On the morning of April 16, 2008 Jason, Mike and I flew from Anchorage to Yakutat, Alaska to try our luck on the Situk River for spring steelheads. Spring was late coming in south central Alaska and there was still a lot of snow on the ground when we arrived in Yakutat. Our plan involved staying in a cabin at Yakutat Lodge, and renting a vehicle to travel between the lodge and the river. There are two points of access to the Situk, one near the mouth and the other at nine-mile bridge. After checking in and being assigned a cabin we sorted out our gear,changed into our waders, rigged our rods and drove toward nine-mile bridge. The weather was cold, overcast and by the time we reached the river snowing.
We split up at the bridge, Mike and I going upstream and Jason downstream. We fished for a couple hours in increasingly heavy snow. With daylight fading Mike and I headed back to the bridge not having had any takes. We fly fish exclusively and release all fish. The Situk River is single hook, artificial lures only. Both of us dead drifted egg patterns using strike indicators. Jason was at the bridge when Mike and I returned and had hooked two steelhead at the tail-out of the pool immediately below the bridge and landed one.
The next morning dawned cold and clear, in the low 20s. We had decided to return to the nine-mile bridge and hike upstream. A compacted trial along the left side of the river lead us to a point upstream where the trail crossed over to the opposite bank. The three of us waded into the river and fished up and slightly downstream of the crossing. After a short time Mike an I followed the trail upstream for about 15 minutes and then fished several pools working our way downstream. The cold air caused the line guides to freeze quickly and so it was necessary to frequently clear the ice. We worked our way downstream toward the crossing and encountered Jason near a pile of logs lying almost completely across the river. It turned out that he had hooked a large steelhead in small pool at the base of a stump that broke him and had seen a second fish. After several minutes without a take we all headed back downstream to a whole just below the crossing. There were two fisherman already at the hole when we arrived and unfortunately we had to stand there and watch them hook three steelhead in about 15 minutes, one of which they landed. We worked past them and then proceeded to fish downstream toward the bridge.
The Situk is a relatively narrow river with numerous log piles in, or partially in, the water and lined on both banks with brush and alders. For that reason it can be a difficult river to fish and even more difficult to land fish if they decide to seek refuge under a log pile or amongst roots along the banks. We waded down the middle of the river working seams along the banks where the steelhead like to hide in the roots and brush that hangs down into the water. The water was about 36F and clear. We came to a large log pile at a 90-degree bend in the river and saw steelhead under logs in places that were impossible to fish. We were back to the bridge by noon without a take except for the fish that broke Jason's line.
Next we drove to the mouth of the river in the hope of intercepting new fish entering the river. The area we fished is an estuary and therefore affected by the tides. The afternoon was warmer and we fished for several more hours without a take. Drift boats which put in at the nine-mile bridge started showing up around 4:00P and the reports were not promising; they too had seen and hooked very few fish. We ended the day batting zero for three rods.
Our strategy for day three was to return to nine-mile and be the first to the hole where we had seen three fish hooked the previous day. We were up early and on the trail by by 6:00A. It was even colder day. We got to hole and waded out into the river between or dozen or so logs in water. The water felt even colder on this day. There was only room for two people to fish the hole so Jason elected to move upstream to the log pile where he hooked up the previous day. I was in the water 5 minutes when my guides were iced up and my reel froze completely. Mike was having the same problems with his gear. Jaison returned and the three of us rotated in the hole for almost two hours without a take.
Cold and disappointed we headed downstream. Mike hiked the trail back to the bridge and Jason and I waded the river. At the downstream log jam where we spotted fish the day before, Jaison found 3-4 large steelhead in a deep pool off the root end of a large spruce tree in the water. Not for the lack of trying, Jason was unable to interest the fish in the various flies he offered. We had been fishing primarily egg patterns, beads and occasionally black leeches.
Mike was at the bridge when we got there and had spotted several steelhead in the deep hole downstream of the bridge. The three of us tried a variety egg patterns and leeches without success. Fishing a deep hole directly under the bridge Jason hooked up with and landed an 8-10 pound dark, hold-over steelhead. He then moved to the right bank of the river at the boat launch and hooked and landed a nice chrome 10-12 pound female. Mike hooked what seemed to be another good fish but the hook pulled out. We were now three days into the trip and I still hadn't had a single take. After another 30 minutes or so without a hit we decided to return to the mouth of the river. It was late in the afternoon, we fished for maybe another hour then called it a day.
Mike left us on day four to return to Anchorage and then to Denver on business. Jason and I decided to return the mouth of the river and hike upstream as far as possible. We followed the trail on river-right as far as it went. It took us about 1.5 hours to reach the end of the trail. The air was noticeably warmer and the skies where still cloudless. The river made what looked like an S-curve and we started fishing in short pool near the midpoint of the bend. The sun was just clearing the tree tops when I lines hit the water. There was large jumble of logs downstream of the pool. We fished the hole together for a while and I then wandered downstream. I was out of sight long when I heard Jason call. Moving back upstream I could see that he was hooked up. The fish fought hard for a several minutes before we tailed a bright 10-12 female steelhead. We then switched locations and I fished the upper pool and Jason moved downstream.
Less than 15 minutes passed and I heard Jason again. This time I scurried downstream to find him with a big steelhead. At first he thought he had snagged the bottom until the fish started to move upstream. Jason worked to keep the fish out of brush along the bank. Suddenly the fish started to move up stream toward a downed tree in the water and in an effort to keep the steelhead from the snag the fish broke off. With that we started working our way downstream.
We traveled about 100 yards and the reached a point too deep wade. We climbed the left bank of the river and then worked away through the woods in deep snow along a long straight pool. Near the midpoint of the pool the height of the bank allowed us a good vantage from which to spot fish and we see 20-25 steelhead scattered about the pool and there had to be others which we couldn't see. Heavy brush made it impossible to fish from the side of the river we were on. We decided to work our way toward the lower end of the pool, then across the river and upstream to a point directly across from where we had observed the fish.
Our position left us in waist deep water amongst a nest of large trees. It took us a while but finally we located the fish near the far bank directly across from us. I had two takes in row and then finally hooked a good size steelhead. I struggled to keep it out of the trees on our side of the river when it turned and ran toward the far bank and then began a series of surface rolls suddenly broke me off. Jason and I hooked 10-12 steelhead in the hole over the next a couple hours landing 4 or 5. I was able to bring two good steelhead to hand, my first of the trip.
The last day of the trip dawned cool and sunny. We had a plane to catch in the evening so this would be a short day on the river. The plan was to retrace our path from yesterday. After breakfast at the lodge I went to start the truck to warm it up only to find a flat tire. Panic set in as I looked through the truck for the tools to change the tire. The jack, lug wrench and spare were all there but no jack handle! After some frantic phone calls we were instructed to use an old van parked in front of the lodge, with the keys in it. We quickly piled our gear into the van and headed back to the mouth of the Situk.
It was long before we were back to the hole where things started happening yesterday. Jason fished the head of the pool and I fished the tail-out. We expected the action to start quickly but it didn't. We tried various egg patterns and leeches but nothing. Finally, after jet boat plowed through the hole on it's way upstream Jason tagged a nice bright female steelhead. Unfortunately I had left my camera at the cabin and Jason's camera fogged up so there are no pictures of our final day of the trip.
We continued to work the pool and the one directly below it. Another fish was hooked in the lower pool but not landed. After about an hour we headed downstream to the pool that had been so prolific the day before. We crossed at the same point and took up our same positions between the jumble of logs but the result was disappointing. The fish were there but the bite was off. We made dozens of casts but no takes. Finally, after about an hour I hooked a good fish. At first I though I had snagged something on the bottom but finally realized it was a steelhead. I was using my 8/9 weight switch rod which has a lot of backbone but the fish was pretty much having its way with me. We had decided the day before that would be very difficult to tail a big fish in our position in the river and that we might have to take it downstream to a gravel bar on the opposite side of the river. After bring the fish into us three time only to have it charge back out into the river I decided to move the fish downstream and to cross over to the opposite bank in the process.
As I started to work down river the fish came with me; I was it waste deep water. Part way to the bar the fish crossed over to the opposite bank and started to take advantage of the current. I river makes a long sweeping bend and gains velocity at this point. Now my fear was that the fish would make a run and that I might not be able to follow it. I put pressure on the steelhead and gained some ground. Jason positioned himself to tail the fish when I got closer. Finally, after another 5 minutes or so the fish tired and we able to land it, a nice chrome 13-14 pound female. The fish was winded and we had to work with it a bit but suddenly it charged back into the current and was on its way.
By now it was time to head back to the lodge. On our way out we started seeing fresh steelhead in the river, groups of 6-10 fish. At one one point we saw 7 or 8 fish holding in about 2 feet of water. Unable to pass up a chance at another steelhead, Jason went down the bank below the fish and, acting as I spotter, I directed him from high up on the bank. After much coaching and several casts Jason's "aeropuff" drifted through the middle of the pod and suddenly the water erupted as one of the fish took the fly. Just out of salt water these steelhead have a lot of spunk. Jason landed the fish as quickly as possible and then took one more steelhead before we hand to start moving again.
We returned to the cabin to pack, shower and check in at the airport. Yakutat Lodge is next to the airport terminal and so burgers and beer at the lodge finished off a great trip. Tired, we both slept on the short plane ride back to Anchorage.
