Laura and a Big River Lakes silver Salmon.
Jeri and Keith pose with their salmon.
Mrs. Hufford reels in a silver salmon.
Bear watchers at Wolverine Creek. 
A brown bear in the water.
The float plane leaves Big River Lakes after dropping us off for our fishing trip. 
Transferring gear and people from the float plane to the boats upon arrival at Big River Lakes. 
Tony, our guide, holds Emily's first silver salmon.
The gang and the day's catch.
One of the locals does a little fishing.
The boat ride to Wolverine Creek to watch bears.
The view beneath the wing of the float plane as we leave Big River Lakes.For the past week my sister and brother-in-law have been visiting from Montana. We took trips to Homer where we walked on the beach and boardwalk, and Seward where we went out on Resurrection Bay and visited the Sea Life Center. But, our biggest excursion was a float plane trip to Big River Lakes in search of silver salmon and bear viewing.
We boarded the float plane at Island Lake, not far from our house, and took off for the short flight to Big River Lakes. On the way we saw a brown bear along the edge of a river and immediately upon landing we watched a sow and cub while the pilot and guides transferred gear from the plane to the boats. We were off to a very good start.
Then we motored down river and plopped our bait into the water. It didn't take long before Emily was reeling in her first silver salmon. And, that's the way the afternoon went. Fish after fish. It took just a few hours to catch our limit and then we were off to a waterfall for photos before boating to Wolverine Creek to watch bears. There weren't any bears when we pulled up, but almost on cue a black bear stepped out of the brush as the guides set the boat anchors. We watched and took photos of the bear for nearly 30 minutes before it was time to go back and clean our catch. Even then our bear viewing wasn't over. As we cleaned our fish a sow and cub brown posed for photos and waited for leftovers in the bushes not far away. We kept a close eye on them although they never posed any problems.
All too soon it was time for us to catch the float plane back to Nikiski. Our pilot took us on an flightseeing trip on the way back as we flew to and around Blockade Glacier. It was spectacular.
Minutes later we were back in Nikiski, glad we made the trip to...Big River Lakes.
4 comments:
I gave Doug the same trip for his birthday last year. Not a cheap gift, but totally worth it!
Hi Erin,
It was worth every penny! How can you go wrong when you combine salmon, bears, float planes, boats, and scenery? We have been to the Kustatan many times, but this is our first trip to Big River Lakes. We can't wait to go back again!
Have you all been doing any fishing?
Wally
Do you prefer the trip to Big River Lakes or to the Kuskatan better? We'll be going to one or the other here in a couple of weeks.
We tried fishing for the reds a couple of weeks ago and had a great time. The trout on the lake have been fun too.
Hi Doug,
I like Big River Lakes for the scenery and bears...and the fishing was great when we were there. I'm not sure how good it will be in a couple of weeks. The Kustatan is a great place to fish but lacks the secnery. We have seen bears there, but not like at Big River Lakes and Wolverine Creek. Check with the company you are flying with and they can let you know where the fishing is best.
Glad you got out for some reds. Did you catch any? We have been catching lots of trout in our lake, too. What's your work schedule like next week? My buddy in Cooper Landing says the reds hit the upper river yesterday 8/4/10). Should be good for the next 10 days or so. You interested?
Wally
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