Gakona Day 2

 Because the reds are in, and because there isnt much else to do in Gakona....

I (shane) went back to Copper Center and fished the Klutina for reds.  I probably fished 6-7 hours today and hooked 2 fish, landing one.  I did get to meet a nice couple from Georgia today.  Deanna mostly sat in the car, or on a cooler, watching me fish. Less fun for her. 

We had another 1/3 of that first red again for dinner tonight and it was easily just as good as last nights meal. 

Tomorrow, we move to a "glamping" tent in Glacier View.  I'm quite doubtful the tent will have 110V or wifi, so dont expect much of an update until we get to Talkeetna on 7/3. I'm very hopeful that Deanna will write the Glacier View, AK glamping tent update for yall. :)  I get to sleep a couple weeks per year in tents like this, but this will be a first for her. 

Erik and Lilly are trekking across Saskatchewan right now and report no vehicle issues as of yet. 

Looking forward to seeing them + the kids on 7/6. 

- shane

2. Gakona

Have you ever heard of the famed Copper River for sockeyes or kings?  Well, I have. 

Today, while en route to Gakona (not even a whole hole in the wall in rural AK), we stopped at Copper Center.  This town is at the confluence of the Copper and Klutina Rivers.  Red (sockeye) salmon are coming up the Klutina, so we stopped and fished for about 4 hours.  

Fishing for reds really isnt fishing. They get their food by filtering planton out of the water with their gills.  So they dont hit normal lures- cause they dont eat big stuff.  You cant snag them in freshwater (legally) but you can "flyfish" for them. 

So the technique goes like this- tie a ~1 oz weight on, then add a 18-24" leader with a decent sized hook on it, and tie a piece of yarn on above it.  Act like you're flyfishing while you drag this thing thru the water, flipping it upstream, let it bounce downstream, and once it gets to the end of your line (you leave out about 10-15' of line, and never reel in), pop the line, lift, and "roll cast" - repeat.  You can do this sequence about 6 times per minute.  I managed to catch one fish in those 4 hours - so about 6x60x4=1440 casts for one fish. Totally worth it. 

Erik will be happy to know I paid $3 for that net in Valdez at a thrift store.  Bargain!

My fish was probably 4-6 # red.  Not huge, not tiny and nothing special, unless you got to eat on it.  

Deanna and I grilled about a third of it for dinner tonight and if it turns out to be my last meal, I'm satisfied. 

Gakona is completely out in the boonies on the Glenn Highway.  There is nothing to do but fish, so I plan to do more of that tomorrow. Deanna plans to hang around the AirBnB and research stuff to do in Glacier View, our next stop the day after tomorrow.  

I heard it was 112F in TX today. Sorry fellow Texans! I wasnt wearing a jacket, but I thought about it. :)

Also, Happy 29th birthday to Deanna. :)  She's still a spring chicken. 

Stop 1 - Valdez

 Deanna and I flew to Anchorage on Saturday and spent the night there.  

Sunday, we left town on the 6hr drive up and over to Valdez.  Views on this route are pretty awesome, like most of AK. 

On arrival in Valdez, I was very sad to discover that the salmon usually dont arrive this early, and will be a week or so late this year because of all the snow/ice buildup over this better-precip-than-average winter.  We ate at the "Potato", which offers somewhat famous garlic french fries with rosemary. 

Our lodging in Valdez was a "tiny house".  Indeed.  it's an "efficiency" if there ever was one.  I'm guessing it's about 10' wide and 12' long.  Really, just a "built out" shed, but it works if you keep your stuff put up.  Left to right on the back wall are: toilet, shower, washer/dryer, stove, sink. Very efficient. Good news is..... I can lay in bed and watch Deanna shower.  Bad news is, she can lay in bed and watch me deuce. 

I woke up early on Monday, then fished the harbor for a while (no luck) before heading to the local outfitters supply and getting good fishing counsel from Joshua, a local kid.  I then spent pretty well all day fishing off the ferry dock catching polluck, which fillet okay. While doing that, I also made new friends in Wayne + Amber Miller from Florida.  They are both avid fishermen and were happy to borrow a spare rod and fish with me.  After just 10-15 minutes of trying, Amber caught a small halibut.  Very nice.  By the end of our fishing outing, Wayne insisted that they take Deanna and I to dinner, and eventually, they invited us to come visit them in Florida.  I love the people on trips like this. 

On Tuesday, Deanna and I went back up the Richardson Hwy (4) and viewed a "drive up" glacier.  Easy viewing, and then we visited Blueberry Hill lake.  Then we came back towards town and visited the original town site of Valdez, which got wiped out in the 1964 tsunami after the famed Alaska earthquake.  After that I cooked Deanna "fish and chips" using the polluck I'd caught the day before.  

Wednesday was our last full day here.  On our way to town, Deanna spotted a bear.  After further inspection..... it turned out to be a momma bear with two cubs.  The cubs spent most of their time up in a tree while momma grazed on grasses in the ditch. We watched the 3 of them for a full hour, before heading on into town. Unfortunately, a ferry boat was in which means all the stores were pretty jammed, and I couldn't fish off the ferry terminal, either.  So we went on a long hike up to Solomon Lake, just south of Valdez Bay.  After our hike, I convinced Deanna to head to Mikes (restaurant) so I could BUY a salmon meal.  

Tomorrow, we leave for Gakona.  I sure hope I can fish for reds on the Copper River. Rumor has it they are "in".  Stay tuned. 

 

We're getting the band back together, Elwood - 2023

Durn skippy we are.  

6 summers after our "famous" 2017 trip, we're hitting the road (and air) to fish, hike, see, eat, etc again.  

This trip hasn't seen NEAR the planning the prior one did, because we know more about what's required.  

Erik and Luke launched on 6/17 headed north.  They are "swinging by" Minnesota for a bit of kayaking at the Boundary Waters with their local Boy Scout group.  Once that trip completes, they'll pick up Lilly at Minneapolis Airport and start a road adventure headed across northern US/southern CA "eh". :) 

Side note - no part of Minnesota is "on the way" to Alaska from Texas.  

As a bonus, they'll get to see the glories of North Dakota.  hold it.....what?

They'll also get to see Saskatchewan.  Pretty cool. 

Deanna and I (Shane) leave TX on 6/24 via miracle of air travel.  

The next updates should include pictures of Texans wearing jackets in June. Maybe shades, too. :)

buckle your transmissions folks, it's about to be gametime. 

- shane