Today was my first official trip on the Kenai River. The event was the "Take A Kid Fishing" day sponsored by Kenai River Professional Guides Association. I've guided in this the past 4 years and have really enjoyed it. Our clients are area elementary school students that have achieved some sort of milestone the past school year and are rewarded by their teachers/principals with a day on the Kenai. One year I had a boat full of kids that had perfect attendance, everyone in this year's group won a school essay contest.
As guides we know that the fishing will be great but the catching is another matter. We take about 120 kids each year and anywhere from 3-10 kings will be caught. This year we managed to land 3 and unfortunately my streak of landing a king 2 years in a row was broken. Anyway, because we know the catch rate is low we tend to make this a day that involves things other than being in a boat. We meet at 8:00am and McDonalds donates breakfast for everyone. We load up the boats, fish, and then get off of the river by noon. We all meet again for a lunchtime barbecue and then we give each kid a new fishing pole and tackle box. All in all a fun 1/2 day for everyone.
One last thought. What amazes me about this event is how very few of these kids have been on the Kenai. This river is in their backyard and for a number of reasons they have not been in a boat on the river. I feel happy to show it to them for the first time and hope it's not their last.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I remember that day well. That was the day I found out "When you catch a king on the Kenay,youput your rod down for the rest of the day". Love your blog,enter it more often.
Post a Comment