A chrome-sided king salmon from the Sapsuk River on the Alaska Peninsula , caught and released on Spey tackle and a swinging fly .
Remote Chrome
THE MIGHTY KING SALMON OF THE ALASKA PENINSULA . BY GLENN CHEN
AS THE BIG FLY SWUNG next to the bank , I felt a soft pluck , followed by a series of increasingly urgent tugs before the tip of my Spey rod was pulled down in a solid arc towards the water ’ s surface .
Rousted from my early morning reverie , and with mental circuits dulled by too many pre-dawn risings , my response to the take was atypically delayed . This turned out to be a good thing , as lack of sleep had intervened to prevent me from yanking the fly away from the fish , before it could fully engulf the faux concoction of shiny tinsel and wiggly feathers wound around tempered steel . Throbbing headshakes were now sending stupendous jolts up the taut line , and the klaxons suddenly sounded off in my head – set the hook now , you darn fool !
The resulting reaction from the big chinook that had grabbed the five-inch long , blue and black Stinger Prawn was nothing short of astonishing . There was a momentary stillness that hung in the morning vapor — and then all hell broke loose .
The powerful king salmon bulldozed across the river , easily pulling the nylon running line through the fast current . Reaching the far side , she suddenly decided that her best escape from this unanticipated torment lay in a return back to the sea . The chrome hen instantly set off on a blistering downstream run , with dorsal fin and half of her broad body out of the water , muscling against the tight drag in an amazing display of pure power ; my line instantly melted off the reel as if it had been set
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