Water Clarity/Fishing Report June 5th

This past week the fishing on the Kenai was awful. I cancelled a few of my trips and the only two that I went on were with my good friend Todd and his parents Bob and Janet, and the other was with another good friend Tony and his daughters Sam and Sidney. Prior to coming I told them that the river color had turned muddy and that means poor fishing. They both said they were coming anyway and getting out was just as important as the actual fishing. Needless to say there are no fish pictures to share with you this week.

I'm often asked what does it mean when the river is muddy and off color? Hard to explain but these series of photos will show you exactly what I mean. In the top photo the river conditions are perfect for fishing. See how bright my prop is and the green/teal tinge to the water? The next photo you can see my prop but it's definitely a murky brown. At this stage the river is still fishable but not ideal.

This last photo is what I would call "mud" and this is when I'll cancel trips due to "poor conditions." In this photo the water is more gray than brown but the visibility is poor. Yeah, I know it's fishing but I have logged way too many hours on this river to know that catching a fish during this time is like hitting the lottery. I would sooner send people to the ocean or another river where conditions are better to fish. You should know I practice what I preach and on Monday four of my guide buddies and I went to Homer to fish halibut. We probably caught 70 fish, nothing larger than 30lbs, but had an absolute riot out there.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand....one thing about mud in the river is it doesn't take too long to flush through. Usually it takes only a few days. Today I'm glad to report that the river is clearing up nicely and I expect the fishing to improve dramatically this week.

Stay tuned.....

Fishing Report Week Ending 6/13

So, if you notice there are no fish pictures posted on this entry. I wish it was because I left my camera in my rod shed but it was because there were no fish to take pictures of. Last week could best be characterized as "...it was the best of times, it was the worst of times." It was the best because I had great people in my boat and it was the worst because the "catching" was awful. The sonar counts were great, so that wasn't the issue. The problem was the muddy water and when that happens catching fish is difficult. On several days we saw more moose than we saw salmon netted.

I'd like to thank Mike and Amber for sticking it out for several days. I would also like to thank Althea, Duane, Tim, Judy, Ron, Sue, Keith, Bud and Betty for their perseverance as well.

On a positive note, the Kenai has been clearing up everyday and the likelihood of the use of bait is just around the corner. Also, the Russian River opened for red salmon fishing on 6/11 and all reports have been outstanding. I may have to check out for myself.