Why Pinks?

Why not?

Do you like catching fish until your arms fall off? Do you like betting your buddies to see who can reel their lure in WITHOUT HOOKING A FISH? Take a look at the action that's going on in this boat. I watched these guys hook pink after pink all afternoon long. Dad didn't even attempt to fish because at all times there were one, two, or three fish on. What a show they put on and what a great dad for taking the family out. So, why the bad rap? Well, it has to do with table fare. An ocean fresh pink grilled up after a day on the water is very good. However, when you freeze the fillets of a pink salmon the quality disappears. Based on the photo above do you think Will Robertson cares about that? It's all about the action, baby, all about the action.

As a fishing guide I can not fish with my clients so when my guiding day is over I like to go out in the evenings with my friends and chase a few pinks and silvers. Often this is a time when I try different lures, different techniques, and different areas to help me be a better guide during the day. It's a time that I often step out of my comfort zone and do things completely different. In my opinion, to experiment with my clients is unprofessional and when I'm hired for a fishing trip I want to be using proven techniques on proven spots. I feel this way because of an experience that my dad and I had many years ago. We hired a guide to show us how to catch walleyes in a lake we had never fished before. He tied on our lines a jig with a Bass Pro Shop salted plastic grub worm. It seemed a bit odd for walleyes but we trusted our guide because we felt he "knew what he was doing" and didn't question his choice. After a couple of hours and no fish he said that this was the first and the last time he'd try a jig and grub for walleyes on this lake. After that we switched over to more traditional live bait rigging and finally caught a few fish before the day ended. Much of this day was wasted because he wanted to try something new. Lesson learned: I will waste my own time but not yours.

So, back to the topic at hand. Here I am "wasting" time in the evening fishing for pink salmon in slough I rarely fish. Thanks Will for sending me this photo of Humposaurus Rex!

Managing Your Expectations

Realistic expectations of the Kenai River experience is what this post is all about. I have had the good fortune of guiding many accomplished anglers from all over the world and I have also had the pleasure of guiding people to their first fishing adventure ever. A large component of making sure the trip is a successful one is managing the expectations before they take a step into my boat. This is usually done by phone, email, or in person at a sport show, and it's done well before the trip even begins. I want no surprises and I want people to know and understand what can and can not happen on the river.

Let me start by saying that a guide can not, nor should ever guarantee a fish. That is not what it's all about. Granted, you are on a guided fishing trip, not a scenic cruise, but the guarantee should be about an opportunity to catch fish and about the entire fishing experience. If we all have this understanding before we hit the water then the trip will be a success. It reminds me of a saying that one of my guide friends likes to use, "....if you sell the fishing, the catching will take care of itself." I've been amazed how often this statement rings true. The people that are happy just to get out actually outfish the people that define their entire vacation by whether or not they kill a fish.

Now the "opportunity" to catch fish is different for everyone and I always want to be crystal clear about the action that can be expected. For instance, if you come in May, June, or July to fish for king salmon I tell everyone to prepare of a long day on the water. If you come in August or September for pink and silver salmon you will have a lot of action. When it comes to king salmon fishing patience is a must and not everyone will catch fish on the trip. In fact, I usually explain that over the years a good catch rate for king salmon is 25%. That's one in four anglers retaining a fish! Oh sure, some days everyone in the boat catches a king, but there are also days when no one catches a fish. That's just the way it goes when you're chasing king salmon. On the other hand, it is very rare that we don't catch fish in August and September. Pink and silver salmon are great fish to introduce families to fishing because the catching is usually pretty darn good.

If you know me, you know that I like to talk and occasionaly get off topic (ha!) but I remember a conversation I overheard years ago at the local tackle store. It's a great example of managing expectations. This conversation was between someone new to Alaska and one of the oldest, most respected guides in our community. It went like this:

"Are you a guide? I'd like to catch a king salmon on the famous Kenai."

"Yeah."

"Can you take me out?"

"Yeah."

"Will I catch so many fish that my arms will get tired?"

"I guarantee you your butt will fall asleep before your arms get tired."

"I thought this was Alaska. I thought you're suppose to catch fish all the time."

"This is the Kenai and it's king season. If you want action, come in the fall."

A good guide will tell you what to expect truthfully. A poor guide will tell you what you want to hear and then make excuses all day long about why fish aren't being caught. It all boils down to ethics and hopefully during the "interview" of your guide you'll be able to to distinguish if he or she is being upfront with you or not. A little hint: if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is.

A few comments about the photos. If you follow the blog, I'm sure you've seen the guys in the top photo before. Jeff and Brian, "Team ABC", have done a lot of fishing on the Kenai and they have fished nearly every month and have experienced all the different run timings on the river. They have filled their coolers and they have also gone home empty handed. As you can see by the king salmon in the photo they didn't exactly set the world on fire. But, they had a great time (Brian will say he had a better time because his fish was bigger) and the best thing for me is they keep coming back. The next photo is one of those magical days that happens a couple of times a summer. Definitely not the norm on the Kenai. The final photo is a typical fish box filled with silver and pink salmon caught in August.

Fishing Report Week Ending 8/22/10

Another very good week of fishing except for one day with Team ABC on Saturday. Granted, we caught all the pink salmon we wanted on that day but the silvers were a bit elusive.

The top photo is Steve Morris posing with the days catch. Photo two is Team Sinclair. Photo three is Will and Brian. The final photo is Jeff of Team ABC holding up one of three nice fish for the day.

Jane and I went out fishing today and the bite continues to be strong. Hope it continues for the week ahead. This last bit of information is for Dan. Area rivers are just starting to pick up so your timing should be spot on.

Fishing Report Week Ending 8/15/10

Another great week of fishing with the Blinn Group #1 providing all the action and entertainment. The pink salmon fishing was constant and the silver fishing was up and down but consistent throughout the day.

Photo number one is Team Haskins which consists of Rebecca, Lily, and Joe. After a week of Alaska fishing Lily became quite skilled and accomplished at reeling in salmon and halibut. Photo number two is John who put in a lot of time to catch a silver. Photo number three is Team Blinn #2 which consists of John, Vernon, Ryan, Jim, Al, Orville, and Randy. Missing is Steve Morris and I'll make sure to get a photo of him during the week ahead. The final photo is Elizabeth with one of her many silver salmon that she caught this past week. I saved Elizabeth's photo for last because on the final day she caught a huge humpy and when it came to the boat she said. "that's not a hump, that's a mountain!"

Stay tuned for a report from the Blinn #2 group at the end of this week.