Alaska has the most pilots per capita in the United States. I am one of them, although I am not active. It was back in the mid 90’s that I decided I wanted a private pilot’s license. I flew for several years but then all of a sudden I stopped. Fishing got in the way. In my world, when it’s a good day to fly it’s an …
Guest Blogger
It’s always nice to hear new voices, new perspectives about travel in Alaska. The following is from the person who convinced me to write a blog, my sister, Heidi Holtan. FISH ON! This week, I’m sitting in for Keith. Even though I’m Keith’s little sister, sometimes I have to get pushy. I come by it naturally—back when …
31st Annual Homer Winter King Derby
On Saturday, March 22nd, the 31st Annual Winter King Salmon Tournament was held in Homer, Alaska. The weather wasn’t too bad this year. Temperatures were in the high 30’s with light southerly winds. The lucky first place angler caught a 30.66lb king salmon worth $30,185.15 (with side bets the payout will double). A …
Happy St Urho’s Day
The phone rings. I answer and instantly recognize the voice. It’s my grandmother, Ina. “Keiffer, are you wearing your purple and green today?” Until my grandmother’s passing in 2011, I could expect this call every year on March 16th. Why on this day? Well, March 16th is St. Urho’s Day, dontcha know. …
A New Player In Town
When Jane or I talk to a first time visitor we highly recommend flying into Anchorage, getting a rental car, and driving three hours to Kenai. It’s a gorgeous drive that winds around an ocean, through the Chugach mountains, and then parallels the Kenai River to our cabins. We say it’s a three hour drive, but that’s if you don’t …
Self Awareness
I watch a lot of outdoor shows. I always have. My earliest recollection is sitting on the davenport on a Saturday morning watching Championship Fishing with Virgil Ward with my uncle Dean. For all the younger readers, a davenport is what you would call a sofa or a couch. Anyway, that leads me to today’s topic of …
Sport Show Season Revisited
It's been over ten years since Jane and I worked the sport show circuit promoting our business. Along the way, we met a lot of great people. Several have become close friends. As we were reminiscing about our time behind the booth, I couldn’t help but think of a blogpost I had written about questions people asked us. I …
Lawsuit…It’s For The Fish.
There are two reasons why lawsuits are filed. One is for monetary reasons. The other is to affect change. This lawsuit is about change. Just over a year ago I blogged about a petition that the Wild Fish Conservancy filed with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to grant federal Endangered Species Act …
2025 Kenai River King Salmon Forecast
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has released the forecast for both the early and late run Kenai River king salmon runs. Neither are good. The early run forecast is projected to be 1,531 fish. This number is 39% below the minimum escapement goal of 3,900 fish. If this is accurate, the 2025 early run will be the second …
2025 Sockeye Salmon Forecast
The very first sentence of the press release from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game reads…. The Upper Cook Inlet sockeye salmon total run forecast of 6.93 million fish is predicted to be excellent. For comparison sake, the 2024 sockeye forecast was 5.12 million fish. The actual run came in at 6.64 million …