Tag: guide talk

On our last evening at the Alaska West tent camp on the Kanektok River (AK), we had a chance to sit down with all of the fly fishing guides for our “Guide Talk”.   We’d never done a “talk” with this many guides at one time, but we had so much fun!

Unfortunately, we had some audio problems (a drained microphone battery) that caused the end of the “talk” to be inaudible.  We’ve edited the video, enhanced some of the video and captioned some parts that hopefully help.

Even with this audio issue, the “talk” was one of our favorites of our entire “River Ramble”.  We had such an amazing time fishing the Kanektok River with these guys and are planning to go back.  For now, please enjoy this video highlighting the guides, the river and how to fish it.

When we first saw the Kenai River, we were amazed at the blue color we saw.  It was absolutely breathtaking.   As for fishing, we found out there are several “sections” we could fish.  While we were on the Peninsula, we fished three of them, all in the “Upper” area, fishing from Kenai Lake to Sportsman’s; Sportsman’s to Jim’s Landing; and the amazing section through the Canyon.  There were eagles everywhere lining the banks of the river.

Fishing with Stacy Corbin, the founder, owner and head guide for Mystic Rivers Fly Fishing, was a real treat.  Stacy was really excited to show us the section through the canyon, so off we went, putting in at Sportsman’s and floating downstream, through the canyon, ending up in Skilak Lake.

We stopped on a small gravel bar in the canyon section for lunch and our “Guide Talk” with Stacy.  We had a very special guest along with us who fished behind us as we chatted about fishing the Kenai…. how to fish it…. when to fish it… and what species can be targeted.  Stacy knows this river better than anyone and we were really lucky to have fished it with him.  We can’t wait to go back to the Kenai Peninsula to fish with Stacy and to chase “Walter” and “Wanda” again.  For now, we know you’ll enjoy our conversation with Stacy, as well as some great pictures/videos, including our special guest.

The Russian River, near Cooper Landing (AK) is another of the Trout Unlimited Top 100 Trout Streams.  We had the great pleasure of fishing the Russian with Matt Marchand of Alaska Troutfitters.  Matt gave us a great introduction to the river, essentially walking upstream from the Pink Salmon parking lot, all the way to where we hit a ton of salmon anglers just below the falls.  We fished every hole that was void of other anglers, catching beautiful rainbow trout along the way.  Of course, we also encountered bears who were feasting on some of the sockeye salmon carcasses that anglers upstream had tossed into the river.  Turns out when an angler catches a sockeye, the recommended practice is to filet it immediately and toss the remnants, cut into small pieces, into the river.  This attracts the bears of course.  We came to understand that one side of the river was for people, the other for the bears.  As long as all kept to their sides, things were fine.  We did meet a couple who’d been sockeye fishing on the “wrong” side for humans, and had a bear encounter.  They were shaken by the experience, as we’d have been too!

We sat down with Matt on a Kenai River dock to discuss fishing the Russian River, including best flies, best ways to fish it and why the Russian is so special.   We hope you enjoy our Russian River Ramble with Matt Marchand.

Our “Guide Talk” with the Intricate Bay Lodge guides was an epic one.  In this case, we had 5 different guides during our week at IBL and rather than interview them separately, we decided to do just one big, fun “talk” with them all.  What this did was make what is normally an 8-10 minute video into a 39 min video.  I know, it’s long, but ohhhhhhh is it worth it.  So to help you view the video, we’ve segmented the video so you can jump to those sections you might enjoy immediately.  We hope you’ll watch the entire video, however, as the amazing, hilarious guides we’d had tell stories, share ideas and give great fishing info.  If you’d like to watch the entire video at once, click here.  Otherwise….
Meet all five of our guides (and pilot “T-Bird”) as they share their background information and first guiding experience.  They came from all corners of the US (and world) including Wyoming, Maine, Alaska, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Patagonia.  We even had a power outage during introductions to remind us we were “off the grid” at IBL.
The Copper River is the “home water” for IBL as it’s only a short, but erm… what’s the right word?…. intriguing?… surprising?… unnerving?… stimulating?…. “ride” on a jet boat from the lodge across Intricate Bay, Lake Iliamna.  Chace Booth, head guide at IBL explains what makes this stream so very special.
We fished 5 different streams in the area, two that fed into Lake Iliamna (Copper & Gibraltar) and three inside Katmai National Park (Moraine Creek, Battle Creek, Alagnak).  The guides pick their favorites and explain why in each case.  Our favorites were….. stay tuned 🙂
A question we always as our guides is the “One Fly” question.  If you only had one fly to fish the river, what would it be.  We knew the two we’d fished most all week with them, but it was interesting to hear their take on it.  Make sure to watch if you’re wanting to fill your fly box in advance of your trip to fish these streams.  Also, we found out that BEARS enter into this discussion in a most interesting way.
A favorite of ours to ask our guides is what kinds of crazy questions their clients ask.  Chace jumps in on this one with one of the questions we’ve heard repeatedly along our River Ramble…. “Why did I lose that fish?”  His answer is most enlightening and comforting.
We saw 8 – 10 bears on a daily basis while fishing the area streams.  We were briefed a bit on day one by our guides, but it really doesn’t prepare you for the reality when a bear jumps into the hole you’re getting ready to fish and proceeds to fish it and then walk right over to the gravel bar you’re sitting on.  It does however beg another crazy question.  Watch to see and hear all the ways our guides…um…. “deal” with such situations.. including the “Alaska Insurance Policy”.
Not sure how to explain this, but listen to this segment to hear how Evan helps his guests have a great experience while at IBL.
Another of our favorite questions seeings as we always try and sample what’s “local”.  However, when you’re at a remote lodge, local is a relative thing.  T-Bird even hooks up Evan with a classic.
If you’re going to go all the way to Alaska to fish, you want to maximize your time with your guides on the water.  Listen while the IBL guides share their best tips on how to make sure you get the most of your Alaska fishing experience.  Their tips are valid for any destination fishing trip you might take.
Barb and I can tell you why we loved the lodge, the meals, etc…. but the biggest reason is the guides and the feeling of a family fishing trip you get.  Hear the guides perspectives as our “Guide Talk” concludes.
Our time at IBL was incredible special.  Keep rechecking our blog site for more posts from our time at IBL and our other stops from our “30 Days in Alaska” ramble.

When we originally planned our trip and saw where Grand Lake Stream was located, we really weren’t sure what to expect because it’s in a fairly remote part of Maine with no campgrounds.  We booked a cabin along the “Canal” at Canal Side Cabins with John and Mary Arcaro.   John is a Master Maine Registered Guide, which is an official designation for Maine guides.  John is a “Master” because he holds guide certifications in fishing, hunting and recreation.  It turns out there are written tests, interviews and experience that factor into getting Maine guide certifications in each area.

When we told people we were headed to Grand Lake Stream to fish the river of the same name, we heard things like:  that’s really “out there”; there are 82 residents and over 50 are guides; and, make sure you go to the Pine Tree Store.  We turned off US 1 onto the one road that leads into Grand Lake Stream and drove about 10 miles to an intersection in town.  There are only 5 streets in Grand Lake Stream, all of which are dead ends.  In the middle of town sits the Pine Tree Store, which is part general store, part gas station and part diner.

When we booked the cabin with John and Mary, John told us he had a spot to park our RV while we stayed in the Spruce Cabin at Canal Side Cabins.  Our cabin was absolutely perfect for us as we settled in and got ready to fish the next day with John.

We met John around 8am and headed for a spot behind the fish hatchery in town and began our day on the Stream.  I was fishing a caddis pattern when I decided to mend my line and POW, a fish attacked my fly.  I set the hook, had a big, landlocked salmon on, and after a short battle, he broke me off.  I just shrugged as I looked over at John and Barb, who were looking out at the water and laughing.  What I didn’t realize was the fish thought it was still hooked because it still had my fly in his mouth, and was putting on an aerial display.  Barb and John had a good laugh since I never saw it.

We fished several different holes and spots along the Stream during the day, and for lunch, John took us to the counter at the Pine Tree Store.   After lunch, we landed some smaller landlocked salmon and had such an incredible time fishing, learning tips/techniques from John and listening to the most hilarious stories you can imagine.  John had us in stitches all day long.

The next night, we went to John and Mary’s home near our cabin, shared a beer or two and did our “Guide Talk” with John.  John and Mary are the most friendly, hospitable and fun people you could ever meet.  We get a lot of our guides saying “won’t you adopt us and take us with you on your ‘Ramble'”,  but for Barb and I, we wanted John and Mary to adopt us and let us hang out with them in Grand Lake Stream.

We will certainly be back to fish GLS again, and for sure, stay at Canal Side Cabins, fish with John, and share more time with John and Mary.  For now, we hope you enjoy a very funny and informative chat we had with John in the basement of their home.

 

We met our guide for the day, Matt Dahl from The Fly Shop in Redding, at the Chevron at the Castella exit off I-5.  We’d already fished with Matt over on Hat Creek and were looking forward to another day with him on another river.  After a quick discussion about where to fish, we headed off to Dunsmuir, CA, to a local park with several plaques commemorating anglers who’d made contributions to the community and to the sport.  One of the biggest names in fly fishing in this area is Ted Fay, a master fly fisherman and guide.  A fly shop in Dunsmuir still bears his name.

While the park in Dunsmuir was beautiful, one look at the cascading waters of the Upper Sacramento, or Upper Sac as it’s known, told us all we needed to know;  don’t fish here, but, if you do, don’t step into the water for fear of getting swept away.  We quickly decided to look for another spot on the Upper Sac we might approach.  Down I-5 we went to the Sims exit, out by some railroad tracks, and we found the same situation, a raging river.

At this point, Matt indicated that finding fishable water on the Upper Sac was going to be difficult, so we headed down to Redding to fish the Lower Sacramento.   Matt went and grabbed his drift boat and we met him at the famous Sundial Bridge.  After getting our steelhead licenses (no we weren’t fishing for steelhead but because steelhead might be in the river we had to get them), we oared our way out into the Lower Sac that was flowing pretty fast itself, at 13,000 cfs.  It wasn’t anything you’d want to try and wade into, but in a drift boat, it was safe and we were off.

Nymph fishing was the order of the day on the Lower Sac, so with a 3 fly rig, we starting searching for the big rainbows the Lower Sac is known for.  Luckily, we found a few along the way and had a great day fishing with Matt.

Our interview with Matt was done right on the banks of the river with the Sundial Bridge in the background, along with some wind and noisy horses.  We hope you enjoy our interview with Matt on fishing the Sacramento.  We even tried to coax him into revealing some of his favorite “nunya” streams, but to no avail.  Cheers Matt!

Ramble On

When we first arrived in Northern California, we drove out to the location we were going to meet our guide for the Fall River.  We were meeting him at Glenburn Church just outside Fall River Mills, CA.   Many of the fields were flooded, but not because of weather, but because they were rice fields.  Turns out the area is known for its wild brown rice.  It’s also known for the Fall River, which we found was a slow moving river that meandered through the farms and fields.

The next day, we met Matt Mitchell, our guide from The Fly Shop in Redding.  It was a beautiful, warm spring day in the Fall River valley.  He  met us at the church at 8am and off we went to put in.  Instead of the drift boats we usually find ourselves in, we were in a “john boat” outfitted with a regular and trolling motor.  The boat was really special, it was originally Matt’s granddad’s. The “speed limit” on the river was 5mph so we also slowly worked our way upstream.  The river is really more like a giant spring creek, and that morning it was like glass and gin clear.

As we made our way upstream, we had to go under several farm bridges, which required us to duck in most cases, except one where we had to lay down in the boat to make our way under it.  Matt described how he’d once not ducked quite low enough, showing us the mark still on his ear.  Once under that last farm bridge, we setup our fly fishing rigs and proceeded to hunt for Fall River rainbows.

After a day on the water, we had a chance to interview Matt about fishing the Fall River.  We hope you enjoy the interview as much as we enjoyed our day on the water with Matt.  I just wish I had that fly line tangle picture still.  You’ll know why if you watch the video.

Ramble On!

We met Chris and Samantha at the Fisheads San Juan River Fly Shop in Navajo Dam, NM, on a cool morning.  Chris would be our guide for the day, and Sammie, his sidekick, was a beautiful and well-mannered Golden Retriever.  We were setting out to fish the “quality” water section of the San Juan.

When we put in at the boat dock, we were joined by a few other drift boats and a couple of fishermen already having waded out into the river.  Chris had tied on a couple of streamers that were actually setup to be fished like you fish a jig…  long strips followed by pulling enough to keep the line straight and tight.  This was necessary so we’d feel the strike of the fish and then….. strip set!

We missed several fish because we were still in our normal raise the rod tip mindset.  Eventually, we got the hang of it and started getting into some fish.  We had a great day on the water with Chris and Samantha and know you’ll enjoy this “Guide Talk” video interview with Chris, highlighting how to fish the San Juan and cutting in some great shots of fish and Samantha.  Enjoy!

 

 

If there is a river you should go and fish as a beginner to fly fishing, I’d highly recommend the Cumberland River, one of the TU Top 100 Trout Streams.  Furthermore, the guide you want is Troy Humphrey of Cumberland Trout Guide.  Troy had us on fish from the start, including a double (both Barb and I hooking up and landing fish at the same time) on our first drift.  We also caught all three species of trout in the Cumberland… browns, brookies and rainbows.

Why the Cumberland?  It gives you a really good chance of catching a lot of fish so you can practice casting, mending, setting the hook and landing fish.  Often times you don’t get to practice all of these like you do on the Cumberland.

Why Troy?  He talks a lot about his guide philosophy of  safety, fun and fish… in that order.  Anytime you get in a boat you want to have safety as a number one priority.  Close behind that, at least for “Berb” and I is fun.  We had a blast with Troy… Barb became “Berb” during the day.  You’ll have to fish with Troy to find out why…. all i can say is, he does have a great sense of humor.   Finally, yes, of course, fishing!  We quit counting the number of fish we were catching about 15 minutes into our full day trip.  It was evident we were going to be on fish a lot, be able to practice our skills, and hopefully hook into a big lunker along the way.  Troy delivered on his “trifecta” with us.  For now, please enjoy this interview with “Streamer Troy” to learn more about this great fishery.

Our final river to fish in PA this year was Spruce Creek.  We had the incredible pleasure of fishing it with Andy Wagner of Livin on the Fly.  The day before we fished Spruce Creek, we took a very special trip to Penns Creek with Andy.   He promised if we worked hard fishing Penns he’d take us to “Disneyland” (his name for Spruce Creek).  He spoke of big fish, easy wading and spectacular scenery.  He wasn’t kidding!!!

He forewarned us that when the Spruce Creek fish hit, we’d have to be ready for a fight, but to fight back.  In my first few casts, an over 20″ brown took my fly and the fight was on.  I lost.   In a few more casts, a 20″ rainbow hit and schooled me.  Slow learner?  Perhaps…. but not Barb.  Soon she was landing a gorgeous 21″ brown that she fought hard and long.  It just continued from there…. Disneyland for sure.

In his interview, Andy talks about Spruce Creek as a fishery and how its become this amazing fishing stream.  He also discusses why his “local” water, Penns Creek, is so very special.  Andy is a guide who not only knows his fishing tools and techniques, but more importantly, is intimately connected to the places and people where he guides and fishes.  Being able to not only fish these beautiful trout streams, but to “see” them through his eyes and mind, made fishing with Andy incredibly special.  If you come to central PA, make sure to grab Andy for a trip to Disneyland, Penns Creek and all the local waters.  In the meantime, enjoy our interview with Andy from the banks of Spruce Creek.