Tails from The Road: Lake Creek Alaska

At the recent fly fishing show, I had the chance to reconnect with an old friend and high school pitching coach, Max Pavel. He had extended this opportunity to me after the first year of COVID, but, like many things during that time, I was unable to follow through. This year, when Max and I crossed paths again, he offered me the same deal: come to Alaska to scout a new stretch of water for future clients. This time, I wasn’t going to let it slip away.

After months of anticipation, the day finally arrived. I flew into Anchorage, Alaska, where I stayed in an Airbnb for one night before joining other industry professionals and colleagues on a float plane to Lake Creek. All of us had some rowing experience and extensive fly fishing knowledge. From Anchorage, we flew to Chelatna Lake, the headwaters of Lake Creek. From there, we floated 52 miles down to the Yentna River, where we would be picked up by float plane and flown back to Anchorage.

Upon landing at Chelatna Lake, we had a lot of work ahead before our journey could begin. We unloaded three RMR rafts and frames, which needed to be inflated and assembled for each rower. We then packed the boats with essential gear: two Yeti 75 coolers, two large dry boxes, a smaller dry box for each rower, luggage for nine people, and everything needed to camp in the Alaskan bush for five days. Once everything was set, we began our 52-mile downstream trek. 

The first 2-3 hours featured calm water with occasional riffles that held impressive grayling and rainbow trout, all caught on Dolly Llamas or eggs. As the river transitioned to faster white water, it was a fun way to shake off the rust after a year without rowing. Soon, we reached our first campsite. The weather had been uncooperative all morning and remained so until the afternoon of the third day, when we finally saw blue skies and sunlight.

Setting up camp on such trips is no easy task. After rowing all day, the work continues. Tents need to be set up, the kitchen assembled, and a fire started. Our days typically ended around 8 p.m., though it felt like 4 p.m. due to the two-hour time difference and the lack of a clear sense of time.

Our second day proved to be one of the best for fishing. We found that rainbows and grayling were lurking near shallow drop-offs, often behind staging salmon. Although we didn’t find any spawning salmon, we did discover two large pools near our campsites teeming with fish. At our third campsite, we encountered our first run of salmon—Kings and Sockeye. While King Salmon are endangered and should not be targeted, they occasionally bite the same flies as Sockeye or rainbows. When this happens, you can either break the line or land them quickly. We chose to break them off each time to allow these magnificent fish to continue their journey upstream. If a King is landed though, you are not allowed to take them out of the water. Unhook the fish and let it go immediately.

On the third day, reality set in as we faced the challenging conditions of Alaska. Despite seeing salmon and catching grayling on mouse patterns, the rain had not let up since we left the lake. A mile after our third campsite, we encountered a long stretch of white water that lasted 45 minutes to an hour, with no breaks to catch our breath. The rollers and 5-6 foot waves were intense, and we started to worry as we had no place to pull off. Eventually, we regrouped in an eddy, caught our breath, and continued with only 15 more minutes of white water to navigate before reaching our next campsite.

At our fourth campsite, we successfully landed numerous Sockeye Salmon and a few grayling. The technique we used was different from what I was used to. We employed a method called "flossing," which involves using a heavy drop shot weight attached to a 40-pound snap swivel, with 25-30 pound tippet. We swung a rod-length of line with a pink and purple bucktail fly, and it worked remarkably well. Although we lost all our sockeye flies eventually, the experience was exhilarating.

The following morning, we stopped at "The Cliff Hole," a camp run by Bryan, who has been fishing and camping on Lake Creek for the past 18 years. Bryan provided valuable information about the remainder of the river. We had one last section of rapids called The Rock Garden, filled with boulders and rocks to navigate before reaching the takeout. Bryan warned us about two huge boulders that could potentially flip a boat if not handled correctly. He advised us to stay right at high water levels, as the left route, known as the “Birth Canal,” was narrow and treacherous.

Despite our preparations, our boat ended up in the left chute. We hit a boulder and got stuck, causing the front of the boat to catch on the boulder. Luckily, everyone jumped to the front and prevented a flip. After a tense few moments, we managed to get unstuck. We regrouped in an eddy, assessed the situation, and eventually reached our next campsite safely.

Our last night was spent enjoying a hearty meal of steak, scallops, mashed potatoes with bacon, and Caesar salad. As we savored our meal and reminisced about the trip, we enjoyed some s’mores before heading to bed. The next morning, we had to make our way to the takeout by 2:00 p.m. We rowed the final stretch, which was slow but breathtaking. As we neared civilization, the presence of jet boats and lodges increased. We reached the takeout at 12:30 p.m., began breaking down the gear, and waited for our flight while enjoying drinks at the lodge bar.

This trip was undoubtedly a highlight of my fly fishing career, and I highly recommend it to anyone willing to embrace the adventure. Max, who organized this incredible experience, runs a guide service called Fly Out Trout. If you’re interested in booking a trip, feel free to contact me, and I’ll connect you with him or email Max at flyouttrout@gmail.com , visit his website www.alaskaflyouttrout.com , and check out his Instagram: @flyouttrout

I hope you enjoyed this week’s "Tails from The Road." If you have any questions or want to discuss the trip further, don’t hesitate to call the shop at 303-330-1292 or email me at tryston@goldenflyshop.com