Italio River Adventures - 2001 Float Trip Photo Gallery

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2001 Wilderness Float Trip Gallery

I had the great fortune to pioneer an unexplored fishing paradise this season along the upper reaches of the Italio. No one had entered this superlative area to fly fish before and besides my two trips in 2001, no one else has. Getting to Italio Lake is no easy task, but the journey is as good as the goal. In the spring, we cut a three mile trail connecting Harlequin Lake with Italio Lake that follows the base of the mountains. After a short rise at the start, the hike is very flat and easy. But... getting to the trail head is an adventure in itself. The iceberg clogged Harlequin Lake needs to be crossed by sea kayak.

In the photo below, you can see the edge of Harlequin Lake on the left, with Italio Lake tucked out of sight in the valley at the upper right. This is REAL wilderness, where humans have rarely ventured.

The deep lake is surrounded on three sides by steep mountainsides, with a fishpass fall on the river about 2/3rds of a mile below the lake. During the Sockeye season, you can watch the salmon jump the eight foot fall and sometimes spot a brown bear fishing along the upper river. We set up camp a few yards from the falls and spend the night. Depending on the desires of the group, we can fish the lake, or explore the other streams in the area before beginning the float.

The New Italio drops only 160 feet in elevation between the lake and the ocean, making this a very relaxing "flat float". We stop to fish where ever we see a lot of fish, or the particular river conditions that appeal to you. While the entire Italio is crystal clear, the river bottom of the upper reaches gradually change from bedrock, to boulder, to rock to gravel to sand as you near the ocean beach. There is technical fishing to satisfy just about anyone.

Although the entire float can be accomplished in about nine hours, we'll spend the night half-way down, to allow for plenty of fishing time throughout the journey. Bald Eaglets stare down as you silently pass below their gigantic nests. Bear, wolf and moose wander by while you focus on a school of salmon what have never seen a fisherman's fly before. The resident and sea-run trout wait along the edge of the school for an errant egg pattern to dead-drift through.

Once we reach the inter-tidal zone, we spend a couple days working the chrome-bright, returning salmon as they first enter the fresh water. Although fishing is our biggest attraction, many of last season's clients couldn't resist a few hours of surfing, beachcombing, or just a quiet moment at the top of the dunes spotting a passing whale.

And did I mention the fishing? Our float group the first week of August hit the salmon grand slam - all five species of Pacific salmon on a single week, plus cutthroat and char.

Return to 2001 Photo Gallery Directory

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Italio River Adventures
P.O. Box 210
Yakutat, Alaska 99689

(907)784-3697
1-866-737-1123

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Extremely remote Alaskan flyfishing for salmon, trout and char... Italio River Adventures The only full-service outfitter on the pristine Italio River... Italio River Adventures Spectacular flyfishing in one of the world's most spectacular locations... Italio River Adventures Experience the REAL Alaska - pristine - wild - unspoiled - perfect... Italio River Adventures

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