Fishing Report Week Ending 6/7/15: "An 0 For"

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Mouth of the Ninilchik River

It's not often that I get a chance to fish with my buddy Jeff.  It's even more unusual that I would be able to fish with him twice in a week. But, hey, what else would a couple of fishing guides do when their home water is closed?   That's right, we go to where the fishing is open.

The Pro from Dover

Jeff and I fished the Ninilchik River for king salmon on Monday.   Our timing was perfect for the afternoon high tide to cast spinner baits. When we arrived there was one other guy fishing.  Hmmm, that 's usually a bad sign.  After casting for a couple of hours and not seeing a single salmon roll on the surface, we packed it up and headed back home.   Even though we were shut out, there's something cathartic about casting a spinner bait and retrieving it.   It just feels good being a part of it.   

On our way home Jeff said we should try it again the following weekend (it closes on June 8th).   We left Soldotna early Sunday morning and upon our arrival we noticed the water was off colored.   Hmmm, not a good sign.   We fished at the mouth of the river all by ourselves and we saw one, maybe two salmon break the surface. After an hour or so of casting we decided that the off colored water made it too difficult to catch fish with spinners.

As we were leaving the Ninilchik River there were about a half a dozen people fishing upstream.  Jeff noticed one guy fighting a fish and another guy with the net ready.  Lo and behold a 25lb king was landed.  We thought about giving it a whirl but we were rigged with spinners and this fish fell to a hook and yarn presentation.   Our only option, if we wanted to keep fishing, would be to check out nearby Deep Creek.  When we arrived we saw quite a few salmon breaking the surface, but unfortunately Deep Creek was muddier than the Ninilchik.   We decided to call it a morning.

As we were leaving something seemed amiss to me.  When I realized what happened I asked Jeff if we could go back to the Ninilchik River.   Why?  I forgot my shoes.  We were only gone about 15 minutes so I felt confident they would be there.  As we got to the parking lot they were not where I left them.  Oh, oh. I looked to my right and sitting on a rock were my shoes.  A good samaritan moved them off the road and placed them in a visible place.  Nice to know there are good people out there. By the way, how about those signs.....

This past week also included a few more hours breaking in my outboard.  One day I called my neighbors, Vern and Nancy, and asked if they wanted a boat ride. They said absolutely.

It was a nice day of weather and conversation.  It was also a great day to see bald eagles.

A couple of updates.  The Russian River opens up to sockeye fishing on June 11th.  Most likely I won't be at the midnight opener, but I will make it up there some time.  ADF&G has forecasted a strong run.   Speaking of strong runs, the current sonar count for Kenai king's are three times higher than they were at this point last year.   The biologists are cautiously optimistic that escapement goals will be met, but it' still too early in the run to know for sure.  I personally think the run will be some where in the middle of the optimum escapement goal. Time will tell.




Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service