I'm a lucky guy.
This is what I get to see when I walk through my office door at 5am. No caffeine is needed to kick-start my day.
So, let's get going with the first official fishing report of 2018.
This past week I had the pleasure of spending time with Jarrod and Chuck. Both are accomplished fisherman from Minnesota (Detroit Lakes and Brainerd, respectively). Knowing how to handle gear, knowing that fishing is about opportunites, and knowing how to tell a story or two, made my job very easy. I couldn't ask for a couple of better guys to start out the year.
Patience and understanding were not in short supply on our first day. We trolled, and trolled, and trolled, and managed two take downs, but no fish. Since Jarrod and Chuck did not have the greatest experience on the saltwater the day before, I told them it would be okay if they didn't want to go out a second time. I should have known better. Fisherman fish, and they wanted to go again.
Thankfully, day two was a different story. On the first troll of the morning Jarrod caught and released this beautiful 39" Kenai king salmon. Up until this point, the largest fish that Jarrod had caught was an 18lb Lake Michigan king salmon. He just about doubled his personal best with this fish.
Only a couple of trolls later, Chuck expertly guided this gorgeous 42" Kenai king salmon into the net. Like Jarrod, this too was the largest fish that he has caught. That's something I never get tired of, that is, hearing someone say the fish they just caught is their personal best.
Here's Chuck releasing his fish to continue it's journey to the spawning grounds.
I want to say, thanks again guys, for starting my guiding season off on the right foot. Your enthusiasm and approach to fishing tells me that this will not be your last trip to Alaska.
Next week I'm scheduled to guide a family of twenty. Since I can only take four, some of the best guides I know are helping with this group. Come back to the blog next week to see how it goes. See you then!
2 comments:
Nicely done, Keith.... the fishing AND the story-telling. A couple of gorgeous fish will likely make it to the spawning beds!
But I dunno, from that first pic, it looks like Chuck is guiding you into uncharted upriver waters! LOL
fNp
I was confident of Chuck's abilities. He runs a 90 tiller back in MN.
Thanks for the comments fNp. I look forward to seeing you on the river this July and getting your first hand, real time fishing reports.
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