If you like to catch and release king salmon, this was the week to be on the Kenai River. You really didn’t have a choice. On 7/13, ADFG issued an emergency order changing the Kenai River king salmon fishery to catch and release only. Even though the king numbers have been tracking below the preseason forecast, the fishing …
Fishing Report Week Ending 7/12/2020
Between outboard engine repair work, and the Killey River dumping muddy water into the normal teal green Kenai River, I did not fish as much I would have liked to. For those of you who are new to the river, when the Kenai is muddy, it’s extremely difficult to get a king salmon to bite. It’s often better to find other fishing …
Fishing Report Week Ending 7/05/2020
In the beginning of the week, I made a return visit to Spirit Lake. The trout fishing there was excellent. Most fish were released, but I did keep a few for my neighbor Nancy. She enjoys fresh trout, and I was happy to be of service. The Kenai River reopened to king salmon fishing on July 1st. Since I’m …
Fishing Report Week Ending 6/28/2020
I was restless. The Russian River weir counts have been low and appear to be past peak. I was faced with the choice of fishing or not fishing. Fishing will always win that battle. Quite a few of my friends have made the statement that it will be great to fish without all the tourist this summer. They say it will be less …
Fishing Report Week Ending 6/21/2020
I got a late night call from my friend Boo of Tall Tales Charters wanting to know if Jane and I would like to join him in Homer for a “shakedown cruise” and a little bit of fishing. In the off-season, Boo replaced water and gas tanks, the toilet, bilge pumps, wiring, and the outboard motors on his saltwater boat. He even gave …
Fishing Report Week Ending 6/14/2020
I had big plans this week to fish the Kenai/Russian River confluence and the beaches of Seward for red salmon. After seeing no action in either areas, I decided to focus on camping/hiking, and then fish when I returned home. I'm not sure fishing was better on the lower Kenai River, but at least I caught enough for a couple of …
Fishing Report Week Ending 6/7/2020
When I was a kid, my Uncle Dean gave me a sticker that said, “Fishing Fools Club...Persistent Counts” and said I was now an official member. I was too young to understand what that meant, but I liked the sticker because the illustration is of a man fishing. He had been fishing so long, by the time his bobber went under, he had …
Fishing Report Week Ending May 31, 2020
There was good news and bad news for the Kenai. The good news is the sonar counter finally registered a few king salmon. At least three lucky anglers that I know of caught fish. The bad news is every fish caught fell below the 34" slot limit. Small run, small fish, not a good recipe. How did I do fishing this week? The string of …
First Fishing Report
I fished every day this past week with the exception of Monday. I would've fished Monday, but Mondays are designated as drift boat only days on the Kenai River and I don't own a drift boat. How was the fishing? My salmon catch rate mirrored the sonar counter....ZERO. If you don't believe me, the sonar numbers can be found …
River Salvage
One of the annual traditions of spring for me is to take my eight foot cataraft out of storage and float the lower Kenai River. There are three reasons why I do this. First and foremost, it’s the first time being on the river for the year. Second, it's great exercise rowing a cataraft, and walking gravel bars. And, finally, it's a …