We’re all breathing a lot easier now. 

I started the week fishing Team X. Dad Adam and youngest son Ashton with the first double of the year. 

The fishing wasn’t as fast as I was hoping for, but it was a nice beginning to the week. From left to right are Aiden, Adam, and Ashton.

By the way, the young man on the left holds the distinction of being the youngest fisherman to be in my boat. When Aiden was 6 months old, mom and dad bundled him up and brought him out on a king trip. It’s hard to believe it was 22.5 years ago.

The following day I had the pleasure of fishing with Mike, Dick, Gary and Kurt. Here’s Dick with the first red salmon of the morning. 

And then it was Kurt with his first salmon in Alaska.

We gave it a long day and unfortunately this is all we had to show for it. 

The consensus in the community was Tuesday would be the first big surge of fish. It didn’t happen. I netted one red salmon for Scott, Mason, Connor, Megan, and Lindsey. They said it was a good  prep day for all the fish they’d catch at the end of the week. Gotta like that attitude.

Later Tuesday afternoon, I had Mark, Amy, Heidi, Max, and Katherine fishing in the rain. This was the entire catch. Like my morning crew, they thought this was good prep for when they’d fish with me in a couple days.

The Wednesday prediction of a huge push of fish didn’t come together either. Mike, Dick, Kurt, and Gary gave it an all day effort in the rain. We missed a half dozen fish and put 2 on the stringer.

Guess what? It finally happened BIG TIME on Thursday. The first large sonar day of the year arrived. It didn’t take long for Scott, Mason, Conner, Lindsey, and Megan to catch 30 fish. The happy fisherman were greeted at the dock by Kayleigh, who proudly joined them for a photo. 

And, later on Thursday, Mark, Amy, Wendy, Max, and Catherine put 30 fish on the bank as well. 

Friday was a repeat of Thursday. Lots of fish in the river.  In the early, early morning Scott, Mason, Conner, Lindsey, and Megan had no trouble finding their limits.

Friday, late morning Mark, Amy, Max, and Catherine methodically caught their limits as well.  

I can’t say enough about these two families. Everybody pitched in helping me net fish, clean fish, and package fish. I look forward to seeing all of you next time!

The week ended with the annual Matt’s Birthday Trip.  Joining Matt is his wife Kelly, and friends Nolan and Annalise. Always fun to see you guys.

Come back next week to see how this grand river that owes nothing treated us.

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Every trip we caught enough fish for the grill. But, we couldn’t find enough fish to fill the freezer.

About 5 minutes into the first trip of the week Sue caught this nice red salmon. 

Shortly afterwards Randy got this one. I thought we were on to something, but that was it for the day.  

Here is the whole crew. Sue, Steve, Amy, and Randy are doing their best to catch a salmon.

The next day, I fished 82 year old Bruce and his sons Pete and Mike.  I can’t say enough about the their attitudes. They worked hard for two straight days to land 6 salmon. They were smiling when it started, they were smiling when it rained, and they were smiling when it all ended. They shook my hand before they left and said “we’re coming back next year.”

Pure joy!

The three of them never slowed down. The longest breaks they took happened when we were traveling in the boat searching for a new spot to try. 

Here’s Bruce holding the largest salmon he’s ever caught. It was an honor to be a part of that.

Hundreds and hundreds of flips finally got Mike on board.

Pete was the last to land a red salmon. It was a lot of work, but he didn’t mind.

I finished the week fishing with a high school classmate of mine. Here is Mike with the “one that didn’t getaway.”

We fished and fished and finally perseverance paid off for Sean.

A great family photo. From left to right is Mike, Mollie, Laney, and Sean. I sure enjoyed our conversations and talking about the “old days”.  I’m sure the younguns probably tuned us out more than once.

For the week ahead I’m expecting a lot more action. All ocean indices are showing there are a lot of red salmon staging, but have been reluctant to move north.

Come back next week to see how this grand river that owes us nothing treated us.

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The second run of Kenai red salmon has begun.

The run is barely underway but the fish returning have been larger than normal. Many have exceeded 10lbs.

I’m sure the entire run won’t continue this way, but right now I’m going to enjoy the above average sizes.  

Here are a couple of above average people with above average fish. Joining me on this wonderful morning are my son’s in-laws. In the back is Jennifer, and that’s Joe kneeling to my left.

Daughter in-law Addie with my son Mac. That is Addie’s first ever Kenai River red salmon!

With numerous family and friends on the peninsula this weekend, we hosted an impromptu fish fry and gathering.  

It was cool enough to enjoy an evening campfire. Good times!

Well…enough said. See you next week with a fishing update from a grand river that owes us nothing.

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I was in junior high when the country celebrated the bicentennial of being an independent nation.

It was a big deal.

Fifty years later, we are celebrating the semiquincentennial of being independent.

It’s still a big deal.

Fifty years from now will be the tricentennial. I’ll be 113 years old and most likely I won’t be around to celebrate.

I know it’ll be a big deal then too.

So, what did we do to celebrate the country’s milestone birthday?

We attended our home town parade.

Unlike most of the country, Alaska temperatures have been below average. An hour before the Kenai parade began I took this screenshot of the forecast. The temperature was accurate, and fortunately the rain forecast was not. It didn’t rain until the parade was over. Nice!

As you can see, hats and jackets were the norm.

It was a hour long parade which drew a lot of spectators. Jane and I found the usual corner where the Beaver Creek All Stars congregate each year to watch.

Always fun to see kids scramble for the tossed candy. Jane and I shared a laugh about our childhood home town parade in Minnesota. If a Jolly Rancher or Tootsie Pop was left on the asphalt for any length of time it would melt. Kids in Alaska rarely have to worry about that. 

The following photos are just a small sample of the total participants in the parade.

We hope you and your families had a wonderful 4th.  See you next week for a brand new fishing report from the Kenai River. The second run has begun!   

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The always consistent saltwater fishery was good for Dave and his family. Captain Boo of Tall Tale Charters was able to get this crew out on short notice. That’s a 120lbs of prime Alaska fish fillets heading back to the lower 48.

Nearby, the Kasilof River has been fishing extremely well for red salmon. The sonar numbers have steadily increased with most anglers getting their limits. Since I don’t guide there, Jane was able to track down a drift boat guide for cabin guests Rob and Marilyn. They enjoyed a very successful morning.

Even though I didn’t fish this past week, the draw of the river was too much. On a gorgeous weather afternoon Jane and I decided to take a boat ride just to “see what we could see”. 

Eagles and seagulls were everywhere in search of easy meals.

A day doesn’t go by without seeing at least one moose. With virtually no river traffic, we startled this guy who thought he had the river to himself. That’s going to change soon. The second run of red salmon will happen in a couple of weeks and what tranquility the wildlife may have now will be co-opted by anglers and dipnetters whizzing by in boats.

A beautiful lower river view of the 11,070 foot Mt Spurr. It’s an active volcano that’s near Anchorage.

For the week ahead I expect the red salmon fisheries at the Russian and Kasilof rivers to remain strong. The reliable saltwater fisheries should get even better with the July 1st opener for yelloweye rockfish and ling cod.  

Come back next week to see what Jane and I have been up to.

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For many years I was able to spend this day on the water fishing with my dad. 

That’s my dad in the back, left. I’m the little hoodlum in the red sweatshirt.

So many memories of the man who introduced me to the great outdoors. I truly appreciate the time I spent with him.

Now on to the fishing report…

I started the week fishing with my friend Boo of Tall Tale Charters. Joining me this time was Jane, nephew Beau, his wife Lacy and her brother Jake. This is their second trip to Alaska, and it’s clearly not their last. 

We had a normal day of fishing multiple species in Kachemak Bay. But, what wasn’t normal was Beau and Lacy reeling in an exact double double. The copper rockfish bit the bottom jigs, the black rockfish bit the top hootchies. Captain Boo didn’t hold back on his excitement (or colorful language) when the two of them hauled their catch in at the same time.

We also spent some time fishing for red salmon on the lower Kenai River. Two years ago Jane and I took Beau, Lacey, and Jake to the popular Russian River fishery. This time they passed on that experience and wanted Alaska solitude with the possibility of catching a fish. Fishing within 10 minutes of the dock provided that opportunity. 

We waited for the morning tide to drop and headed out on the river. It wasn’t long before Jake caught the first red salmon.

A half hour later Jake caught a second red salmon.  

The rest of us were gear testers and never had a bite. Oh well.

Catching a couple of fish and not seeing another angler all the while watching moose, seals, eagles and arctic terns made for good times. 

It’s truly a grand river that owes us nothing.

See you next week for another fishing report. 

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I went out twice on the lower Kenai River flipping for red salmon. I gave it about a hour both times and caught nothing. It’s always spotty this time of year and timing is everything. 

But, it hasn’t been poor for everybody. One day this past week my neighbor Dave timed it right. He caught a 3 fish limit of red salmon in a couple of hours. The other days he was out he wasn’t as lucky. Again, timing.

So, no fish photos means it’s time to post a few moose photos. 

You can expect more fish photos than moose photos next week. I’ve got a day scheduled on the saltwater and a few river trips planned.

See you next Sunday.

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Michelle K. would say I’m a dumpster diver. She would also say I’m easily distracted by shiny objects. Both descriptions would be correct. But, I prefer the more artful title of River Salvager… 

My adventure began when Jane dropped me off at a spot 6 miles upstream of our dock. I’ve done longer spring floats, but I only had an afternoon to do this and 6 miles was the perfect distance.

What a way to start.

The very first treasure I found was an anchor. Amongst fellow river salvagers, an anchor is considered the “Holy Grail” of lost objects. My friend Gary recently asked if I had an extra anchor. I do now and it’s yours.

The majority of the things I find are when I’m walking the river banks. Just like what you see in the photo above. In the foreground is a Vibrax spinner. Right behind it is a moose track.

Another example of what gets exposed in the spring when the river is low. 

The final haul.

I ended up finding an anchor, a grappling hook, a landing net, 2 fly rods and reels, 2 bait casting rods and reels, a p trap (why was this in the river?), a rod sleeve, a needle nose plier, a moose jaw and scapula, a Korker boot sole, a 2-way radio, sunglasses, and a bunch of fishing lures. 

I can’t wait until I do it all again next spring.

An unexpected fishing report.

I got a late night call from Boo of Tall Tale Charters asking if I wanted to go saltwater fishing. He had a group of 3 cancel and asked if I could fill in. An unfortunate silver lining to a closed Kenai River king salmon fishery is I’m often available.

As always, Captain Boo crushed it!

Finally, I’ve got a couple of first hand reports of red salmon being caught in the lower Kenai River. My plan for the week ahead is to get out and try it myself. 

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The conversation went like this.

Boo: Hey, what are you doing tomorrow?

Me:  Well, I’ve got things I’m doing at the cabins. 

Boo: Do you want to help me out on a shakedown fishing trip? I have a couple of your cabin guests booked and I need another angler.

Me: Yeah, that stuff can wait. What time do you want me to be on the dock?

I met up with Boo at 7am. After an hour boat ride our first stop of the morning was to fish for pacific cod. They were in thick it so only took one drift to catch what we needed. 

Our next stop would be for rockfish. It didn’t take too long to catch our limits.

We caught mostly black rockfish, but also caught a couple of yellow eye rockfish and copper rockfish. Here’s deckhand Oliver holding a copper rockfish. 

Next, it was time to chase halibut. It only took a couple of spots to find what we needed. From left to right is Mike, Blogger Keith, Travis, and Carla.

It was a treat to have fresh rockfish tacos.

Well, halibut/rockfish nachos aren’t too bad either.

After a severe winter, I’ve been a little worried about not seeing many moose this spring. Not any more. On the way to Homer I saw 15 moose and 3 calves.  

Question. Why did the moose cross Beaver Creek?

To get to the green grass!

See you next week. The topic will be river salvaging.

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One is the dock going in.

And the other is my neighbor getting a keg of Pabst Blue Ribbon for the summer.

Both were done this past week.

The morning the dock went in it was cool and damp. That’s pretty much describes our entire spring weather pattern.

The first step to putting the dock in is lowering the walkway ramp to the waterline. That’s Jane “walking the plank” to make sure it’s at the correct height.

The next step is to wait for the creek to rise high enough to float the dock from its winter resting spot to the walkway ramp.

A 24.1’ high tide created plenty of water to do get this in easily. In five minutes, it was done!

I thought I’d share this photo. This is what happens the first 3 or 4 days after the dock is in place. Twice a day, at the high tide cycle, I have to check for debris that gets hung up underneath. Grass is okay, but it’s a log that can cause problems. A log has the potential to damage the dock when the tidewater has ebbed from the creek. Luckily, I’ve only had to remove two logs so far.

Now that the dock is in, I’ve got a few fun things I’ll be doing next. One is river salvage trip. The other will be a saltwater fishing trip out of Homer.  

Come back next week to see what I did first. 

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