One of the strongest advocates I know for releasing Kenai king salmon, especially females, is Francis Estalilla. Whether it’s a personal plea, writing articles, or introducing regulatory changes to the Board of Fisheries, his passion for future salmon runs is matched by very few. In the March publication of Fish Alaska magazine, …
Deep Clean Treasures
Like many of you, I've been spending my stay-at-home time sorting through my storage areas. It's been fun to find treasures from days gone by. I can’t believe it, but I actually found some of the gear that I wrote about last week. If you recall, after I wore out three Zebco 202 reels, my dad bought me a …
More New Stuff For 2020
My first fishing rod I can remember, that wasn’t made from a willow branch, was in the late 60's. My dad purchased a beautiful blue Holiday brand fishing rod for me from a Holiday gas station and paired it with a Zebco 202 spincast reel. To say I wore the reel out was not an exaggeration. My dad replaced it three times with the …
An Oldie, but Goodie….
Pink Slime Warning: April 1st, 2012 The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) in conjuction with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that for the 2012 fishing season pink salmon ne' "Pink Slime" has been banned from mixing with any other salmon in the Kenai River. The …
New Apparel
I handle the fishing side of the business and Jane handles everything else. Have I told you I'm a lucky guy? Anyway, one of the many winter tasks Jane completes is to order Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service apparel. Most of the order is resupplying the best sellers from the previous year. The other part of the order is …
Lemonade
When the world gives you lemons, you make lemonade. This phrase is number 4 on my all time use of clichés. In all the years I've kept this blog, I rarely write about what I do in the off season. Topics discussed usually revolve around the upcoming fishing season, the past season, or about Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide …
Early Kenai King Run Update
Good news on the fishing front. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced today that the early Kenai King run will begin without additional restrictions. You can read the ADFG press release here. As a reminder, the regulations for the early Kenai king run are as follows: Bait is prohibited, and only one single-hook, …
Fred Armisen
It’s been a crazy week since I last posted. I will make one comment about COVID-19 and current world affairs; we will get through this. We always do. And now a return to our regularly scheduled program.... If you live in Alaska, or are visiting, and you need a laugh, I highly recommend the Fred Armisen concert May 29th in …
Proposal 160
There were nine proposals at the recent Board of Fisheries meeting that dealt with sport fishing guides in Upper Cook Inlet. Two passed while seven were defeated. The only one that has an affect on what I do is Proposal 160. The new regulation states: Registered Kenai River sport fishing guides may now transport up to five …
2020 Board of Fisheries Recap
The times they are a-changin'. If you are as wonky about Alaska fish politics as I am, the proposals that passed, and the proposals that were defeated, can be found here. Here's a two word recap: conservation won. Allowing more fish to enter the rivers of Upper Cook Inlet is a good thing. It's sound science and it speaks to …