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

Bears and Wolves

Last month, when I went fishing in the middle Kenai River with my friend Boo, part of our approach to catching silver salmon involved fishing from the bank.

We'd park the boat on a gravel bar, grab our rods, and walk the bank casting for fish. Often, a more effective and heart healthy technique than sitting in the boat all day.

Littered across the banks were spawned out red salmon carcasses.

And of course, if you find this you're going to find bears as well.  

But, this is what intrigued me the most and the reason for this post. As we were walking a muddy bank I noticed these tracks.  I asked Boo if he thought they were from a dog.  He said, "nope, much too big. It's a gray wolf.  They often sneak down to the river and feed on salmon." Well, that was something I didn't know before. I knew that the Kenai Peninsula had a wolf population of around 200 but I thought they were all in the Caribou Hills area and not around the middle Kenai River. But I guess it shouldn't be too surprising. The middle Kenai River flows through the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, a 1.92 million acre preserve, and this borders Tustamena Lake/Caribou Hills area. Easy access and protection for another food source.

So, there you go. There's always something new...



Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service

It's Over.

Stick a fork in it.  Adios. So long. Arriverderci. Auf Wiedersehen. And for my Norwegian friends, Ha det!  The 2015 fishing season is now officially in the books.

So, what does a guy do when it's too early to go ice fishing?  He cleans up his gear for storage (my king gear was put away back in August).

Lot's of teeth marks on these lures.  Based on that alone it was a good year in deed.

I would like to thank everyone who returned to Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service, and to all those who chose us for the the first time. Fishing was fishing with good days of catching and not so good days of catching.  But, what remained constant were the people and their attitudes.  This is why I love getting up at 4;30am and spending the day on the river.  I can't wait to do it all over again next year.

A REMINDER....just because the fishing is over doesn't mean there won't be anything new on this site until next spring. All winter long I'll be posting articles and photos.  Make sure to come back next week to see what's on my mind.




Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service

Fishing Report Week Ending 10/25/15

And the beat goes on......

So I get a text Tuesday morning from Brad Adams. He asked if I wanted to go fishing in the afternoon. I texted him back and said, "how about now?"  It was game on.

  

The old fisherman's proverb of "you never leave fish to find fish" held true on this day.  We went right back to where we were fishing last week and in just over an hour we caught our six fish limit. How good was the bite you ask?  Well, the fish above Brad caught on his first cast.  I wasn't as fortunate.  It took me about ten casts before I caught my first silver.

Here's my buddy, Buddy happily posing with our catch of the day. Buddy is Brad's 11 month old yellow lab. It's a terrific dog in the boat and I'm beginning to rethink whether I should have a Buddy as well.....

I think this trip was it for the year, but I haven't officially closed out the 2015 fishing season just yet. Come back next week to see for sure.

Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service

Fishing Report Week Ending 10/18/15

It ain't over until it's over.  For this past week, it definitely wasn't over.

I got a text Thursday morning from my friend Brad Adams asking if I wanted to go fish the middle Kenai river with him. Brad is a former Kenai guide extraordinaire who left the river for a career as a bush pilot.  Because of that he doesn't get to fish like he use to.  He told me his goal was to get a few silvers for the freezer and I said I would be happy to help him.

Mission accomplished.  In two hours of casting kwikfish, we kept 6 nice silver salmon.

Friday morning I get another text from Brad asking if I wanted to go fishing again.  Now he said he'd like to get a few silvers for the smoker.  In an hour we landed these six silvers.  Thanks Brad, glad I could help you sock away a few fish for the winter.

While I was fishing with Brad on Friday, I got a text message from my old pal Jeff Raisanen.  He keeps a boat in Homer and wanted to king fish on Saturday.  His problem was he was coming with his 2 year old son, Ross, and he needed another adult on board.  Why not?   Within the first ten minutes of trolling around the Homer Spit, Jeff lands this nice feeder king.

About ten minutes after our first fish this 28lb king slammed the lure.  It was by far the largest feeder king that either Jeff or I have ever seen.

It was a great day and the bite was continuous.  A 2 fish limit for everyone!

The icing on the cake was that one of the kings was a white king. From the reports I've been hearing, there's been more and more white kings showing up in Kachemak Bay this year.  Many people think they're a delicacy, while others say they're no different than a "normal" king. The way I see it, it's a win/win situation no matter what.

For the week ahead, unless I get a bunch of texts from guys who haven't winterized their boats, I suspect the only fishing I may do is from the bank of a river.  Kenai, Kasilof, Anchor?   There are definitely choices available.

See you next week.



Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service

Fishing Report Week Ending 10/11/15

Rats.

I didn't get out fishing this past week.  I winterized the last cabin and I decided to winterize both boats as well. From here on out the only fishing I'll be doing is from the bank.  Hmmm, I've heard a few good reports about steelhead on the Anchor River......

Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service

Fishing Report Week Ending 10/4/15

"He's baaack!"  And, my second line is "they're still heeere!"  And what I mean by "they" are silver salmon.

Had a hunch that Dan Meyer would make it back to Alaska for a third time this year.  My only doubt was whether Mary would make it as well.  She couldn't so Dan either fished with me or he fished on his own this week. It didn't matter where he was at: he caught fish every day.

The first day we went out on the lower river the water was rising.  It still had reasonable "Kenai" color so the fishing wasn't too bad.  Three fish came to the boat.

The second day the water was muddy and the bite shut down.  We managed to get one silver in a few hours on the water.

When the Kenai River muddies up, the majority of the mud comes from the Killey River.  I talked to my friend Boo, who was fishing the Kenai above the Killey this week, and he said the water was great and the silver fishing was excellent.   He said he had room the next day and invited us to come along.  I'm glad we did. The five of us, which included Boo, Brad, and Darryl, got our limit of fresh silver salmon.  Pure alchemy.

It wasn't all about fishing this past week. The ceremonial ending of my guiding season took place Wednesday night when we took the dock out.  Here's my capable helpers, Dan and Jane, suited up and waiting for the tide to rise.

It's always sad when the dock is sitting on the grass for the winter. Oh well, I have to remind myself that May is only seven short months away.

The week ahead I'll be winterizing the last cabin.  I will also winterize one of my boats.  I can't quite put away both of them because the fishing is still pretty good and I'd like to get out at least one more time. Make sure to come back to the blog next week to see if I've used my boat again.




Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service