is quite the thrill when a large snout appears behind the fly.

Though the top-water presentation was not nearly as effective as the standard Egg-Sucking Leech, the satisfaction of luring a large Silver Salmon to the surface was well worth the effort. Tyler works a group of Silvers with a Pollywog.

At the mouth of the Kiklukh River the Silvers were holding in the salt water (Gulf of Alaska) waiting for the high tide to enter the river. Steve shows a fresh Silver Salmon that he pulled from the salt before it had entered the river.

By September, the days have shortened to about 12 hours.  It creates an almost relaxing repreive from the days of Summer where fishing 20 hours straight can be the norm. A beautiful sunset at the mouth of the Kiklukh River.