4 Days Camping Alone in Alaska - Floating Togiak River & Fishing for Salmon Char & Grayling

Tom here with the After Tom YouTube channel. Today we're floating the Togiak River. For the next four days we're going to be camping and fishing for arctic char, salmon, trout, and grayling. And we won't see another human being for the whole entire time. Tommy this is Gabe, Gabe this is Tommy. Nice to meet you Tommy. Nice to meet you Gabe. Alright so we're currently in Dillingham Alaska so we're going to hop on a plane and go to Togiak Lake. Ready for the best fishing of your life? Oh yeah and the best chances of getting mauled to death. Yep yep. Jump right off the end. We're gonna be here for about two hours while he goes and gets a raft. We got a little bit of time to kind of reorganize our gear and eat some lunch. Fill up our fuel bottle. My waders. Number two then my waders. Can of bear spray. Hey why don't you click that onto your belt. You have a your arm. It's a little thin right there. Hey Tom. Unhealthiness. Yeah. Tell a sandwich. Oh yeah. I'm using the smaller one. Alright so while we're waiting for Gabe we're going to go to a creek nearby and do some fishing. I think it's a big char. Oh that's beautiful. That's so pretty. Look at that gorgeous Arctic char. There he goes. Every bit of 18 inches that was a nice char. Hey dad you hear that? Flames coming. Would you like something? All right let me get you a Nutella sandwich. He probably could have got one. There you go. That's a that's a sandwich of champions right there. There's only one fish you'll see. Is that everything dad? I think that's everything. Got it. So Tom you ready for a proper adventure? Oh yeah. Only way home is forward. We can only get picked up in certain spots. The float plane can't land everywhere. So we can't miss the spots. If something happens and we can't get to a takeout spot we're kind of we're kind of stuck. This is awesome. Isn't that pretty Tom? This is so peaceful. Enjoying those wheat thins? I'm earning my wheat thins. If you look there that's a fish counting station. Fishing Game goes there to count the fish and see how many fish made it back. They've counted 70,000 sockeye salmon so far this year. Dang. It's one of the lowest sockeye salmon runs in Bristol Bay right now. Like the other ones we're getting like three million. All right so. Now do you feel it go tap tap tap tap tap tap? Yep now I do. This is the Togiak right? Yep the Togiak River. That's a fish. You got one? Yeah. Pretty dolly. I took the egg sucking leech. Here. That is a great dolly orden. He's hissing. Let's get her out of here. All right. Do you want to go catch some more of those? Yep. So that fish we caught was called the dolly varden. While you're in Alaska we call them dollies. You got the camera? You got the camera. This has happened twice now. Where's the camera? Where's the camera? Quick everyone at home tell me where the camera is. Dad had to retire because his mind was going. More food more go. Hey Tommy look at this. Cast like three quarters of the way towards that bank. Little dolly right there. A couple dollies right down there. Hey just drop it down drop it down. Oh I'm so surprised we didn't get nailed. Okay hop out to the right. That's the left. Okay grab the nose and pull it over We did it. No drowning for tonight. Oh I hate taking off wet waders. Get this set up. Oh the air pump. It took like three seconds. Korean barbecue style rice with Chinese bacon. Yay. And uh you probably want a cup of hot chocolate too don't you? Oh yes. I'm so tired. What's this on your pants? Oh for crying out loud. Yeah so we did about four miles out of 35 miles on this trip. We're gonna have to put in some more serious miles um tomorrow but we got all day to do it. We're going to go to bed. I'll see you guys in the morning. Unless we get attacked by a bear in the night. Yeah unless we get attacked by a bear then I shall feel my death. Good night. I pulled the weather forecast. What is it? It's supposed to rain like this until tomorrow morning. Oh. If you can go and pack up all this stuff and I'll string up a tarp. Here come on here stay dry. Nice having a little awning isn't it? Oh yeah. These chicken eggs are enormous. So in the next two days we basically got to go about 28 miles. So that'll be about four to five hours of actually floating down the river. There you go. What time is it? It is 10 44 so off to a late start. Why don't you cast it upstream a little ways? It doesn't have to be far. You know Tom that looks like a nice little slough over there on the left. Want to go try fishing pike? Yep. Let's land the boat and then you can walk out and go pike fishing. Oh that's a salmon. Oh sweet. I'll get the net. Oh this is so fun. This is a beautiful big sockeye salmon. We call them reds up here in Alaska because their body turns red and their head turns green when they spawn out. But this one's beautiful. Nice big male. That was so fun though. Oh yeah he gave you a ride. Here watch this. You can grab by the wrist and then you go like this. Go put them in and he's gone. You want to keep fishing this spot? All right yeah let's keep fishing. We barely got started. Oh do you get in the mouth? Look at that beautiful red salmon. He hit that big old neps. Boy this mud's sticky. Sockeye bodies. More like you were in a slough. When you catch them in the powerful rivers they go straight out into the current and pull with the current. They're one of the hardest fighting fish. Oh he popped off. He popped off? Let's go hit another slough. That was fun. Yeah. Yeah I caught a salmon. You caught a salmon. I hooked two others. Oh so we're tied. I mean like if I was a salmon I think this. I've seen some big grayling jumping up against. Oh there's one right there. Grayling rising to caddices right along that bank. Don't have the fly rod set up. So uh we're going to go hop back in the raft and uh continue our drift. You see anything going on in it? I need you to do some fly fishing for me then. Oh bet. Okay yeah so you over the other trout right there. I'm gonna catch. All right not behind me. Not behind you. Like there you go. That was a good one. But I right down here in the point I've been seeing some fish jump. I saw some fish jump over there. One more fish. Oh looks like dad caught something. I'll bring him into this into the calm water here. Bring it. Look at that. That is a lovely grayling. That is a specimen. So that right there is an arctic grayling. Beautiful one isn't it? Yeah beautiful arctic grayling. You stay here. There's just a butt ton of them jumping in there. See if you can go catch one here. Okay just keep that rod up and let them take drag. Okay try to play them into this calmer water over here. You're not fighting him in the current. Oh good job Tommy. All by yourself man. It's a gorgeous grayling. Oh there we go. Oh he is. Look at that Tommy. That is a huge grayling. Okay look at that. Yeah look at the colors on him. Look at the big dorsal fin. Tommy that is an amazing grayling. That is definitely the biggest grayling you've ever caught. He is 18 and a half inches. Okay look at that. That is an 18 and a half inch grayling Tom. Beauty. We haven't done too much of the river today so go and go hop back in the raft and keep on floating. That's a massive char. It came out of the shadows I swear. I saw it but take it. Oh that's a beautiful char. Bring him closer. High five. Yeah. Oh my hand hurts now. Oh yeah that's a lot easier than I thought. That is a nice char. I'm trying to catch one of everything. I'm succeeding. Yeah hit that enormous salmon spinner. Tom do you know what that fish means though? Yeah that's right. But do you know what Tom? I've got one secret to show you. We spent too much time fishing and so we need to go put down our rods and start rowing. Come on dad. Work up the pace. You need to burn off the calories from those donuts you ate this morning. So many donuts. So uh can we switch spots and can I try rowing? Sure. Why don't you come on over. All right keep us in the middle. That's the that's the big thing. Yeah we'll want to get going more this way. We're going to hit the bank. Big char. You're a char killer. You know this has been working better. There you go. Nice char. Are those bear tracks? Yeah those are grizzly bear tracks. Average. What do you think Tom? Do you want to do here or do you not like the bear tracks? We can go across the river. Hey Tom is that like an enormous mountain of bear poo right there? All right thanks Tom. See right there that's otter tracks. Right here you can see the tail. These aren't all the same bear either. Look at all those coyote prints. And you're nice. I don't like moving. I think this is as bear free as we're gonna get. Yep. I see no tracks. See no crap. Let's let's stay. Yeah maybe like right here is what I was thinking. Doesn't punch a hole. Makes a difference get out of the rain doesn't it? Oh yes it does. Let's go ahead and get the tent set up. I'll start cooking. Sounds like dad started uh dinner so I'm going to go hand the GoPro over to him and uh yeah he's going to film dinner. Tommy got hot chocolate for you. Rice and chicken cheese tacos. That smells so good. Lay down your raincoat as a placemat. Oh this is so awesome. Boy I went from cold and wet to damp and warm and so full of tacos that my stomach hurts. Look at this stretch but we have done about 18 miles so far. We've floated a little bit more than half the trip. That'll give us plenty of time to fish and just enjoy ourselves tomorrow. Okay it is really late it's like 10 30 past both of our bedtimes again and we're both tired again so we're going to go to bed without watching a movie right now again so I'll see you in the morning again. Good morning buddy. Breakfast champions. Classic oatmeal. Curious to see what dad's doing? Blowing up the raft some more? Yeah we did get a little soft. Hey bud. Why don't you go get packed up? This wasn't a bad spot at all. In the rivers you can kind of park it. Dad's up there salmon fishing. I got the fly rod so I'm going to go downstream from him and try to catch some grayling. Grayling like to hang out right behind the salmon. That is a big old bear print right there and there and there's dead pieces of fish everywhere. I'm gonna see if I can catch a grayling without being eaten alive. Any luck? Couldn't hook any but tons of them. Oh I got my life vest on. I'm feeling kind of pretty. Let's do this. Is that a char or a pike? What do you got in there? Oh beautiful rainbow Tom. Bring them in. Oh Tom high five buddy. There. Tom I think that's the biggest trout you've ever caught. Tin under the tail. Look at that Tom. Okay no throwback. That is a big trout Tommy. There might be more. There you go. Nice. Oh that is a chunky char. It's a nice char. More fishy fishy. We need to make tracks so we're going to hop in the raft and keep moving. Hey guys you see those trees down the water? Those are called sweepers and they're very dangerous. They're dangerous because they can knock you off your raft or get you trapped in It's 40 degrees out it's just a little above freezing. Let's get going. Boy this is pretty isn't it? Yeah this is way pretty. Oh it's starting to get rainy. It is it is rainy. I'm gonna get a little faster. Oh there's one right there you see? There you go. Dad gots one. What does this mean? Who's ahead? None of us. We're tied. We're tied? Tommy I think there's a bunch right over there in that spot. Oh I see him. I just saw him take it. Oh right there. Oh yeah. Boy I keep underestimating this storm Chad. Look how fast we're going. Oh I think we're at our camping spot for the day. Looks like a great place for a bear though. Row your boat to the camping spot. If you don't row hard enough we'll have to keep going down the river. There's one. Looks like a pretty sweet fishing spot though. This isn't barry at all. Look at that. That's an eagle print. Look at the size of it. See there's a rear talon. That's its front talon. It has a huge bird. There's a nice spot for the tarp. Oh yeah. What do you think? You want to do it Tom? Oh yeah let's just let's go over here. I'll bring the boat around right over here. Here just to make it easier I'll follow you. Oh oh. Just a second. Just I just gotta do a little. There's a little something. He'll catch one. No he won't. You totally got this dad. No you don't. I take that back. Oh yeah. Oh they're so fun. In his mouth. Outmaneuvered by a fish on land. There you go. Another one. They're in here thick Tommy. This is a fabulous spot. I wouldn't mind playing him. You want to play him? Oh yeah. Reel it reel it real real tight. Oh yeah. Then walk backwards. Walk backwards. That's a chum. I knew it. That is a chum salmon. That is a big male chum salmon with his spawning colors. Yeah he's been snooked. He's been. We should probably. Hey. I was saying we need to not get distracted. I think I'm very focused. No. Our goal is to come over here and move the raft. Was it? Yes. I think my goal was to beat you fishing and I'm doing very good with that. No. Our goal was to move the thing so we can. Tommy I think there's something wrong with my waders. There's a hole right here. No. No. There's quite a bit of prints on here but we'll be fine. We'll be fine. That works really. You want tacos again? I'm not sure it tastes any good. Yeah. It was kind of. Here we go. Can I have a hodgepodge of tacos? Good thing I'm eating this with waders on. They're very um jalapeno-y. Yeah a little spicy huh? Well yeah dad's going to go do the dishes and then he's going to go fishing. You want me to film while I fish? Yeah because you're going to tear it up. Yeah yeah. And I don't want to go out in the rain. Don't forget your butterscotch pudding. Oh butterscotch pudding. I'm going to go do the dishes. All right I'm going to leave it. Yeah is that crazy? Geez. How deep is this? Just that. The edge of the tin can lid. It's it's pretty deep. Stitches? There ain't nowhere to get stitches here. But you could? Maybe. Oh darn it. I spilled food everywhere too. I'm gonna track the bears. So Tom I need your clean hands. Your clean dry hands. Okay. Start with the antiseptic towel. You open it up. It's a little wet towel. Yeah it feels nice. Okay now I just need to keep my hand above my head for a while till that stops gushing on us. I got a stupid idea to clean that up. Boy you startled me so bad. Yeah that was kind of weird wasn't it? Yeah. Well now that that's settled and that's not leaking as much. I'm going to give the GoPro to him and he's going to go fishing. I'll see if I can work this GoPro. May the fish be with you too. Just yell out if you need anything. I'll be back in like 15 minutes. Another gorgeous chum salmon. It's got its spawning colors too. Usually they don't get these till later in the season. Yeah another big male chum salmon. Okay just a few more casts. It's a nice sockeye salmon. All five species of salmon start out silver and then they turn their spawning colors. Beautiful fish. Now five fish ahead of you. The fishing's pretty good but I've got an impatient boy waiting for me on the sandbar. I told you 15 minutes but the clock resets every time I catch a fish. It's not my YouTube channel back. Yoink. Outdoor boy section is over. I think it's time to go to bed anyways. No no no no. We are watching. Oh so tired. You don't have to be conscious to watch the movie. I think it's a perfect night to watch a movie with my son. Yes it is. Boy you like that zipper don't you? Oh it's the best. Boy it is warm in here. Isn't that nice? I just want to just start using it. Well it's around like 8 40 so um I'm gonna go put the camera down and me and dad are going to go watch a movie. I bring to you a message of love. Do you see my thumb Tom? Why? Why? Oh gosh darn it. Not again. Uh when we deal with wet batteries with our wet fingers it gets moisture in the camera and then the camera lens fogs up. We've been dealing with this for two days already. It's not easy filming out here. It's not. I'm ready to catch some fish. Now grab your bear mace. There you go. You got another one? Another one in the mouth. Oh that's a big chum Tommy. Oh look at that Tom. Okay now put him in the water. Let's let him go. I was right next to him. Yeah he was coming around the corner. You see that? You scared him. Why is he scared of me? He saw you and he just came running upstream. Now here Tommy I got a fish on. Okay now when I saw him he was staring right at me. He looked a little bit smaller so he may have been younger. Oh I don't. You want to come hang out with me and stand over there by the bear? Yeah. Have you had stuff happen to you like that before? Oh yeah. Well we do not tell mom. We do not tell mom. Until once we get back. I love fishing for chum. Look at that. Beautiful fish. Let me ask you this Tom. Did you have time to get your bear mace out? No not really. Because when you scare a bear like that it happens so quickly that yeah it's just. I was over there with the bear mace and I did this like when I was like over there and it's Oh you got a fish. Yeah a little female pink salmon Tommy. There you go. That's a pink salmon. They call them pink because their meat's pink instead of red. Oh yeah looks like he caught another one. I'm guessing that bear tracks we saw along the coast that might be him. Oh boy look at that fish. Catch him catch him catch him grab him. Oh you want to try my fly rod? Oh yeah. Come out here on this point. You don't have to cast far Tom. There you go that's far enough. Give it a twitch. Wait twitch. Right there. That's your first chum on a fly rod. Here why don't you go pick him up and let him go. Be free. See how easy that was? Here wash your hands off before you touch my rod. Let me see your hands. All right give me a touch of my rod. No I think it's a chum but it's I think it's it's still in silver face. Oh oh Tommy look at that. That's a beautiful sockeye. My right my right arm feels so bad. Catching a fish on a fly rod is a lot harder. Especially this I haven't napped. Okay you want me to go look around the corner and see if the bear's there? We're going to go see if the bear went to camp and if he did chase him out. Looks like he just left. Listen you're hungry right? Yeah. I would love a chocolate almond. Can I have a Kit Kat too if there's one? Oh man. We're all sugared up let's go. That was a good campsite and a good fishing hole and we had enough time to enjoy it. I like that. And we saw a bear on the trip. Well it's like three hours and change until Gabe comes here to pick us up. So we're going to spend the next like two hours fishing. Dad says he sees a lot of fly fishing potential here so. I know we'll get some fish. Yeah I'm excited. So there's a sockeye with his spawning color. Did he bite it? Good job look at that. Nice sockeye. You need to put down the fishing rods and uh go pack up. If you want I'll pack up and you can keep fishing Tom. That sounds awesome thank you. You got a salmon on your pike rod? Oh look at beautiful. Big salmon Tom. How many of those have we caught? I've lost track. I don't know. Nice jump. There you go good job. Oh there you go. Teeth on that sucker. Do you wish we were staying longer? Yes. Sounds like the plane's landing. There he is. I came face to face with a grizzly bear today. Oh yeah you can tell we got his wind. Gotta go see grizzly bear up close. Oh we didn't get chewed to bits by a bear. We didn't flip the boat. We didn't drown. No hooks and faces. Yeah only in fish. See you again. Well that was a fun trip.