An Alaskan Fishing Guide’s Farewell - Day 6: Have the Silver Salmon Returned?

Today was silver salmon day, and everyone around the lodge was excited. Guide Luke Valentino and I were assigned to take a family of five up the Kamishak to see if the silvers, also known as coho, have arrived. This species of salmon starts showing up in August, and today was the lodge's first run up the river this year.

Riding a Jet to Look for Silver

I've been anticipating this day because, one, we are fishing for silvers, my favorite type of salmon to catch on a fly rod, and two, we are using jet boats to navigate up the river. The boat is more like a jet sled that can run in six inches of water when you get it up on plane. It's a perfect boat for up here, but it can be a handful if you don't have experience running them. If I'm being honest, they can be a handful even if you do have experience running them.

Coho-The Silver Salmon

Salmon, in general, don't feed once they enter freshwater to spawn. But you wouldn't know it by the behavior of the silver salmon. Strip a pink streamer in front of one and watch what happens. It gets aggressive and will chase it down as if it were feeding. Throw a brightly colored topwater gurgler and scoot it across the top of a school of silvers. They will actively strike at it.

an angler holds a silver salmon close to the camera for a photo. — The silver salmon will readily hit bright colored streamers and topwater patterns. | Photo by Ken Baldwin

The Pre-Game Prep

The morning is all about getting the gear together and making sure we have everything we need for the day. We eat on the run while the lodge guests enjoy coffee and a full breakfast. Chef Mike Lynch made us some killer breakfast burritos, and they are delicious. Luke eats two of them on the spot. Luke has the metabolism of a teenager and eats two, sometimes three, of everything. I grab an extra for later.

Two fly fishing guides in Alaska are eating a breakfast burrito outside the lodge before they start their day. — Breakfast burritos to go! | Photo by Patrick Harris

Prepped and Ready to Go

Luke and I are flown out first with the gear to set up the boats and get everything ready. When the guests show up, they step right onto the boats, and we head up the river. I'm back in a jet boat and feeling good about it!

A guide is prepping his boat next to the plane that just dropped him off on the Kamishak River in Alaska. — The boat is ready to go. The next plane will bring in the anglers. | Photo by Ken Baldwin

Sublime

Running the boat is one of the things I missed most when I left guiding to write. I imagine it's what surfing must feel like. This morning, the weather cooperated, and the mouth of the river was like glass. It isn't lost on me how lucky I am. It's 8 in the morning, and I'm running up a river at full tilt, in the wilds of Alaska, to fish for silver salmon and watch bears.

Two anglers in a boat heading up the Kamishak River in Alaska to fly fish for silver salmon. — Sometimes the beauty of Alaska is sublime. Add to that a day of fly fishing for silver salmon, and you've got a heck of a trip. | Photo by Ken Baldwin

"They're Here"

We find a shore where five anglers can comfortably fit, and right away, we are into fish. The salmon are bright and silvery, fresh from the ocean. Most of the fish we catch still have sea lice on them. That means they've been in the river for less than 48 hours. We are going to eat good tonight.

Two fly anglers and a guide pose holding two silver salmon in the Kamishak River in Alaska. — The silvers have arrived. | Photo by Luke Valentino

Catch and ...

Most of the fishing we do up here is catch-and-release, except for silver salmon. Catching silvers is catch-and-eat. Luke fillets and steaks them up. I ask him to save the salmon bellies for me.

A fly fishing guide filleting silver salmon on the side of the Kamishak River in Alaska. — No farm-raised salmon here. That color is 100% real and natural. | Photo by Ken Baldwin

The Best Part

Because of its fattiness, the belly is my favorite cut from the fish. When I cook them, I keep it really simple. Skin side down on a grill. I put a pat of butter on top, along with salt and pepper. I eat it with a big bowl of Japanese rice and a cold beer; you can't do better than that.

A fly fishing guide showing off the fillets, steaks, and bellies of the silver salmon he cleaned. — How do you want it? Filets, steaks, or salmon bellies? | Photo by Ken Baldwin

A Successful Day on the River

We limited out quickly, so we explored the river, did some bear viewing, and then headed back down to the pickup location to return to the lodge.

A Small Break

The guests fly out first, and we stay behind in the boats until the plane returns to pick us up. That gives us time to relax and enjoy some downtime. Breaks like this during the day are rare, and a guide will usually use them to catch up on sleep. Naps out here, with the sound of the river, the rocking of the boat, the fresh air, hit differently.

An Alaskan guide falls asleep on the bench of his jon boat waiting for the plane to come pick him up. — Waiting for the plane to come pick us up at the end of a long and fulfilling day. | Photo by Ken Baldwin

One More

I've got one more day of guiding before I have to leave Alaska. Knowing I won't be coming back next season, the plane ride back to the lodge takes on extra meaning.

View from the inside of a small plane flying over the interior of Alaska, over a lot of water, and towards the coast. — The last frontier. | Photo by Ken Baldwin

Majestic is always the word that comes to mind when I look out the plane's windows. I remind myself to get the best out of my one more day. I'm blessed to have had this opportunity. KB

"Slow down...listen to the hoppers...be patient with yer wife...eat sardines with hot sauce... catch “Gagger” trout!!!" – Flip Pallot