An Alaska Adventure-Wednesday: Kulik Kraziness (and bears)

Rob, Rick, Tom, and Shan flew in a De Havilland DH-2 Beaver float plane https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Canada_DHC-2_Beaver  to the Kulik River—a delightful one-mile long stream between two lakes that is full of spawning sockeye salmon and an abundance of rainbow trout.  Our guides for the day were Alexia and Kvichak (got to love a guide whose parents named him after an incredible fishing river in the area) and while we had lots of company, we did have many willing fish available to us. 

Rambunctious rainbows for all the Merrill boys

           

We found ourselves sharing the river from time to time with the bears; starting to seem like the theme for our stay this year at Bear Trail Lodge.  But, as always, they were “good bears” and didn’t interfere with our fishing or do much more than make us a little more wary.

Beginning to think there's a reason it's named "Bear Trail Lodge"

           

After he got tired of catching rainbows with a bead, Shan changed to a mouse pattern and fished it dry.  The rainbows seemed much more excited to get a bigger mouthful than a simple egg and so were quite aggressive in attacking the mouse (fly).  Tom joined in the fun.  Rob and Rick just kept fishing with the bead (boring).

Shan with the skating mouse pattern

Tom--we're supposed to catch the ones with a little red on their sides, not the ones that are all red!

           After our plethora of piscine pleasure, it was time to meet the plane at the lower lake and head back to the lodge for another wonderful dinner.  Of course, there was fishing at the river below the lodge, and Shan once again proved he is at one with the fish and landed another coho.