Hello 2016!

Not only Happy New Year, but it's also a Humpy New Year as well. Make it the best!





Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service

Merry Christmas!

From the entire staff of Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service (me and Jane), we wish you a Merry Christmas.



Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service

Sport Show Schedule 2016

It was a difficult decision.  Jane and I will not be doing any sport shows in 2016.

Four twelve years we've been hauling our booth to St. Paul, Minneapolis, Rochester, Bloomington, Sioux Falls, Fargo, Duluth, and St. Cloud.  This year just seemed to be the year to take a break.  It doesn't mean we've mothballed the booth for good, we're just hitting the reset button.

That being said.  Our 2016 season is filling in nicely.  Many key dates are filled but we still have quite a few openings.  Give us a call, send an email.  We'd be happy to talk about all things Alaska.



Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service

Gift Certificate

About this time of the year Jane will get a couple of calls asking if we have gift certificates. "Sure" is her response.

We've never made it a point to promote gift certificates, but hey, why not give a day of guided fishing on the Kenai River, or a couple of nights stay in a cabin to your spouse, family member, or friend? Instead of giving a gift card to a box store or chain restaurant, be unique, give us a call and we'll set you up.   A gift certificate to Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service will definitely be the talk of the evening.




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Upper Cook Inlet 2016 Sockeye Forecast

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has come out with their forecast for the 2016 Upper Cook Inlet sockeye salmon run. The forecast is BIG, 7.1 million BIG.  And, of the total run 4.7 million sockeye salmon are expected to return to the Kenai.  If you would like to read the full report, click on this link.

I'm anticipating ADFG will be releasing the 2016 king salmon forecast some time soon. When they do I will post their findings here.




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Happy Thanksgiving!

The Holtan family enjoying a pecan pie on Thanksgiving day.  May your day be less nutty than ours!






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More Hunting Photos

Here are a few hunting photos shared with me.  I was hoping to get photos of more exotic species, like water buffalo or red stag deer, but no one came through.  Nothing wrong with photos of fur bearing animals and birds of North America, but a picture or two from other parts of the world would have made this a more interesting post.  Not calling you out Mack, but.......

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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...



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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.




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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

Fishing Report Week Ending 9/27/15

It was a cold week.  In fact, it was cold enough for me to decide to winterize three of our four cabins. But the temperatures weren't so bad to stop me from going fishing. I managed to get out a couple of times on the lower Kenai River and also spent a day fishing the middle Kenai River with my friend Boo.

Did I mention it was cold out?  Here's a photo of my truck gauge on the way to the boat launch.

A beautiful morning at Bing's Landing (middle Kenai River).

The first hour of the day, the temperatures were below freezing and the fish were not cooperating. But, after the temperature warmed up so did the action. Here's Boo with the first silver of the day.

It took me awhile to get on the silvers but I was okay with that. The rainbow trout had a tough time staying away from my gear and I ended up catching four of the biggest rainbow trout of my life.

The largest of the trout all measured between 27"-29".  This was a day I'll never forget.

All in all, the fishing was very good on this day.  We ended up releasing a few silvers and keeping five.

Besides fishing the middle Kenai River, Jane and I did get out on the lower river a couple of times this past week.  The days we were out the bite had been inconsistent.  This is a sign that we are on the backside of the second run.

So, what's going on for the week ahead? Besides pulling the dock out, Dan Meyer is coming back up and he said he wants to do some more fishing.  I guess the winterizing of my boat will have to wait a little bit longer.

See you next week.



Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service

Fishing Report Week Ending 9/20/15

I love September on the Kenai River. Specifically, mid to late September is one of my favorite times to be on the water.  Reason number one: there are only a handful of boats out so there's no reason to go out at O'dark thirty to get "your spot".  Reason number two: even though the weather might be a little nastier this time of year, the catching sure makes up for it.  And finally, reason number three:  I get to spend time with my favorite fishing partner and wife, Jane.

I started the week fishing Colton, Eric, and John (pictured above). Eric received a brand new GLoomis rod and XtraTuf boots for his birthday and I was happy to help him break them in.

The next day I sat in the rain with DJ, Tim, Todd, and Steve.  Tim told me it was five years ago we last fished together and he said he's not going to wait that long again.  I hope not.  My memory isn't quite like it use to be...

Here's Jane holding the largest silver of the year so far.  It was 18lbs. What I like about this photo is there is not a single boat in the background.  Pure Kenai magic.

Jane turned the tables on me the next day and said I had to post a photo of me with our fish. There, satisfied?

We went out the next day for a couple of hours and naturally Jane caught her limit.

Same thing the next day, except one of those fish was not so smart and bit my line. It's the little one in the middle.

I ended the week spending a couple of hours in the afternoon with my friends, the Crawford's.  That's Nikki, Chase, and Gary.  Always fun to spend time with these guys.

Next week I expect the fishing to be steady.  The pattern has been either a fish or a bite every 20 minutes or so.  I do not have any days booked with clients, but I plan on being out their for a couple of hours each day.  It's a sad time of year for me because it's starting to wind down fast.  The fish will be gone before too long and the snow will be arriving soon.  On the bright side, that means ice fishing is just around the corner!

See you next week for an up to date report.



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