Zachar River Productive
Once again the Zachar River was extremely productive in many areas of interest. Fish were plentiful and so was the wildlife.
Early in July the Dolly Varden lined the river so thick you would think they were salmon. These dollies were waiting for the arrival of the pink salmon for a plentiful meal of salmon roe. We caught some of the largest dolly varden this year that we have ever seen... 4 or 5 pounders!
Chums and Pinks started showing up around mid July and ran strong into August. Many of our guests could not believe that there could be so many salmon in such a small area. While fishing on the river, we would occasionally be greeted by a curious fox. It would be the center of attention for at least an hour during lunch when it would roll around in the sand and play.
This little fox would follow us up from the beach all the way up to the fishing hole in the morning during silver salmon season. Silvers flooded the stream in mid August until October. They seem to be the most active and acrobatic of all the salmon and provide quite a challenge for some of our anglers.
BEARS. The bears seemed to show up on the river at perfect timing. After the fisherman’s arm was starting to set in at about 3 PM, one of our furry critters would show up and provide some entertainment. Many excellent photos and videos were taken especially when they would get close.
Frazer Lake Reds
Frazer Lake produced the largest escapement of Red Salmon that it ever has. Over 200,000 Reds made it back up to the lake to spawn a future generation of fish.
Our anglers were extremely successful in catching this finicky fish. In one group, five anglers managed to catch and keep 20 reds in a single day of July. That seemed to be the peak of the red run.
We also incorporated a new fishing area for all five species of salmon. It is called Dog Salmon River and is only five minutes away from Frazer Lake. Having the airplane allows us to reveal successful locations such as this.
In one day, during July at Dog Salmon River, a group of guests caught Reds, Chums, Pinks and a King Salmon. Four out of five isn’t bad when the other species is still at sea.
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Bear Damage in Winter of 1996
When Linda Eaton went to Zachar Bay to visit Marty after all the hunters had left, little did they know what was about to happen. It had snowed two feet a few nights before and all was quiet at the lodge.
In the morning, Linda went over to the Dining Hall to get some supplies only to find that the backroom was nice and light due to a large hole ripped through the wall.
Apparently, a bear had broken into the Dining Hall the night before looking for food, and caused extensive damage. It broke a chest freezer, numerous serving dishes and pieces of china, and ripped of one of our walk in freezer doors - a mighty feat.
Blood littered the room from where the bear cut itself in causing all the damage. This bear even left it’s trademark, a bloody footprint on the door which we left as a conversation piece.
All in all, it wasn’t totally bad. The ladies in the kitchen now have a restroom that was added on where the bear made its entrance.
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Summer 1997
From Hot-tubs to satellite television, it seems like life is getting more luxurious in the “wilderness”. This year we made many improvements and modifications around the cannery. 
