Fishing Report Week Ending 7/6/14

On the second troll of the Kenai River king salmon 2014 "reopener" Tony, from Team Germany (Bavaria) broke the ice with a jack salmon (a jack salmon is a king that is under 20" and Alaska rules permit an angler to keep this fish and continue fishing).   Not exactly a world famous Kenai king but it was a great start and I figured we had all morning to find more.  Well, little did we know that Tony's salmon would be the only bite we would have.

I was hoping to have a group fish photo of Team Germany (Bavaria) but instead had to settle for one on the deck of their cabin.   From left to right is Eiko, Tony, Rudy, and Flo.  These guys spent 10 days at our cabins fishing the ocean, the Kasilof, Kenai, and Russian Rivers.  They also did a fly in bear viewing trip to Katmai.   They were strangers when they arrived but Jane and I felt like they were family before they left. The good news for us is they plan to return in 2016 (a non World Cup year).    

In my afternoon trip of the reopener I had the pleasure of fishing with Chris and Tony Smith.   About two hours into the trip Chris nailed this 18lb king.   Not bad, not bad at all.   At this point of the day we had over three hours to find Tony a fish.  Unfortunately, there were no more takers.    So the sum total for the first day of the season was two king salmon.   I've had better first days and I've had worse first days.

So the second day of the reopener I was rejoined by Chris and Tony.   Great weather, great conversation but the day ended in a shut out.   Not even one drive by bite.   Wish I could say there were fish being caught by the other boats but it looked as if it was just as slow for everyone else.   I was a little worried that Chris and Tony didn't enjoy their time in Alaska but their cabin wipe board told a different story.   The way I look at it, 2 happy campers makes 1 happy guide.   Thanks guys and hope to see you again soon.

The next two days I didn't have any trips scheduled but the reports I received were more of the same.....slow.    That didn't matter to me on Saturday because Team Laflamme came down to fish and whether it's slow or not the day is always going to be a great one.   Fishing started off with a bang and on our second troll of the day Janet caught a jack salmon.   "No problemo",  I thought, we have the rest of the day to find some more.  Well, the jack was the only fish we found.   In fact, it was the only fish that we saw all day.  Not exactly a stellar end to the first week of July, but everything considered, it was great to be on the water again.

Here's a group photo of Team Laflamme (Todd, Janet, and Bob) and Jane, doing what they do best....enjoying the day.

I've always said the Kenai River experience is more than just catching fish.  This was an all star week for wildlife viewing.  Here's a momma moose crossing the river with her calf.

And here's a bull caribou along with two female caribou crossing the river between a couple of boats.

Next week should be a strong indicator of the month to come. Hopefully, the king and red salmon numbers will show daily improvement.   I'll see you next week with a new report.