MONSTER SILVER SALMON AND CHAR FROM PUMICE CREEK LODGE, ALASKA

Along with friends Cole Lundquist and Chuck Boyian, I had the opportunity to fish for silver salmon and arctic char out of Gary LaRose's Pumice Creek Lodge. Pumice Creek Lodge is located on the Alaska Peninsula about an hours flight from the town of King Salmon. Here, some of the biggest silver salmon in the world swim the various rivers on the Peninsula. Gary flys clients out daily to either the Cinder River for monster silvers or to Lava Creek for non stop action on Arctic Char. This was my 25th trip to the Alaska Peninsula and we definately got into the action. I hooked a monster silver about 34 inches on my first cast on the Cinder. Flo red or orange pixee spoons were the hot lures in gold finish. I wound up with 87 silvers and sore arms the first day!! Cole and Chuck also landed numerous trophy silvers. The scenery is breathtaking with daily sightings of brown bear, moose, and a few caribou. This is tundra territory as trees are not present. Isolation is a norm on the Peninsula as we did not see other humans during our stay, so we had the river all to ourselves. The silvers start to pour into the Cinder around the middle of August and continue to November for their spawning ritual. During spawning the silvers will change colorations and shapes with their coloration turning bright red with large teeth and a hooked jaw.

Action for silvers cotinued during the week. On Wednesday, Cole and I took a break from the silvers to fish Lava Creek for Arctic Char. Char do not die after spawning like the silvers. We walk the creek casting small spinners and practically catch char on every cast. The fishing was incredible as we both stopped counting after landing 140 char each! Char also turn colorations during their spawning. They develop reddish dots and reddish lips with the males developing hook jaws. They are absolutely one of the most beautiful fish on earth!!

We all took lots of silvers home to get smoked which are delicious!! We have already booked for next season and am already looking forward to get into the monster silvers and char of Pumice Creek Lodge. Gary has openings during the season and your always welcome to join me for fantastic fishing adventure. Contact Gary at akpen@aol.com plus check out his site at www.garylarose.com Gary also offers fantastic hunting for brown bear and moose.