Sunday, October 02, 2022

Yakutat Alaska-Silver Salmon

 With our primary aircraft, a 10 place Otter, out of commission, a fixed wing Cessna 180, and a small helicopter, were our only way to reach the coho-rich rivers.  This meant that only 3 anglers could fly at any time!  Since our group has some tenure with the airline, we were assured at least 2 days for a fly out.

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Our first two days we all flew out to the Akwe River, which was to be fishable until the big typhoon hit our area, and high water would keep us away.

We were not disappointed with silvers crowding the river, on their way to the "happy spawning grounds".  All around us, as usual, Alaska beauty was in abundance!

  

Of course, most of our fish were released, but we did keep a few for the trip home!






Bright "chrome" silver salmon, were also in abundance and our group scored limits the first 2 days.  

As it turned out, 6 of us were able to fly out the 3rd day, to a different river, but our first group of 3 anglers, were not able to land due to the heavy fog.  Not to me undone, our pilot, Hans, decided to wait out the fog on a small helo pad, high on a nearby mountain.

It turned out to be an exciting detour for the guys, with mountain goats looking on.

When the fog lifted, 6 of us flew out to a lagoon, near the ocean, and with the lack of rain, the salmon were really stacked up, ready to greet the high water.... and eager to play!

Since the lagoon was shallow, I decided to fish my Polliwog Gurgler, and it scored 12 coho on the first 15 casts!  Most of these fish were big males, over 10 lbs.!!


This top water action is simply amazing as big predatory males push up on the gurgler, inhaling the pink offering.

A face only a mother....and a coho angler.....could love!
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Previously, I had tied a simple fly, on a 60 deg. jig hook, and the results were incredible!


In fact, I tied up a number of these flies for our group, and they all loved the fly.  Fishing my jig hook pattern, we dropped very few fish, between us. 



The typhoon really stopped air travel for most of the remaining days, and limited our total catch, but we were thankful that we were able to get out and enjoy wild Alaska and its bounty!
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My buddy, Jeff, with a nice coho!  

Note:  Jeff lives in Cape Coral, Fla. and fortunately Jeff was able to return home from Alaska, hours before hurricane Ian made landfall.  (September 25, 2022)  With shutters in place and his skiff safely stored in the garage, Jeff sustained minor damage...unlike many people devastated by the powerful winds and flooding.
Lord Have Mercy!
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Monday, September 26, 2022

Tarpon Cay Lodge - 2022

 Rio Lagartos

The new home for Tarpon Cay Lodge is a great location for all things "Baby Tarpon"!

Flamingoes, and many other species, were our constant companion, on the flats or in the mangroves.

Great food, great people, and great tarpon fishing are the perfect combination!

The "birds eye" view, of the marina, from our rooms!

Each morning we were optimistic...for good reason!

Wayman was thrilled with the entire "tarpon experience"!

Terry with a nice "baby" tarpon!

It didn't take long for Doug to get into the action, too!

Harry was quick to join in on the fun!  His first tarpon..ever!


Jeff is becoming a seasoned veteran, of the flats!

We found some larger "babies" prowling around the cenotes, further west of town!

Even the host was able to get into the action!


Note:  For two years I have been working on a small light-weight shrimp pattern, specifically for shallow, calm conditions, and the results were amazing!
This 20 lb. tarpon came to the new shrimp pattern, in deeper water.  After 2 years in development it was very satisfying to finally get it right!~  I caught 5 tarpon, this day, using this one fly!


The LT Shrimp



Many thanks to Jeff, Terry, Wayman, Doug and Harry for a fantastic week at 
Tarpon Cay Lodge!

Of course, thanks to Marco Ruz for creating this amazing experience!


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Isla Del Sabalo - 2022

 

Our trip to Isla del Sabalo, on the western shore of the Yucatan, proven, once again, to offer incredible fishing for junior-sized tarpon, ranging 15 to 30 lbs.

Our home for 6 days.  Comfortable rooms, with AC!

However, the fishing was tough due to a full moon (I think) and the tarpon were not very aggressive on the offshore flats.

My partner, Aubrey Thompson, did very well fishing the mangroves with a purple & black Floating Minnow


As usual, my Foxxy Griz Minnow was the best fly, for the open water, and offshore flats!



Foxxy Griz Minnow



My new Floating Minnow BT, was fantastic in the mangroves, imitating the color scheme of the
 Foxxy Griz Minnow


We found nice tarpon on the offshore flats, but they were very docile, and spooky.  70+ ft. casts were mandatory to prevent spooking and get an eat!


Many thanks to my group for a great week, for positive attitudes, and many fun-filled moments.
*****
 

Thursday, July 07, 2022

Cuba 2022

 Cuba has been on my bucket list for many years now, and the opportunity came my way to join a group of buddies for 6 days aboard the Avalon Fleet 1.  This is a 4 story luxury, liveaboard yacht, with beautiful state rooms, spacious dinning area, incredible staff, and some of the best guides and skiffs anywhere.




We were greeted every evening to a multi course dinner, including 
BBQ lobster, fillet mignon, and snapper!



Always great stories mixed in with the great food!


The Fishing.....

12 anglers from the US and Europe paired off, and a friendly competition energized us all week, as if we needed an incentive!  Grin!

Our goal was to catch migratory tarpon, on white sand flats.  However, this just didn't happen for us.

A hurricane had pushed through a week before, and although it was not close to our location, it left rough seas, floating Sargasso grass, and wind; the entire week.
On many days we were forced to fish the mangroves, rather than the reefs, flats and beaches.

There were plenty of smaller, resident tarpon to keep us busy....



...but we found that there were some nice 30# to 50# tarpon mixed in.


There are few moments in fly fishing that can equal a high flying tarpon!
Many thanks to my partner, Doug Behrman, for capturing this shot!


You never knew when a big girl might eat your fly!




With so much sargassa grass, weedless flies like my black/purple Floating Minnow, proved the right fly for these conditions.  

Lee's Floating Minnow  (light orange)


This huge cuda ate my tarpon fly, and, hooked in the corner of the jaw, gave me an opportunity to land this amazing speedster.






A red/white Foxxy Griz Minnow, was a great pattern out on the flats.

The competition was tight the entire week, but the US prevailed in the end.  Yes, the spoils go to the victor!


It didn't take long to be reminded that the USA is an incredible country, with great opportunity!


Thanks to the Avalon staff, and the fishing friends,
 that made this week one to remember!

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