Fishing Report Week Ending 8/25/19

"Hey Keith, why do you have two nets in the boat?"

"You never know when you'll get two silvers on at the same time."

This week it happened. It happened twice.

I'm glad to report that the morning temperatures have been normal this past week. It hit 38 degrees a couple of times. Dressing appropriately for the predawn chill is essential. Renee and I are modeling the proper clothing for a silver salmon fishing trip on the Kenai. The cool temperatures are a welcome respite from all the heat we’ve been having.

On to the fishing report.

It was a great start to the week. Visiting and fishing with longtime friends, Todd and Renee, was good for the soul. The icing on the cake was having new friends, Cheryl and Mush, in the boat. They fished with me last year during some very poor king salmon conditions and I told them they ought to come back to fish the fun fish....silvers. Glad they did. 

What’s better than doing this one day with these guys? It’s doing it for two days. You’d be proud, George, that I didn’t repeat a single story. That feat is nearly as impressive as the fish we caught over the two days.

The next day we had the first double silver salmon catch of the year. That's Cliff and Jason.  

We didn't get all of our fish, but sure had our chances. Thanks Jared, Jeremy, Jason, and Cliff for a great day on the water. Your enthusiasm for this fishery tells me you’ll all be back. 

 

It was hard to believe that it's been six years since Billie and Gwen last fished with me. Instead of family, they brought their friends, Lee and Sandra along to enjoy all things Alaska. The ladies had their limit early in the day (naturally) and we were struggling to find the last two fish for the guys. We missed a few, but on our end of the day Hail Mary troll we had our second double silver salmon hook up of the week. In my world, it was as eventful as a walk off home run in baseball. Wow. That’s how you want to end a week of fishing.  

See you next week for an update on the silver salmon action.

Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service

Fishing Report Week Ending 10/9/16

The mornings are starting to get cold. This is a view of the middle Kenai River at 10am.  The temperature at the time of the photo was in the low 30's. This is considerably warmer than when we started the day....22 degrees.

How was the week of fishing? The lower Kenai was not good. I tried it several times and had no luck. On the other hand, I made it to the middle Kenai a couple of times and the fishing was pretty good. I was with Boo Kandas and a couple of his friends on Wednesday. We caught 12 silvers and kept three of them.

On Saturday, Todd Laflamme, Boo, and I spent the day chasing silvers in the middle Kenai. The fishing started slow but as soon as the temperatures started to climb, so did our hook up rate.

Did I mention that the mornings have been cool?

Here's Boo with a nice, bright silver salmon.

At the end of the day we released 6 silvers and kept these. It was nice to be able to sock a way a few extra fillets for the winter.

I'm not sure, but this could have been my last day fishing on the Kenai. If that's the case, it ended on a pretty good note. Thanks Boo and Todd for making it such a memorable day.



Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service

Fishing Report Week Ending 7/10/16

In the beginning of the week the king salmon fishing was slow for me. A few boats did well, but I just couldn't seem to find any pattern at all.  I worked a lot of water. At the end of the week that all changed. Friday night the Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced they would allow the use of bait on the river and bait is a difference maker. All I can say is the fishing on Saturday was EPIC. First fish of the morning, and the largest of the day, fell to Bob Laflamme.

Janet Laflamme did well too, but Bob is quick to remind her he did just a little bit better.

Todd Laflamme kept this nice fish.  He is now officially limited out for the season on the Kenai for king salmon.  I only point this out because Todd has fished with me for many years and this is the first time he has done this.

Another first on Saturday morning.  Dan Meyer has never caught a legal Kenai king with me. I can now officially cross him off of my bucket list.  Hey Dan, your first summer in retirement is looking pretty good.

Here's Chase Crawford. After releasing a king, he decided to keep this one.

Nikki, "all I do is catch big fish" Crawford continued her mastery of the Kenai king.

Gary Crawford let a small king go and when he hooked this one he decided it was a good time to end our trip.  Nice job, guys.

I usually post fish pictures chronologically and I apologize that this fish is out of sequence (kings trump reds). Earlier in the week Lisa caught this red salmon while we were bactrolling for king salmon. Now your friends can believe you when you said you caught a salmon while vacationing in Alaska.

In related fishing news, my friend Boo Kandas of Tall Tale Charters called me this week and said he had a couple of seats open for a saltwater trip in Homer. I couldn't make it but Jane and our friend Renee could. Boy, did I miss out on a terrific day.  Jane is pictured above with a huge yellow eye rock fish.

Here she is with the big halibut for the day.

And, Renee had the honor of catching the largest ling cod on the trip. Way to go ladies!

On to the forecast for the week ahead. The red salmon fishing has been steady this past week and I expect it to get better.  As far as king salmon fishing is concerned, I think we'll have moments of good fishing during every day, but not steady all day. This is because we are dependent on what fish are coming up with the tides. We're just not at the stage of the run where king salmon are pooling up in the holes (I'm not sure I should call that a forecast or not because that actually sounds like king fishing in general....patiently waiting for a monster bite!).

See you next week.



Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service  

Fishing Report Week Ending 7/3/16

Happy 4th of July, America! I was coming out of the creek the other morning and thought these eagles would make the perfect photo to commemorate the birth of our nation. My only regret is I wish I had a better camera. Well, I do have another regret. I wish the bottom eagle would have turned it's head to the camera when I said "cheese". Must be lactose intolerant.

So, it's happening.  On July 1st the Kenai slot limit expired and the river opened up to retention of king salmon of any size.  Nancy started the month with this fish.  It was the largest of her life.

The next day, Mei landed this salmon.  It too was the largest of his life.  I wouldn't exactly say catching two fish the first two days was red hot fishing.  But, I did receive perhaps the best compliment ever in my guiding career.  At the end of our trip Alex said to me, "this is the most fun I've had in a boat when I didn't catch a fish."  I immediately thought of what my Kenai River mentor Jeff King told me years ago.  He imparted this wisdom on to me.  Guiding is what happens when you don't catch fish. I hope I've been making it fun, but it was nice to hear someone say that out loud.

I ended the week fishing this motley group.  Actually, these are some of my closest friends in the world.  That's Bob "Dean-O", and Janet in the back of the boat.  That's Renee and Todd in the front of the boat.

Renee is my second favorite 4th grade teacher.  My favorite is my actual 4th grade teacher, Mrs. Ylinen.  You really get to know a teacher well when you have her for three years....anyway, I digress. Renee takes the honor of big fish of the week.

And Todd places second in the big fish of the week category.  Thanks guys for making it fun in the boat, especially you Dean-O and Janet.  I hope to have a few fish photos of you two holding fish later this month....

The week ahead I expect the size of the kings to improve. The transition from the early run to the late run usually has smaller fish in the mix.  It's just a matter of time before the late run will be underway and the average size will improve greatly. I also believe red salmon fishing will be getting better.  I few guide friends of mine have been fishing for reds and have had success. They've been getting any where from 4-8 reds in a full day of targeting them.  It is still early for reds but it's a good sign that they're starting to arrive.

See you next week.



Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service

River Salvage

Slim pickings.

Not only was I late to the party, the water levels on the river were higher than normal.  Salvaging was difficult at best.

My buddy Todd Laflamme joined me this year.  I told him this was going to be more of a float than a true salvage run and he should expect exercise, wildlife, and a peaceful, scenic river.  Any found gear would be a bonus.

Surprisingly, there were a few treasures to be had. Above is a skeg guard that Todd found. Definitely the most prized possession of the entire float. Not sure of the brand, but it obviously didn't do what it was designed for....to protect the skeg (which is the very bottom of the motor just under the prop) from shearing off on a rock. I wonder if it can be returned for a refund?

  

The final take included miscellaneous lures, needle nose pliers, bungee cord, a knife, and the skeg guard. 

Bringing it on home!   Here's Todd rounding the bend into Beaver Creek.

Although I was disappointed with the salvaging, the beauty of the float more than made up for it (and the exercise was great).  Next year, ahhhhh, next year.......




Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service

Fall Hunt

What?  There's other things to do in Alaska than fish?  I guess I didn't get the memo.

All kidding aside, while I was chasing silver salmon this fall, the hunting season was in full gear. Hunting, like fishing, is about getting out and not always about getting something. But, as you can see in the photo above, Alec and Todd Laflamme definitely got something and I congratulate them on their success.  I'd also like to thank them for sharing some of their success with me....it all grilled up nicely!

The Laflammes hunted just east of Denali National Park. What made this a unique hunt is that it combined a fly in with the use of pack horses. Todd has hunted his entire adult life in Alaska and he said the use of horses is by far the best way to get around in the bush.  If you have any interest in this type of hunt, he hired one of our old college buddies, Coke Wallace. Coke has been at this for over 30 years and will guide hunters to sheep, bear, caribou, and moose.  His website is located here.

I'd be remiss if I didn't talk about the deer hunting that is going on right now in Southeast Alaska. If you recall, last year I had the opportunity to go hunting with my college buddy Mark Stopha. Not only is he an expert about hunting deer in Alaska, but he's an excellent writer as well.  A recently published article of his about hunting in Southeast Alaska can be found here.

Do you have any hunting photos you'd like to share?  Send them to beavercreekcabins@yahoo.com and I'd be happy to publish them.





Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service

Fuller Lakes Trail

Last Saturday, I needed an excuse to get out and recreate so I called up my buddy Todd Laflamme to see if he wanted to go on a hike with Jane and me.   He thought that was a great idea and said we should meet at the Fuller Lakes Trail at noon.

The Fuller Lakes Trail is located at milepost 57 of the Sterling Highway.  For those of you familiar with Kenai Peninsula, the trailhead is 2.5 miles west of the Russian River Ferry parking area.

Lower Fuller Lake

The round trip hike is 5.8 miles.  It's considered a strenuous hike that takes between 4-6 hours.  The elevation gain is 1,400 feet.

Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) information indicates that along the trail you can see brown bears, black bears, dall sheep, moose, and willow ptarmigan.

They also say that Lower Fuller Lake has grayling, while Upper Fuller Lake has dolly varden.

Biologists have taken core samples from hemlock trees near Upper Fuller Lake and have found that some of them date back to the 1500's.  I wonder if this was one of them?
  

Here we are taking a moment to rest on our way back down to the trail head.  Skilak Lake is visible in the background.

Overall, this was a fun hike.  But, you'll need to be in reasonable shape to do it.  All three of us definitely had a few aches and pains the following day.  As far as fishing is concerned, I'm not so sure this is destination fishing spot.   Both lakes are small which leads me to believe the overall population will be too. I guess that means I'll have to check it out again when the lakes are ice free.

Hunting Report: Admiralty Island, Day 3

Sunday morning came and the boat was right were it should be.  How about the deer, were they where they should be too?

We made it over to Admiralty Island with no hitches.  Our plan was to hunt a series of muskegs just south of where we hunted on Friday. We had less wind, and rain, which meant our hunting conditions were much better.

Todd, hunted Buffalo Springfield style.  "It's time we stop.  Hey, what's that sound?  Everybody look what's going down."

Me, on the other hand, pretended I knew what I was doing. I may dress like a hunter, but I'm that guy that had to borrow a rifle to go on a hunt (thanks, Todd).

Since this was his backyard, Mark definitely knows what he's doing. Here he is surveying the muskeg after making a series of deer calls. You could tell Mark is good because he's wearing a Stormy Kromer hat (right, Dave?).

Todd didn't always hunt Buffalo Springfield style.  Here he is patiently waiting for a deer to come into view.

Unfortunately, on this day, no deer would show itself (sorry if I let down any of my readers).  Oh, it was encouraging that we saw more signs than we did on Friday, but the deer definitely won.  Ah, but next time......

Since I've been back to Kenai I've had time to reflect on my adventure with Todd and Mark. I knew in advance that this time of year was not the best time to hunt deer.  However, this happened to be the only time that all three of us could get together to do this. I would say this trip is perhaps summed up best by paraphrasing a sign that Will Jahrig keeps in his shop. "The least important part of hunting is hunting."

100% success for me.