Flying out of Jackson, we left 90-degree temperatures with Anchorage, Alaksa, as our destination. As we began our descent from 30,000 feet, we were greeted with snow-covered mountains. What a remarkable sight; coming from hot weather to snow-covered mountains was almost unbelievable. The mountainous terrain rose up high above the clouds on both sides as Anchorage came into view. After a safe landing, we loaded up and headed south.

Early the next morning we began our Alaskan adventure with Seward as our first stop. Before we got to Seward, we took a short detour to Bear Creek to see the Bear Creek Weir. As we eased down the bank toward the water in Bear Creek, we saw a strange sight: The water surface was covered from bank to bank with sockeye salmon making their way upstream. As they got to the weir, they jumped onto the ramp and worked their way to the next level and farther upstream.

We were definitely not in Mississippi anymore as we explored unfamiliar territory while viewing things we’ve never imagined. Hiking along the creek, we came upon a patch of wild blueberries, and Kathy began to pick and eat the sweet treats. They were as big as tame blueberries back home and every bit as good.

We spent our second night in Seward, overlooking Resurrection Bay, and then hiked to Exit Glacier and viewed our first glacier. The next day, we were back in the outdoors fishing the bay and hiking to the Harding Ice Field. The pink salmon and silver salmon were as thick as fleas, and I caught fish until I was tired.

Before leaving Seward, we experienced a marvelous marine tour and went to the Kenai Fords National Park and viewed glaciers and saw an abundance of wildlife including whales, seals, puffins, sea lions, mountain goats, bears and eagles on many of the islands.

Fishing on the Kenai River

My bride decided to accompany me on an early morning trip on the Kenai River, and we were greeted by gorgeous scenery: crystal blue waters, snow-capped mountains and many eagles. The scenery was breathtaking, and it didn’t take long for the fish to start biting.

Arriving at our first spot, we started fishing, and a silver salmon struck my spinnerbait with such ferocity that he almost tore the rod from my hands. I finally wore him down, and we brought him into the boat, took a few pictures and put him in the supper well. Though we didn’t bring any home, my bride did broil one salmon fillet for me, and it was so good she cooked the other fillet the next night. Coming from the cold water straight to the broiler was almost unbelievable it was so scrumptious.

As we made another stop along the shoreline, we looked up and a grizzly bear approached our position and actually crossed a downed tree that was in the water. The bear looked like an agile cat he maneuvered it so easily. As he got closer to the boat, he reared up on his hind legs and stared at us for a few minutes before moving on.

As he got just past us, he thrust himself into the water and reappeared with a big silver salmon in his mouth. After a few swats, he made quick work of the salmon and ate every bite. After we moved on upriver, the bear continued working the bank until he got near us and caught yet another salmon when it swam too close. It was a magnificent sight to see such a large agile creature catch salmon so easily.

We caught so many trout and salmon it was difficult to keep up with them. After catching a few salmon on rod and reels, we switched to flyrods and caught a variety of trout including rainbows, Dolly Vardon’s and many others.

Kathy got a bite and set the hook, and a big king salmon almost tore the rod from her hands. She finally wore him down, and we landed him and released him quickly, as the king season was over. Kathy caught several trout in addition to the king, and we had a ball.

I caught a couple reds, or sockeye salmon, as well as some silver salmon and a few big rainbow trout. The fishing was phenomenal, and you could catch and release as many as you wanted. We made a two-week trip, and I fished four mornings and caught and released too many to count.

Everywhere we went we encountered friendly people who wanted to help, and they made it a very enjoyable and successful trip. We spent a night in Wasilla and visited Talkeetna and rode the Alaskan train to Denali where we saw bull moose and other animals, as well as the Northern Lights. The trip was packed, and we experienced more things than we could cover here.

Alaska is rich in fish and game, fantastic mountain scenery and lots of beautiful rural landscape, and even more impressive were the friendly people we encountered along the way. We explored Alaska by land and sea and sampled some of the best hospitality we’ve ever experienced. Along the way we met Dale and Paula Griswold, Alaskan transplants from Vermont, and we were treated like royalty. If you’ve ever thought about going to Alaska, I’d highly recommend it. Carpe Diem!

Call Mike Giles at 601-917-3898 or email mikegiles18@comcast.net.