ALASKA PENINSULA/ PUMICE CREEK LODGE

The start of the Alaskan fishing season has finally begun.  After a long winter gorging themselves out at sea, millions of salmon will start their spawning run back into the freshwater runs from where they were born.  On the Alaska Peninsula thousands of king salmon will migrate first followed by sockeye, chums, pinks and finally silvers.  Pumice Creek Lodge owned and operated by Gary LaRose has long been know as the best lodge on the remote Peninsula.  Here you will not catch the giant kings found on the Kenai, but you have a chance at a king around 50lbs.  The season really picks up by the end of June on the Cinder River.  By the beginning of July, numerous kings can also be found on the King Salmon River.  LaRose makes sure clients can be fishing on the best locations each day.  My favorite time on the Peninsula is the fall season where millions of monster silver salmon enter the rivers.  The Peninsula has some of the largest silvers available in the state or anywhere else on earth.  Catches of over 100 silver in a day are not out of the questions with a few possibly exceeding the magical 20lbs.  I have fished the Peninsula for over 27 years and my best day was an arm wrcnching 144 silvers.  Arctic char are in full spawn colorations during the fall season.  These are perhaps the most beautiful freshwater fish on earth and are very easy to catch with some day practically a bite per cast.  I highly recommend if you have plans to head to Alaska this year, to contact Gary LaRose at akpen@aol.com or check out www.garylarose.com and you definately will have the fishing experience of your lifetime!

ALASKA HALIBUT DERBIES

The month of May opens the beginning of some of the best halibut fishing out of the towns of Seward, Homer, and Valez in Alaska.  I have fished out of all 3 of these fabulous destinations numerous times.  My largest halibut to date was a massive 300lbs caught out of Valdez.  We also caught a 298lbs and 8 more over 150lbs which made for great eating to say the least!  Each of these towns have so called Halibut Derby's where you win large amounts of money for the largest halibut of the season plus weekly and tagged fish prizes.   Homer starts their derby on May 15 ending Sept 15.  The JackPot Halibut Derby pays $10,000  + $0.50 tickets sold to the largest halibut entered.  To enter you need to buy a derby ticket for $10.  The derby in Valdez starts May 21 ending Sept 4.  Top prize is $15,000 for 1st prize, $5.000 for 2nd prize, and $2,000 for 3rd prize.  So far a monster 253 lbs halibut caught by David Jamison is leading.  In Seward the derby only last the month of June.  So far the leader is a halibut weighing 179.8lbs.  Halibut can exceed weights of 400lbs if your lucky.  So make sure to buy a derby ticket on your next visit to Alaska in a chance to win thousands!

Stick Marsh largemouth bass update

Friends Gary Clark and Jeff Stagg recently had a great angling experience with Capt. Hugh Crumpler fishing for largemouth bass on Central Florida's Stick Marsh.  Stick Marsh was created in 1987 and immediately became a go to destination for the avid bass angler.  It is a 6500 acre reservoir located near Fellsmere, FL.  Gary and Jeff experienced days of 50+ bass with an occasional trophy.  The current bite is redhot on artifical lures.  Capt. Crumpler has years of experience fishing the Marsh and knows what to use and when to go.  He can be contacted at 321-626-6174 or check out his website at
www.hugh-crumpler.com.

RAPALA LURES

In my previous blog, I mentioned some Rapala lures such as the Magnum 40 and the Super Shad Rap Magnum which I have not seen in the USA.  I contacted friend, Tom Ashby, who owns the American Legacy Fishing Company.  Tom contacted his Rapala USA representative to inquire about these sought lures.  In short, Tom finds out that Rapala is organized into different and separate companies by various locations throughout the world, and unfortunately, they do not share products.  So it looks like the Mag 40s, the Mag 30 in the UV colorations, the Super Shad Rap Magnum, and others great rapala lures will not be available ti ne unless I can find them on ebay.  Knowing this, on my next overseas adventure I plan on stocking up on these impossible to get great lures by Rapala.

Rapala Magnum lures

Rapala recently introduced the X-Rap Magnum 40 series and the Super Shad Rap Magnum series.  The Mag 40 is capable of reaching depths to 40ft.  The Mag 30 is on of my favorite lures to catch monster giant golden dorado at La Zona and am sure the 40 series would catch some monster dorado!.  The Super Shad Rap Magnum has a similar body to the current Super Shad Rap; however, the magnum series has a metal bill instead of the plastic bill.  This will enable better results around rocks and other hard structure which can break the plastic.  This lure is also a favorite fishing at La Zona, Papua New Guinea, and practically every destination I have visited.

However, I have not yet seen these lures available in the United States.  They are available in Europe and Australia.  Hopefully, rapala will introduce these lures in the USA soon!

Daiwa Saltiga 6500H spinning reel

While fishing for monster GTs and other saltwater species in Maldives, my reel of choice was the Daiwa Saltiga 6500H,  This beast put out a powerful 66lbs of drag while holding 440yards of 80lbs braid.  The gear ratio of 5:7:1 made it very easy casting large poppers to the GTs.  The 15 bearings made the reel very smooth.  It is has a lightweight aluminum spool with carbon accents and air rotor design featuring corrosion proof Zaion carbon construction keeping the weight at 28.9oz.  .  It has a manual bail trip for reliability.  It features a magseal to keep saltwater out.  I had no issues with this fantastic piece of machinery!  I highly recommend you check out this reel on your next visit to battle Giant Trevally in Maldives or whereever your adventure takes you.

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Shimano Orca

During my trip to Maldives for Giant Trevally, the Shimano Orca outproduced any lure I had.  The Orce has an internal weight which causes it to produce an erratic pop and dive action.  It has wire through construction and comes in lengths of 6 1/2 inches weighing 2oz and 71/2 inches weighing 3oz.  I used the 3oz Orca during my trip.  Shimano has recently come out with a Pop Orca weighing 5oz. Hopefully the waters levels will be low on my next adventure to La Zona as I feel this lure will be fantastic on huge golden dorado.