September 19, 2005

Today was a beautiful day in Anchorage. The sun was out most of the day. The air was cool and crisp. It was perfect.

I fished Campbell Creek in the morning. The water is very high and a little muddy. I saw a few silvers, but not in the quantities I had seen before we went on vacation. They must be spawning further upstream. The few I saw were pretty ugly, but I didn’t care. I was looking for trout.

I worked my way downstream, but the water was flowing too fast through most of the usual holes. I even had to detour past a section that was just too deep and fast for me to cross. I got to a pool that I had seen trout in before and quickly a fish came up and grabbed my spinner. It was a big fish, well big for a trout, but small for a salmon. I didn’t get a good look at it before it got away, and I am still unsure what it was. I tried a while longer before giving up and moving downstream. As lunch was approaching, I headed back toward home.

Since I was walking right past, I decided to try a couple more times at the only pool in which I had any luck. By this time, I had switched to a fuzzy pink and black jig. I cast a couple times and was just about to call it quits when I felt something livelier than the bottom or a stick. I cast right back to the same spot and there it was again. I set the hook and the fish ran.

It was a bad spot. I was standing on a point that had a log sticking right out into the stream. The fish was right on the point, under the log. I had my heavy gear, 15 lb test, so I had the control to keep the fish from running away, but the side to side stuff was a little tough. I tried to pull the fish to the right to the clearest area, but the fish went left. Now I had to contend with another submerged log. I pulled the fish in toward shore above the log and then lost my balance. The fish ran toward deeper water and took the route under the log. Then I saw the fish jump on the other side of the log. I decided that was enough. I used my 15 lb test and yanked that fish back under the log and up against the shore. As I worked the net free from my belt, I noticed the fish was clearly not a salmon since it was covered with spots. I quickly netted it and was amazed that I had just pulled an 18” rainbow out of the water.

I filleted the fish and cleaned up. I threw a couple more casts, just in case. I lost my pink and black fuzzy jig on a log. I called it a day. I went to the store and replaced the jig and purchased a couple other lures for future use. We ate fresh trout for dinner, but were actually a little disappointed.