In the Beginning

To someone not familiar with the state, New Jersey is often associated with buildings, concrete, asphalt and other urban infrastructure; believe me there is a lot of that there. However, I grew up in New Jersey surrounded by farms and wood lots and learned to hunt and fish at an early age, along with many of my friends. As kids we fished with spinning rods and worms and became quite proficient at catching sun fish, rock bass, cat fish and trout in the Raritan River and the many small streams that feed it. As I grew older my fishing techniques got more sophisticated and eventually I became interested in fly fishing; I even learned to tie my own flies. It was in high school that I decided I wanted to go to Alaska and that desire stayed with me through college. Following my graduation from the Pennsylvania State University in 1969, I joined the the Navy, became a SeaBee and, as luck would have it, in 1970 I was stationed in the Aleutians at Adak, Alaska. I left Adak in 1972, was discharged from the Navy and immediately returned to Kenai, Alaska to take an engineering position.

Kenai is located on Cook Inlet at the mouth of the Kenai River, one of the most prolific salmon rivers in the world. The Kenai River has large runs of King, Pink, Red (sockeye), and Silver (coho) Salmon. The Kenai Kings are the largest in the world and fish over 90 pounds have been caught. The salmon also support large numbers of wild rainbow and dolly varden trout that flourish on the salmon eggs, flesh and fry. I am fortunate to have fished the Kenai in the 1970s before the onslaught of power boats and guides. Most of my fishing in Alaska from 1970 to 2000 was with spinning gear and focused on salmon.

A few years ago I returned to fly fishing and since then the vast majority of my fishing has been for rainbow trout and steelhead (sea-run rainbows), exclusively with a fly rod and all of it catch-and-release. Yes, sometimes there are easier ways to catch fish than with a fly rod, but then sometimes it is the only way to catch them; however, there is not a more challenging or satisfying way to catch fish. So, I have rediscovered fishing and there is no better place in the world to do that than Alaska.......................long live the wild rainbow!