Kepler Bradley

Every family's photo album has that one picture -- the one of the 5- or 6-year-old holding up a fish that is about 10 inches long. It's the first fish that child caught, and the smile on her face tells you everything you need to know.

If that 5- or 6-year-old happened to live in the Mat-Su Valley at the time the photograph was taken, chances are it was at one of the lakes in the Kepler-Bradley system. Each year, thousands of visitors use the series of lakes to make memories such as those of a 10-inch fish that made a youngster happy.

"The first fish I caught when I moved to Alaska came out of this lake, and that was 15 years ago," said Bob Grove as he unloaded a canoe at Matanuska Lake on the last day of April. "It wasn't a biggie, maybe a 12-, 13-inch rainbow, but it was a fish and it was in Alaska and I've never forgotten that fish. I thought that was the coolest thing, catching a fish in Alaska. Now, we go king salmon fishing and catch fish a million times bigger, but we always come back to this lake."

And so do a lot of other people. That same Wednesday night, you could find six or seven people at Canoe Lake in float tubes, canoes and pontoon boats.

Some were fishing for grayling and rainbow trout, while others were just there to be there -- enjoying the scenery as spring sprouted into summer, and colors exploded off tree branches like sparklers on the Fourth of July.

That's the beauty of the Kepler-Bradley system -- it can be many things to many people, users say. While anglers flock to the area to catch grayling and rainbow trout -- and lots of them, too -- they share the area with many different users. While you won't find huge jet boats pulling waterskiers, you will find people who love what they have tucked away on the outskirts of Palmer.

"We've done a good job not building up things around these lakes and keeping the area in good shape," said Marilynn Gocker, a Palmer resident who lives nears the lakes. When Gocker is in her family's canoe at Canoe Lake, she doesn't bring a fly rod. She brings a brown bag of snacks, an extra oar and most importantly, her camera, and she's never been disappointed with an evening spent paddling and clicking the shutter.

"Just this spring, I've been out here three times and I've seen an immature bald eagle, several mature eagles and a moose standing in the lake eating tree branches," Gocker said. "And if you come out and don't see a thing, well, oh well, it beats sitting at home."

Among the many users are anglers looking for the stocked rainbow trout and grayling, canoers, wildlife photographers and those just looking for a way to spend some time away from the hustle and bustle.

"Oh, no, you don't come here thinking you are going to catch a trophy rainbow or anything," Grove said. "But you can bring your boy out here and spend some time in the canoe, talking about things you can't talk about with Mom, and having a good time.

"I taught my son [Anthony, age 10] how to fly fish here because even if you don't know what you are doing, you catch a fish. When you're at that age, that's the most important thing. I wouldn't trade these nights for anything," Grove added.

The Kepler-Bradley lakes system is easy to get to -- it's just off the Glenn Highway on the way to Palmer from Anchorage -- and that adds to the number of users. It's quick to get to from the Valley, and for Anchorage residents, it's a quick 45-minute jaunt return to the city.

"I heard the grayling were rising to dries, and I had to come out here," Gregg Brumbry, an Anchorage resident, said. "The drive out here is enough for me to make up my mind if I should come out here on a work night or not. Getting to bring my float tube out and cast a little just makes it even more worthwhile."