Oct 08
1
Modern Day Lewis and Clark
It was my third summer in Alaska, and we were in a Cessna 206 headed from Lake Clark to American Creek. Although I had been in several small planes and bad storms, that was by far the worst. I usually did quite well on rough flights, but on that day I came the closest so far to reviewing the contents of my stomach in a bag. Thankfully just as I was wondering when it would end, we touched down on the surface of the lake, and taxied into shore. The raft was already inflated and ready to go when I disembarked from the plane, and it only took some final preparation and packing to get us underway, as the wind continued to howl. 
Although called a creek, it was every bit of a river, at least at first. We paddled through some minor rapids and by the end of the day had reached a nice gravel bar for camp, and set up for the night. The season for rainbows did not open until midnight, so as I slept away my travel woes, the other three guys were out fishing in the middle of the night, catching the first of many rainbows to come. In the morning we ate a good breakfast and immediately found some good holes and began fishing.
It was my first time fishing for rainbows, so my skills were still in need of sharpening. The other members were already pros, and showed me the good spots to fish as well as pulling in the big fish from those spots.
It didn’t take long for me to catch on however, and in no time I was reeling them in too, but not quite as big as the others, but the thrill of the catch was enough for me. As we floated down, we happened upon a nine-foot Brown Bear, only 30 yards away!
Thankfully he was preoccupied with his own affairs, but offered some great pictures. The weather was decent for the first of June, but the mosquitoes were horrendous. The large amount of blood sucking insects required the use of head nets, which are not very comfortable, but saves a lot of skin. I learned a very good tip though. Even though the bugs were bad, the pictures of the fish are made worse if there are bug nets present. For future reference, to ensure a natural picture and good quality shot, take the time to remove the head net completely, just long enough to get a good photo, then quickly don it again.
As you can see in these pictures, it makes a big difference. Also on the subject of pictures, when taking them holding fish that are somewhat dark, be sure to wear bright colored shirts and jackets. Although they will not double as good hunting clothing, they increase the liveliness and the quality of a good picture tremendously, so dress appropriately and maybe even fashionably. And refrain from using the flash or having the exposure too high. Because of the fishes scales, they can get over exposed at times, and wash out the beautiful colors and details of the fish.
The rest of the days continued similar to the first, floating, stopping at good holes and backwaters, throwing a wooly bugger, or dry flies, depending on the spot, and watching the fish hit them like crazy. Aside from
Rainbows we also caught Arctic Char, which mixed up the fishing a bit and kept us on our toes. The other thing that kept us on our toes was the terrain and the river. 
The further we went the more it braided and turned into various channels. Being that none of us had floated this river before, it was a learning experience, and we quite often had to “Lewis and Clark” it, dragging the raft through brush and over hanging trees to reach the passable channels on the other side. It was at that time that the river earned its Creek title. It was a great adventure however, and put all of our skills to the test. We spent four days on the river, and each one was a different experience. By the time we reached the lake to be picked up we were happy, tired and smelly from being away, but we all left better fisherman, and with a great trip behind us.
