A week ago I got back from my fourth annual week long Fly Fishing Trip with Alaska Rainbow Lodge. The hot, dry summer had dropped water levels significantly and delayed the salmon spawn on the Kvichak River which is where one fishes for 30" rainbows. But elsewhere the fishing was excellent and yielded some 22" - 24" bows.

I managed to get a decent video with my iPhone of my friend Chip and his Beaver (he is the owner of Alaska Rainbow Lodge and is Renegade on here) leaving after dropping us, and picking us up at days end. One of these days I'm gonna have to either put my 185 on floats, or get a Beaver on floats.

Thanks Chip for another fantastic week of fishing and eating the best food in Alaska.

https://vimeo.com/360124175

Nice video, Phil!

MTV

mtv wrote:Nice video, Phil!

MTV

Thanks Mike!

You sir are living right! I spent some time in the braids of the kvichak hunting those big boys in September. They are definitely not your typical rainbow. More like a steelhead really.....It looks like you still got on plenty of nice fish even though the salmon weren’t dropping.

I gotta ask, what we’re your fish eating? Beads, flesh, streamers, mice!?!

Beads. On the Kvichak the Chum had already had a small spawn but there weren't a ton of dead ones so flesh patterns really weren't doing anything. Sockeye were paired up but as you say not dropping.

Thanks for posting this. I really enjoyed it along with the video album of your trip to Alaska last Spring. Really wonderful.

CAVU

CAVU wrote:Thanks for posting this. I really enjoyed it along with the video album of your trip to Alaska last Spring. Really wonderful.

CAVU

Thanks CAVU

Stunning!

Wonderful.

As a fresh float pilot, I have to say the maneuver at :07 where the nose comes around with the river current is lovely.

Zzz wrote:As a fresh float pilot, I have to say the maneuver at :07 where the nose comes around with the river current is lovely.

Start the turn into the breeze, then quickly raise the water rudders and the plane will turn on a dime.

Seaplane operations on the water are all about physics....meaning working with them.

Nice video in any case.

MTV

mtv wrote:

Zzz wrote:As a fresh float pilot, I have to say the maneuver at :07 where the nose comes around with the river current is lovely.

Start the turn into the breeze, then quickly raise the water rudders and the plane will turn on a dime.

Seaplane operations on the water are all about physics....meaning working with them.

Nice video in any case.

MTV

Assuming it's totally calm wind...in this video is seemed like he raised the water rudders and the current did the work? Is it the CG that wants to point downstream? Or the broader surface or the float hull?