Prince Of Wales Island

With Dillon and David Renton

By Lost Coast Outfitters

December 15^th, 2017

Trip Log April 2017

I am just back from fishing Prince of Wales Island in Alaska and still pulling the Devil’s Club needles out of my hands. 2017's steelhead season was fraught with massive rains and blowouts, but we persisted until the steelhead gods smiled favorably on us. This season we've fished CA, OR, WA, BC and it wasn't until we completed our journey on the west coast of North America in Alaska that we ran into pods of fresh fish. In a strange new land, I felt thankful to have David and Dillon Renton as our guides. A father-son duo whose technique and demeanor is only surpassed by their love for the fish and the land. I will send out more photo's next week but here is a quick account of our trip.

When we landed in Klawock, a small native village on the remote Prince of Wales (POW) Island, it was apparent we had landed in the first stretch of good weather the Island had seen in quite some time. It was that one week of false summer that happens nearly everywhere. This was a bit of an omen since POW relies on spring rains to raise the smaller river systems. The rain that had plagued us all season was nowhere to been found during our week on the Island. Knowing that the weather and fish are two things we can’t control we pushed forward optimistically noting the amount of snow on the mountains that served as our saving grace, keeping the rivers fishable.

Our first morning was a clear cold morning. The aroma of cedar was in the air as the sun began to peak out. We hiked about a mile through the woods of Cedar, Sitka Spruce, and Hemlock all draped in moss. Total silence except the songbirds rejoicing the sun’s first appearance of the season warned the forest that we were coming. Every run we fished David and Dillon had more stories that we could count. Their intimacy with the area was increasingly apparent as we began fishing.

David Renton first fished POW 30 years prior when he worked out of the San Francisco Fly Fishers on Clement Street in San Francisco. He has returned ever since with the regularity of the steelhead that run up the rivers. His experience was evident as he would start us well above the sweet spot and talk about the “angle of success” and how he wanted you to cover the run. You knew you were hitting the sweet spot when David would walk over and you’d inevitably get a pluck, a strong grab, and sometimes a solid hook up. We would wax on about Steelhead philosophy and anglers lost from society to pursue the fish they loved. His son Dillon has fished POW since he was 11, now 25, is a second generation fly fishing guide. His father’s technical approach to fly fishing is engrained from years of training and tutelage.

David and Dillon run fishing programs outside of the Prince of Wales. As Oregon, natives they run Deschutes river float trips and Dillon runs a summer & winter steelhead program on the Umpqua. With the amount of water still on the mountains, they are opening May 7-12th on the Island. Jump on them as they will go fast!