Fishing Report: Week Ending 5/26/19

It's happening.

I fished the river twice this past week. On the first trip, we landed two king salmon. The second, none. Besides the river, I also spent a day fishing the saltwater out of Homer.

I ran into a friend of mine, Noel, at our local Home Depot store. It was rare to see him in May. I told home my boat was on the dock and it's just waiting to be used. I said “if you have the time, call me and we’ll go fishing.”

A couple of days after our encounter, Noel called and said he had a small window to get out and wondered if a couple of friends could join us. Sure, the more the merrier. We agreed on a time and Noel showed up with Don, Shawn, and Risto.

first king of the year

Before we could get all of our lines in, Noel has a take down. Unbelievable. There's no question that was the fastest bite I've ever had on a first trip of a season. What happened next is also unbelievable. Noel has caught more than his share of Kenai kings, so he graciously let the new guy, Shawn, take the rod. It was a nice 10lb salmon and it was released unharmed (the Kenai River is currently under a catch and release emergency order until July 1st). 

Two trolls later, Noel's rod goes off again. Once more, he lets Shawn reel in the fish. My English teacher would kill me for the words that follow, but that was doubly unbelievable of Noel. After a nice fight, a beautiful 30lb salmon was caught and let go.

We trolled a few more times, swapped a few more stories, and then it was time for Noel and his crew to leave. 

Here's Noel in the foreground coaching Shawn on how to fight a fish.

Don wasn't shy and “pointedly” offered his advice to Shawn as well. Overall, it was a tremendous way to kickstart the 2019 fishing season and a day I won’t forget. 

Still euphoric from the previous day, I really wanted to get back out on the river to see if the bite was still on. My neighbors, Mack and Carol, had planned to fish the saltwater, but bad weather changed their plans. I asked them if they wanted to join me on the river to see if yesterday was a fluke or if it was the beginning of a strong run. Well, to put it bluntly, the streak is over. We fished for a couple of hours, and when it started to rain, we decided it was time to pack it in. On a positive note, we did see another boat catch a fish, but it was clearly not a “hot bite”.

Oliver Kandas

I also had the opportunity to fish Homer with my old buddy Boo Kandas of Tall Tale Charters. Boo needed to get his truck and boat trailer down to the "Halibut Capital of the World" and said I could go fishing with him if I would give him a ride back to Soldotna. Would I? You betcha.

I would describe the fishing as "just okay". However, the halibut we caught were of exceptional quality for spring. Normally, we catch a lot of fish in the 10-25lb range. The fish in the photo above were a pair of 45lbers.

Part of the fun of saltwater fishing is catching a mixed bag of fish. Here's Oliver proudly holding an irish lord.  

Here he is with a kelp greenling.

For the week ahead, the only thing I have on my schedule is to spend as much time possible with my sister, Heidi, and my cousin Robin. They are both traveling from Minnesota to spend the week with Jane and I. I'm not sure we'll fish, but a river tour will definitely be on the agenda.

Happy Memorial Day. If you see a vet, thank them. Heck, thank them every day. 

See you next week.





Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service