On Day 4, Greta and I wanted to walk out to the mouth of the Lost River to try to get a few more chrome coho salmon for our fish boxes. We kept with our strategy of being in position before the low tide, and setting up a gauntlet swinging spoons and spinners, only this time just a few hundred yards upstream from the mouth of the Lost River and the incoming tidal waters of the Pacific Ocean.
We both were in great spirits as the morning was crystal clear setting up for as pleasant of a walk-through Alaskan bog as could be possible. We had a great breakfast at Glacier Bear Lodge and headed out early for the parking area next to the bridge over the Lost River. The gods were smiling on us that morning, as the sun was shining, and we were the only vehicle in the parking area. That meant that we would have our pick of the best spots to choose from once we got out near the mouth of the Lost River.
About 100 yards off the road, just above the trail a large bald eagle sat as a sentinel and omen for what was going to be another great day for Greta and me. We were able to take some photos and video of the great bird before it launched off the top of the tree and flew another few hundred yards west on the trail, almost guiding us out to the fishing grounds.
This hike is never easy, as the bog is basically like walking on top of a waterbed, and if you are not careful, you can quickly find yourself waist deep in a sink hole that is more like being stuck in a bowl of oatmeal. Thankfully, neither Greta nor I slipped into the sink holes on the walk out. We stopped to take some photos and video about 1/2 way out, looking at the old, abandoned railroad tracks that used to transfer fish from the Situk river to the Cannery in town pre-WWII. We kept calling out "hey bear" to ensure that we didn't spook any large or small brown bears on the way out. There were no bears or other humans to be seen or heard our entire walk out which was a first for me in my 10 years of fishing Yakutat.
We found what we felt was a great spot on the Lost, with a deep channel across the river from us, and set up our gauntlet. Greta set up about 70 yards downstream towards the Ocean, while I stayed upstream from her. We were about an hour before low tide which was scheduled for 8:20 this morning and we both started swinging spoons and spinners that had been working well all week on the Tawah, and up at 9 mile.
At about 8:00 - I had a good hit from a nice hen on my little cleo 2/3 oz orange and nickel spoon. I was able to keep the fish downstream and maintain tight lines and eventually get it to shore. The hen came unbuttoned the minute I set down my rod, so I quickly grabbed her by the tail and ran the fish over to my pack that was on the bank to get her on a stringer. One in the box.
At 8:20, I had another fish on, but got too anxious and wasn't able to maintain tight lines, and the fish spit the hook about 4 feet in front of me.
Greta and I switched places on the river, with her taking the higher spot. She put on her own little cleo spoon and sure enough soon had her own fish on. I called out to her asking if she wanted any help and she responded, "I've got it!" So, Greta grew up fishing for sculpin and other bottom fish from the shores of Guemes Island however at this point, she had only been Salmon/Steelhead fishing for a year. To watch her go from her first few casts of spinners and spoons up on the South Fork of the Skykomish River in September of 2021, to this point where she was enticing a wild Alaskan Coho on her presentation, successfully fighting the fish, and then dispatching and getting it on the stringer 100% independent of her dad was an incredibly proud moment for me. Even in these few days in Yakutat, watching her grow in confidence from the initial 12" dolly to masterfully handling and landing this 12lb coho on her own has been just awesome. She is a full-on fisherperson with the confidence and skills to be successful in all outings going forward.
About 20 minutes later, Greta had a 2nd fish on, however just like her dad, she got a bit too excited and wasn't able to maintain tight lines and the fish masterfully spit the hook. Although frustrating, we both felt the morning had been incredibly successful. Our hike out was easy with the adrenaline of 2 more fish going home with us. We spent the afternoon fishing up at 9 Mile catching and releasing more large13-15lb fire truck coho and picked up one more decent Dolly for the box.
Hanging out with Greta and experiencing the beauty of Alaska is truly better than Christmas for me...and I look forward to many more years of fishing experiences with her in Yakutat and hopefully other bucket list locations around the world. Just awesome.
Fabulous looking fish! Great job Don and Greta. 😀 -- Eric K.