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    Southeast Alaska Steelhead: Methods, Philosophy, and Stories
    Southeast Alaska Steelhead: Methods, Philosophy, and Stories
    Southeast Alaska Steelhead: Methods, Philosophy, and Stories
    Ebook165 pages2 hours

    Southeast Alaska Steelhead: Methods, Philosophy, and Stories

    By Steve, McLaren

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    About this ebook

    Southeast Alaska Steelhead will help all shermen catch more steelhead from Southeast Alaska to everywhere else steelhead may be found. Furthermore, it will give you the information you need to be successful on a self-guided steelhead shing trip to Southeast Alaska. It will inspire you to challenge yourself to become a better sherman and to think more deeply about this sport you love. By reading Southeast Alaska Steelhead, you will become more excited to get out on the river, to experiment, to learn, and to perfect your shing methods. Southeast Alaska Steelhead will add tools, methods, philosophy, and secrets to your current repertoire of skills you already possess. Simply stated, after reading Southeast Alaska Steelhead, you will hook more steelhead. e stories in Southeast Alaska Steelhead also teach life lessons that will be enjoyed by any sherman or outdoor enthusiast. Southeast Alaska Steelhead is a must have book for any serious sherman's library.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPublication Consultants
    Release dateSep 10, 2016
    ISBN9781594336324
    Southeast Alaska Steelhead: Methods, Philosophy, and Stories
    Author

    Steve, McLaren

    Steven McLaren grew up in Wyoming, Idaho, and Arizona. His father taught him how to y sh in Idaho on the Henry's Fork of the Snake River. Steve's wife and three of his kids moved to Ketchikan, Alaska in August of 1998. His last son was born in Ketchikan. Steve is principal for an elementary school in Ketchikan. He has steelhead shed many streams in Southeast Alaska. Steve shes speci cally for steelhead more than 60 days a year. He has logged and researched more than 4,000 hours of time shing for steelhead on Southeast Alaska streams.

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      Book preview

      Southeast Alaska Steelhead - Steve, McLaren

      Conclusion

      Chapter 1

      Introduction

      Imoved to Alaska nineteen years ago with my family. I moved here specifically for the fishing. I had a contract and a job, but it was mostly for the fishing. I told my wife that we could just give it a shot, and if we did not like it we would move back to the lower forty eight states.

      At the time, my family consisted of my wife and I and three children ages six months to six years. We were dirt poor, living on one income. That one income was a meager teacher’s salary. I convinced my wife saying, this will only be a one or two year adventure. I told her that if I took a fishing trip to Alaska, which was a dream of mine since I was very young, it would cost at least two to three thousand dollars with a guide. (It would cost more today.) I said, Why not just move up there for a couple years for a little more than the cost of one expensive trip? Finally, after more persuasion, she agreed.

      Once we arrived to Alaska, due to the high cost of living and the high cost of moving, we couldn’t afford to go back. (I still don’t think she believes me when I say, I didn’t know this would happen.)

      We moved to Southeast Alaska from Las Vegas, Nevada. We live on Revillagigedo Island, in Ketchikan, Alaska. The difference in climate between the two places cannot be overstated. We went from roughly four inches of rain a year, to an average of nearly two hundred. It seems like the temperature here averages about fifty degrees cooler than whatever the temperature is in Las Vegas on most any given day. We went from almost zero humidity to eighty percent or more humidity most of the year. We went from a city with a population of more than half a million to a population of around fifteen thousand. We went from an endless road system to a total of about thirty miles of road. We went from all the shopping that could be imagined, to several small stores. Needless to say, my wife hated it. I had issues with it also! However, it is a very scenic and beautiful community with some great people.

      When we first arrived here to Southeast Alaska, I didn’t have money for a boat. I fished where I could until I saved up enough for a skiff. We had lived here about four or five years before I was finally able to afford a skiff. An open skiff is typically a fourteen to twenty foot aluminum boat without a cabin. It has a V-hull, which is mandatory for the ocean. A skiff is very sea worthy and capable of reaching some great, remote fishing waters and streams. The only limitations I had with a skiff was not being able to reach streams farther away or having the ability to sleep on the boat.

      A boat is crucial while living in Southeast Alaska. (A floatplane would be even better.) There are a lot of nice cars in our community, but with only thirty miles of road and an unlimited supply of water, a quality boat is more of a priority than a quality car. One doesn’t feel nearly so isolated on this island with a boat. To access some of the best steelhead streams in this area, a boat is a must. A boat helps in reaching these streams that receive much less pressure.

      It is also great to take a floatplane flight into one of the seemingly countless streams and lakes around Ketchikan and the Misty Fjords. There are many remote Forest Service cabins in Southeast Alaska that one can fly in to and stay. Almost every one of these cabins has excellent trout, salmon, and/or steelhead fishing nearby. These cabins are situated in picturesque areas on remote lakes or at the mouth of beautiful streams loaded with fish. Simple internet searches will provide all the details one would need. Going to www.recreation.gov will give you a good start on your searches.

      I am a fly fisherman at heart. I began fly fishing when I was very young on some of the best, blue ribbon trout steams in America. While living in Southeast Idaho for several years I fished Henry’s Fork (Snake River), the Blackfoot River, and the Madison River in Montana. I also fished a few streams in Yellowstone National Park. While freshwater fishing, I have always preferred using my fly rod.

      On Ketchikan’s thirty miles of road, there are really only two places to fish in the freshwater for steelhead. One of the two places is a creek that goes right through the middle of town. The other creek is just out of town.

      Nineteen years ago, after moving to Ketchikan, I asked people all over town, how and where to fish for steelhead. I don’t know if people didn’t know, if they were just tight lipped, or if there just were not that many people fishing for steelhead up here at the time? At any rate, I could not get any information to help me find and catch steelhead. When do I fish? What should I use? Where are the best places to fish? It was very frustrating and challenging. I knew these trophy fish were out there close to where I lived, but when, where, and how? With no information to help me, I started trying different methods on my own. I also read a variety of steelhead books. It seems like, over the years, I have tried every method imaginable.

      In the beginning, without a boat, I was limited to these two creeks on our road system. I really didn’t start experimenting with an attempt to catch a steelhead for about four years after moving here. Those first four years, I was really just content with fly fishing for the five species of salmon that I found. However, I always wanted to learn more about and catch the mighty steelhead. I finally started fly fishing for steelhead about the year 2002.

      As my wife would testify, anyone can become great at steelhead fishing if they practice and work at it as much as I have. I went from not catching one steelhead the first two seasons of effort to catching many hundreds each year. As the years have gone by, I have been able to learn many things that have improved my chances of hooking steelhead.

      This is a Beaver float plane. This is a great way, and the only way in many cases, to get to and from remote lakes and streams. The max weight, load capacity is around 1300 pounds. This is just enough for four fishermen and gear. With only three fishermen, there will be plenty of room for all the extras.

      There are a lot of reasons to fish for steelhead in southeast Alaska. One big reason to fish here is because the steelhead are all wild. Well, all the steelhead I have caught anyway. I know there was one small drainage on Prince of Wales Island that had a small steelhead hatchery more than twenty years ago. However, on that drainage, and every other stream I’ve fished in Southeast Alaska, I have never heard of, seen, or caught a hatchery fish in all those years. I have landed many thousands of steelhead in Southeast Alaska and I have never caught a hatchery steelhead.

      I have released every single one of the wild steelhead that I’ve landed. Up until about 2008, a fisherman could keep a steelhead that measured more than thirty-six inches. After catching many more than thirty-six inches, I still always released my steelhead. Thankfully, the regulations have changed. As of about six years ago, almost all steelhead and steelhead streams in Southeast Alaska are restricted now to catch and release only. I am so glad for this regulation because now there is no question of whether or not to keep a steelhead. The steelhead populations can continue to grow.

      We all know how fishermen are. They land a thirty-two or thirty-three inch fish, and it looks really big, so they think it’s close enough to keep, take home, and show off (most people do not carry a tape measure). Over the years, a lot of fish were kept that should not have been kept. The fact is that there are probably only about two to three percent of all the sport caught steelhead in Southeast Alaska that are more than thirty six inches and weigh more than eighteen pounds. I have never understood why a fisherman may feel the need to keep a steelhead, especially in this area. Maybe it’s all about their ego? There are so many fresh salmon and halibut in the area that keeping a steelhead seems a waste of a very precious resource!

      Almost all the steelhead we catch are within a half-mile to three miles of salt water. These steelhead are wild and fresh from the ocean. There are countless streams, rivers, and lakes to fish for steelhead in Southeast Alaska. My experience has mostly been down in the southern portion of the southeastern regions of the state. There are many virtually untouched rivers in the Misty Fjords National Park. There are also many rivers on Prince of Wales Island and the area of Ketchikan, Alaska.

      The largest sport caught steelhead in Alaska was forty-two pounds three ounces. It was caught with trolling gear in salt water near Bell Island. Bell Island is only forty miles north of Ketchikan. While there are some fish more than the twenty-pound mark, they are very few and far between in the rivers that I’ve fished. Here in Southeast Alaska, the steelhead, for the most part, range in size from five pounds to twenty pounds. The average steelhead weighs about ten pounds.

      To help you read and understand my explanations and stories in this book, I have included here a few of my own, unofficial, definitions:

      Run – A section of water which typically holds fish. Many times a run will have fast, white water at the head (or furthest point up stream of the run) going into a slower deeper stretch of water. The slower, deeper water will then get more shallow towards the tailout (or furthest point down stream of the run) giving way to another stretch of faster, white water below the run. The current in a run is typically at about a fast walking speed and anywhere from two to ten feet deep on most streams in southeast Alaska.

      The Head of the run is the portion furthest up river where the run begins. It may include the faster water and where the faster water meets the deeper, slower water.

      The tailout is the furthest section down river in the run. In this section of the run, the water is still moving at a similar speed as in the middle of the run. However, the water usually becomes shallower and shallower as it gets closer to the faster, white water below the run. Typically the water in the tailout is between two to four feet deep.

      The run may also be called a fishing hole. This is water where you’ll find steelhead holding to rest, spawn, or feed.

      A pocket is a very small area of steelhead holding water. A pocket may be found at random areas of the river. In other words, pockets can be found anywhere on the river, not just in a typical run.

      The take is when a steelhead bites, grabs, eats, or takes the fly down and typically runs with it.

      If a steelhead spits a fly, it means that in his frantic thrashing, runs, and jumps, he is able to get the hook out of his mouth. Some may also say that the fish came un-pinned.

      The Running fly line is the extra fly line that is taken out of the reel while drift fishing. This line is fed through the rod and provides a drag free drift while drift fishing with a fly rod.

      A steelhead that jumps may very easily break the line or spit the hook if the fisherman does not bow to the fish. To bow to a fish means to dip your rod tip when a fish jumps so as not to allow the fish to break the line or spit the hook.

      Chapter 2

      Hooked

      Once I started steelhead fishing, I had no clue what I was doing. I went two years without so much as hooking a steelhead. I probably went out and tried to catch a steelhead on ten different occasions each of those first two years...with no luck.

      I still vividly remember my first several steelhead

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