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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Jane and I look forward to this event every spring. Not only do we get to break in the camper for the year, we get to hang out in a spectacular location with our friends Ron & MJ.

The day before the festival, Jane and I decided to camp at one of our favorite campgrounds near Moose Pass. Ptarmigan Creek Campground is a small, 16 site facility, and that’s exactly why we like it. A perfect, quiet spot for the first night in our camper. 

The day after our peaceful stay at Ptarmigan Creek, we drove 30 miles to camp on the shores of Resurrection Bay in Seward. It is a city run campground with over 500 campsites. During the Mermaid Festival/Harbor Opening the campground is nearly full. It’s a busy, busy start to the season.

Fifty feet away from our campsite is a historic landmark. In 1910, nearly 10,000 stampeders arrived by ship in Seward on their way to a new gold discovery 938 miles away in Iditarod.

That’s not all the rock obelisk represents. Another important event in Alaska history was the serum run to Nome in 1925. An outbreak of the highly contagious diphtheria occurred in Nome which was without a serum.

In a relay race against time, a diphtheria antitoxin was delivered to Seward by steamer ship. From there it was transported to Nenana by train. From Nenana, 20 different dog mushers traveled 674 miles in 5 1/2 days to Nome to deliver the serum. The heroic efforts by many, in brutal winter conditions, prevented an epidemic spreading to over 10,000 people living within the Nome region. 

Well, enough of the history lesson…

The Mermaid Festival/Harbor Opening began on Friday. The opening music act was Capt. Randy, a sailor, who happens to write and play music. His set was a perfect way to kick things off. 

Inside or outside, it’s a great weekend to hang out with friends.

It’s mer-magical!

Jane and I always recommend that our guests make Seward a part of their Alaska travel plans. It’s a great little seaport town, with a great vibe. Whether it’s on the way to our cabins, or on your way back to catch a flight out of Anchorage, making the stop is well worth the time.

(p.s. Thanks Ron & MJ for the use of your photos). 

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Bonus points if you can guess what decade this Holtan family photo was taken….

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Ideally, the perfect amount of left over salmon would be 2 or 3 fillets. That would be just enough to eat before fresh salmon are caught for the year.

As you can see, we ended up with more than a couple of fillets left over.

Luckily, none of it will go to waste. I’m not a fan of waste.

The majority of last year’s salmon was smoked, portioned out, and vacuumed sealed. It’s an easy snack while out recreating or taking a long road trip. 

The remaining salmon was smoked to be sealed in pint jars. Jane uses it to make salmon dip or patties.  And, the shelf life has been extended for another year or two. 

The whole process took us over 24 hours. It’s a lot of detail and timing, but so worth it.

I’m looking forward to the first fish of 2026.

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It’s because I signed up for text alerts for beluga whale sightings in the tidal areas of the Kenai River.

The text alerts come from the Alaska Beluga Monitoring Program. The data is collected by organizations, communities, and individuals and is made available to the public.

Here’s what the texts look like.

I’ve received 14 notices in less than a month.

I don’t know if that’s considered a lot because I don’t have a history with text alerts. But, I sure hope it’s a lot.

If you’re interested, the number to receive Beluga Watch text alerts is (833) 541-0408. To learn more about the organization, the link can be found here.

Background on Cook Inlet Beluga’s.

Cook Inlet has an estimated population of 320 beluga whales. Although holding steady, the numbers are down considerably since counting began in the 70’s. Subsistence harvesting, habitat degradation, disease, and predation from orca whales are reasons sited for the decline. The numbers reached a threshold that in 2008 Cook Inlet beluga whales were listed as endangered.

It’s disheartening to see the number of beluga whales decline because they are so iconic to our part of the state. To see one in their natural environment is inspiring. But, if you are a visitor and don’t see one in the wild you can always go to the Cabela’s/Bass Pro Shop in Anchorage.

Where else in the world will you see mounted beluga whales suspended from a ceiling of a retail building?

My guess is no where.

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It won’t be long and the salmon will be returning to the Kenai River.

You know I’ll be there to greet them.

It’s not like I need a a nudge to know what’s around the corner, but a video I recently found on YouTube sure got me going . It’s July drone footage from the mouth of the Kenai River to Skilak Lake (lower and middle river).

If you’re curious, the video covers approximately 45 miles of the river.

I primarily spend my time on the lower 17 miles of the river. The following is a breakdown of the spots I fish. 

• Pasture 5:00
• Sonar 5:50
• Mud Island 6:10
• Beaver Creek 6:50
• Crossover 7:15
• Eagle Rock 7:40
• Toilet Hole 8:00
• Pillars 8:20
• Honeymoon Cove 8:40
• Falling In Hole 9:05
• Jeff’s Island/The Slough 9:15
• Stewart’s Landing 9:35
• Big Eddy 9:50
• Airplane Hole 10:00
• Porter’s 10:30
• RW’s 11:00
• Harry Gaines 11:20

I hope you enjoyed the bird’s eye view as much as I did. 

One last thing before I go. Mike and Mary, you’ll be camping this summer at the 1:20 mark of the video.

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Many, many stories were shared about this amazing man and his adventures.

This past week, the Matthies family, along with a few dear friends, said their final good bye to Bill at a Committal Service at the Minnesota State Veteran’s Cemetery.

Like many in his generation, it was important for Bill to serve his country. As soon as he graduated high school, he enlisted in the Army. His service occurred from 1954 until 1956. 

Bill’s time in the Army made him eligible for a military burial. On April 9th, a solemn, respectful ceremony was performed at Camp Ripley. It included the Honor Guard, the Folding of the Flag and Presentation, Three Volley Salute, and the playing of Taps.

After the ceremony, Bill was laid to rest next to the love of his life, Evelyn. For nine years she patiently waited for this day.

Soon, the headstone will be updated and both their names will be on it.

If you’re wondering what the red metal object is in the first photo, it’s a dive tank and Bill’s ashes are inside of it. What makes this extra special is the dive tank was stamped by Bill during a certification check and the initials of all three children are on it. It’s a fitting tribute to the Matthies family legacy.

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