Have you ever been tired of catching fish after fish? Neither had I. But, if I were going to try, the Anchor River on Alaska's Kenai Peninsula would be great place to start. Located North of Homer, the Anchor is a small stream that supports significant runs of Chinook, Coho, Dolly Varden and, late in the fall, wild steelhead. I traveled north this past October to experience late season steelhead action with Creekside owner Rich Youngers, longtime Alaska guide Jesse Sampson, and Scott Giles from Denver.

The Anchor heads in the hills southeast of Anchor Point, and runs free for a relatively short distance before hitting tidewater. A short freestone stream like this doesn't host a large population of natives - rainbows or grayling - but is coveted for its clockwork runs of anadromous fish. Kings first, then silvers, last the Dolly Varden and Steelhead almost piggybacked. If you time your visit right (as we managed to do - beginners luck), you can hit the peak of the dolly migration just as the rivers long glides and cobbled runs fill with fresh, aggressive steelhead.

Fishing the Anchor involves standard nymphing of runs and pocket water with dry lines and indicators. Most of the river is just not built for a swinging fly. We concentrated on several runs in a two mile stretch of river, noting that where we found dollies, we found biting steelhead. Standard dead-drifted patterns such as Glo-bugs, Green-butt Skunks and Polar Shrimp will take steelhead. In between the big fish, you can wear yourself out on some wonderfully hard fighting Dolly Varden. The Dollies averaged between 13-16" with the largest caught being about 24"and 5 lbs. Some were mint bright and others dark with their spawning colors and kype jaws. The river was just full of fish. Over the course of three days of sunup to sundown fishing, each angler conservatively averaged 30+ dollies per day. Even on a steelhead rigged 8-weight, they were worthy adversaries, and equally worthy of proper release. Steelhead fishing on the Anchor system is strictly catch and release, to protect the entirely native run. Our group managed to hook over 35 steelhead in three days - an average of three hookups per angler, per day. Several runs produced multiple hookups for each angler in the same two hour period. One aggressive fish even managed to eat a fly twice in two hours! We landed fish ranging from 6 lbs to well over 30 inches and 12 lbs!! Most had a bit of color in their cheeks, and plenty of fight in them as well.

Last, but certainly not least, the fall season on the Kenai offers some incredible scenery and wildlife viewing potential. This is being said tongue-in-cheek, as we managed to not spot a single major mammal (other than ourselves) despite the Moose tracks that followed us down to the river as we borrowed their trails each day. Views extend far across Cook Inlet to some of the major coastal volcanos, and across Kachemak Bay to the extreme southern tip of the Kenai, and the hidden coastal hamlets of Halibut Cove and Seldovia. The Homer/Anchor point area itself is quite charming, with the basic necessities well covered, some great restaurants and a slower, relaxing pace of life. While not an untouched wilderness setting, I found the Anchor River a great place to chase and catch some truly wild fish. But be careful - you could end up having to rest your casting arm when you get home.

By Sean Tate