Fishing Report Week Ending 7/23/17

The fishing was steady, not great, this past week. We caught kings everyday, but a lot of people I was pulling for were shut out. Specifically, people who I know well. That list includes Lee, who I coached in hockey, his son Mitch, my old high school science teacher Mr. Whiteman, his brother, and daughter, Esko Bill, Thompson Kenny, relatives of my neighbor, and old friends Kim and Gene.

I started my fishing week with a Sunday red trip with Jeff (in the photo above) and his son Blake. The reds were definitely not moving through on this day. So, after a couple of hours we ended the trip. However, it was not a fishless day and Jeff caught dinner. A fresh red salmon on the grill is hard to beat.

It's been 12 years since Ken last fished with me. He didn't catch a king on that trip, but this time he did. I wonder if he'll wait another 12 years to come back?

Here's Mo with a Kenai king caught in the middle of the Crossover Rodeo. With the amount of boat traffic in this spot (dip netter boats not knowing the rules of the road) Mo mustard all his strength just to keep from falling out of the boat.

Mike "The Banana Man" was the only guy to hook a king on this morning trip.

Here's Reuben with a last minute fish.

Steve started out Friday morning with this nice fish.

And on a desperation last troll, Mike tagged out for the year.

Here's one of the Beaver Creek regulars. Mike, who didn't need Jodie in the boat for good luck, started out Saturday morning with this fish.

A troll later Dick ran into this fish. I was hesitant about the quality of the meat of this fish, but Kim told Dick he finally caught his large Kenai king and he should keep it (it was 49"). Dick is a professional at processing fish and game and I figured this would be one for the smoker. I was wrong. The quality of the meat was excellent, in fact, it was no different than the chrome king that Mike caught.

Saturday afternoon is a trip I will never forget. I had Brian, Leonard, Brian, and Jeremy in my boat. We had about as much king action as you can possibly have in 45 minutes. Unfortunately, three out of the four fish came off during long battles. The Kenai can be cruel that way. Rats. Double rats. Next time, boys, next time...

For the week ahead, I'm predicting uncertainty. I'm optimistic that the king numbers could be really good, and this is because the commercial fishery is being restricted due to overall low red salmon numbers. If there's less netting time, there's usually more king salmon that will enter the river. However, it is also the time of the year that the king run is past peak. All I know for sure is we'll be giving the river a solid effort every day. Come back next week to see how we did.

Tight lines.

Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service