A big difference from last year to this year has been the opportunity to fish with many of my long time clients. I missed many of you last year, and appreciate reconnecting this season.
I also appreciate all the red salmon that have found the river this year too.
I started the week fishing red salmon with Ken, Susan, and Matt. This is the second time that I fished with Ken and Susan. Matt, on the other hand, has been fishing with me since I started guiding on the Kenai River. That’s a long time.
On Monday, I spent the afternoon dipnetting with Brian and his children Tucker, Owen, and Amelia. They may be small, but they’re a mighty and well oiled team. The goal was to net 50 red salmon. Mission accomplished (even though one got away).
On Tuesday, I was reunited with Gary, Martin, Jacob, and Chris. It was so great to spend the day with them all. They really do make my job easy. By the way, Jacob would want the readers of this blog to know that he had the hot rod for the day. After he finished his sandwich, he put on a clinic on how to successful catch a legal, circle hook in the mouth, red salmon.
On Wednesday, it was great to fish with Cy again. Cy was joined with his friend Tom, and his two sons Derek and Blake. Not only did these guys rip it up on the river, they also put together an impressive haul on a saltwater trip in Homer.
Team Chesney jumped back in the boat again on Thursday. It wasn’t fast fishing, but with a lot of hard work and perseverance, we were able to limit out. Nice job, everyone.
On Friday, I had the pleasure of fishing with Todd, Renee, Chase, Katrina, and Gary. Todd and Gary are former Anchorageites, and I use to see them monthly when they both lived in Alaska. Renee, I’ve known for close to 30 years, and Gary’s kids since they were in elementary school. Lot’s of stories and lot’s of fun for me on the river bank on this day.
I finished the week fishing with Todd, Renee, and Jane. It was a great trip, but it was marred by several equipment failures for Renee. I really hate when that happens and your guide should have checked your gear more often. I’ll do better next time…
For the week ahead.
This week begins a transition from red salmon to silver salmon fishing. Most likely, we will be pursuing both until the red salmon run is over.
It’s going to be a great August and September on the Kenai River.
See you next week.
Fishing Report Week Ending 7/25/21