Delta Clearwater
Date: 6/11/008Fish Caught: 6 or 7
Location: Delta Clearwater
Weather Condition: Mostly Cloudy - Some Showers
I wanted to do an overnight camp out while we were in Alaska. I was planning on going with Nathan Werner, a friend from my mission in Scotland. We originally planned to float the upper Chena River but rain the previous weeks made it high and murky. So while thinking of where to go, I remembered taking a small inflatable up the Delta Clearwater for silvers about 5 years ago. I wondered if it was possible to float it in a canoe. After researching Google Maps and talking to family from Delta we found that it was possible to float from the campground on Jack Warren to the Clearwater Lake.
Nathan and I loaded up the canoe in a pickup we borrowed (Thanks), and Jenny, her Mother and the kids came to drop off the truck at our pickup point. We went to a small restaurant in delta and had some buffalo burgers. Then we went to the campground and was dropped off with our gear. We started a little after 8pm. The first few hundred yards or so a boat went by and we were hit broadside by the waves made by the wake and took in some water. This made the sleeping bags a little wet but not too bad.
The first few miles we did not see very much movement or fish in the water and was getting a little discouraged. But then we started to see a lot of whitefish and a few grayling. A few minutes later I was casting into a small riffle and hooked a nice 18 inch grayling. We did not get bites on every cast but we did catch one every 20 or so minutes after that. They were all large for grayling and were beautiful fish.
We found the only camping spot that was solid, a small island in the river and setup camp about midnight. At least we did not have to worry about fire danger.
The next morning it rain a little as we left our small island. The fish were not moving but we were very close to the Tanana River and did not have time to fish. We made our way to the large silty river and then up the small outlet of the lake. We made it to the lake and paddled across. Loaded up the truck and headed for home. It was a very fun trip and great to get out with Nathan again. Sure miss those guys.
