A Beautiful Coho Salmon
We are excited here at Rainbow River Lodge! The rainbow fishing has been epic this past week, but the big buzz is the silver salmon that are moving thick into the Kamishak River. Last week we had a big push of fish move into the Kamishak, and the river is running at perfect flows! Typically around the middle of August is when the run peaks but will extend all the way into the second week of September. The Kamishak River is home to over 50,000 silver's annually! These strong runs might have a little to do with why they consider the Kamishak River to be one of Alaska's greatest coho fisheries!
Sea Lice on a fresh caught Coho
Coho salmon are beautiful fish. They enter freshwater dime bright and have a brilliant rosy gill plate. Coho's average 6-12 lbs but there are always a few big bucks caught throughout the season topping out at 15-16 lbs. Silver's move upstream very quick, and commonly we find silver's with sea lice still attached five or six miles up stream. When resting on their migration they tend to hold in backwater areas, and runs with slow moving current When you have located a pod of silver's the action can be intense! Two bent rods on silver's at once is common and hooking three fish in three casts frequently occurs.
A large buck Silver caught by Guide Chris Leeman
We enjoy fishing floating fly lines, weighted flies and 7-9 weight fly rods. A wide variety of flies will move silver salmon but we have found the most productive colors are pink and white. When the conditions favor we love to fish wogs on the surface. Watching a silver lock onto a wog and seeing him crush your fly will always get your adrenaline rolling!
Chrome Silver Salmon brought up on a Wog!
Guide Ben Todd with a thick Coho Salmon
During your stay here at Rainbow River Lode you may want to consider taking a day break from rainbow trout fishing and fly over to the coast and experience the thrill of bringing a coho to a fly. Besides the stellar fishing at the Kamishak the whole experience is a day you will never forget. The flight down the coastline with the morning sunrise and Mt. Augustine in the background is spectacular. Following the flight we quickly load the jet boats up with our gear and commute upriver to our favorite pools. The jet boat ride up is a great chance to view a little wildlife, bears cruising up and down the riverbanks, and eagles perched in the tree limbs always makes for a few good pictures. It is likely you will see more bears than other fisherman on the Kamishak.
Mmmmmmm....looks good!
For lunch there will be no sandwiches served here. Our guides will fillet up a fresh caught silver from the morning and grill it to perfection for a wonderful shore lunch. It will be the freshest fish you will ever taste! Throw on the side some of Mel's crazy beans and Leeman's famous fried potatoes you may need a little nap before you get back to fishing.
