I just returned from my second three-day trip to the Kenai. The first sockeye run started out slow, but is now in full-swing. Fishing on the Russian river is not for the faint of heart. You will contend with crowds of people from all over the world attempting to catch their first fish, as well as crusty old Alaska veterans who really want to get their fish and just get the heck out of there. Yesterday was like that for me....Colby and I hiked up to the Russian River falls after he got of work, arriving on site about 5:00. It's a moderate three-mile hike on a good trail if you don't follow the river bed. We carried our waders and wore running shoes for the hike. I highly recommend not wearing your waders for the hike as you will surely develop some painful blisters on your heels otherwise...done that. Also bear spray or a big gun if your qualified to use it, is a good idea. Large Brown bears frequent this area and will sometimes want to share the fishing hole with you. Give them their space. Colby had his first bear encounter a few days back while fishing late in the evening. The bear fished one side of the stream while Colby nervously fished the other. Back to the trip yesterday.....I've been fishing in Alaska for nearly thirty years and many years ago gave up fishing the Russian due to the crowded conditions we Alaskans call "combat fishing". However, having Colby up here this summer prompted me to revisit the old fishing grounds. Fishing the Russian is a dangerous sport when hundreds of rods and flies are flipping through the air in close proximity to exposed body parts. Around 6:00 last night the inherent danger of combat fishing caught up with me. I made a perfect cast into a group of fish with my fly rod. The drift was good and I felt the line stop....this is the signal to set your hook. The hook set, but unfortunately in the side of the fish instead of the mouth. This is not good. Foul hooked fish are difficult to control...think 7 pound fish in a 6 knot current on the end of your line. The sockeye made a quick run downstream and headed to shore amidst a mass of other fisherman who were not really interested in taking a step back. The fish ran straight into the boots of a fellow prompting the fly to break loose under tension and rocket back to me at mach 4. I only had time to make a slight turn away before it smacked me and buried itself deeply into my chin....not good. I told Colby to get out the leatherman and clip it off high on the shank so that I might have a chance at pushing it through. That didn't work. It was too deeply imbedded. It stopped bleeding pretty quickly and wasn't bothering me much, so I set back to getting my limit. I'm sure I was a comical sight with the red shank of that number 4 hook sticking out of my chin, but nobody said a word because they knew it could happen to them just as easily...or maybe it was the .45 Colt I had on my belt that stopped any comments. Despite the jewelry, I managed to get my three fish in another couple of hours, but it was difficult getting fish landed with the crowd. We hiked out and I decided to head for home with our accumulated catch from the last three days. I arrived home about midnight, put away the fish, showered, and headed out to the ER at our local hospital. I must have timed it right because there was no waiting line. I'm sure if I would have driven to Soldotna, the closest hospital on the Kenai, there would have been 15 others just like me waiting to be de-hooked. The ER doc at our local hospital was a nice guy. He gave me a couple options for hook removal...something he called the "String Method", which he highly recommended, or getting numbed up and sliced. He told me that the "String Method" was really good ... when it worked. The only problem was that it was extremely painful when it didn't! I wouldn't be numbed for the procedure. That caused me to stop and think. But the doc REALLYwanted me to go with the "String Method" and he had an eager cadre of nurses and a resident who were "chomping at the hook" to see this demonstrated. Well, it was 2:00 in the morning, I'd had a long day, and I probably wasn't thinking too clearly, so I consented to his procedure under the condition that they would immediately put me out of my misery if it failed. So the staff gathered around while he quickly tied a long piece of surgical thread around the curved part of the hook, which was barely exposed. He then put pressure on what was left of the shank and gave a quick rip. The hook came flying out, darn near hitting one of the spectators. Blood was everywhere and one of the nurses just about fainted. I didn't feel a thing. The doc retrieved the hook, one of the nurses put pressure on the wound, and everyone went "Wow! That was cool!". One tetanus shot and my paperwork and I was out of there, not much worse for the wear and tear of the day. Fishing rod, flies, plenty of other friendly fisherman, time with my nephew, a few nice fish, and a trip to the ER....PRICELESS! You gotta love Alaska! Attached are a few photos from the falls, the river, and the fly that bit me. Enjoy!
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