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.





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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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