With our fly rods in hand, and our eyes always on the search for a trout swimming in the water underneath a bush in the shadow, we hike through the knee-deep water of the creek – from time to time, reaching into the water to cool our sweaty necks. That feels good.

Carefully we are moving foward – trying not to scare any trout. But it is too hot anyway on this late afternoon in July. The fish are not biting. We try different fly patterns, but no strike. Just like us, the Rainbow Trouts think it's too warm.

We follow the creek through Grizzly Bear country, several miles all the way down to the mouth of the creek. Still, no fish is taking our fly. Even the mosquitos seem to think it's too hot on this Summer day – but I have no complaints about that!

At the mouth of "Secret Creek" we can overlook the flats, with mountains in the background. Suddenly we spot a huge Grizzly Bear who is following the bend of a river. His blond fur is shaking back and forth on his big hump as he speeds up his pace. What an amazing creature. He is almost as big as a Volkwagen Beetle! We realize quickly that the Grizzly will end up right where we are standing if he keeps on following the river, which then merges with our "Secret Creek", so we decide to move up-river again – out of the bear's sight.

The sun does not really go down during Alaska's Summers, so we are able to fly fish until late at night. Alaska's summers are so wonderful. As the temperatures are finally getting comfortably cool, I get a first bite on my fly. A nice Rainbow Trout is hooked and I have to give quiet
a bit of line so it doesn't break off. But I successfully land the trout, take out the hook, and then carefully release it back into the water while I rub the trout's belly. Quickly the Rainbow Trout swims away.

A short stretch further my friend is catching a Rainbow Trout. A little bit smaller, but very pretty with lots of speckles and red cheeks. I take a photo and then we release this trout as well. Catch you later, little trout!

Further up-river we see a Bald Eagle sitting on a tree that crosses the creek. The eagle is observing the salmon, which are swimming right underneath him. As the Bald Eagle turns his white head and spots us, he spreads his wings and flies up into a tree top above, from where he gives us a grumpy look.

I am changing to another fly pattern and also add a small weight to my tippet. After a few false casts, I place my fly right where I want it – a deep pool filled with huge King Salmon. But I am after the Rainbow Trout that is swimming among them. There! The trout bites my fly, and now the Kings, who look like "whales" compared to the small trout fighting on my line, feel disturbed and swim elsewhere. The trout is a great fighter, even that it is so little. Another photo, and again, I release my catch into the cool water of the creek – until next time when we want to catch it again.

While my friend is playing a fish, I suddenly hear some grunting noises right behing me in the bushes. Oh no, hopefully not the Grizzly that we saw earlier that afternoon! I shout: "Hey bear! Hey bear!" and I clap my hands while I slowly walk towards my friend, who is still playing a big Rainbow Trout, and dispite my shaky voice he REALLY doesn't want to cut his line for such a beautiful fish! But the grunting noises disappear, and I am able to take a photo of my friend's catch. Nice bow!

It's getting late and we move further up-river back to where we started our fishing day. Suddenly my friend shouts behind me: "What is that? A King Salmon?" - "No, it's a beaver!", I say in astonishment, as he swims right next to me in the shallow water. In that moment the beaver looks up, and with an angry splash of his tail he turns around and swims down-river passing my friend, so he gets a nice close-up look as well.

It's already past midnight when we arrive back at our car. Tired but happy, we pull off our waders and slip into some comfortable shorts. Another wonderful day at "Secret Creek". We will come back many times this summer, and the next, and the next...

Added on 07/09/2011