The Wulik River 2007

In 2007, I took my Son, McKinley in my Cessna 180F and Douglas Bradbury took his Brother-in-Law, Bryan Carson in his Citabria and we flew up to the far northwest corner of Alaska to the Wulik River. Here the Aircraft sit on a beautiful Fall Morning along the banks of the Wulik River.

The Wulik River is renowned for the LARGE Arctic Char which migrate from the Bering Sea to spawn in it's flows. The biggest Char are not easy to find and quite difficult to catch.  However, there are generally plenty of wintering Char in the 20 - 27 inch range.  I am showing a typical wintering Char.

There are several other species that we have encountered historically on the Wulik River.  This year was no different. This is one of the largest Sockeye Salmon that I have ever caught.  There aren't many in the Wulik River, but for whatever reason, these Wulik River Sockeye Salmon are the most aggressive I have encountered.  This big guy came about 15 feet to smash my Egg-Sucking Leech.

There are also some of the largest Arctic Grayling I have seen on the Wulik River.  The Wulik River is the only place I have personally seen that yields 20 inch Arctic Grayling. Here Mack is getting ready to release about a 16 inch Grayling.

In the past, we have seen King, Sockeye, Silver and Chum Salmon in the Wulik River.  In addition, there are Arctic Grayling and, of course, the Dolly Varden Char. Doug is holding about an 18 inch Arctic Grayling that he caught on... none other than the Egg-Sucking Leech.

This is one of my favorite fishing pictures of Mack.  He is struggling to control this BIG, toothy Chum Salmon that he has caught right next to the Airplanes. This was the first trip that I had taken Mack by himself.  I really enjoyed having him.  He has told me how this trip was special to him.

The Wulik River has a unique beauty to it that I have not found on other rivers in Alaska.  It truly is one of my favorite locations.  I suppose part of that attraction is the extreme remoteness of the area. This is a photo Doug took of me fishing a riffle in the evening light.

Of course, the reason we come here is the hope that we might catch one of the large spawning Char that can be found in the Wulik River.  As I have stated, they aren't easy to find and even harder to catch... Bryan Carson caught the best fish of this trip.  This beautiful Male was 31 inches long.  It was a happy and proud moment for Bryan.  Amazing fish!

Mack did not find his luck with any of the large Char.  But, he did lay the hammer down on a large school of Chum Salmon and accompanying Arctic Grayling that were right by where we parked the Airplanes. Mack and I will share the memories of this trip to the Wulik River for our entire lives.  Hopefully, there are many, many more trips like this for Mack and I in the coming years.

This is a nice photo of Doug Bradbury flying off in his Citabria after a few days on the Wulik River. Doug and I have seen much of Alaska together over the years.  He recently bought a House down in Bristol Bay.  Hopefully, we will see some more adventures in our retirements.