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1999 MSTPA Weekly Fishing Reports
Pre-season Report

Check out the highlights from last year!

1998 MSTPA Weekly Fishing Reports

Pre-Season Report
June 7, 1999

Hello everyone. The long anticipate fourth summer of fishing for big Northern pike, Sheefish and all species of Alaskan salmon with Midnight Sun Trophy Pike Adventures has finally begun.

The ice went out on the Kuskokwim River near Aniak. Thankfully Aniak was spared for the third year in a row from any flooding. The mighty Yukon River ice went out four days later. Again with very little flooding or damage along its length.

MSTPA had to run the first two members of its crew out to the Houseboat in a Supercub on tundra tires as the boat was still high and dry in dry dock storage waiting for the water to rise and float it off the beach.

The wait for water was not long. May 19th started with the houseboat floating in a lake full of spring run off. It is an amazing to watch a lake fill up with over 17 vertical feet of water with in a 48-hour period. We were able to put our Helio 295 float plane in the Kuskokwim a few days later after the break-up ice had cleared out of the system. With the boat floating and the airplane in action it was time to start moving the rest of our crew and supplies to the boat.

The crew for this year should be a good one. Of course my partner Leon Randermann from Texas is back to ramrod the operation out on the boat. Leon experience in fishing and fixing is seldom equaled and MSTPA benefits from his expertise. MSTPA is happy to have Michael Hart back again to guide for us. His ability to find cacheable fish for our clients is welcomed back. Carl Schimmer from Minnesota will fill out the guides for MSTPA. He has a good head on his shoulders and a quick learner both necessary assets to guide in this country. The final crewmember on board the "Midnight Sun" is summer is Dan Surber, our chef. The only draw back we can find with Dan is his ability to over feed you with great food. There will be no weight lost among any of the people visiting MSTPA this summer.

We have our first guests on board the boat at this time. You will have to wait till next week to get the fishing report.

Till Then, Enjoy the spring breakup pictures form Aniak, AK and keep your rod tip up and your line tight!

Boone

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Week 1
June 5 - 10, 1999

Week one proved to be some hard fishing. MSTPA had the pleasure of starting our season with returning guests Paul and Jan, from New Mexico. Paul and Jan had fished with us twice before, once in August two years ago then once in early June last year, so they were willing to roll the dice and fish the early season one more time. The majority of the northern pike were in a post spawn neutral to negative mood and scattered which in and of it self is not bad, but combine that with a cold front during the week and it made the fishing tough.

Despite the adversities Paul and Jan are tireless fisherpeople and managed to catch some really nice fish. Paul caught the largest pike of the week. The fish measured in at 44" in length with a prespawn girth that would put the fish up to the 30-pound range. Paul, who has caught many pike, simply said it was the largest pike, length verses girth, he has ever seen or caught. Nice fish Paul!.

In general the week saw a bunch of the smaller male pike, 38 inches and smaller being caught in the shallows. The big girls were as any animal would be after the reproductive phase of their life, in the post spawn recovery mode.

Paul and Jan also found and caught the first Sheefish of the season. A beautiful 12 pound Sheefish, which was quickly cleaned and made into an excellent dinner.

Thank you Paul and Jan for a great first week. We look forward to seeing you again this year in July.

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Week 2
June 10-15

For Paul and Jan who were a week early. The Bucholz party of Bernie, Dave, Pete, Rick, Bart, Dave and Wilson from Illinois hit the early season pike fishing right on the mark. The weather stabilized under high pressure with clear, warm and sunny days causing the big girls that everyone wants to catch to come out and play.

The only glitch for the week was our Mercury motors. A quick update for those of you who have followed the on going broken Mercury motor saga since 1998, Mercury did replace the power heads for all three of our motors this past winter. I have to give Mercury credit for that. Where my frustration lies is in the fact, even with new power heads we are still having problems. You folks out there about to by a motor, don't by the Mercury 4-stroke model. They are not built with the serious fisherman in mind. In fact I believe they are built to be considered a throw away motor. For the John Doe fisherman who only spends two weekends a year fishing, buys the motor, uses it for four years without problems, trades it in for a new model, will think he received one hell of a deal. O.K. I have vented my frustration! On to the reason you are reading this report.

The week saw three fish over 49 inches boated. Pete wanted his 49.5-inch pike stretched to 50 inches, sorry Pete! You are going to have to come back and try again for the true 50 incher. Two fish over 48 inches, one at 47 inches and numerous fish smaller than that with 31 pike total over 40 inches. Well done guys. We appreciate the big ones you didn't catch and left behind for seed next year. Bart knows what I'm talking about. I'm glad the third time was the charm for you, Bart, with one of the three 49 inchers.

The Sheefish also wanted to come out and play in the nice weather. We were seeing more and more action from them as the Week progressed. Though the fish were there and feeding actively on the surface the water was still a little dirty for the great action we have seen in the past. Fun was had by all. The Sheefish are just a really nice sized aggressive, clean fish to catch.

Join MSPTA for the report from week #3. Will the big girls continue to play ball or get mad, take their ball and go find another court?

Till then, Keep you line tight.

Dean "Boone" Nelsen

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Week 3

Again a week of big northerns. We had the pleasure of Wayne Belisles, one of our investors, two of his grown sons and three friends with us for the week. It was a week of great weather. Other than day three, which was rain, the days were warm, calm and sunny. Perfect ingredients for BIG PIKE! Wayne had to leave after only a day so was unable to catch his yearly 48 incher but the Belisles brothers picked up his slack and finished one and two for the week with two beautiful pike measuring 47 and 48 inches. BIG FISH. Steve, Tom and Jay may not have boated the top fish for the week but they put their two cents worth in by helping catch their share of the other 36 fish over 40 inches boated during the week. Well done guy's.

One of the things we are finding this spring with the big fish is their mobility. As those of you who have fished with us know, we are helping the state of Alaska with a pike and Sheefish tagging study. This year we have seen several tagged fish recapture. One fish moved a total of 20 river miles in the 48-hour period between catch dates. Several other fish had also moved great distance though not to the extreme. Interesting. Several of the interesting facts gathered from last year tagging study. The Innoko pike are the oldest northerns on average within the state. MSTPA caught and tagged the oldest pike ever tagged in the state. The study has shown that the old age of the Innoko pike directly correlates to their large size. As a general rule it take 11 to 13 years for a pike to reach 40 inches. Then as a rule a 44 inch fish is 14 years, a 46 inch fish is 16 years, a 48 inch fish is 18 years and a fish in the 50 inch range is 20 years and older. The study has really shown the need to take care of a very special fishery.

The Sheefish are still in and going strong. The Belisles group did not spend much time on them, but when they did, they did very well.

We still have not done a fly out yet for King Salmon. The run in Unalakleet is late and with luck will start this up coming week. It should be fast and furious when it starts as every King will feel like they are late for the party.

Till next week, keep your tip up and the line tight.

Dean "Boone" Nelsen

Week 4

Let see, where to start? I'll start at the beginning, as it is as good a place as any.

Week number four gave us the pleasure of having returning guest Mr. Menard and his fishing partner Mr. Olsen on board for the week. Menard and Olsen were our only guests for the week, which freed up our staff for a week of a fairly relaxed schedule.

Menard and Olsen had a goal for the week of catching ten pike over 40 inches. Under typical circumstances a modest goal. But due to rising water on the Innoko and the negative effect that has on the fishing they came up one northern pike short of their goal. That is not to say they did not have their chances. This was one of the rare weeks on the Innoko River were you could not blow an opportunity on any big fish and expect a second chance. In fact as far as fish stories go Menard has one about the 48 to 50 inch fish that eats the lure at the boat, but due to a poor hook set, simply opens her five-gallon bucket of teeth back up, allowing the lure to fall out and the monster to swim nonchalantly away. But, Menard was able to end the week with a beautiful 46-inch fish and Mr. Olsen with a 43 incher. Both fish being the largest for each fisherman ever.

The Sheefish were also available but again the activity really slowed down due to the rising water. It continually amazes me the effect rising water has on fish and fishing. The fish are still there but really fall into a negative mood. I believe it probably has something to do with the pH levels of the river, as the water temperatures are good, clarity is excellent, but the fish in general, the large fish specifically really don't like it. Also the fish you catch are on top-water buzz baits. Which to me indicates fish that are stressed and don't like out side disturbances. Most of the fish will simply swim away and try to ignore the noise but for some fish it means killing the annoying intruder.

We will be moving the Houseboat up the Innoko River this upcoming week to move out of the rising water and the negative effects. One of the many bonuses of has a mobile fishing lodge.

There are still no Kings yet to be caught in western Alaska. Mr. Menard and Mr. Olsen are in Unalakleet as this is written trying to change that. They chose to extend their trip and spend three days with Vance Griskowsky at his lodge on the Unalakleet fishing for the Kings that should be there but are not. With luck they will be able to break the ice, (literally) with the late spring and boat the first King Salmon.

Till next week, Keep your tip up and line tight.

Dean "Boone"Nelsen

Week 5
Let the games begin.

For week #5 week MSTPA had the pleasure of returning guests Len Heiser, Dennis Weisenberg and company; Ron, Art, Mark and Fred. Thank you fellows for a great week. As usually when you have a group of people you really want to put on fish it just doesn't happen. The northern pike this past week were down right goofy. They would swirl on the bait, follow the bait, actually eat the bait, but do you think we could get them to and in the boat. Not on your life. The biggest fish landed for the week was a 49 inch fish snagged by Leon in which he though he was just hug up in the weeds. Nice fish, wrong fisherman, strange way to catch a fish.

Speaking of strange. I think it was Fred this week who spent a morning catching fish, actually getting them to the boat and not one of them had a hook in their mouth. Now that is a good fisherman!

This past week we moved the boat to the upper Innoko River to try in take advantage of more stable water conditions. It is a 24 hour trip that we do in stages; fishing during the day and driving at night in the 24 hours of continues day light. The 150 mile trip went well with the boat finishing the journey the morning of June 27th. Though I would have considered the water conditions perfect for big pike and lots of them, the big fish proved us wrong. Denny finished the week with a 44", Mark a 43", Lenny 43", Art 42", Ronny at 41 and Fred at... at...? Well, lets just say Fred enjoyed his time spent on the water. Actually Fred helped break the ice on the King Salmon with the second King caught for the year. Fred also caught the first Pink Salmon.

Speaking of Salmon. The Kings are finally here. We were able to boat three kings on the last day of the trip, and more importantly we watched a lot of fish move into the river. This upcoming week should be really good. Included with this report is Ron with the first king of the year a small fish but a King non-the-less. And the beautiful 25# hen king he boated at the end of the last day.

All in all it was a week of fair fishing made great by excellent weather, great people. To Lenny, Denny and the boys from Ohio. THANKS. Next time, the big fish are in the boat.

Till next week,

Dean "Boone"Nelsen

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Week 6

It was another week of clear, warm, sunny weather on the Innoko River. Absolutely beautiful! This week we were treated with returning guest Mike Charron and his son Joe, Ray Burrchette and three of his fishing partners; Kurt, Tom and Ray. Ray, Ray, Tom and Kurt spent the week fly fishing and once again proved the effectiveness of a properly presented fly used on a pike when it is in a neutral to negative mood. In fact, they may have even converted Mike to give fly fishing a try next year as this was the second year Mike and Ray have come on the same week and Mike has had witnessed first hand the difference between conventional tackle and fly tackle on moody fish.

This week saw the pike in a temperamental mood, which in plain English means one had to work for each fish. The bonus was, if one was willing to work, their efforts were rewarded. I don't have the numbers with me as I write this, so forgive me for speaking in generalities and not being able to give specific credit where credit is due, but I'm working off of my failing memory. It was either Kurt or Tom who had the big pike for the week at 46 inches. Or was it 45 inches? Either way a beautiful fish. The fish on the Innoko again this year are in very good health. We are seeing fish on the upper river with shoulders and bellies like that of an NFL line man. BIG FISH! For Ray, Ray, Mike and Joe each of them at least had a fish over 40 inches. No, maybe I can't say that. I think Mike may have lost all of his fish over forty. I'm going to get you in trouble here Mike, I know you saw and dealt with several big pike this past week but since I wasn't the one fishing with you the stories have all melted into one convoluted memory of a big fish see here, a large fish lost there, etc... etc...

What I do remember with great clarity is the King Salmon fishing. I remember spending two great days catching Kings with Mike and Joe. I remember a 30lb King caught here, a 27 lb King caught there, big kings caught every where. Those memories are supported by the accompanying photos.

As for the Sheefish. A fisherman can't ask for much better. The sheefish are running a heavy average and there are a lot of them. Everyone this week who was interested took advantage of them and had a ball.

In summary; the houseboat is still up river. The water has stabilized and is starting to fall which should translate into very good fishing. The Kings are in and the fishing very good. MSTPA has all fish species "a go" and is looking forward to some great fishing the next couple of weeks.

Till next week, enjoy the pictures.

Dean "Boone" Nelsen

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Week 7
Week number seven proved to be a week of great weather, great company and sporadic fishing. Actually, I need to qualify the sporadic fishing by pointing out, only the pike fishing was sporadic. The King Salmon and Sheefish fishing was great. MSTPA enjoyed the company of returning guests; Mark MaCauley and his father, Jack; Kerry Keyes and his son Andy and first time guests, Karen and Richard Benedict.

It was another week of very hot weather for us. At time almost to hot. In fact with the water temperatures in the 68 to 74 degree range I believe it has been the heat and warm water that has forced the big pike to leave there normal mid summer haunts and move into the main river looking for cooler water. As a result, the pike fishing has become sporadic. The big pike are scattered through out the main river, their active feeding time condensed to a very narrow time window these two combined factors really limit the odds of putting a fisherman in the right place at the right time with the right lure at the right depth retrieved at the right speed, etc., etc... Despite the odds our guests did put some great fish in the boat.

Kerry boated the large pike for the week with a 48.5 inch fish. Kerry claims he would rather have had his son catch the fish but we all know better. Kerry has a habit of always boating a big fish while fishing with us. The last time he was here he put a 52 inch pike in the boat that looked more like a pig than a pike. Andy did put two beautiful pike at 41 inches in the boat for the week, which any where else but here would have been considered great fish.

For Mark and Jack the week was tough for pike up till the last day. On the last day they boated six fish over 40 inches. The largest being 43.5 inches caught by Jack which incidentally was also Jack's largest pike ever. Well done Jack, it was a pleasure to have you on board. Mark respectfully let his dad out fish him in the pike department but when it came time for the King Salmon on the fly out their was no such respect, more on the salmon fly outs a little further down the page.

Last but not least, MSTPA enjoyed the company of Karen and Richard. Looking at the notes here I see five fish over 40 inches caught for the week with the largest at 42 inches caught by Richard. Those low numbers don't reflect a lack of ability by the people fishing. I have to comment and note for the record that Richard is one of the better fisherman we have had on the boat to date. It is a lot of fun to fish with someone who can handle the equipment and as a guide you know, if the big fish is hooked it is not getting away.

The Sheefish proved to be a welcome bonus during the slow periods of pike fishing for all parties. They are an underrated but great fish.

The first fly out for the week was for Dollies and Grayling with Karen and Richard. We were unable to go to the Unalakleet as planed due to weather and ended up first on the George River where we caught a few Kings then it was off to the Aniak River for Dollies and Grayling. The Aniak River was a cold, windy bust. My hat goes off to Karen who endured the cold boat ride without complaint and as a result caught the only thing on the river that day, a head cold which lasted the rest of the week. Karen I hope you are feeling better!

The second fly-out was back to the George River with the two father son teams, the Keyes and MaCauley's. It was a day of great weather and big fish. A day where Mark shined. It is always fun to watch someone get the hot hand for the day, this was the day for Mark. Everyone caught fish and some really big fish but it was Mark who could do no wrong finishing the day with 15 or so Kings himself. In fact, towards the end of the day Mark would just hook the Kings and had over the pole to a willing fisherman wanting to play the fish. Out of all the good memories for the day the best was Jack who after an 18 minute fight put a beautiful 20 pound King on the beach. Through out the fight references were made to the story "The old Man and the Sea." I think this fight was the sequel. A great day with fun had by all.

For those of you who follow my weekly reports and wonder why I never put up pictures of pike. The explanation is simple, I have the digital camera and I do the fly outs for salmon. Every time I give the camera to one of the guides for pike they never take any pictures. I am working on it though.

Till next week, good fishing.

Dean "Boone"Nelsen

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Week 8
Where to begin? First,

I have heard the rumors through the grape vine started by people who don't have much of a clue that MSTPA is experiencing bad fishing and that the Innoko pike population is being desimated by native gillnetting and ice fishing. I will save my expliced rebuttal for next weeks report but will say now that the rumor is not true! I would recommend to those of you who are talking with no knowledge of the area, its history or the fishery, change to a subject you do know something about. I have a hard time with Monday morning quarter backs. As an example " I have yet to loose a Superbowl myself".

continued

Now on to the meat and potatoes of the report.

We once again had the pleasure of returning guest Berry Reynolds and his group; Joe, Bill, Doug, Roland and Fred. All fisherman interested in the fine art (or in some cases just plain work) of fly-fishing for big northern pike. The Reynolds group once again proved that a well striped bunnie fly eats the lunch of those big northerns up. A total of 58 pike over 40 inches were either boated, beached or in some way landed and released. Not bad for six guys. That number right their should dispel the rumor, but again I will save that for next week.

Berry took the big fish of the week at 48.5 inches, actually Leon had the big fish at 49 inches but it doesn't count for obvious reasons. Berry also landed three 47 inch fish and numerous other "smaller fish"; a 46", several at 45",a few at 44" and so on. Bill spend the week fishing in Berry shadow, landing two at 44 inches and a 43 inch fish and again numerous other "smaller pike". Roland held his own with a 46 inch fish tying Fred's 46 inch fish. Joe with a beautiful 45 inch pike. What Doug didn't catch for size he made up with numbers the largest being I think 40 inches. Fun had by all.

For the Sheefish, well let's just say the sheefish are hot. The largest Sheefish for the week was again caught by Berry at 40 inches weighing approximately 25lbs. BIG FISH. The numbers were there for everyone interested. It is times like these when the sheefish are set up in the current seams feeding heavily on salmon smolt that causes one to forget all the time when the little buggers are playing hid and seek.

On to the salmon. This week was fun. We fished both the George and Unalakleet rivers for Kings and had a great time at both places. The George River was great because we were able to witness Berry Reynolds the great fly-fishing guru from Colorado lower himself to chunk'in salmon eggs clobs with a baitcaster. I even took pictures. Actually the high light for the week took place on the Unalakleet with Fred. It was late in the day. Fred had spent the day with the fly-rod and had caught a few Kings but nothing big. With about thirty minutes left in the day we spotted three big kings sitting in a hole waiting to push up through a shallow rift. Fred went to work placing cast after cast into the swift current working for the perfect drift. Finally it happened, King on! Fred successfully landed the 24 pound chrome hen King bring an end to a great day. It was fun to watch Fred.

All in all an other fun week with a great bunch of guys. See ya next year.

Till next week and enjoy the photo's.
Dean "Boone"Nelsen

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Week 9
Last week a rumor came to my attention through the proverbial grape vine that the fishery Midnight Sun uses is on the decline due to over fishing whether sport or subsistence. The rumor is not true! In the following paragraphs I will attempt to inform the ignorant and the innocent of the idiosyncrasies found in the Innoko fishery and the big fish that live there.

First I will start with the disclaimer that fishing is fishing. No matter where one may fish the days will be defined as either good, bad or mediocre. The definition dependent upon the geographic location of the fishing spot, the fisherman's expectation and the money spent. As a general rule, a fisherman's expectations go up with the locations remoteness and money spent. What most fishermen fail to realize is that neither location nor money guarantee success they only guarantee opportunity. By going to the right location, which often is expensive, you put the odds in your favor for a trophy fish. Among the top six Canadian lodges like MSTPA catering to fisherman wanting trophy size northern pike (trophy is defined as 40 inches and larger) not a one of us can "guarantee" success. All that we can do as a lodge is put you, the fisherman, into an area of big fish and hope the two shall meet. Usually the odds work out, a single or several "trophy" size pike are caught. The fisherman is happy. The lodge has made money and everyone except the pike with the sore mouth is happy. But as always the definition of success or "a good trip" changes and great day had by one fisherman invariably will be a bad day for another fisherman.

I will assume for the sake of this continued discussion that all other factors involved in operating a lodge will be equal except for the fishery they operate in. The fishery MSTPA operates in; has been, continues to be and I believe will always be one of the premier trophy northern pike fisheries in North America. The Yukon and Innoko drainage's provide ideal habitat for the growth of big pike. And due to the vastness of the fishery I see no outside factors including our catch and release operation or the subsistence fishery that will at this time disrupt the biomes of the fishery or its size and age composition.

Yes, the locals use subsistence nets and hook and line to catch the pike in mass quantities. This type of fishing usually takes place during the winter through the ice. That practice in and of itself does not bother me. The Innoko has absorbed that kind of negative pressure for as long as people have lived in the area. What bothers me the most is that the fishing pressure applied by the locals today is no longer subsistence with the fish being used in a positive manner it has become a recreational fishery where the fish are still killed but no longer used. They are simply discarded with the attitude "the only good pike is a dead pike." I bet you all have heard that one before.

The northern pike for all it's negative past publicity is a very fragile fish in tune to its environment, especially the large fish such as those in the Innoko. For a northern pike to obtain the "trophy" qualities so many fisherman desire it needs a very special environmental blend of food size and quantity, water temperature and depth, vast spawning areas and most importantly the ability to combine those factors and grow old. Age is directly correlated to size. The Innoko has some of the oldest pike in North America hence the large size. It takes twenty years to grow a fifty inch pike. Just think of what those big fish has seen and been through to have reached that age.

I can only assume this rumor has been started with in the last couple of weeks because for the last couple of weeks I have been honest in my weekly reports and have stated the pike fishing to be slow to sporadic. For those ignorant people out there starting the rumors of the declining fishery there is a biological and environmental reason for the slow fishing the first two weeks of July. Simply hot weather and extremely warm water temperatures. If you are to know only one thing about pike you need to know that big pike are a cool water fish. They do best at 56 degrees give or take. When the water temperature warms into the 60's and especially the 70's the big pike become stressed and can't handle it. An analogy would be similar to people when the temperatures get into the high 90's and low 100s. In general what do people do. The young kids go play like little one to six pound pike. The middle age folks limit their activities to the cool parts of the day like the six to twelve pound pike and the elderly simply stop moving all together like the thirteen pound and larger pike. Are problem on the Innoko is the majority of our pike can be defined as elderly in the thirteen pound and above class. We don't have the small fish like the Canadian waters do to keep a fisherman happy when the big fish disappear. Also what happens when the air-conditioning quits for the elderly? They start to die. Big pike are the same way.

Every one likes and lives on numbers as being proof of the pudding. From the records kept by our staff and myself since 1994 we typically average 4.7 pike over forty inches per fisherman. In fact despite the "rumor" of our declining fishery this year, the 46 guest that have fished with MSTPA have caught 246 northern pike for an average of 5.34 forty inch pike per fisherman for a five day trip. I challenge those of you reading this to compare those numbers to any of the other top northern pike lodges. I know we'll be on top.

The biggest problem I have found in this business is truthfulness. When I do my weekly reports, I tell it like it is; the good, the bad and the ugly for all aspect of our operation whether it is about the fishing, weather or equipment. Unfortunately, as in the case of this rumor, it has back fired on me. MSTPA has all of the typical operational challenges and successes of fishing daily throughout an entire operating season despite the weather conditions while operating mechanical equipment in a remote location as any other lodge. It comes with the territory. I would love to see each and every one of our guests catch the largest pike of their life when they are here. Fortunatly most fisherman do. But it is still unrealistic. One of the greatest disappointments for myself as a lodge operator is to fish with someone whom I would love to see catch a big fish and it just never happens for what ever reason. Then witness someone who has no appreciation for the fish, the fishery or the environment simply do no wrong and absolutely clobber the big fish. It happens all the time. There is no true rhyme or reason. I live by the old adage "It only takes one cast for the big fish, you just never know which one!"

I could go on about the fishery, the country or our operation and perhaps in the future I will. But for now those of you reading this blurp know one thing, if the fishery does start to go down hill I will be the first one to tell you. Leon and I accept reservations to MSTPA on the belief that we can provide a good trip and that our clients will have the best odds available to catch some of the biggest northern pike in the country. And it is our belief in the country and the fishery that sees us through the tuff times.

Now on to the good times. Weekly fishing report Week#9 July 15 to 20

This week we had returning guest Shorty Revering and crew; Bill, Marv and Bill as well as a film crew from North American Outdoors; Steve Pennaz and camera man Dan Larson.

This week saw 48 pike over 40 inches brought into the boat. Bill I believe ended the week with the largest at 48 inches. Wally and Steve at 47 inches. Marv at 45 inches and Shorty at 44 inches. Bottom line, there was a bunch of nice fish caught.

As for the Sheefish they were good to excellent when people where interested. We did a Sheefish North American Outdoors which should air sometime in January. MSTPA also did a King Salmon show on the George River. This show will also air this up coming winter and should be a real treat. Steve landed two great Kings in the mid 30 pound range which are great fish for the George River.

I apologize for the short report. More next week. To Shorty and Bill. When you come back we now have a 50 hp Honda outboard on the back of your boat that won't leave you stranded.

Thank you for a great week.

Dean 'Boone" Nelsen

Week 10
This week MSTPA had the pleasure of first time guests Bill Sheldon, Bob McCormick, Joe Draeger, Roman Steinfest, Dick Laity and Larry Bonebright. All great people and a pleasure to have on board.

The reality is there is not much to report for the week. The highlight was a 49" pike caught by Bob McCormick and three fish over 40" caught by Dick and Larry on the last day of their trip. To describe the conditions simply, the fish are shut down! We have had a string of cold, windy, wet days that dropped the water temperatures from the low 70's into the mid 50's. In reality I would not be out in the weather either if I didn't have to.

And it is not that the pike are not there. Bill Sheldon and I spent a day fishing a little lake where we could visually see the pike up in the shallow water but could not get one to bite. In fact the fish would hold tight and not even move till the boat drifted on top of them. My theory for the week is that the fish are feeding in the main river and only moving into the lakes to warm up and digest their food. Once again this year we have had a tremendous salmon smolt migration down the Innoko which directly translates into very fat northern pike. We are seeing some of the heaviest fish ever this year.

Although the pike have been slow due to the weather the sheefish have been unaffected and feeding heavily. Once again a lot of fun for those wanting to fish for them. The average size continues to be in the 8 to 15 pound range which is a great fish for medium action tackle.

For the fly-out this past week we worked with Aniak River Lodge out of Aniak and had our guests spend the day up the Aniak river with them. From all the reports I would say it was a very successful week. The Aniak is seeing the last push of Chum salmon come through as well as quite a few Kings. Everyone now is waiting on the Silvers. When will they show? The bonus as always on the Aniak river is the occasional Rainbow, Dolly or Grayling.

I would like to say a special thanks to Bill Sheldon for a great day spent together in the boat. It was my pleasure. Thanks. To Larry and Dick, next time I would like to fish with you. I was disappointed it didn't happen. To Bob, I'm really glad you were able to make your side trip to Lime village. You had the only nice day in the last two weeks. To Roman and Joe; Roman, we'll keep the bears well fed and Joe, try not to leave so early next time. You don't have to schedule all of your yearly fishing trips into one week.

Till Next week;

Boone

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Week 11
This is my second attempt at this report. The first attempt was lost somewhere in cyberspace of waves, webs and electronic wizardry.

Week #11 is the week that moves MSTPA to the downhill portion of the season. Hump week! The week gave up sixteen fish over 40 inches for returning guests Paul and Jan Stone, new guests Bob, Bob, Jr. Eckhart, Alan and Josh Blavins. Bob Jr., the hot hand for the week with five of the fish over 40 inches credited to him; a beautiful 45 inch fish was Bob largest which tied Paul Stone's 45 inch fish for the big fish of the week. Bob Sr., boated a couple of pike in the low 40's and apparently had a much larger fish which simply swam away and broke him off. It was never seen but had all the mannerism of a big fish. Jan boated a great 44 inch fish for her largest of the week which leaves Alan and Josh to account for. Josh was able to break the 40 inch mark with a fish just over that length and Alan according to my records was the odd fisherman out for the week and unable to boat a fish over the 40 inch mark. Alan not boating a 40 inch pike only goes to prove, the good guys don't always finish first.

I have to say before I continue with the report that I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the boat with everyone this past week. And it was a pleasure to have another great group of guests. With what is in the headline news on a daily basis it is always great to spend time visiting with people whom we have a shared common interest with and realize that people are inherently good. That the headlines are the exception not the rule.

Back to fishing. The Sheefish are still available for the catching. This season has been the best we have seen yet for consistent sheefish action. It is always nice to have a fallback fish when all else has failed and this year the sheefish has been that fish.

The fly outs proved to be a lot of fun this week due to the diversity of fish in the Unalakleet now. Josh hooked and boated the first Silver Salmon for us. Congratulations Josh. In reality Josh was lucky. Bob Jr., two days prior should have earned the honor but instead successfully hooked and LOST six silvers. I personally haven't met anyone before who could have done that. It takes more skill than one realizes to hook and lose six silvers. Actually Bob it was just bad luck. Josh was the one meant to had the honors of the first silver.The Unalakleet produced exciting action for Chum Salmon, Pink Salmon, Dolly Arden, Grayling and the "one Silver." Fun had by all.

Till next week,

Boone

Week 12
First I have to apologize to my faithful reads for my tardiness in getting the weekly fishing reports out. What can I say "We've been busy catching fish."

Week #12 saw 28 fish over 40 inches boated by returning guests Len Kouba, Larry Desideri, Bob Kosiba and new guests Brett and Cliff Rubin and Ed Golon. There were a lot of nice fish caught past week. No monsters to the boat but the average size was tremendous. We were seeing fish with a length of 39 to 40 inches sporting girths of 19 to 21 inches. Incredibly fat fish.

Len boated the largest of the week, a 46 inch beauty on, but what else, a bunny fly. Leon and Len spent a day with fly rods and boated six fish over forty; 46,44,42,42,41 and a 40. Fly rods are impressive in the right hands. Nice job Len.

The rest of the group did well on conventional tackle using everything from top-waters to jointed Rapala's, spoons to spinners. With the water rising on the Innoko the fish were transitional and moody. But persistence and patience paid off for everyone.

We went to the Unalakleet for silvers for the fly outs only to find the river blown out over its banks, carrying trees and boiling mud due to heavy rains the previous 24 hours. As a result we redirected our efforts to the Aniak River using a boat, motor and guide from the Aniak River lodge to fish with our people for their fly out day. The river proved fun and diverse for those taking the opportunity. They found Rainbows, Dolly Varden, Grayling, Sheefish and Chums. The diversity is always fun.

The weather was unstable, unpredictable and nasty. The entire lower Kuskokwim and Yukon Valley was under a high wind advisories with Aniak reporting winds on the surface of 28 knots gusting 38 knots. Considering that the Helio courier flies at 35 knots the winds made takeoffs and landing interesting. The unfortunate effect of high wind on the Innoko is blown out fish and dirty water. It usually takes three or four days for the county to recover. Time will tell.

Thank you Len and Grew for a great week. Once again it was a pleasure to have great people on board. We'll see you again in a couple of years.

Dean "Boone"Nelsen

Week 13
Lucky week #13. This past week we had the pleasure of Bill DeCesare party of five; Bill, Brian, Jeff, Stony and Ron.

Week thirteen started where week twelve left off, HIGH WINDS. Because of the high winds turning the entire Innoko drainage system into mud soup we took advantage of only having only five fisherman for the week by taking three fisherman a day on a fly out over to the Unalakleet River for Silvers, Pinks, Chum, Dollies and Grayling. That left only one boat a day on the Innoko River for pike.

The schedule worked great. The Unalakleet provided continued exciting action for all salmon species. Combine that with great weather and grizzly bear viewing on the Anvik River drainage during the flight to Unalakleet and it made for great days.

The pike fishing as expected was slow for the first couple of days as the disturbed sediment settle and the water cleared. But by day three the fishing had picked up tremendously with the last day being the final finally. Twelve pike over forty inches were put in the boat for the week with Bill the hot hand for the last day. He spent the day fishing a Len Thompson 5-diamonds spoon and boated a 47.5 inch monster, a 44.3 inch, a 43 inch and a 42 inch for four fish over 40 inches. Brian and Jeff held their own in the size department with a 44 inch and 42 inch being their biggest respectively. As for Stony and Ron, I don't see their names listed beside big fish although as I look at the guides fishing report for the week I realize it doesn't mean much. The report is very vague and hard to decipher.

I am sure the boys this past week are waiting to see what I will have to say about their friend and fishing partner, Stony. For the rest of my readers who are out of the loop. I will say simply that Stony is one of the best fisherman I have every had the pleasure of fishing with. It is always fun to watch someone who is at the top of their game, and Stony was there. The Michael Jordan of sport fishing.

Thanks guys for a great week. We would love to have you back again. There is a week open in September for next year if you would like to chase some ducks along with the pike. Give me a call.

Dean "Boone"Nelsen

Week 14
Another great week at MSTPA is done. Returning guest Jerry Samuels, his grand son Michael, Dick Peterson with fishing partner Bob, John Myres, his six year old son, Hunter and friend Chuck Ernst have all departed with new guests Steve Harlan party of six already out on the water fishing.

The pike were on the move this past week. MSTPA saw 33 pike over the forty inch mark making into our boats. Chuck boated the largest at 48 inches. The picture is included in this report. Then vertually everyone tied at the next level with Dick, Bob, John and Mike all boating fish in the 44 inch range. Actually, as the conversation goes, Bob's 44 inch fish was "only" 43 7/8. A great fish no matter what you do with the last eight of an inch. Six year old Hunter also held his own in the big fish department with a beautiful 43 pike that was just a about as long and heavy as him. The award for conservation goes out to Jerry for the week as he took "catch and release" to new levels not seen before at the Midnight Sun. Jerry was the only guest this week not to boat a 40 inch class fish.

I have to make a special note here and say it was an absolute pleasure to have Hunter on our boat this past week. All the red flags go up for us at MSTPA when someone wants to bring a youngster with them as most young kids of that age have not developed the ability to enjoy intense fishing for a ten hour day let alone ten hours a day for five days straight. Hunter is the exception! To put it bluntly, Hunter fished everyone, and I mean everyone, under the table. It was a pleasure to fish with someone who could cast, catch fish and enjoy himself with out a single complaint. Hunter is a rare person. He can come back any time.

I've been meaning to mention the past couple of weeks that with the rising water in August the Sheefish have disappeared for the year. MSTPA enjoyed the best season ever this past summer on Sheefish it is too bad it finally had to end. We will see a few sporadic fish caught through out the rest of the season but the peak is over till next year.

The Silver Salmon on the Unalakleet have made up for the lack of Sheefish. The Silver fishing this past week was excellent. The Unalakleet has only received 10% of its silver salmon this year which in layman's terms doesn't sound to hot till you have a week where 100% of the 10% eat a pixiee. Then the fishing sounds and is great. Anytime you combine numbers of nine to twelve pound fish with a killer instinct and a bull dog mentality aided by a six to nine mph river current a fisherman can't help but have the time of his life.

Thank you everyone for another great week. We enjoyed having everyone on board and hope to see you on board again soon.

Boone

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Week 16
Once again MSTPA has had another great week of fisherman and fishing and.... weather. I havn't commented in the last couple of weekly reports for fear of jinxing the great weather we have been having but I'm willing to take the chance this time. MSTPA has had the best August weather yet in its four years of operation for fishing. Most of the days have been clear to partly cloudy, warm with occisional thunder showers and light and variable winds. The good weather has also extended up to the Unalakleet river area making for very enjoyable days of fishing their also. Granted we have had wind and storms and all the other little nasty's Alaska's weather can throw at you but the prevailing trend had been for very consistant,stable wonderful weather.

O.K. back to the reason for the report. The boys from Spokan Washington; Bryon, Ken, Bill, Tom, Ian and Mark but their fifty cents worth into the 40 inch pot this week, by boating 49 pike over 40 inches for the week. Mark topped the board with a 48 inch beauty. Ken followed closely with a 47 inch then a 46.5 inch pigs. Byron kept pace with a couple of 45 incher for his biggest. Bill held his own with a 44 followed by Tom and Ian with 43 incher for their biggest. All great fish guys.

This week proved again that flies and fly rods in the hands of those who can use the equipment is down right deadly on big pike. Althought the exception to the rule came on the last evening with Bill and Tom. We could not get a fish to hit a fly. We ended up throwing everything in the tackle box at them and finally struck pay dirt with the six inch shad skidded along the waters surface. The big pike loved that!

And then you have the fish for the week that we can't count. Sometimes you meet individuals who for what ever reason have the ability to catch big fish with out even trying, Leon is one of those people. Those of you who have fished with Leon know what I'm talking about. Leon made the mistake of fishing some this past week and boated two fish over 49 inches, one at 47 inches and a "little" 45 incher. Nice fish Leon, maybe you should think about leaving some big fish for the clients.

As for the fly outs and the silver fishing? Dispite rising water due to heavy rains on the Unalakleet last week the Silver fishing continued to be GREAT. A lot of fun had by all.

To everyone out there, the Spokan group wanted me to tell you, they felt they were the best group of the year. I'm not sure really where to go with that comment other than to say it would be a pleasure to fish with you again sometime. Yes, even you Byron.

Till next week,

Boone

Week 17
Once again I sit down to write the weekly report and wonder where the week went. It has been a blur lately do to long days and a lot of fish. This past week we had the pleasure of returning guests Ray Burchette and Mike Charron who were making this their second trip of the season. Also we enjoyed the companionship of new guests Dale, Denny, Jim and Jane. It was a week to remember. Great people, fabulous weather and excellent weather. For those of you who still believe the fishery is in the decline you may want to rethink your theories.

This past week saw 55 pike over forty inches make it to the boat or on the beach. Ray Burchette proudly topped the board with a beautiful 48.5 inch fish on a fly rod. Jim Golla played a close second with a 48 inch fish. But as Ray would say, "doesn't count if the fish is not caught on a fly rod". In my opinion Ray, what ever it takes. A big fish is a big fish no matter how you look at it. Then the fish lined up with a 46 inch fish for Mikes largest which was also on a fly rod. Jane with a very nice 45 inch pike. Denny put one in the boat at 44 inches with Dale following closely at 43 inches for his largest. Over all the break down for the week saw Ray, Mike, Jim, Jane, Dale and Denny put two in a 48 inches, Mike the guide had a 47 inch fish that we can't count. Shame on him. Two fish at 46 inches. Three fish at 45 inches. Nine fish at 44 inches. Seventeen fish between 42 and 44 inches and twenty-two fish between 40 and 42 inches. It sure was fun to see those great fish.

As for the Silver Salmon. I'll keep it short and sweet. GREAT! We fished the Kuskokwim, Aniak and the Unalakleet rivers this past week and had a great time every where we went.

The weather has been consistent and nice. Fish, specifically big pike, in reality are just like people. When the weather is nice everyone wants to come out and play. When the weather is inconsistent or bum they do the bare necessities to survive and don't spend a lot of time lounging around. I had the question posed to me that the good fishing we have been experiencing lately seems later in the season this year than last. That statement may be true, if it is it is directly related to the weather we have been having. This type of stable weather no matter the month always produces great fishing.

Any now my time is up. I'm off to the boat for a fly out to the Unalakleet River for Silvers. Till next week enjoy the Photo's. They are a montage from the summer.

Till next week,

Boone

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Week 18
I apologize for those that have fished with us this week and to those waiting for the reports to come out. The date is September 15th, our season is finished, the boat is closed up and the staffed has returned to the real world. It is at this point I finally have a chance to catch up with the reports and to fill everyone in on the last three weeks.

This past week we had the pleasure of new guests Bill and Debra; Tim and Dave; and Gary and Rob. Three groups of two. There were 34 pike over 40 inches boated for the week. Bill and Gary tied with the largest fish at 45 inches. Gary broke the tie by catching a second fish at 45 inches. Then there were five at 44 inches, eight between 42 and 44 inches then eighteen pike between 40 and 42 inches. A very good week of fishing although no monsters made it into the boat. The interesting thing for the week was that Gary and Rob; Bill and Debra all used light line for the week with only one fish breaking off. They all had well balanced rod, reel and line combinations that held up real well to the fish. Normally light line is a disaster with Pike and the Silvers but my faith has been renewed. Well, done everyone.

For the salmon fly out we went first to the Unalakleet with Dave and Tim. The Unalakleet was its normal great self. With Tim and Dave catching a nice bunch of Silvers. Then due to bad weather we went to the George and Oskawalik tributaries on the Kuskokwim and hit the final push of Silvers headed up the Kuskokwim perfectly with Deb and Bill, Gary and Rob and landing 100 fish and 80 fish respectively. Silvers are fun regardless but when you catch numbers like that it almost becomes unreal.

All in all it was a lot of fun had by all. It was a group we really enjoyed having and with a bit of luck we will see everyone again on the Midnight Sun in the future.

Dean "Boone" Nelsen

Week 19
Another great week. The week was excellent if for no other reason than we have had excellent weather. The days are clear, sunny and warm. We have had consistent morning fog because of the great weather but the fog has normally dissipated between 10 and noon.

This week saw another 37 fish over 40 inches landed by our first time guest Shawn and Walter; George, Major, Bill, Pat, Elliot and Noam. You will notice by counting the names that we made an exception to the rule and had eight guests on board this past week. Because of the good weather and good fishing the week went off without a hitch. Actually I can't really say that. We had our once a year screw up by PenAir who overbooked the incoming flight and as a result bumped virtually all the big bags. Then PenAir bumped the bags on the next flight and eventually sent them via a cargo flight two days later. Needless to say it makes for a long week with only one pair of underwear to chose from. Isn't that right Elliot?


Noam and Bill tied for the big fish this week with each catching their largest ever at 47 inches. Then their were four fish caught at 46 inches by Patrick, Noam and Shawn. Then Walter, George, Major and Bill boated five big pike at 44 inches. The list goes down from their. Everyone caught some really nice fish this week.


For the fly outs George, Major, Bill and Pat took advantage of the finally finale on the Kuskokwim and fished Silvers on the Aniak tributary with excellent results. Not only did they catch a lot of Silvers 60 to 80 a day but had the bonus of Rainbow trout and some Sheefish.


For Noam, Elliot, Shawn and Walter we went back up to the Unalakleet for their fly out and fished the final finally up there. We were able to utilize both conventional tackle and fly fishing gear to catch a bunch of bright chrome 10 to 13 pound Silvers. Mix excellent weather, some grayling and Dolly Varden with them and we had a great time.

Thank every one for a good week.

Dean "Boone" Nelsen

Week 20
The Final Finally.

The week the MSTPA staff has been working for. We once again had the Lester Graf party of Les, Rick, Mark, Ben and Joe on board to close down the season. And a fine job they did to. Two or three out of the five guys would spent each morning harassing the duck and goose population on the Innoko River which was a lot of fun for our staff. Actually, when you have four staff members who have been confined to a boat all summer and during the last week of the season you put a shotgun in their hands it gets scary. I felt sorry for the ducks and geese. The hunting itself was great as each morning was calm, warm and sunny. The conditions were not conducive to killing many birds but that did not hinder anyone's ability to have fun. The highlight for the week of hunting was listening to twelve to fifteen wolves howl in the distance for a better part of one morning as we watched a beautiful sunrise, shot fifteen birds and enjoyed each others company.

As for the fishing. The group boated a bunch of nice pike with Joe having the hot hand for the week with a 46.5 and a 47 inch pike. The 47 incher came on the last day. What a way to end the season. Well, done Joe. Then Mark was next in line with a 45.5 inch beauty, Ben's largest was 43 inches and Rick and Lester finished the week with 42 inches as there largest. There were a lot of pike moving this week but they were really temperamental. I am not sure if maybe we were missing the morning bite by duck hunting or what. But by the afternoon when we finally hit the water fishing the fish were in a real neutral mood.

There were two bonus for the week. First we caught some Sheefish again. The main river has cleared up enough and their were a few really nice Sheefish willing to be caught. The second bonus for the week was the great weather. We finished the last week with every day absolutely Gorgeous; Calm, warm and Sunny.

The Unalakleet held up for one more week of great silver fishing. The flights to Unalakleet were full of Moose, Grizzly and Black bear and the fall colors are just about at their bright point. Bottom line everyone had a really good time catching lots of silvers in great weather.

The season is over. We will be putting together our yearly news letter which will include a summary of the seasons fishing numbers, the sport show schedule, the television schedule for our five shows on North American Outdoors and maybe even a story or two from this seasons outings.

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MIDNIGHT SUN
TROPHY PIKE ADVENTURES