The Kulik River 2011

In September 2011, John and Walker Hamilton and I flew out to share the Kulik River with the Bears for a few days. N2162Z tied up at the Gravel Strip overlooking the Kulik River.  This is where we camped.

The Kulik River is a very short river (only about 1 1/4 miles) that runs between Kulik and Nonvianuk Lakes. The scenery in the area is spectacular and the water crystal clear.

Besides the beautiful Rainbow Trout that are in abundance on the Kulik River.  The river is also a favorite destination of Brown Bears. This Brownie was as curious about us as we were about him.  In general, the Bears on the Kulik River pretty much ignore the Fishermen.

John holds a typical Kulik River Rainbow Trout.  These fish are not HUGE, but the average is very respectable.  Though I have never caught a Fish over 26 inches on the Kulik River, there are abundant 18 - 22 inch Fish. In 2011, the water was quite high.  This made the fishing a little tougher than I found in 2011.

Walker Hamilton is becoming a fairly accomplished Fly Fisherman.  Walker caught quite a few nice Rainbow Trout during the three days that we were there. Another typical 20 inch Rainbow Trout from the Kulik River.

I managed to find a few, as well.  Though I like to use my Big Black Streamers, this Rainbow Trout was the victim of a large Articulated Flesh-Fly. Many of the Rainbow Trout in the Kulik River can be seen behind Sockeye Salmon.  They pick up the stray eggs.  In addition, they aggressively feed on the scraps of flesh that are left over from the Bears.

The Bears chase down the Sockeye Salmon fairly efficiently.  Oftentimes, they dine right in the river.  The Rainbow Trout will be swirling around this Bear's feet as chunks of flesh fall into the river. This is a nice photo of Walker fishing with the Bears.  They will come floating by in search of an easy Sockeye to prey upoon.

This is a great photo of John with a nice Rainbow Trout that he caught on one of my Black and Blue Leeches. Though we certainly never had any huge days in 2011, the Kulik River is capable of producing 50+ Trout days, with fish between 18 - 22 inches and occasionally larger.

John was able to crack the code on catching Rainbow Trout using a Deer Hair Mouse on the Kulik in 2011. This technique was a blast.  The Fish would miss about 75% of the time, but the swirls and smacks were incredible to see.

I had to beg John into giving me one of his Deer Hair Mouse Patterns.  I then proceeded to catch three or four nice Rainbow Trout by swimming it across the surface.  I missed several others.  This is a very entertaining technique! This Rainbow Trout represents the largest I caught on the Deer Hair Mouse.