The Dock Is In, The Season Is Over.

It's official. The 2008 season is over for Jane and I. The dock is in, the cabins are winterized and we're on our way to Trapper Creek. I'm often asked what do we do about our dock. The Kenai/Beaver Creek freezes every winter so what we do is on a tide greater than 23ft we disconnect the floating section and pushpole it up to the treeline and tie it off until spring. The wood part of the dock is solidly anchored on steel supports and will withstand freezing. It's a slick system and I thank Will Jahrig for designing it this way.




2008 was an excellent year for us and we'd like to thank everyone who stayed and fished at Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service. It's never too early to think about your "trip of a lifetime" again so don't hesitate to contact us either by phone or email. A few key dates have already been booked so the sooner you can get your plans together the better.



P.S. We will be doing several Sportmen's Shows this winter and we will post the dates and cities at a later date. Keep on checking the blog.

Wrapping Up - Silvers 2008

I hate to say it but this will be the last photos posted of guided angling on the Kenai. I finished up my season fishing with Bill and Gene (top photo) and Tom, Jim, and Jeff (bottom photo). As you can see, fishing has continued to be good but the weather has been on the wet and windy side. The upside to all this weather is it hasn't been too cold. Normally I'm wearing long underwear, gloves, and a hat the last week or two of the season but not this year. I'd like to say thanks guys for the great conversations and attitudes on my final trips of the year......Guiding is over for the year but I still will hit the river a few more times before putting the boat away for the year. Tomorrow I'm going to raft down the middle Kenai and fish for trophy trout with a friend of mine. The day after that Jane and I will try to track down a few silvers to fill out our freezer for the year.

The season is winding down....Dan and Mary Meyer

For a lot of Alaskan's the way to tell that summer is over is either when the fireweed petals have fallen off or the color of the leaves start to change. For Jane and I we know the season is nearly over when Dan and Mary Meyer leave or Ken and Sherry Adler do. Ken and Sherry couldn't make it this year but Dan and Mary made it for a sixth straight year. They left today and so did summer.

Dan and Mary are pictured above with silver salmon from the Kenai. Every year they do a couple of guided trips but spend most of their time exploring the rivers nearby searching for silvers on their own. They do a pretty good job of it and their cooler was overflowing when they left today. We hate to see them go but they've already penciled in their dates for next year already.

I've got a handful of trips scheduled in September so keep checking for reports.....

Silver update 8/30

The silver salmon fishing continues to be red hot. Pictured are Danny, Bill, Lyle, and Rick with a limit of silvers. As you can see in the background there's not a cloud in the sky. Usually that's not good for silver fishing but luckily we caught all these fish before the sun could get very high in the sky. Every day this week the bite has been different. Some days eggs, some days plugs, but today was a mixture of both. Have a great Labor Day weekend and whoo-haaa for Governor Sara Palin being nominated as McCain's running mate. The buzz on the river yesterday had nothing to do with where the fish were biting but that fact that our Governor has been thrust into the national spotlight. She's a sharp, common sense lady that isn't afraid of ethics reform and taking on the big oil companies. No wonder she has over an 80% approval rating by her Alaskan constituents.....As a comparison, Congress and the President are in the low teens.

A Gorgeous Evening on the Kenai

Here's a picture of Gary Blinn and the Moore group fishing on a Sunday evening in the Beaver Creek Hole. Unfortunately this photo doesn't show everything because we witnessed a full double rainbow that covered the eastern sky. Pinks, silvers, and rainbows....what a great evening.

Three Weeks of Fishing Bliss/Blinn

First of all, sorry for not updating our fishing report more often but the last three weeks have been rather busy....a very good busy. Every other year Gary Blinn organizes an Alaskan adventure for his friends and colleagues. In a weeks time they'll fish the Kenai for silvers, fish the ocean for halibut and silvers, fish the middle/upper Kenai for trout, and do a fly in trip to catch more silvers. Overall the fishing on the Kenai has been very good. Plenty of pink salmon and limits of silver salmon (except for one morning when we were completely shut out of silvers but managed to get a few in the evening). What's been nice is the average size of the silvers have been larger than usual. The largest landed in my boat during the three weeks was a whopping 15lbs. Way to go Danny.



The core of Gary's group have been coming for ten years so it's nice for Jane and I to get reacquainted with old friends and to make new ones. There are too many people to list so not to offend anyone I'll just say thanks to all for making it fun for us, especially the Tex/Mex-seafood night dinners.



One last thought, it was great to see Peter Medchill, Ron Rico, and John and Lars Ohlin. We worked in a few fishing trips when I wasn't out with the Blinn group and also managed to see Hobo Jim one night. Thanks to Jane for putting up with 5 snoring men and a dog all cramped into a one bedroom cabin. I owe you one.



I still have a few weeks of fishing left so check back every once in awhile for a report.

Hi-O-Silver.....Lars & Mac

The silver and pink fishing continues to be hot. As you can see in the photos Lars Ohlin has continued his summer hockey workout program by reeling in fish after fish. Lars says it's a lot more fun reeling in fish then shooting a couple of hundred pucks in his driveway. Also pictured with Lars is my son Mac. It was fun having them out fishing and watching their good natured ribbing of each other. Lars will be here with Jane and I until August 18th. It might be hard to get him back on the plane.....

The Silvers are in!!!

Wow. Almost too good to be true. Pictured are Lorie, Michelle, JoRay and Gary after a morning of silver fishing. The past several years the silvers will slowly begin to show up in the the first part of August but this year they're already in and in very good numbers. In fact, after my day of guiding was over Jane and a couple of friends of ours went out in the afternoon and caught our limit as well. This is good news for Gary Blinn and his crew this year. Gary comes up every other year and it was about 6 years ago that the fishing started out this strong. What a great way to start out Gary's three week stay.

Team Canada....End of the King Season

What a great way to end the king season. Team Canada, consisting of Albert, Jim, and Rob fished the last three days with me. As you can see in the photos the fishing was pretty good and the weather was beautiful. The majority of my customers usually fish a 1/2 day trip. What Albert, Jim, and Rob did is a testimonial to why a full day trip is a better way to go if you're after numbers of fish. Over the course of three days these guys brought 20 kings into the net with quite a few silver and pink salmon as well. They experienced the ebb and flow of a typical day on the Kenai. There were moments when the bite was on and moments when it wasn't. On a 1/2 day trip you never know if the river will be "on" or not and that's a chance you'll have to take. You can work through the cycle on a full day trip. Enough said.



Team Canada was missing one player, Kirk, and it's too bad that he couldn't be here to enjoy the fishing. Jim made sure to remind Kirk what he was missing and whenever a big fish was landed a phone call was made to give him an update. I'm sure it was torture. Anyway, speaking of big fish, Jim took home bragging rights for the biggest fish of the trip and for the season. He released a 49 1/2" x 31" king. That computes to a salmon weighing 64.2 lbs. Once again, the biggest salmon of the year in my boat came on the last day of the season.



Final thoughts on the king season. I'd like to thank Albert, Jim, and Rob for ending the season on such a high note and I'd like to thank everyone else for making it a great, great king year. This king season was for you dad and thanks for always having time to take a kid fishing. I won't ever forget it.



Stay tuned for the silver salmon season. I expect a good year based on the early catch rate so far.

Week Endng July 27th

Wow, what a strange week. The king fishing was pretty good but not consistent and the red salmon have more or less disappeared. In the boat we would have a good morning or a good afternoon but not both. Needless to say memories were made every day. It was fun watching Al Witte coach his son Nick to his first king salmon ever. It was also fun to watch Heather catch a 50lb king salmon the first time she has ever fished (she's the one in the photo who can't lift the fish off of the dock). And you know what, even the trips we didn't land a fish the company was great. I sure need to thank Gary, Matt, Garrett, and Ken for sticking out a morning of fishing during the worst weather I have ever experienced in July. As Gary said at the end of the trip, "the only thing worse than fishing for 6 hours in this weather is fishing 12 hours......good luck this afternoon, Keith."



The king season is winding down right now. My final three days I'm fishing a group from Calgary. Their plans are to release all fish so hopefully I'll take a few action shots from the boat.

Tuesday Continued

Tuesday afternoon wasn't quite as hot as the morning, but Dave and Chase both ended up with nice kings.

Buff also got a jack salmon that isn't pictured. It was an afternoon of activity, though as both Joe and Buff had bites and opportunities that just didn't make it to the boat.

Super Tuesday

Hey, this morning started out as a great Super Tuesday. All four kings were in the boat by 8:08am. Keith even got a hot breakfast out of the deal.....it is a nice break to get done so early.

I hope the afternoon trip goes as well.

I will keep you posted.

July Week Ending 7/19

Well, it was an up and down week on the Kenai. We ended up with some really nice kings but also had some tough trips of just waiting it out.

However, the reds have really started hitting so the bank anglers have been doing well. We also dip-netted on Sunday (open to Alaska residents only) and came back to the dock with 107 and nice sockeyes.

Have a good week!

week ending July 12th

Well, kind of an up and down week this week. One really good day, a couple of pretty good days and a couple of so-so days. I was a bit worried about the strength of the king run this year but the sonar counts are picking up and better days should lie ahead.

About the reds, they are beginning to show but not in great numbers yet. It should be any day now that we'll see a 20,000 fish day. "Eating is cheating and sleep is the enemy....Welcome to the red season!"

Week Ending July 5th

Fishing on the 4th was pretty good. We managed to catch 5 kings but 4 of them were small. The one we kept was landed by Wally. Brian backbounced a nice king to bite but unfortunately it was the one that got away. We got a chance to look at it and depending on who you talk to it was a big if not bigger than the one Wally got.




Fishing on Saturday proved to be a bit tougher. Mary caught one and Darlene had a chance to fight one before losing it. Not much action on the river for a lot of anglers. The tides were real high, the water a bit off colored, and we're between the first run and the second run. How's that for excuses?

Fishing Update 7/3/08

It was quite a morning we had today. We did the usual greeting at the dock and hurried out to the river to hold a spot before the 6:00am start time. I was showing "Team Schild" how we were going to fish and how the rod holders work. At 6:00am I told them to let their lines out and everyone but Dick put their rods in the rod holders. He asked if he could hold on to the rod because he felt like he was going to get one. I told him that was fine but let the fish bite a couple of times before setting the hook. Five minutes later Dick yelled "fish on" and another five minutes later the fish was in the net. We set up on the next troll and within five minutes John hit one and 15 minutes later it came to the net. Dick's fish on the left, John's is on the right.




I was thinking that this was going to be one of those mornings where we limit out in an hour. Well, I guess I shouldn't count my chickens before they hatch. Leann and Dan fished up until noon with two bites but no more takers. It was a lot of fun this morning. Good fishing and great people makes for a wonderful day.

Kenai Classic Tournament

Sorry, no pictures on this post. This is because the people I fished were not guests of ours at Beaver Creek Cabins. Tuesday morning and Wednesday morning I was selected to fish in the 2008 Kenai Classic fishing tournament. This was my seventh year of fishing the tournament and I feel honored that out of 465 guides only 55 were invited to participate. Each client pays $6000 to fish two 1/2 days on the Kenai. Money raised from this tournament is used for habitat restoration on the Kenai--something very important to all involved. The last two years over one million dollars were raised and it looks as if this year will be the same.



So, about the fishing. My boat managed to be right in the thick of things. The first day we landed two kings with the largest measuring 46.5 inches. The second day we managed to land three kings that were all around 25lbs. Great tournament, great event, and the weather couldn't have been better. A great way to start this week.

Last Week of June Recap

The last week of June proved to be one of much patience. Fishing was not exactly "red hot" but with perseverance and a good attitude we were lucky to land a few fish each day. These fish were caught by Volker from Germany and Neal from Florida. Way to hang in there Neal!

For any of you coming up in July try to remember to bring summer with you. Everyday this week I wore wool socks and about 4 layers of clothing. I think global warming is taking a break in Alaska this year.

Nice One Alex!

A couple of days of fishing got Alex this nice king yesterday. Patience and determination do pay off. Let's hope that his luck continues and rubs off on Neal today.

Team Hoffman

Wow, this week has gone quickly. I'm getting a fishing update posted while Keith is on the river.

It was great to have another MN group up this week. It always good to see old friends, meet new friends and get caught up with news from our home town!

The six guys patiently waited out some cool weather and slow fishing to turn in 3 kings on Tuesday. Four ventured out again on Wednesday and got 2 into the boat. Jerry, you were a good host to let the others get their fish before joining the club at the end of the day.

Travel safely and we will see you down the road. Thank you.

Chai's Second

We are a bit late in updating last week.

Chai finished up his week with a second nice king on Thursday, June 19. Everyone was waiting for George to get both grandpa's into the act on the generations sweep, but were excited that Chai was able to put a nice finish on the fishing.

Thanks for the great company guys!

Three Generations...Life of Riley!

Yesterday was a special day in the boat for Riley. He was fishing with both of his grandpa's, his dad and his uncle.

It turned out to be a three generation day. First up was Riley's grandpa Nikron, then dad Veechai and then Riley.

Grandpa George is still the great host for this group. He is out fishing right now, so I hope he completes the generation catch today.

Nice Morning

Keith and I met George a few year's ago when he and his co-workers planned an Alaska fishing trip. It turned out that George was a gracious host to his group. They got their kings, but George is still waiting.

His group hit the river this morning for the first king trip of this visit. Well, George is still the good host. His brother Jerry got this nice 45 inch king just 45 minutes into the outing. Way to go Jerry!

I hope the afternoon proves to be lucky for the rest of the group.

Team ABC Seamless 2008

Just a quick photo to end the week of fishing. Long time friends and avid anglers Jeff and Brian Raisenan are seen holding a couple of kings. Jeff is holding a "jack" salmon which to me is one of the finest eating salmon in the river. It's known as the veal of the salmon world. The fishing wasn't quite as good on Saturday but we had few chances to land a few more. Janice and Alisa fished as well but could not get a fish to the boat. We'll get 'em next time!

Finally!

When Jane and I bought Beaver Creek Cabins our very first clients were Thomas & Sylvia Federbusch from Germany. They have been back to Alaska almost every year since then and they always book a day or two of fishing. They're luck for kings has been terrible. On the other hand, they've had no problems catching silvers. This past week the fishing has been outstanding but I was still worried that we'd continue our streak of no kings to the boat.



Well, on Friday Thomas and Sylvia both caught king salmon and Thomas came through with the largest one of the day. Don't be deceived about the size of the fish in the picture. Thomas is 6'6" so any salmon will look small next to him. This fish measured 45.5 inches and weighed just under 50lbs.
With the two fish together their biggest problem is trying to figure out how to get all the fillets back to Germany. As Thomas said, "this is a nice problem to have."

Father and Son Limit

This morning I had Ed and Jim in the boat. It was cold, it was raining, but luckily the bite that started yesterday continued today.




Jim, the son, started things off at the Toilet Hole. When he got the salmon into the boat he said, "yeah, I forgot fishing can be fun."



Not long after Ed had a couple of bites and then lost one on the hookset. We moved down river to the Crossover and after several trolls Ed connected with a salmon that wasn't going to get away. After a fifteen minute fight we were back at the dock before lunch with a pair of 30lbs hens to clean. I can't tell you how much I enjoy it when a father and son come to Alaska to fish and see all the beauty in this State. I can't help but think about my own father in times like this. Here's to you dad for showing your son the great outdoors!

Icing On The Cake

Keith got the icing on his birthday cake yesterday. We went out fishing again in the afternoon and released another smaller male king, but decided to keep this 45 inch female.

Fishing always makes Keith happy!