Story by David J. Sams, Lone Star Outdoor News
We hit the Yentna River about as hard as we could, fishing all the good holes that our young guide, Grady Boren, had discovered in the prior weeks. The big Alaskan river was flooding, muddy and hard to navigate, but we learned quickly that the salmon were there. All we had to do was slow-roll the spinners in front of their face.
The bite was soft but the fight was explosive and the fish did not like the landing net. Boren quickly mastered the flying fish and proudly added them to the stringer.
Our boat mates, David Wasson and Steve Garrett, became “lifetime” friends in about the first hour of fishing. There was never a dull moment or time without laughter the rest of the trip. I’m sure the other fishermen on the river wanted us to turn down our favorite fishing song, but that never happened until we caught the first fish each day. Even Grady asked, “Are you still playing that song?” after a slow start one day.
Most days, Denali showed us her majestic beauty from 65 miles away and looked like a fake backdrop for some of our photos.
As the river lowered, the water cleared and the fishing continued to surprise us. Thirty-plus fish days were normal and we fished with fly, spinners and spoons, changing it up when the action slowed.
The McDougall lodge staff was friendly and treated us like we owned the place. The food was plentiful and delicious. The cabins were comfortable and clean. On two nights, the staff hosted a horseshoe and cornhole tournament, and everyone joined in. A few lucky ones may have won a little extra cash.
We enjoyed more clear, good-weather days than we should have, being in Alaska, and as the time to leave neared, we were reminded again of how great the fishing can be.
The last night was spent on the beach in front of the lodge catching fish after fish. Grady smiled again each time he took another salmon to the cleaning house. Come by the Lone Star Outdoor News booth (2852) and I will show you a thousand more photos from our trip or visit the McDougall booth (3547).
