Bending the Rod...Break from the Bay

[Revenge]

Trip Report: Kings & Corn 2006



Small King at the mouth of the 'Tal'



Upper Tal, breaking in the new SAGE Xi2 9wt/Tibor



Tommy Mo & Jay...dinner



Well folks, all I can say is “Kings & Corn” gets better every year! This trip is all about gluttony and stamina!

Our ‘Solstice Team 2006’ included an amazing crew of twelve – all of whom somehow made it back alive (barely). Chugach Powder Guides, Tommy Mo and Nobis have this program running like a well oiled machine – flawlessly executed with meticulous detail. The only real challenge is keeping up with the adventure – training and a secret offshore bank account may now be a prerequisite for this backcountry extreme triathlon. Five days of 20-22 hour recreating, eating and excessive indulgence in libations takes a serious toll. Prepared for our pace, CPG has brought in an extra pilot for the AStar 350 to keep us moving at all times.

Day One started upon arrival at 12:01AM Anchorage time, sunny, cool and a fist full of dollars for ‘provisioning’ at the legendary Alaska Bush Company ...if you know what I mean. We stumbled out at 5AM to bright sunlight, caught 30 mins of sleep at the hotel, made our way to breakfast and then met our three seaplanes at the Alaska Air Taxi float basin at 6AM. After a short delay by fog, we take a spectacular flight west, on the way the terrain is speckled with wildlife – we saw two sets of brown bears and cubs, moose and rivers and streams filled with salmon. One hour later, and nearly 100 miles to the north west, the Tordrillos Mountain Lodge came into view. Settled on the banks of Judd Lake and along the intersection of the Talachulitna River, the lodge is wedged between two 11,000-foot volcanoes and Denali at 20,320 feet. Engine shut down and drifting to the dock, our hosts appear from the lodge, warmly welcome us and shuffle us into the lodge for a quick introduction of the K&C crew, a run through the new lodge, a safety briefing and then a battle cry to ‘suit up’ in waders for fishing as the overcast skies will temporarily prevent us from heli-skiing. By mid-morning we are airborne again and descending into the ‘Tal’ to land some Kings. We’re first our with Mo, and in less than 30 minutes, we’re drifting up on a hole filled with fish leaping like silver and red torpedoes above the surface. Several casts, a firm hook-set in the jaw and my drag screams bloody murder. For nearly five hours we floated the Tal in rafts and picked up dozens of fish in shallow holes while descending the winding river. Blazing back to camp we tested our new pilot’s agility winding through the canyons. The day finished with drinks, an amazing welcome dinner and the excitement of exploring new ski terrain the next morning.

[pbramble]

Sounds like a blast, those fish are huge.

[Brandon]

Brian,

Thanks for the report and great pics! Sounds like a great change of plans for the day. I think I will take that fishing over skiing any day[wink]
Those fish are awesome man!

Brandon

[capt_gordon]

Didja ride in the side car like in MASH?[excited]

[paxfish]

OUTRAGEOUS!

[Salmo trutta]

When you first advertised that you had an open spot, I thought to myself that vacation was tailor made for me and my close friends. I wouldn't mind researching what you did, where you went etc. but I don't have an extra $20 grand sitting around the house either. Hardcore skiing and hardcore fishing to some of the strongest fish that swim, all while doing it in remote places that have never seen fishermen. The only competition for the fish are from Brown Bears?! Awesome!

Your next trip should be to Kamchatka! I’ll go there before I die, I promised myself that a few years ago.

[Revenge]

Thanks for the compliments on the fish...unfortunately, we never got into the 50+lbrs we got last year, seems it was a smaller, slower and much later run this year....

Nevertheless is was fun. Salmo...I'd be glad to share with you the logistics and costs...it's quite reasonable for such an expedition...slots are coveted.