Russell Creek originated on Frosty (on the right), and ran down to the bay. We always forded the creek at just about where the First Sergeant was fishing (See bank in center of photo). He apparently had come there in the weapons carrier, one of our recreation vehicles.
MY FISHING STORIES
I did most of my fishing at Russell Creek. It was quite a thrill to have a silver salmon hit my lure and jump straight out of the water before racing away with my line. More than once, I had to run downstream along the bank to keep the fish from breaking my line. What fun! I loved fishing at Cold Bay. I specifically remember casting a line or two from our boat in Blinn Lake. I also remember giving Trout Creek an unsuccessful try. However, Russell Creek was by far my favorite. I fished there during all hours of the day. Sometimes during the summer, I remember staying there until midnight. I only left then because it became too dark to see. Not long after I had arrived in the area, I had purchased a spinning rod and reel at the BX. I hadn’t brought one from home, but I did bring a box of lures with my other belongings. Those lures brought me so much fun that it is impossible to explain.
Some of my friends and I spent hours on the banks of the creek, trying new spots and lures to try to catch the Dolly Varden therein. For the most part, I used either a six or eight- pound line. In my search for the right combination of lure, location, time of day, etc., I found a hole that became the virtual pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. When using a specific lure, I could catch one of those trout on almost every cast. Others would try to duplicate what I was doing, but none of them had that spinner. They failed.
Now, in late summer and early fall, the salmon started their run. Russell Creek started to get crowded with other fishermen trying to see how many they could catch. One of the fishermen even put the largest treble hook that I had ever seen on his line. He was casting from one bank to the other. Then he was reeling as fast as he could to “snag” something. That wasn’t much of a challenge, because there were so many salmon swimming upstream to spawn. We remarked to each other that a person could walk across Russell Creek on the backs of the fish!
In addition to the humans, the bears came to stuff themselves with the salmon to prepare for their hibernation. Of course, we were always leery of the bears, and managed to stay on the opposite bank of the creek. Funny, but I never photographed them fishing. I guess I was too occupied with my own fishing.
When the salmon were running, I continued to use my light line and to fish for Dolly Varden. I remember using fifteen- pound line just once before changing back to a lighter test. It just didn’t feel right. The lighter line was more sporting. Well, on a certain day I cast out into the creek and there was a tremendous strike! A huge Silver Salmon broke the surface of Russell, shooting straight up into the air before flopping back into the water. I was ecstatic! The fish started running back and forth across the creek while I played the line, alternately pumping and reeling until the great fish turned and ran upstream. “Ha! I’ve got you now!” I thought. However, the Silver then turned and sped downstream at breakneck speed. He started taking my line so fast that the reel started singing. Then I realized that I was about to run out of line and lose my catch. I immediately started running down the bank as fast as I could. I ran so far that I became out-of- breath. Fortunately, I was able to turn him again and he finally gave up. And that, my friends, was the greatest fishing thrill I have ever had! And yes, I was using my favorite spinner from the lower forty-eight!
