Fishing The Kulik River in September 2010

On a blustery day in September, 2010, Kent Owens and I flew in my Cessna 180F from King Salmon to the Kulik River.  I had been hearing good reports from the clear flowing stream, so we wanted to check it out. The Kulik River is a small stream that flows about 1 1/2 miles from Kulik Lake to Nonvianuk Lake. Kent and I landed on the large gravel Airstrip that is about a 2 mile walk from the river.  We are posing here on the bluff overlooking Kulik Lake (headwaters of the Kulik River).

Kent and I each tangled with a couple of nice Rainbow Trout that first evening.  We didn't spend much time, but quickly found that the Kulik River is an ideal destination. We did not find any really large fish, but several in the 20 - 22 inch range.

We weren't the only ones fishing on the Kulik River, by a long shot.  I have never seen so many Bears in one location in my life.  They were everywhere feeding on Sockeye Salmon. This Sow and her Cub are watching me carefully as I fish just off-shore from them.

I believe this fish that Kent caught was the largest of that first evening. This is about a 23 inch Rainbow Trout.  These are the heavily spotted Leopard Rainbow Trout of Bristol Bay.

On that first evening, I was also able to catch a decent Lake Trout.  This fish is about 20 inches. I have not heard of large Lake Trout on the Kulik River, but I have heard of abundant Lake Trout during certain times of the year (Smolt Migration).

A few days after that first exploratory trip, I dropped a group of Friends to fish on the Kulik River for a couple of days. Spencer Reynolds shows the results of his efforts on the Kulik on a little better day than the first day I visited.

Ted Bryant and John Hamilton pose for a double of 20 inch Rainbow Trout.  Most of their success was found using a Bead behind the spawning Sockeye Salmon. All of these guys caught several nice Rainbow Trout in the 18 - 22 inch range, with a couple of them pushing about 24 inches.

These spawning Sockeye Salmon are fairly thick in the Kulik River.  This is what attracts the Bears, and also the Rainbow Trout. These Sockeye Salmon can be fairly aggressive, and will often take whatever Streamer is being thrown at the Rainbow Trout.

This is a beautiful example of the Leopard Rainbow Trout found in the Kulik River.  This fish is about 21 inches. These heavily-spotted fish are in terrific shape!  There is not nearly the pressure on this pristine stream as on other locations I have fished in Alaska.

While fishing the Kulik River, I noticed a Mama Bear and three Cubs sneak along the bank behind me. These beautiful little Cubs looked like you could just walk right up and pet them.  I didn't seem to bother them at all.

While Mama and one of the Cubs kept walking along the bank, the other two decided to come play around in the water right at my feet. I kept waiting for this Sow to give me the Evil Eye, but she didn't seem to mind at all.  I was a little nervous.

These two just wandered around me.  Not really checking me out, they seemed to be interested in everything around me - but, not me. They sure were beautiful little Bears.

This guy really wanted to push the envelope.  He waded out in front of me, placing me between me an his Mother - who may have seemed nonchalant, but I didn't like the position. I slowly backed away from the river and made a clear path between Mother and Cub.

I found a couple of very nice Rainbow Trout the evening I came to pick up my Friends.  This is one of the better fish that I caught that evening. My Black and Blue Leech seems to be pretty effective on these Bristol Bay Rainbow Trout.

John showing a nice fish that he caught using a large Black Leech. John and I have been fishing together many times since this trip.

Jade Beam is a Pilot in the AKANG.  Although he joined the 168th ARW after I retired, I was on the Board that selected him as a member of the Unit. Jade had a great couple of days on the Kulik.  He and Ted (who is also a Pilot in the AKANG - Anchorage) have returned a few times to the Kulik River in their shared Cessna 180.