I concentrated on the large shadow that was too big to be a fish, until it moved. “Oh my God!” was my only response when it finally moved a few inches to the side to pick up an egg. This trout easily outweighed the bright red salmon spawning all over the run. My guide estimated it was at least 30”, maybe pushing 32” and well over ten pounds.

We were floating the Moraine for a week at the end of August. Our group consisted of Craig, Jim, Greg, Mike and our guide Ed. The float plane had touched down on Spectacle Lake, nestled in the snow patched mountains just the day before. The wind and drizzle had been an excellent motivator as we rushed to set up the rafts and start down fabled Moraine Creek. Our goal was the junction of Funnel Creek where Ed assured us there were lots of big trout.

That was yesterday, today I was staring at the biggest trout I had ever seen. I was hoping to maintain control of my heart rate but I wasn’t doing very well, it was pounding. Wisely, we decided to make a few casts well short and up stream of the fish just to get the line out without the danger of spooking him. This took my mind off my heart and we soon had the right amount of line out for the cast. Only 25 feet or so, diagonally upstream. The small orange glo-bug sank towards the bottom and I began to watch my indicator. I guess Ed was watching the fish cause he hollered and I instinctively set the hook even though I didn’t see the indicator move. The next scene is eternally engraved in my mind; the fish raced downstream and rocketed straight out of the water, suspended two feet over the water with the early morning sunlight adding to the surreal effect. I guess my mouth was hanging open, because the next thing I heard was Ed yelling to run down stream after my trout. It was about 50 yards downstream in the next run, showing no signs of slowing down. I lifted the rod high to keep the line off the rocks and started down after him. The next 15 minutes were a tug of war that I finally won, sliding the fish into the shallows where it turned on its side. Thirty inches and 12 pounds of rainbow trout lay at my feet. A quick picture and we had the fish back in the current and it swam gently away disappearing into the clear water. The Moraine produced dozens of big fish for us that week but that fish will be the one I remember. The large trout from the Alagnak River and Kukaklek Lake travel miles up the creek in August to feast on the sockeye eggs. I for one am glad they do!