Monday, June 15

If you're a fly fisher, you probably live for the grab, the whamm-bamm, the explosion of energy and rush of adrenalin that comes when a big fish grabs your fly and makes that first line-ripping run.

Good thing, because with some fish that's all you're going to get. Pike for instance.

Explode-A-Fish

Sunday I caught my first pike on a fly while blind casting a shallow stillwater flat under a gray, overcast sky. Sight fishing was pretty much impossible. But I managed to connect with a smallish fish nonetheless.

But today was different. The sky was clear and it was warmer than Sunday. The floatplane flew us to Fog Lake where Ben Todd, our guide for the day, hopped out and inflated a big raft while standing on the Beaver's pontoon.

Guide Ben Todd blows up a raft while balanced on the Beaver's pontoon.

The standard drill is to float through a small slough that connects the lake to the upper Copper River, then drift the Copper and catch a bunch of beautiful, graceful, well-behaved trout.

We didn't follow the standard drill.

A lot of pike hang around in the slough, and I wanted one. Heck, I wanted several. I rigged up a 9 weight Winston with a pike line and a large surface fly that Ben had tied. He edged the raft into the slough. "Whoa! Look at that guy!" he said.

I plopped a fly to the fish's right and gurgled it along the surface. The pike turned and gave it a stare. He moved slowly toward it for a foot, then rushed it. The slough exploded, Water everywhere. Noise. Droplets falling from the sky. Ripples from bank-to-bank. The three of us shouting at once.

After that, it didn't take much to bring the pike in. That's the way it is with pike. It's all about seeing the fish, the charge, the explosion. The grab. Once you've got them hooked, they're slightly more exciting than an old boot. But that smash-and-grab makes pike worthwhile.

This fish taped out at a bit over 40 inches, which is big for a local pike. It was a bit skinny--even for a pike--due to the time of year.

Ben hoists the biggest pike of the day shortly before it tried to take off his finger.

We caught a few more, and Mrs. Fuzzy got initiated into the pike club, too.

A Return to Dignity

After that we moved into the upper Copper and caught rainbows. At this time of year, the larger trout push out of the lower Copper and come up here. There aren't as many of them as down below, but they're big--typically 17-22 inches, with some bigger.

As with yesterday, Mrs. Fuzzy did very well. She got so jaded that she actually called a fat 17-inch trout "a little guy."

After a few trout like this, Mrs. Fuzzy started calling 17-inchers "little guys."

The weather was beautiful. Windless, patchy clouds, warm enough that even Mrs. Fuzzy shed a layer or two.

For more, listen to the three-minute audio interview with guide Ben Todd, below. You'll need the Quicktime player.

Scott,
I want to go slumming with those pike! I can get into a big, boiling, splashing strike.
And those rainbows are gorgeous.
We all hate you a little bit right now, but we'll like you fine when you get home.

Rahhhh! Thanks for the post!

Well, at first I was terrified to have a voice coming out of the black box at me. Then I calmed right down and love this report. Thanks for the updates Uncle Fuzzy! Keep having a blast, and I love the recording.