The first pinks of the year

It’s the middle of July and the Parks Highway streams are starting to see the first pinks and chums of the year. While the peak of the run is yet to come, the steady flow of fish making their way upriver is exciting and will provide new opportunity for anglers over the coming weeks.

One evening after work , Jett and I trudged over a shallow gravel bar to fish the mouth of one of the creeks as it dumped into the Susitna. The churning gray-brown water of the Su met the clear, cool water of the creek and the two swirled together as the current pushed downriver, the glacial-fed color eventually taking over.

We walked to one of the first small depressions in the creek. Around 20 pinks milled around behind a logjam that broke the current and provided the fish with cover. We snuck around so that we were parallel to the fish and standing slightly above them, giving us the perfect vantage to achieve the best drift.

This time of the run I call these fish, “flightey not bitey.” It seems that the first few pushes of fish are a bit more finicky and harder to tempt with a fly. That being the case, I watched as my fly bounced past the fish over and over again without so much as a look. I knew that if I were to hook one of these fish, I would have to make them real, real mad.

And that’s what I did. I stood on top of a submerged log, using all of my balancing muscles to stay on top and keep from falling in. With a tight line I jigged my fly in front of the fish. I would drop my fly in front of a salmon and bounce it repeatedly right in front of its face. I would make multiple drifts over and over and over again until the fish either left, or got mad enough to strike at the fly.

One particular fish, a buck pink, was quite a bit larger than the rest and I wanted him. I couldn’t get him angry enough to take the smaller streamer I was using. I switched to the largest, most irritating fly I had. I plopped it down in front of the fish and gave it some twitches right in front of his nose. It didn’t take long and I could see the body language change and watched as he surged forward and struck at the fly.

I quickly lifted my rod and set the hook deep into his jaw. He was a fresh fish and was just starting to get his hump. He pulled hard on my Alaska Rod Co. 7 weight and I had it bent over double. He took me on several runs through the hole. Jett made a great scoop with the net and we celebrated with a fist bump as the five pound fish lay in the basket of the net.

I admired the fish’s silvery sides, the hooked jaw and the start of some gnarly teeth. The large spots on his tail stood out as I picked him up for a picture and then released him back into the river.

It’s only the start to the pink salmon season and I’m sure I’ll get tired of catching them real soon. But for now, I’ll be chasing them down every chance I get.