If you have been to Alaska to fish for salmon, you may be familiar with the Russian River and the Kenai River. If you are like most people, you have not been to Alaska to fish for salmon. These rivers are probably as foreign to you as they were to me. For that reason, I include them among places that I consider off the beaten path. In fact, for most people, all of Alaska is off the beaten path. Most people that have an opportunity to go there do so via cruise ship. Many also board the train to view the heavenly scenery. Fisherman head to one of the rivers during salmon season. I am not a fisherman but I was in Alaska at the start of salmon season. How could I resist the opportunity? As usual, we trusted our friend to tell us where to go and to teach us the ropes.
From our friend's house in Wasilla, we headed south toward Cooper Landing. It is located on the Kenai Peninsula. First we had to stop and purchase a fishing rod and fishing license. The license was pricey but all we could think about was all the salmon we were going to reel in. The sporting goods store had a big sign that listed all of the rivers and the fishing conditions for the day. Heigh-ho, Heigh-ho, its off to the river we go. Along the way, our friend pulled over on the shoulder and jumped out of his truck with his telescope. There were Dall sheep way up on a mountain. Through the telescope they were beautiful. Most of us would have assumed they were mountain goats. With the naked eye, they just looked like specs of white. We would have driven right by. I wondered how in the world he noticed them. He admitted that he had been by there many times and knew that they frequented that area. Good to know that we weren't as oblivious as we thought. Farther down the road, he pulled over again. He said something looked "amiss" up on one of the mountains. I looked up. My husband looked up. We both saw a brown mountain. Nothing looked "amiss" to us. Our very astute buddy pointed out a small patch way up high that looked a little different from the surrounding area. Holy cow! Really? I think I should call him Eagle Eye! He took a good long look through his telescope and determined that all was well. Onward toward the salmon!
We drove to the Cooper Creek Campground and secured a spot for the night. There was a grill, picnic table, and latrine. Okay, so its not the Ritz, but that's more than some of our campsites offered. We drove on to the Russian River Campground parking lot. They offer day parking for a fee to people who are there to fish but are not camping there. These campgrounds get pretty crowded during salmon season, so we felt lucky to get both a campsite for the night and a parking place for the evening. If you plan to go there it might be worth calling ahead for a report of availability from the rangers.
It was now early evening. We hiked to the Russian river. There was a very, very, long wooden walkway that ran along the river bank. It was built to keep people from treading on the vegetation. Every so often was a set of steps leading down into the river. The walkway must have been a mile or more in length. They take their fishing seriously up there! We learned that the salmon had not yet made it to the Russian river. We kept walking, and walking, and walking. We were all wearing waders and carrying fishing gear, assorted bags and backpacks. I am about a foot shorter than our friend, so I was getting a workout. Eagle Eye decided that it would be best if we crossed the river so that we could walk over to the Kenai River. Reports stated that the salmon were starting to come into the Kenai. The two rivers merge, and the salmon swim up the Kenai to the Russian. Crossing the river is easier said than done. My husband and I were wearing hip boots. Our friend was wearing waders that were chest high. The river was shallow in places, but the current was extremely strong. The water was frigid. If we were to fall in, we would have to turn around and go back to camp. It was too cold to stay outside in wet clothing. If we fell in and the water was able to get inside of our boots, we could easily drown. It would make our boots so heavy that we would not be able to stand up. We saw a man fall in. He was able to stand up but he had to get out and hike back to camp. He had not even begun to fish. We decided not to risk crossing where he and his friends tried to cross. Every so often Eagle Eye would wade out to check the depth of the water before my husband and I attempted to cross. He found a spot that he thought would be safe. We carefully and slowly crossed the river. Eagle Eye took all of my gear and held it above his head. He gave me his huge fishing net and I used the pole as a walking stick. I gingerly placed it in front of me to test each spot before I took a step. We made it safely across. On we hiked toward the Kenai. We finally got to the place where the rivers merged. The Kenai was an odd but glorious blue-green color. The Russian was clear. Where they merged, the river looked partly clear and partly blue-green. Stunning! Let me just back up and tell you that all along the walkway and hiking path were signs warning us that we were bear country. Some of the signs told us that the bears were watching us, some told us that the bears were everywhere. It was dusk. I would have really been freaking out except that I knew that Eagle Eye was armed, and that he is an avid hunter. Earlier in our trip he insisted that we both learn to shoot so that we could protect ourselves from wild animals if the need arose. We arrived at the spot that Eagle Eye had in mind. I felt like I was taking part in a photo shoot for an outdoor clothing catalog. I thought we were in the middle of nowhere, and BAM, the path opens up and I see about 100 people out there fishing! The were all lined up along the shore, standing in the shallow water. Some were decked out in brand name clothing, obviously brand new. Others were in thrift store castoffs. It was easy to see which ones were the tourists and which were Alaskans. I was wearing 7 layers of clothing. I probably looked like a nut.
It was now 9:30 pm. We fished for several hours. We caught NOTHING!!! Eagle Eye patiently taught us the proper way to cast our rods. We practiced, getting better with time. I am not a patient fisherman (fisherwoman?) If I don't have anything on my hook in about 15 minutes, I start to get bored. This was my big trip to Alaska, and I was determined to stand there with the best of them. After about 30 minutes, my feet were so cold that they were starting to get numb. I took a break. I ate a snack. I took pictures. I tried again. It get windy out. It started raining. I didn't even see one stupid salmon swimming by. Finally, I felt something on my hook, then something jumped out of the water. It was a salmon!! By the time I realized what it was, it was free and heading upstream. I think I heard it laughing. The man standing next to me said that it was on my hook at one point, so it was fair for me to claim that I had hooked a salmon. I kept trying. The rain and wind continued. I took a seat on the shore. I took a walk on the shore. Finally, the guys gave up for the night. We hiked all the way back to the car. It was after midnight. The sun was setting. I kept wondering if a bear would suddenly appear on the path. We crossed the river again. By the time we got back to camp it was after 1:30 am. It was still raining it was dark. This was the first time we actually saw darkness in Alaska.
When we woke up the next morning it was still raining so we stayed in bed for awhile. Someone in another campsite hit the panic button on their car key. We got up and started getting dressed. Of course my husband was dressed and outside in about 2 minutes flat. Eagle Eye was outside cooking oatmeal on his little camp stove. The stove was perched on the open tail gate of his pick up truck, which had also served as his bed for the night. It was parked right behind our hotel on wheels (Toyota minivan). He adds all kinds of yummy things to his oatmeal, and it smells great. Apparently I am not the only one who thinks so. I heard Eagle Eye yell my husband's name several times. I knew in my gut that something really was "amiss" this time. I also knew by the tone of his voice that it was a grizzly. The windows of the mini van were tinted and had mesh shades on them, so from the inside I couldn't see where the bear was. I took a chance and opened the door on the side of the van where my husband was standing. I thought he might need to jump in to escape from the bear. Just then I heard Eagle Eye say "scat!" and stomp his foot several times. The bear ran off. My husband was shaking. The bear had been on the other side of the van. I never saw the darn thing! Typical. I crawled out and we ate breakfast. Eagle Eye explained that when he heard the car horn going off at the other campsite he knew that someone had seen a bear. The person had pressed it as a warning signal and to scare the bear. You learn something every day! Our friend was concerned that it may have scared me pretty badly. In actuality, I was really mad that I missed seeing it. He is a joker, so he kept trying to scare me the rest of the morning by pretending that he saw a bear. He laughs like Count Chocula, so being the butt of his joke was worth it just to hear him laugh.
We broke camp and drove back to the river for more fishing. This time Eagle Eye chose an area that didn't require crossing the river. We just had to hike through lush vegetation and down a bank. We still didn't catch anything. It was still raining and cold. I gave up and went back to the van to read. A short time later my husband joined me. We cooked lunch while Eagle Eye continued to fish. My husband swears that he had a salmon on his line but it got away. I didn't witness it so I have always teased that it probably didn't really happen. After we ate, Eagle Eye comes hiking up the path with a great big beautiful salmon. He deftly cleaned it and presented a good portion of it to us to put in the cooler for our dinner.
I have heard tales of salmon jumping out of the water, leaping onto fish hooks, rivers jammed with them frantically swimming upstream. We saw very few salmon. A few of the other people along the shore caught some, but it was nothing like what I had envisioned. We were there too early in the season. If you want to experience salmon fishing in Alaska, wait a little bit longer than we did. It was still fun, and it is a fond memory. What an adventure!
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