King Salmon on the Fly

In 2017 Dee and traveled to Alaska to work in an upper end lodge, cooking for guests during the summer. I had not bn home for almost 40 years and my beloved had never been. So we accepted the position and on a hot summer day in late may in Texas we flew north and landed in Anchorage to mid 50's and rain. 

The lodge is situated on the confluence of the Kenai and Moose Rivers, and is an absolute salmon hotspot during the season. 

About 3 days after we arrived, I purchased a temporary fishing license and Dee and I strolled down the bluff to the river. Our friend, Tim was working the beach for the guests and hooked me up with the right stuff. I waded out and fired a couple of casts to get used to the weighted streamer. On the third cast the fly abruptly stopped and I reared back on the 9 weight. 

The big fish thrusted his tail a couple of times and the fight was on. A series of fortunate events and some time later he was at the net. We estimated the fish around 35 pounds as we released him back into the wild Kenai. I had caught and landed the first King Salmon on that beach, that summer.