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JUNE 16, 2006 – JET LAG RELIEF
Time: 2:00pm
Air Temp: 68°F
Wind: NW at 10 gusting to 20 mph
Weather: Clear
 Today was like the first day of summer. 53 degrees in Nome, 68 degrees
inland off the coast. Dave and Steve were up from Colorado, recovering from
the all-nighter from Denver. No sleep was needed, just a hot cup of coffee,
and we decided to head out and make the most of the day. I’d been fishing
the Nome, just a short drive out of town. We had a nice drive and were able
to catch up; it’d been almost a year since they had been up last.
The Dolly’s are ferocious eaters this time of year, attacking
primarily
juvenile salmon. The water was still high, but very clear. With the high sun
and clear water, the fish were slightly harder to fool than they had been on
previous outings. A long cast was needed, with a lengthy tippet. We used
several minnow patterns, and the Janssen’s minnow turned out to be the most
successful. Most strikes came on the swing, with short, jerky strips on the
line. After about two hours at the first spot, we moved upstream a few
miles. We again saw many more dolly’s surfacing, but
they seemed quite skittish. Dave and Steve got in the water where they were
able to
 cross
to a shallow bench in the middle of the stream, then make a long cast to the
faster, deeper water. Again they were successful on the swing, landed
several more nice Dollies’. We ended up landing 10 between the three of us.
All fish measured between 19 to 21 inches. After a long, cold winter, the
fish are a bit skinny, and are eager to fill up on fry.
We hit my favorite spot, then another spot a bit farther up the Nome River.
The water was very clear, and the sun was shining bright. The fish
proved to be much more selective. We fished several hours and managed to
land about ten Dolly’s between
us. They were still hitting fry patterns, just not as often as the previous
nights. The best fly today turned out to be the Janssen’s Minnow. . All the
fish measured in at between 19 and 21 inches. Today was for sport and we
released the entire catch.
-BR
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