Move over Les.

This past week, security cameras at the Kenai Cinema recorded a curious moose in search of a snack. The smell of popcorn drew her in. A McDonald’s Happy Meal sent her on her way.

Naturally, the footage ended up on social media. Within days there have been millions of views. 

Viral, as the kids would say.

There are quite a few news feeds out there of the Kenai movie theater moose. This is my favorite because it contains footage and commentary from the girl working behind the counter. She clearly was not rattled from the encounter.

Here’s another video recorded just a few weeks ago. This moose decided to stop in at Providence Hospital in Anchorage without an appointment. As you can see, walk-ins are frowned upon and not welcomed. 

On a serious note. Real encounters with moose should not be taken lightly. I often remind our summer guests to be careful of all moose. Even though they can be gentle and non aggressive, they are still a wild animal and can be unpredictable. It never turns out well when you’re on the business end of a 1,000 pound moose.

Case in point, this attack happened two months ago in Anchorage.

ADFG reminds the public every spring to Be Bear Aware. I’d like to add Be Mindful of the Moose. 

See you next week.

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If the curveballs that Mother Nature throws isn’t enough, humans make winter difficult for moose as well. Between vehicles and trains, the moose collision fatalities are at their highest in December, January, and February. An Alaskan wildlife official estimates 800-1,000 moose are killed every year in vehicle/train accidents.

Now you know why there are highway signs across the state that say “Give Moose A Brake.”

If there is an upside to the amount of moose that are killed in accidents, the Alaska Department of Public Safety has set up a roadkill program to harvest the delicious, high protein meat. I know several people who take advantage of this program every year. It’s nice to see the resource not wasted.

We are full on winter here in Alaska. So be watchful on the roads and give the moose a break.

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The scenario that often happens is this. Jane receives a call asking about availability. She’ll give the caller the open dates for cabins and fishing, and the conversation ends with “I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.”  

The longer the “as soon as I can” plays out, the more likely the open dates fill in. We work on the basis of first come, first served.

We feel bad when we’re not able to accommodate people especially returning guests. We are a small operation and understand there are a lot of moving parts when you’re planning a trip to Alaska. So my advice is to plan early (1-2 years out is not too early), and when there’s availability, you take it.

On to other things.

Here’s a small sample of the many moose I was able to photograph this past year. These are new, never seen before photos. Enjoy the show!

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Only a week after the Alaska Department of Fish and Game restricted the Kenai River king fishery to catch and release, the other shoe dropped and the fishery has now been closed. It will reopen once again on July 1st to catch and release. Details of the emergency order can be found here.  

The closure happened on Wednesday, so Tuesday was the last day I was able to guide for king salmon. Jay, Aaron, and Jon endured a tough day on the water with me. In 10 hours of fishing, we had 1 bite. There were several boats out trying to catch a king salmon too, but they were struggling as well.  

The old saying, “you can’t catch what’s not there” was definitely true. 

Thanks, guys, for understanding it’s all about opportunities to catch fish.

Jay, Aaron, and Jon didn’t go fishless on their vacation to Alaska. The day before they fished with me they had an awesome day on the saltwater with Boo of Tall Tale Charters. The net result was 90lbs of halibut, rockfish, and cod fillets. 

That’s it for the fishing report. Now it’s time for the wildlife report. Outstanding is the word that best describes the moose viewing this past week. 

This momma moose is one sneeze away from giving birth.

She greeted me early in the morning while I waited for Jay, Aaron, and Jon to go fishing.

Apparently, the grass was greener on the other side of the creek. 

For the week ahead,  I have several groups that want to try the lower river for red salmon. Recent reports have been mixed. Some anglers have picked up a few, others have struggled. We will soon see.

Come back next week for a new, red salmon fishing report.

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On Tuesday, during the first troll of my first guided trip of the 2022 season, Kip caught and released the first king salmon of the year. That has never happened to me before. Bingo, bango, bongo. What a way to start out a morning and a season. The rest of the day wasn’t as exciting, but we did find one more fish to bite. Unfortunately, the hook didn’t stay in.

On Wednesday, the action was much better than Tuesday. Brenda caught her first Kenai king salmon and she lost a couple more. Same thing for Kip. All in all, we had six bites and converted on two of them. A very active day so early in the season.

On Thursday, our king salmon luck ran out. Brenda had one bite, and that was it for the day. The weather and the wildlife viewing though, more than made up for the lack of fishing action. We’ve really been on such a great stretch of weather.

It wasn’t just about king salmon fishing with Kip and Brenda. After seeing a few jumpers, we switched it up a couple of times and tried to catch red salmon. “Tried” is the operative word because none of them found our hooks. It’s still a little early for decent red salmon fishing.

One other thing that was great this past week was the moose viewing. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect for Kip and Brenda.

Chalk up another first. I saw my first moose calves of the year.

Kip and Brenda saw them at the cabins early in the morning and called to tell me we should wait an hour before I came out to go fishing. Brenda was afraid my truck would scare the newborn calves. When I say newborn, that is exactly what they were. When Brenda first saw them in front of their cabin, they were still wet.

It was if momma moose was wishing us good luck fishing. 

This photo was taken just before a bird landed in our boat. That’s another first for me. Brenda gently scooped the wayward bird up, but it flew away before I could take a picture. It made me wonder if a bird in the hand is worth two salmon in the river…

Kip and Brenda, thanks for starting the season out on the right foot. It was a pleasure getting to know the both of you and I look forward to the next time we fish together.

In closing, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has put into effect an emergency order making the Kenai River king salmon fishery catch and release only until June 30th. So far the run has been below the projection and this is a necessary step to ensure future fishing opportunities. If the king numbers continue as they have been, the likelihood of a closure is high. If that is the case, my fishing focus will be on the lower Kenai River or Russian River for red salmon. 

See you next week for another fishing report. 

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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 be a big one.

Did I mention the kind of weather we’re dealing with? Believe it or not, a few areas nearby have had temperatures in the teens with up to a foot of snowfall. Uff da. It seems too soon  

Well, you know the drill. When there’s not a lot of fish photos, it’s time to show off the moose. These guys have been hanging around the cabins all week.

Plenty of browse along side the road makes for a great place to see moose.

For the week ahead.

On Monday, our last guests of the year will be leaving the cabins. When they depart, I’ll be winterizing the cabins. The boat will still be on the dock for awhile longer, so if the weather cooperates, I plan on chasing the remaining salmon swimming in the river.

See you next week.

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If there is an upside to all the collisions/moose fatalities, it’s knowing that there are very few human casualties. An article in the Alaska Daily News proclaimed that the odds of being murdered in Alaska are greater than being killed in a collision with a moose (relax, being murdered is also very, very low). I sure hope the Department of Tourism doesn’t use that for their new advertising campaign.

The majority of all big game animal collisions in the state are with moose, but they aren’t the only animals that will cross the road to get to the other side. 

Bears have no problems crossing the road. This young brown bear patiently waited until the car passed.

Caribou seem less interested in crossing, but would rather take a leisurely stroll along side the road instead. They often get distracted by reading signs…

I’ll give these two credit, at least they’re traveling in the right direction. Be warned. They’re terrible at signaling turns.

So, a word to the wise. Be careful when driving in Alaska. Not only are sleep deprived fisherman on the road, big game animals are out there too.

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The global pandemic has made it a bad year for all three.

Since I’m a fishing guide and lodge owner, I will focus this post on the obvious: tourism.

The 2020 preseason forecast for tourist visiting Alaska was 2.4 million. Considering there are just over 700,000 residents, that’s a lot of visitors spending time and money in our State. 

The cruise ship industry projected a record 1.4 million people would see Alaska by water this year. When the pandemic hit, all cruises were cancelled.

Since travel by cruise ship was eliminated, the second most popular means to get to Alaska is by air. I don’t think I need to summarize how poor of a year the airline industry has been having. Even though there were quite a few hoops to jump through to fly to Alaska, at least it wasn’t banned completely. 

The final way visitors get to Alaska is by vehicle. Since Canada prohibited all non essential travel through their country, visitors were unable to come by highway. 

In summary, it was very difficult for visitors to get here. 

The steep decline of tourism has been felt by many in the State. Obvious businesses affected include rental cars, restaurants, grocery stores, lodging, and charters, etc. Less obvious is the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG). Last year, Alaskans spent just under $3.5 million on fishing licenses and king stamps. Non residents, on the other hand, purchased more than $19 million in fishing licenses and king stamps. $19 million!  I think ADFG will be fortunate if they realize a quarter of the revenue that was generated last year.

It wasn’t a complete season of doom and gloom for the tourist industry. There was a significant increase in Alaskans doing “staycations”. I know of one group who take an annual fishing trip to Canada, but could not this year due travel restrictions. This year they spent their vacation money in state.

Specifically, how did the downturn in tourism affect us? Well, business was way down. Jane and I do feel fortunate for the Alaskans who stayed and fished with us, and for out of state guests who managed all of the challenges to get here. We realize our season could have been much worse.

What does this all mean for 2021? We are cautiously optimistic for a season that approaches normalcy. We’re not alone in our thinking. So do the other 46,000 Alaskans who rely on visitors for their income.  

Speaking of next year, if you’re thinking about coming to Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service and Alaska in 2021, I wouldn’t hesitate to contact Jane for availability right now. The majority of our cancellations in 2020 pushed their reservation into 2021. That means many of the prime fishing dates are already taken.

Topic next week: the 2020 fishing season in review. 

A last minute addition to this post. My neighbors, Ron and MJ, were recently on the river and snapped a series of great moose photos. Thanks guys for being readers of the blog and sharing such awesome photos.

See you next week. 

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I do have good excuses though. I was waylaid with end of the season chores. 4 cabins, 2 boats, 4 outboard motors, and 1 camper needed to be winterized. On top of that, the Stanley Cup finals have occupied my time in the evenings. The double rainbow photo above was taken from the deck of my neighbor’s cabin (Greg and Terry) during game 2. 

One matter I needed to take care of was cleaning up a ding I put in the skeg of my outboard motor. My neighbor, Nick, is a master metal fabricator and he was able to fit me into his busy schedule. Fortunately, this repair was minor, unlike the work he did for me 19 years ago. That was the year I completely ripped off the skeg on a brand new Mercury motor.

I’m glad the work is done, but it’s always sad to button down the boats for the year. 

Ah ha! The moose sighting streak continues!

With the annual winterizing routine about over, my thoughts turn to fishing once again. I’ve been invited to join friends on the river, and the ocean this week. Weather and time permitting, I hope I’m able to do both.

See you next week.

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John is holding the lone silver for the week. 

To say the river fished tough would be an understatement. What the heck happened?

It’s not all bad news though. At least I didn’t disappoint many clients. Hmmm, come to think of it, not having many clients is not the best news either….Thanks, John and Gary, for closing out the season with an enjoyable day.

As I mentioned last week, September 19th would be day to take out the dock. Here’s a view of the creek at 4pm before the tide came in.

The view at 6:30pm, near the apex of a 23.82 high tide.

6:35pm, Jane and I suited up for dock removal (thanks Mary and Leslie for being the photographers). 

6:40pm. The dock in it’s final resting place until 2021.

This is the view the following morning after the tide dropped out.

Thanks, Dan, for your help putting away the dock. 

Just like the silver salmon action this past week, moose sightings have slowed down as well. Here’s the one and only moose of the week.

Dock is out. Check.

Boat is on trailer. Check.

Cabins shut down. Check.

It’s time to winterize Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service and find a new adventure this week. Camping? Fishing? Hiking? Biking? Jane and I will find something fun to do I’m sure.

Come back to see where the path leads us.

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