by Cecilia “Pudge” Kleinkauf
The “real Alaska” awaits those seeking adventure, beauty and great fishing. Just be sure to bring a spare tire or two!
“I’ve got him this time,” Patti said as the tip of her 5-weight fly rod danced with the heft of a nice Arctic grayling. She’d had several hits-and-misses as her elk-hair caddis drifted down the tea-colored water of the Tangle River, but this was a solid hook-up. “I finally remembered to wait just a second or two before lifting the rod tip when I saw the hit,” she reported, “and it paid off.”
Paid off is right! The bend in her rod indicated a larger fish than is typical for the area, and it took some patience for her to land it. Finally, there it was in all its shimmering glory, a 17-inch hog with a spiny, florescent-dotted dorsal fin so long that it lay draped over the fish’s tail.
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