Lately I've been listening to the band Leftover Salmon. After unfathomable millions (4.5+) of sockeye salmon stormed the Kenai River this summer it seems appropriate. There are lots of leftovers in the river feeding and fattening trout and dollies. There are lots of vacuum sealed fillets of goodness in angler’s freezers. Hopefully, you got to enjoy some of this year’s incredible bounty. Whether it was catching and enjoying delicious salmon or exercising the incredibly fat rainbows and dollies from this post spawn season. You'll be enjoying the salmon bounty, photos, and memories you've procured in the months ahead and we at Mystic Waters Fly Fishing are all about that.
On October 12th, Stacy and I stood in the Middle of the Kenai River above Hog Bend. We toasted the end of another Mystic Waters Fly Fishing season for Stacy and another annual trip back for Fred. We are both planning some big changes in our lives this next year, but Mystic Waters Fly Fishing will carry on.
Jay from the Montana Fly Project came up with Fred and a crew from Montana. Stay tuned for a YouTube vlog series about Jay's trip.
Fall on the Kenai River in Alaska is a bittersweet time. Alaska summers are so busy, that it feels like they consume us. The season is frantic and it can wear you down but it goes by so fast. It seemed like only yesterday, the Ruck’s rolled into Cooper Landing and had us out so early or late, that night and day were irrelevant.
Anna Grace was clearly worn out from early morning sockeye fishing.
JoelZ returned with the family and they did their thing.
Salmon season is a frenzy, but Stacy manages to keep his cool and keep on keeping on.
Have you heard about the Fly Project? If you are wondering what Fred has been up to for the past 5 or so years, this is part of it.
We started “The Project” in Sam’s garage with Paul, Calvin, Fred, Denver, Matt, and Ben in 2015 building rods and designing fly patterns to make some side money so we could afford to buy tickets to fish some places further away from home.
By 2017 we had constructed a make shift rod shop called “The Shed” along the Missouri River just south of Great Falls, Montana where we first built all of the original reel seats, handle designs, rod wraps, and tested all the blanks on golden bones behind the rod shop.
We set out to build a fly fishing company that fit our life, and our......
When you open a bottle of fine wine that has been properly matured, you still take that first sip with a bit of caution. It might be pretty good, but patience and resting will allow it to breath and uncover a very special window. When it is just right, swallow it down and don’t wait too long. It’s not going to get any better.
Ales are much the same, only they mature and diminish much faster. I once brewed a batch of IPA that I was incredibly proud of. When it was properly matured it was perfect and satisfying. I held back a couple bottles to share with a friend. I waited too long.
New Interstate Travel Protocols to begin on August 11During the July 28 press briefing, Governor Dunleavy announced that starting on August 11 all non-residents must arrive with a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours prior to departure. Testing will no longer be available for non-residents when they arrive in Alaska.
Everything is in flux right now and travel arrangements can get complicated. Here is a link to a great account from our friend Heather Hodson. She hosted a group to Rapids Camp Lodge in Bristol Bay, so they had additional travel connections after arriving in Anchorage. @northwestflygirl
Keep up to date, follow the rules, stay safe and healthy and enjoy the Mystic Waters.
Shon and Ky Kim have been fishing with Mystic Waters for many years. Father and son time on the water is a special thing. This year they enjoyed a bountiful harvest of Sockeye Salmon.
Sockeye Salmon are really fun to catch while fly fishing.
When carefully processed, sockeye salmon are delicious.
Sockeye are the foundation of the Kenai River. They make the Kenai River great. Marine derived nutrients from sockeye drive the food chain and support a host of other species beyond maintaining themselves. The Sockeye Salmon fishing is really good right now. It will continue to be strong though the month and well into August. There is something really special about sustainably harvesting ...
After testing negative at the airport Meade and Anna Grace Shirley safely enjoyed three days of fishing the upper Kenai River, including an epic opener with full sockeye limits in less than an hour.
After the sockeye, some very good trout fishing followed.
The weather was fantastic, allowing canyon floats all three days. The trout were healthy and very aggressive.
As long as people can travel safely, and preferably get tested before travel to Alaska, we are hoping for a good season on the Kenai River and moving back towards "normal".
Be safe and hope to see you soon on the Mystic Waters of the Kenai River.
RSS Feed
