Brooks Camp in Katmai National Park is one of Alaska's hidden treasures. We took a 45 minute floatplane ride from King Salmon, Alaska and were welcomed by brown bears and pods of sockeye salmon.

The waterfalls attrack monster brown bears during the sockeye salmon run from June to August. There is a pecking order for the best fish'n spots at the falls, and by the scars found on many of the bruins we could tell they were serious about holding the best positions. We counted as many as 35 leaping sockeyes a minute one day, while none the next. At times the "jaccousi pool" below the falls was black with sockeyes.

We timed the salmon run perfectly! In fact, one day I kept tabs and landed 48 sockeyes! The "red" or sockeyes averaged 28 to 32" long and 7 to 11lbs. That's alot of fun on flygear! We dead drifted small nymphs along the parameter of the pods. Pound for pound, I believe sockeyes are one of the most relentless, hardest fighting fish on our continent.

As you can see from my buddies "3 piece rod," an extra rod and reel is a must. A sturdy 7 to 8 weight, 9' rod and reel with good drag, plenty of backing, and sink-tip line was perfect for battling reds. Burned palms and bloody fingers was commonplace as we battled these wild salmon. Needless to say, our arms got a good workout as well!

We shared the river with big, bad, brown, bears! We were always be on the alert, especially when handling salmon. On one occasion I was photographing Jim holding a nice rainbow when a browny popped out of the tall grass and charged straight at us. Jim frantically tossed the trout into the water as we abled across the river. Luckily the bear retreated after he figured out we didn't have his prized meal.

Three year old bears just weaned from their mothers were the ones to watch out for. They hadn't quite gotten the hang of catching fish and were always looking for an easy meal from experienced, 2 legged fisherman.

As you can see, we lived in the midst of some plump, ole boars. The one in the photo at right's name is "Diver". He was often found in the jacousi pool below the falls searching the depths for a quick meal. He looked more like a submerged hippo than a bruin and more time than not came to the surface with a red salmon clinched between his canines. By the end of the summer his bulging belly just about rubs the ground beneath him as he waddles from the river to his knapping area in the tall grass. The park rangers reported he had returned the past 25 years to the falls.

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