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For fantastic Alaska fall fishing, try steelheadThis is a time of year I have learned to look forward to. It’s steelhead time in Southcentral. When I retired from the Anchorage Daily News in October 2008 I suddenly had an abundance of time on my hands (that didn’t last long), and I kind of went into a mental tailspin. Ruth saw me moping around the house and pointed out a Sunday Daily News’ story on fishing for steelhead on the Anchor River. How did I miss that fishery all these years? For one thing, I hadn’t fly-fished in decades so I didn’t have the gear or the knowledge to try out this new fishery. But it intrigued me as I have friends who talked about their steelhead expeditions in mythic terms, so I ordered a starter rod and reel combo from Dan Bailey’s and headed south in early November. My first outing on the Anchor produced no fish “to my hip” (except for a couple of Dolly Varden). But what it did do was get me hooked on the fishery. My plan in the two-and-a-half days I stayed in the area was to simply hook a steelie. And that I did. The hookup came out of nowhere in a spot on the river that I didn’t think could hold a fish as big as this one appeared to be. But hookup it did, with an eruption out of the water so fast and hard that all I could do was look at my frozen reel, frozen rod eyelets and watch astonished as this beautifully silvery rocket took flight. It immediately broke the line right off with shattered ice from my gear shimmering in the sunlight like falling snow. Mission accomplished! I was back the next weekend with my 8-weight, 12-pound tapered leaders, and a whole new respect for these fish. That weekend, I followed a couple of Outside fishermen who were obvious steelheaders, and they coached me to my first steelhead. You see it in the photo gallery with this story. Let me tell you what’s wrong with the photo. “Oncorhynchus mykiss has two common names, steelhead trout and rainbow trout. It has two common names because of its two life-history forms: rainbow trout remain in fresh water and steelhead trout smolts migrate to the sea, and return to spawn in its natal streams”, says retired biology professor Will Barber. For the Anchor River steelhead, the majority of which return in the fall from the sea, this means that they’ll overwinter before they spawn. Fishing pressure on these fish, which has been catch and release only since 1989, can be immense during the prime fishing months. Fishing for steelhead used to run to the last day of the year. This year the season ends on October 31st, and it’s “only one unbaited, single-hook, artificial lure” allowed. For all of this monitoring and regulating of the fishery there’s still a concern that the catch and release pressure on these steelhead (imagine a single fish being caught, exhausted, then released, only to have it occur again and again throughout the open season) can result in high mortality. The other regulation required in this fishery is: “Rainbow/steelhead trout may not be removed from the water”. And that’s what’s wrong with the photo of me with my first steelhead. It’s overly stressed while I’m holding it out of the water. It makes a great photo, which is one thing anglers are interested in when practicing catch and release, but there is a better way to achieve this and spare the fish. Keep the fish in the water and reduce the time its head is out of the water so its gills keep working, its internal organs can stay suspended in the water, which reduces overall stress, and you can also better monitor the fish’s status as it recovers its energy after being hooked and played to your hip. Gary Sousa, the fishing guru in Southeast Alaska who wrote the steelhead chapter in the great tome “Alaska Fishing” once asked me, after a day of fishing in Ketchikan, how many steelhead I had “got to my hip”. I understand now that the phrase is a reference, and a reminder, that these fish should not be played to exhaustion, that using heavier pound test allows them to be brought to the release point sooner, and that instead of taking them out of the water before you release them they are simply suspended in the water at your hip, then the hook (preferably barbless) is pulled free.
The other way to reduce overall pressure on steelhead in Alaska is to refrain form publishing articles on where to fish for them. ;~) Nice piece. I've enjoyed steelheading in western WA growing up, but have never tried in AK. I live in the YK Delta. I wonder if there are any steelhead in this region? By the way, the word you want is "tome," not "tomb." : - ) |
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