Happy Halloween

Found lurking around Beaver Creek Cabins:  Mephistopheles, the Devil Moose.

Whatever you do never look in to his glowing eyes.  You'll forever be under his spell.

Happy Tricks or Treats everybody.

In Memoriam: Phil Dreyer

Fisherman's Prayer

God, grant that I may live

To fish until my dying day. 

 And when it comes to my last cast

I then most humbly pray

When in the Lord's safe landing net

And peacefully asleep

That in His mercy I be judged

As good enough to keep.

As I stated in an earlier post, on 8/23/13 I lost my good friend Phil Dreyer to pancreatic cancer.  I know that saying goodbye is part of life but it's never easy.

When I was told that Phil had pancreatic cancer I started to keep a list of "Philism's".    My only regret is that I didn't start this earlier because the man was full of one liners.    Here are just a few.

• My grandma didn't like to go to church because she didn't like to be around all those sinners.
• I say buy the best carpet money can buy and then make shoes out of it.
• By the time he finishes changing diapers the kid will be able to change his diapers (in a conversation about an older guide now becoming a father late in life)
• People are like sandwiches.  You don't like all of them.
• The man was a refrigerator with legs (referring to a friend and his "stoutness").
• I should move to faith based fishing (after I faced another season of king closures).
• The first 400 pounds are pretty good but after that you get a little sick of it (in response to the question are salmon shark good to eat).
• Use a .22 pistol for bear protection.  All you have to do is shoot your buddy in the leg.

                                                                                                                                   

Perhaps my favorite story with Phil happened several years ago when we were fishing for silvers on a cold September morning.   One of the guys that Phil brought with him was the president of a major international corporation.   The night before our trip, knowing that the morning would be cold, the president asked Phil how much clothing he should wear.   Phil told him to "just put on your rain gear, you'll be fine."   We headed out on the river at O'dark thirty and after a couple of chilly hours on the water we came back to the cabins for a quick pot of coffee.   I stayed in the boat while the group headed to their cabin for a short break.  Phil came back by himself and he was laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes.  He said, "You wouldn't believe it, but as the president took off his rain gear all he had underneath it were his boxer shorts and a t-shirt.  I told him you're suppose to wear your rain gear over your clothing, not just your underwear."    He said the president was shivering while fishing and said he didn't want to say anything  about how cold he was because he didn't want to seem weak.   All he could think  was "how tough you Alaskan sons-of-a-guns are fishing in 30 degree weather in your underwear."    Absolutely priceless.





There's been a couple of times in my life where I paid a tribute to those who have passed by personalizing a kwikfish lure with a sharpie pen. It's been for people who I've shared this great river with.   I've done it for my dad, Chris Simmonds, and now Phil Dreyer.  The day after Phil had passed Jane and I went out silver fishing.   I immediately caught a fish with the "RIP Phil 8/23/13" kwikfish.  In the past I honored this moment by releasing the fish and cutting the lure loose and letting it float down the river to the ocean.   A gesture of respect, if you will.   I was all set to do this when I realized that Phil would have thought this would have been a waste.  You see, in all the years I fished with Phil he never, ever, released a fish and this would have been an insult to him.   I thought about cutting the lure loose but I could hear his voice saying, "Are you crazy man, that lure just caught a fish."   I continued to fish this lure and caught another salmon to complete my daily limit. The lure is now retired and hangs on the wall of my rod shed.
 

Thanks, Phil for being a good friend.   And, for sharing with me your grandmother's recipe for the best dang meatloaf in the world.   My only advice to Phil's wife Debbie:  things will get better with time.

You're a keeper, Phil.  Tight lines, my friend, tight lines.....



The Dock Is Out

 The obligatory season ending photo of the dock being taken out.

I also winterized the boat the same day and when I finished wrapping it up a year old moose decided to hang out in the yard.   

The browse must be good this year because this is a very healthy year old.

After I took these photos and put away my camera Momma Moose decided to see where her baby scampered off to.   I wish I would have taken her photo but my camera was between her and the car.  Needless to say, that's a battle I'm not willing to take.

Fishing Report Week Ending 10/7/13

Holy cow did this season end on beautiful weather.   No doubt, Jane and I picked a great day to end the season.

 How's this for fall colors on the Kenai?  

Jane and I fished for a couple of hours and this unsuspecting silver salmon made the mistake of grabbing my kwikfish.   Not a bad way to end the 2013 fishing season.....great weather and a fresh salmon for dinner.

This is the end of current fishing reports at Beaver Creek Cabins and Guide Service but that does not mean the posts will end.  Make sure to check back next week to see what else is going on other than fishing.

Fishing Report Week Ending 9/30/13

This past week we endured our third flood since mid August.   The rising water made fishing difficult and the few times I did get out the fishing was not that great.   Tuesday evening Dan and I got out and put one silver in the box.  My neighbor Mack and I went out Saturday morning and managed a single bite but no fish.   The best bite of the week happened yesterday.   Some friends of mine from Anchorage came down to fish with Carolyn and Franz.  These two are from Germany and they're attending the University of Alaska Anchorage on Track and Field scholarships.   They were very enthusiastic to be on their first salmon fishing trip of their lives.   We missed at least six fish but managed to land these two.  When Carolyn caught her fish she said, "I've been in Alaska for a year and a half and this is the best day EVER!"  It was her first fish, her biggest fish, and the most fish she has ever caught....a Kenai trifecta.
  

Franz told me if he caught a fish he wanted to take a bite out of it like a bear.   Here he is prepping the fish.

And here is Franz taking a bite out of the fish.  He said it was good and I'll take him at his word.  Needless to say I'll never forget this.

Thought I'd include this graph from the US Geological Service.  You can see the spike in the water levels this week and also how high the water levels are compared to the 48 year median average.

The boat is still on the dock and I have a half dozen sardines I need to use.  I plan on getting out a few more times before the boat is winterized for the season.  I'd like to see if the dropping water levels will help the fishing or if they 2013 silver salmon run is done and in the records books.  I'll have five more days to see.

See you next week.

Fishing Report Week Ending 9/23/13

 Kenai double!

That's a wrap.   Unless I get a call before I take the dock out on October 6th, the 2013 guiding season has ended for me.   I'll keep on fishing until the dock is out but that's it for clients.   Too bad, because the fishing has been steady and the temperatures have been reasonable.

At the start of the week I had the pleasure of spending the day with Anderson, Steve, and Shihab.   These guys flew in from Texas at 1:00am, drove down from Anchorage, and met me on the dock before the sun came up.   Quite a commitment from three guys who had never been to Alaska before.   As soon as we got out on the water there was a hot bite but before too long it shut down.  I suggested they take a long break (i.e. hot lunch and a nap) and come back out in the afternoon.

We set a time and here's what they caught after they had their break.

Next on my guiding schedule was my annual fishing adventure with Team ABC Seamless of Southcentral Alaska.   The "B Team", consisting of James, Nick, Wally, and Jeff, fished on Friday and had quite a few opportunities to limit out.   What they are holding are the fish that found the net.   Not a bad day at all.
  

On Saturday the "A Team" showed up and put a few more fish in the box than the "B Team".   That's Brian, Jeff, Karel (Deuce), and Coop on the dock.   I'd like to say thanks guys for coming down and spending a couple of days with me.    It's always great to share stories from trips of the past and to eat a half dozen monster cookies.

My last guided trip of the year was set for Sunday with Lloyd and Kim.  Since they arrived early on Saturday I asked if they wanted to go out that evening.  With a firm, "hell ya" we headed out on the dinner cruise.   I'm glad we did because we had pretty good action in a short amount of time.

On Sunday, our scheduled day, the action was not as good but we managed to finish the day with a respectable haul.   Thanks Lloyd and Kim for ending my season on a positive note.

Finally, thought I'd show you a photo of fish that, according to ADF&G, doesn't exist in the Kenai River.   On Tuesday, Shihab thought he caught his last silver salmon of the day but it turned out to be a 29" steelhead.   How do I know it was a steelhead and not a rainbow trout?   If you look real close, in the middle of the fish there is a sea lice attached to the skin.   Steelhead migrate from freshwater to saltwater and back and can carry the sea lice parasite.  Rainbow trout are in freshwater and will never have sea lice.  Kinda cool.

This week I plan on winterizing one of my boats and a cabin or two.  I also plan on fishing as much as I can.  Come back next week for a current report on everything Kenai.

Fishing Report Week Ending 9/16/13

I promised you a photo of the pink parka and by golly I got one.  Here's Judy Kingsbury holding the first silver of the day.    As one of Judy's friends so accurately described her, "she's tougher than an eight year old squirrel."   I agree.   I really have to take my hat off to Judy, Bob, and Ken.   They were here during some nasty conditions with not a lot of fishing being caught (they also crossed paths with a hungry seal and a 45lb king).   They did, however, catch enough silvers to fill up a fish box but they put in a lot of time to do it.   When they left they said, "see you next year".  Jane and I look forward to it. 

This past week I had the privilege of being invited to guide participants in Senator Lisa Murkowski's Women's Classic.   This is a two, half-day fishing event for women.  

Here's a river networking session.  Think they're having fun?   This photo reminds me of a sign that Will Jahrig has in his shop.  It says, "Fishing is the Least Important Part of Fishing."  

One thing that was fun for me during this event was watching Melanie catch her first fish ever.  She fished in the event last year but said she didn't catch a thing.   Not only did she reel this fish in like she's done it her whole life, but she also bonked the fish and bleed it as well.   She said she wanted the whole experience and she got it.  Job well done, Mel.

I'll have to say the overall fishing for the two day event was reasonable considering the Kenai River was at flood stage (once again!).    Most participants caught at least one fish with a few lucky anglers catching their limit.

After my morning trips at the Women's Classic, I got to take out Dan and Mary Meyer for a couple of hours.  I'm glad we did because the bite was pretty good.

Here's Mary proudly holding her 15lb silver on Friday.   Dan conceded that Mary bested him for the biggest silver caught during their stay.

 

 

Here's their catch on Saturday just before they had to get on their flight back to Peoria.   Look at the size of these fish!   As Dan said with his tongue firmly planted in cheek, "the second run mosquitos are much bigger than the first run."    Jane and I hate to see you guys go but it won't be too long before we'll see each other at a sport show this winter.

Finally, one of the great reasons why I like fall fishing.....fishing with Jane.   My Sunday trip cancelled which meant Jane and I could go out and enjoy the fishing and the weather.   It's a win-win for me.

This next week should be a good week for fishing.   The river has started to drop which means the water clarity is improving.   Clearer water means better fishing.   I look forward to finding more of these second run giants.