Preparations have begun in the Holtan household for Thanksgiving Day. We’re especially excited to show off the new, custom table that our friend George made for us. We got it just in time for the holiday season. Be thankful, and enjoy your time with family and friends. …
Spruce Bark Beetle
Making firewood. One of my fall projects has been cutting down beetle infested spruce trees. It isn’t something I wanted to do, but dead trees pose multiple hazards and I don’t want to test the coverage of our insurance policy. I love trees, so it’s sad to see so many large spruce trees disappear. Oh well, at least there …
A Message From Jane
I am jumping in on Keith’s blog this week to say thank you for an enjoyable 2021 season. With the uncertainty of 2020, seeing many returning friends and guests made this year both fun and memorable. Keith and I also feel really lucky to have had the opportunity to share in several guests first adventures in AK and on the …
Thank You’s, Part 2
Thank You’s Part 1 was about wipe board messages. Thank You’s Part 2 is about hand written notes and cards. We really appreciate the feedback. …
Thank You’s, Part 1.
Now that the 2021 season is over, Jane and I can sit back and reflect on our year. We definitely had a busy summer. It didn’t quite reach prepandemic levels, but it was close. We were fortunate to have so many people come back to see us. We also appreciate the guests who chose to stay and fish with us for the first …
Hobo Jim, RIP
On October 5, Alaska’s official balladeer, Hobo Jim Varsos passed away. There was no farewell tour. There was no chance for his fans to say goodbye to the man who brought the joy of song and story to so many. In a Facebook post on September 18th, Hobo Jim announced he was diagnosed with end stage cancer and had two to …
That’s a Wrap.
The dock is out of the creek and stored until spring. About the only thing left to do is close the front gate. Sigh....It’s always bittersweet putting things away for the year. I was a little worried about getting the dock out this year. A leak developed in one of the floatation chambers, and the extra weight caused it to …
Fishing Report Week Ending 10/3/21
Is this the last silver salmon of the season? If it is, it’s a heckuva way to end 2021. The young man in the photo above is Jagger. He came to Alaska with his buddies Dan and Pete to explore the peninsula. Even though they hadn’t scheduled a fishing trip with me, I asked them if they wanted to go out fishing for a couple …
Fishing Report Week Ending 9/26/21
It was a week of cold, wet weather. Because of that, I fished just once and it was for a couple of hours. On Saturday afternoon I invited my neighbors, Dan and Dave, to join me on the river. That’s Dan in the photo above with the lone silver salmon of the day. Hey, if you’re only going to catch one fish, it might as well …
Fishing Report Week Ending 9/19/21
The only fishing pattern I could observe last week was the nastier the weather, the better the bite. At least on the slower days we were able to enjoy the beautiful and warm sunshine. On to the fishing report. On Tuesday, I took out Bill, Ron, and Hogan. The plan was to hit the “morning” silver bite and be done before noon. …