After viewing this web version of the season report you can download the un-abridged report with more details & photographs. Many thanks to Jon Merritt, Craig Roberts, Richard Voss, Mike Woodin, Ray Gillespie, Mathew Grunewald and the other photographers who contributed images this year.

This annual report is created from the log I write nightly on the river. After I disappear into the cook tent and settle into my sleeping bag I check the barometer, make notes about the weather trend, the number of fish caught by species, flies that are working or not, and the wildlife we saw. I hope you enjoy the report. If you have a photograph that you’d like me to have for the report please send it along and we’ll try to include it in the next edition.

Ongivinuk River Family Exploration: June 27-July 3.
The weeks of mid June through mid July are the ultimate time for family trips, for wildlife, & natural history explorations. In 2005 Nick Konrad (10yrs), Lhamu Konrad (7yrs.) and their parents, Christopher & Kate Konrad, plus my daughter Anaca (8yrs), & my wife Nancy rafted the Ongivinuk River on the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge in late June under spectacular conditions!

Gorgeous flying weather and as we landed in the float plane, 3 Brown bear cubs rumpussed on the snowfields above Ongivinuk lake. We had a memorable interval of pandemonium after dinner as we ‘battened down the hatches’ in an approaching thunder squall. In the morning a curious River Otter came over and the youth videographers breathlessly documented it. Swans wheeled over tents and loons & nesting shorebirds chorused all ‘midnight-sun-night’ long.

From a naturalist’s perspective the middle reach of the river was wonderful with great animal & plant species diversity, dynamic river channels, islands, & willow bars. In the near foreground are tundra uplands with habitat for caribou, brown bear & raptors. Behind it all are the peaks beyond peaks, beyond peaks. Not even caribou hunters go there it’s simply too far from anywhere.

Trips with kids are in a category apart and really above all others in the potential to transform a youngsters’ life. It goes without saying that it is an act of love from daybreak till sleep for the parents & helpers. And of course there is no darkness in June- early July. For more… see the full text.

Cannon Trip on the Little King Salmon Creek.
An extreme Creek Exploration. The fourth descent of the creek in recorded history: July 7-10.
This trip set the stage for the summer’s focus on wild rainbow trout in waters / notable for solitude. This was a short 4 day/ 3 night (full midnight sun) trip that focused on trout that live out a full life without ever seeing a fly. Jim Cannon, Rod Salyers and I descended the Little King Salmon for the fourth time in recorded history. We saw, as expected, exactly no one… From the log of Day 2, July 8, 2005. “… We entered the premiere reach that makes the creek worth working so extremely hard for..”

Day 3 was the pinnacle of the sight fishing for rainbows. … “This was physically an extremely tough day.” The tough stuff happened mid-day when we encountered a 750’ portage where the creek is cutting a new channel through the willows leaving a “raft strainer” that can not be run. However daunting it appeared, portage we must.

Given the difficulties one encounters on this creek; is this type of expeditionary fishing worth it? For hardy experienced outdoorsmen/women the mid stretch of the Little King Salmon is worth the difficulties of the portage in my opinion… challenges keep the creek free of anglers. From above camp #2 until well below the portage near the bald eagle nest the sight fishing for rainbows among the chum salmon beds was very good. 30 rainbows were released in a few hours between 12”-24”.

By the trip’s end I knew Jim & Rod’s considerable strengths as partners through their success at an extremely challenging creek exploration! Mr. Cannon has an attribute that every Alaska guide, and probably every fishing partner anywhere, really appreciates. The man can cast! And he can cast well under the unpredictable combinations of wind & other variables both in, and out of the boat. To travel all the way to Alaska for one of the rarest experiences in North American angling – complete solitude & virgin waters – he arrived and was able to immediately put casts onto targets. That was a great trip! For more… see the full text.

South Fork Arolik River: Cannon- Bower Trip July 12-19:
Truthfully, there is little that is “polite” to say about the portage conditions we found this week leading into the South Fork. What can be said is that the team assembled to run the south Fork under the lowest passable water conditions was very game for the challenge! Accompanying me was Jim Cannon, Tate Bowers, Tate’s son Lee Bowers, his son-in-law David Smoots, and legendary Rod Salyers.

“Really tough raft dragging until we passed the East Fork confluence where conditions improved and then we camped at Deer camp (a Yupik village caribou hunting location). We pulled the boats through pools with 6-12 inches of water and then over riffles with 2” or less. There were scads of kings and chums but we passed by them in the drought conditions more often than we cast to them. Thank god we are not dragging boats down from Arolik Lake! 6 rainbows released today. Fishing was an afterthought. A strong team of Lee Bowers, Rod Salyers, & David Smoots helped drag loaded rafts for many miles.

Day 3-4: Through the “Arolik Gap” onto the coastal plain: “passing from the mountains to the coastal plain. Jim Cannon & Tate Bower released perhaps 50-75 Dolly Varden today. We floated past several thousands of King Salmon, a few hundred sockeye, and on into the watershed’s largest chum salmon spawning beds. The weather shifted to a full bodied coastal crud/overcast with showers & drizzle. Fishing was tough, mostly too windy to see trout so we searched with deep leeches. Tate took a nice 21 inch rainbow, 8 Kings, 3 chums, 1 sockeye were released. 13 Dolly Varden char released and 3 killed for dinner. 2 Grayling released. At days end after 18 rainbows were released- I lost track. Dave Smoots & Rod Salyer focused on King Salmon. Mr Smoots was learning the art & practice of handling 15-35 lb. fish

Days 5-6 Entering the lower river the gradient flattens more and the river meanders through coastal tundra and small cottonwood & willow islands….Out of a trip of 10,000 casts why does 27 inches of rainbow trout attach to Mr. Cannon’s fly now, this day? The Cannon group is among less than ten groups to have ever fished the South Fork. “The Outward Bound of Fly-fishing Trips” Jim called it. Thank you Jim for putting the group together! For more… see the full text.

Merritt Trip: Upper Nushugak River July 23-29:
John Merritt, Hank Ashforth, and Mark Hoffman, dreamed of a South Fork Arolik trip however low water on the South Fork shifted our plan to the Upper Nushugak and nobody regretted the decision to change!
From the log of 23 July, 2005. “Chum Salmon are incredibly abundant and are probably at their peak of the spawn now. Many, many kings are in the river. More than I’ve ever seen”. (It will turn out to be one of the three largest king salmon runs in history). “Mark Hoffman caught a very, very large rainbow which for some many minutes we all thought to be a king salmon. 2 other good rainbows, one Dolly Varden, and one grayling plus various salmon were released as we worked our way to camp number one.”

From the log of July 24: “Thirty rainbow trout were released as we floated this day, along with 2 chum salmon, 8 grayling, 1 sockeye, and fifteen Dolly Varden Char”. John, Hank, & Mark reported another 20 fish caught at camp after the staff had gone to bed… July 25: “Rained all night as we slept and cleared by morning. The fishing was outstanding with 16 Dolly Varden released, 23 rainbows, and 6 grayling.” … one member, Mark Hoffman caught only large trout, and caught them near exclusively by mousing!

Northern Pike occupied some of our attention focus in sloughs off the main Nushugak. John Merritt & I have both spent our entire lives in northern pike waters & Mark Hoffman lives in Musky waters and none of us had ever seen anything like the frenzy that occurred on 26 July, 2005. Each of the six of us (3 guests / 3 guides) threw mice, muskrat, & duckling flies as long as our arms could take it and caught fish cast after cast.

Really good Chum spawning beds below camp four! Some Dolly Varden were killed for the famous Baja Fish Taco dinner. Between lunch & dimmer 14 rainbows released including another above twenty four inches by Mr. Hoffman! John Merritt was also repeatedly seen with large fish, quietly releasing one after-another. This day was absurdly windy however Mr. Ashcroft could double haul a heavily weighted leech in any wind that the Nushugak thunder cells could generate. There were several periods when he caught fish while the rest of us watched our casts fold up & collapse in the wind! Mr. Merritt and I have fished together under many circumstances over the years and if any of you get a chance to fish with him – “grab it” for he is, truly, the nicest man in the world! For more… see the full text.

South Fork Arolik River. Wayne Farthing Group August 1-7:
August 1, 2005. Wayne Farthing, Dick Barchent, Jim Frost, & Bill Woolum have arrived in Dillingham from Findlay, Ohio! Rains of the last week filled the South Fork to a reasonable level for portaging and a perfect level for fishing! The pair of Tundra Swans had hatched 2 youngsters at the landing lake and herded them out of the float plane’s way. 4 Bull caribou passed by as we lined the boats down stream to camp number one. Helping Wayne & the Findlay Ohio gang was river guide Alex Rutherford. He was the major muscle behind the successful portage and getting us all safely to camp!

Dolly Varden Char, various King, Chum, Sockeye Salmon and Rainbow were caught and released on black egg sucking leeches, although white and purple leeches were good as well. One of the Char disgorged a volume of flesh which gave notice that the season is changing and that the Chum Salmon of July are becoming the compost of August! The Farthing group is among less than one dozen groups to have ever fished the South Fork.

From the log of August 2. “Fishing was consistent on the South Fork whenever we saw salmon (every pool). I have never seen it so full of salmon, trout & char, nor can I imagine a better situation for fly fishers to hone their casting & catching skills” Arrived at camp by early afternoon where 23 Char, numerous rainbows in the 18-20”class, and various salmon were released. Mew Gulls, Northern Harriers, Arctic Terns, and a caribou bull passed by camp. The blueberries were ripe and thanks to Jim & Bill we had fresh berries for several days!

From the log: “The sockeye spawn is peaking in the upper river now. At the huge sockeye bed below the East Fork the Char fishing was unbelievable! Egg patterns, purple egg sucking leeches, and white crystal leeches produced fish up to 22” for as long as we could stand it. Wayne meanwhile, after bigger game, was last seen being towed down river by an exceedingly large King! We found them both below the next riffle exhausted. Hard to know whether the salmon or Wayne won that round?

4 August. Beyond the mountains now onto the coastal plain. From the log: “foggy with sun breaks in the 60’s and a breeze. Amazing numbers of trout & char to 22”. The chum & sockeye salmon spawning beds in the middle reach are full. Today a mink scampered back & forth across the gravel bar we camped on. “The first flocks of white fronted geese are staging in the blueberry patches in the coastal tundra.

From the log of August 5. “3 Coho landed to 12 pounds, the first of the year! We ate Jim’s coho for dinner with a ginger sauce. Close to 100 char were caught today.

6 August last camp. “Blustery weather spitting rain and SW winds gusting to 20 mph. Steady fishing with rainbows, fresh sea bright coho, pinks and chums. 17 cohos released and one killed for dinner. 2 rainbows were released over 24”. Great Fishing Trip Wayne! For more… see the full text.

Exploration of a river on Togiak Refuge:
Natural History / Glaciology / Paleo-ecology
I had the honor and privilege of hosting Katherine Voss, a remarkable naturalist, and her husband Richard on an exploration of one of the Togiak Refuge’s outstanding watersheds. The name of the particular river is omitted out of respect for it’s solitude but it was one of dozens of similar rivers west of Dillingham that share common features of wildlife habitat & geography above tree line in a mountain valley. However this river is in the federally designated “Refuge Wilderness Area” and we chose it because jet boats would not interfere with our bird watching, wildlife viewing, nor interrupt lengthy discussions about the “Paleo- ecology” or post Pleistocene natural history of this mountain valley.

From the log of August12. Perfect flying weather. No morning fog. The air mass is dry and the air temperatures in the low 80’s. We landed near the inlet of the mountain headwater lake where several hundred sockeye are spawning and set up camp on a lakeshore point to catch the breeze. Pacific loons patrolled the shoreline calling the strange wavering call, neither guttural croaking like the red throated loons nor the quavering falsetto of the common loon. Yellow legs shrieked at our incursion into their nest territory but without the territorial convictions of the same species in June….The birding was spectacular in the wetland at the lake outlet. Northern Harriers were hunting newly hatched green winged teal and flightless harlequin ducks. A Merlin appeared. We identified songbirds as they hawked insects over the small river and perched in shore side willows.

The river leaves it’s glacially carved valley and cuts a canyon bisecting the range. It seemed clear enough to Katharine that at one time the river was connected to the Togiak river near the lake but forces of uplift (after the weight of the glacial ice was removed perhaps ) changed the drainage and a canyon was carved.

Some unusual animal behavior was recorded by Katharine & team. A Northern Harrier (normally a small mammal & small bird predator) was observed eating salmon carrion. The fish was a freshly killed (and nearly completely devoured) chum salmon that a Brown / grizzly bear had consumed an hour or two prior to our arrival. Countless hours were spent floating and observing wildlife in the classic setting of a braided, island studded, Alaskan river. We quietly photographed a young brown bear prowling the bank and the shallows for salmon.

A bottle of vintage merlot wine had been saved for the occasion of the last camp and a toast made to the keepers of the “Wilderness torch” in the US Fish and Wildlife Service, “may they stay the course” and maintain that fragile policy that helps keep rivers & backcountry like this a treasure for Katharine’s granddaughter’s grandchildren! And a toast to Katharine Voss: who is “an inspiration to so many. May you live long to argue the fine points of evolution and paleo- ecology with your granddaughter’s peers and inspire them to carry the wilderness torch!” For more… see the full text.

Unnamed Tundra Creek Extreme Fly-fishing Invitational Trip:
In mid August the 2005 “Invitational Team” set out to explore a remote Bristol Bay creek. The “Invitational Team” was composed of accomplished wilderness anglers Jimmy Fox, Mathew Grunewald, Amy Robinson, Chris Kerber, and Craig Roberts. By tradition; Richard Voss and I were the hosts for the annual event. We flew west beyond the tree line to a creek that shall remain unnamed …3 rafts loaded lightly with eager participants descended a creek we had scouted previously by air but never fished. None of us knew what lay in store. Rumors of a canyon... of trout to thirty inches… Coho?

From camp Richard prospected upstream returning after releasing 19 Char on egg patterns! Then he fished downstream and 4 rainbows to 26 inches were released on a black conehead Zuddler. Later at the pool before the canyon I gave semi a coherent demonstration of fishing a mouse on Alaskan waters and a rainbow, gulped it. Caught up in the showmanship, I brought the fish to hand and when it’s back broached, I understood this was the largest wild trout I had ever seen! During the photo moment, some bad ego/karma caught up with me, and the fish was gone, never touched. Craig said of the rainbows he caught today. “They acted like horses compared to my Montana spring creek fish”. Richard landed 7 more inexplicably huge rainbows below camp this night including one that surpassed any wild fish he’s ever taken.

It’s a toss up between Mathew, Chris, & Jimmy as to who is the most “selfless and kind” participant of the trip? Chris will win ‘hands down’ for gentle, steady & optimistic. Mathew might ‘nose ahead’ for the ‘altruistic award’- being willing to help at everything. But Jimmy, who I was just getting to know, observed everything, and then without being asked he performed the job the next time it was needed! Another great “Invitational Gang”. The log showed 10 rainbows over 22 inches, 11 between 16-22 inches, and 12 between 10-16 inches. Somewhere north of 20 Dolly Varden Char to 22 inches.

8/22 From Amy Robinson– We awoke to blueberry pancakes with bacon and light rain. It was a slow start, packing everything up in the wetness. Soon enough though we were fishing. Straight away, I caught a nice rainbow. Then it rained. I haven’t had an excuse to stand in rain like that since I was a kid! At certain points it was coming down so hard that I wasn’t sure if I was wadding into ripples or if it was just rain pounding the surface with such force. Matthew caught a HUGE rainbow with Mark and I as witnesses. The rain kept falling…

From the log: “a heavy coastal air-mass with fog & rain settled in. The barometer fell from 29.70 to 29.20 in 24 hours! At least an inch of rain fell this afternoon and the creek is rising by the minute! From drought- to downpour. The “perfect storm, August version”… A call on the satellite telephone informed us that …a Mission Lodge floatplane fully loaded with passengers crashed along the Togiak River - flipped, wings sheared off / upside down in the brush with all 7 souls aboard in good health, but shaken up by the trauma…

Chris took 7 rainbows to 30 inches in Richard’s boat and was all smiles. Voss released a rainbow at 31 inches. Mathew released 24, 27, & 29 inch trout- good god what a day! Amy smiled all through a tough day. I show nothing for myself, skunked again? Richard, content, had caught the largest trout of his life yesterday and now today he has surpassed it, what next? Pretty Dirty Weather! Great pizza and camp cheer however! Jimmy is super competent with all things! Amy has got serious stamina, putting in the hours on the oars.

From the log: “Fair weather with cumulous showers & a new and colder / drier air mass. It felt like the first day of fall. Barometer rocketed up to 29.80” Fishing spotty but concentrated when we found it. 2 boats caught 8-9 trout in rapid succession above 20 inches! Chris & Amy fishing a white sparkle leech (Chris a 28”+ fish). I lost my first 2 silvers. For more… see the full text.

From Amy; “From one reality to the next, soon we were all flying our separate ways, moving on to perhaps a more familiar and secure state; taking away with us the recognition that we each have this innate desire for exploration and adventure, for this connection to the land, for challenges and self-discovery, and learning through friendships and from our interactions between each other (and the fish). It’s a great ride out there. We can only hope that one of these days we can toss a line in, once again, with these new friends we have encountered along the journey. Perhaps we’ll even make it back out there for another “once in a lifetime” Alaska wilderness adventure. It sure would be nice…

Thank you to Mark. Thank you Richard, Chris, Craig, Jimmy, and Matthew for helping to create all the memories…

What a wrenching event, a goodbye is, after such an expedition.

Ray Gillespie & Mike Woodin 60’Th Birthday Trip.
S. Fork Arolik September 8 - 13:
From the log of September 8, 2005… lovely flying weather… A very, very large brown bear grazed the blueberry uplands, another single bear seen in the cirque basin foothills, and the “South Fork sow” with twin cubs grazed berries as far from the other bears as she could. More bears in the distance and caribou… we commented on the sundog halo effect, this morning and the rapidly falling barometer. A storm is forecast… Cool winds picked up by the time camp was built and we sought protection for the tents behind a bank of willows atop a flood created channel island.


After dinner Mike & Ray landed 8 coho, 3 Dolly Varden, & 1 rainbow trout. The rain & wind were becoming fully “authentic.” Ray’s mountain HardWear Gore XCR jacket and Mike’s Patagonia SST were in for the complete Alaska storm test. We finally dropped off to sleep with the cold wind shrieking in 45 mile per hour gusts through the willows. Barometer fell from 29.50 in Dillingham this morning to 29.30.

From the log of September 9. 0130 hrs: “east wind roaring down from Canyon Lake…sheets of torrential rain. Mike’s tent was now only inches from rising water… “MARK, MARK! THE CREEK IS NEARLY TO THE TENTS WHERE IT HAD BEEN DRY WHEN WE WENT TO BED!” Ray’s voice jolted me up. I poked the halogen beam out the cook fly and swept across our gravel bar island. An Alaskan storm referred to as a “Pineapple Express” carrying immense amounts of moisture had collided with the cold air mass of the previous day. We were surrounded by black rising water.

A “State of Emergency”. Into waders at 0130 hrs in the black wind driven rain; Mike packed his belongings into his river bag as Ray & I probed floodwaters for safe footing, scouting a route to dry ground. The river had risen one and one half feet in three hours and at this rate our tents would be swept away in thirty minutes. We decided to evacuate the whole camp to high ground on the mainland. Thankfully the raft was fine and fly rods safe. Now three fully adrenalised men who have known each other for just a few hours began carrying tents to safety. The tents, carried through black waters and whipping willow stands with fly and ground sheet complete, were catching wind like spinnakers of a sailboat in a gale. Ray led with the tiny L.E.D flashlight…We repeated the crossing, and again, and again so that by 0350 hrs we had made a functional bivouac camp and were wriggling into dry sleeping bags.

“Damage Assessment.” We were uninjured! … The fishing forecast would be terrible in the short term but the fly rods were unharmed. We were in relatively good spirits and had been through a critical test of our 3 man team under extraordinary stress. We had the survival essentials. Food, water, fuel & matches for fire, shelter, & a boat to see us down river to the Yupik village of Quinhagak.

“Decision point.” Here lies the crux of travel in the truly remote “bush” Alaska. One must commit! If we chose to leave our camp number one (near the floatplane pond) by raft we committed to running the whole river.

Decision? “We were still game”. Perhaps this decision illuminates a flaw in the fly-fishers eternal optimism; but our assessment was to continue the trip. We knew the fishing would be off for a period, especially in the high mountain headwaters. … We believed that after we had passed through the “Arolik Gap” passing beyond the mountains onto the coastal plain, there would be prospects for catching the trophy rainbow, the river can produce. But if after reaching the coastal plain; the conditions should deteriorate then we’d consider the option of rowing hard for the estuary and covering 30 miles at maximum speed.

Third day of continuos rain…12 Dolly Varden Char, 3 rainbows (no size mentioned in the log so they must have been small), and 7 coho were released. We are still completely dry in our waders & Gore XCR jackets! Mike has a great cast and reads the water like the Rogue River steelhead fisherman that he is! If fish are present he will catch them. Ray put down the fly rod during day two of the great storm and has been providing us with Dolly Varden, more or less on demand from the spinning rod, and at dinner time especially; Mucho Gusto!”

From the log of September 10. Really tough day! Passing Through the Arolik Gap the weather was terrible, wind and rain, …Mike reminded me some weeks after the trip that as we made camp on the third night it cleared for the first and last time of the trip: “Our attitudes remained good but I remember that we all commented on how good it felt to see some bright sunlight. That was good example of appreciating the moment and living well.” An hour of sun was a blessing and our cheer was real! Today’s fishing was the worst.…3 rainbows – no size given- 15 Dolly Varden of which 2 were killed for dinner, 5 coho, all in spawning dress. Very tough fishing with Mike putting in huge hours casting in the gales.

Mike, whose philosophy is "The fishing is always good, but sometimes not the catching” added in hindsight “sometimes the fishing trip turns into more of an Adventure, then the fishing becomes a small "f" and the adventure a capital "A." Ultimately Mike caught a fine Arolik rainbow. He practiced more perseverance than any angler I’ve fished with in years! A thousand casts today after ten thousand this week past. From Mike: “remember the last day as we were waiting for a plane. You sent Ray and me on a hike... Blood returned to our toes. It also gave us time to discuss how much we enjoyed the weather and how we were glad we didn't sign up with one of those lodges.”

Mike & Ray set a high standard for successfully negotiating truly extreme Alaskan fishing conditions.
The Yupik village store felt so warm on our wind burned faces the afternoon we portaged off the river. Mike remembers our flight out. “We were standing in a gale, with driving rain and looking at black clouds obscuring the mountains that we had to fly out through… we knew another big front was coming… These kinds of trips can be more memorable than lots of big fish… the real work is remembered at least as much as the fun. We were all part of a great team”.

Note to all the 2005 season’s participants:
As I reflect back on our trip together, which I do every day and for years afterward, I realize that together as a team we accomplished something far greater than any one of us could have on our own. Certainly beyond the dreams of most fly-fishers coming to Alaska. We shared the solitude of the most remote of Alaskan waters and the camaraderie of travel under the most demanding conditions that a fisher can face. Let’s stay in touch, keeping these stories alive.