So I still remember the first time I ever went Salmon Fishing on the Chilkoot River just outside Haines Alaska. It was a beautiful day and the Coho were in the river.
I had gone to the local bait shop/grocery store/clothing store/gun shop (Real Alaska one stop shopping) at a place known in town as Oleruds. I asked the guy behind the counter what people were using on the river, and he told me that everyone was fishing pixies. I grabbed about 5 in three different color combinations and headed out.
Unlike fishing for salmon in southcentral alaska, where it is known as combat fishing, here in Haines there were only a couple other people on the river. I tossed in my Pixie and let it almost bounce along the bottom with the current as I brought it in. Within a few casts I had a hit.
The fast and acrobatic Silver Salmon charged up river taking line while making huge leaps out of the water. After a good fight he was on shore and I was able to pop a gill to bleed him out, put him on a stringer and go for more food.
By the end of the silver run that year my freezer was stocked with beautiful fresh fish. Because I was fishng only a mile or so from salt water the silvers I got still looked pretty much like ocean fish and had not turned to dark or gotten spawned out.
After a day of Great Salmon Fishing fishing it was nice to head back to the little town I lived in to relax and enjoy the fresh air. I was glad I had moved to Haines, what a beautiful place, and what a perfect lifestyle.
