Silvers Already on the Downswing?? Rubber Raft Hatch Going On
Autumn, still a month away on the calendar, is in full swing here. The Arctic terns and swallows are already gone. Geese fly over in formation, honking loudly, heading south. The chums and most of the kings are dead, the pinks and sockeyes are dying off, and even a few colored-up silvers are being caught.
We are still catching plenty of silver salmon here on the Goodnews River. Perhaps, just perhaps, I’ve been spoiled by past runs. This run is weaker than recent ones and we actually have to do some work to find and catch them. C’mon! This is the Goodnews!
That having been said, fishing is excellent by any yardstick you could use, except for past runs here. Fish counters (and I am not crazy about fish counters) have been hitting 15-20 salmon by lunch.
Afternoons have been a little slower because all the spots got beat up in the morning. Still, 20 or more salmon a day is not bad by any standard except for our own history of excellence. 
Dollies- dollies are definitely slowing down. Dolly trips need to go way up the river to find success. The fish are more scattered now that most of the early salmon have finished spawning. You can still find and catch them, it just takes more effort.
David Harris with a dolly varden.
Rainbow trout- again, more effort is required to find them. Flesh flies have been very successful. John Wilhelm got a nice fish while out with me fishing for silvers. The wayward rainbow hit a fly not intended for it.
John Wilhelm with a beautiful rainbow trout.
Bears- Never showed up. I’ve seen only three all season, all running for the nearest bushes. I don’t miss fighting them off with rocks while I’m trying to clean fish, but it would be nice to see them fishing again. Maybe next year they’ll be back.
As close as I’ve been to a bear this year- Goodnews River, Alaska.
Rafters- Rafters fly into Goodnews Lake to float the river. We see them every year, and try to maintain a good relationship with them.
There are an extraordinary number of them on the river this year. They must get in each other’s way. They certainly get in our way sometimes.
Today there were nine rafts between camp and Upper Landing, about eight miles upstream. Everyplace I wanted to fish this afternoon was occupied. I know we don’t own the river, but sometimes it does seem a bit excessive.
Mosquitoes- crappy, rainy, windy, cold weather equals no bugs. We have not had any bugs to speak of this week, thank goodness!
And that is this week’s Goodnews River Lodge, Alaska Fishing Report.
Life is great and I love my work!
Life is short- go fishing!
John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com/
All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2012. All rights are reserved.
I ran into a similar unpleasant experience with inner tubers on the Deschutes River in Central Oregon a couple weeks back. On the bright side, if all those people had been fishing there may not have been any fish left to catch. Just makes us work a little harder to find secluded spots where the fishing is still pristine.
Sure enjoyed the great catches on our trips out the 25th and the 28th. Have a great winter! Steve Russell
Hi John. I couldn’t help but comment on your recent blog regarding the rubber raft hatch going on in August. I was part of that. The argument goes both ways. We’re out there doing this trip on our own and on day 4 we start to run into you guys in your jet boats. It really takes away from the peaceful side of the experience. I was surprised that you guys come that far up the river and extremely surprised that you feel the amount of rafts is “a bit excessive.” Seriously? I think we got you on that one.
There is no argument. The lodge is there, a pre-existing condition anyone considering a raft trip should be aware of. When 12 rafts share a two or three mile stretch of river the whole way down from the lake, how much of a peaceful experience could there possibly be?
One or two rafts a day is fine. Twelve or fourteen? EXCESSIVE.