Fishing Report Week Ending 8/25/19

"Hey Keith, why do you have two nets in the boat?"

"You never know when you'll get two silvers on at the same time."

This week it happened. It happened twice.

I'm glad to report that the morning temperatures have been normal this past week. It hit 38 degrees a couple of times. Dressing appropriately for the predawn chill is essential. Renee and I are modeling the proper clothing for a silver salmon fishing trip on the Kenai. The cool temperatures are a welcome respite from all the heat we’ve been having.

On to the fishing report.

It was a great start to the week. Visiting and fishing with longtime friends, Todd and Renee, was good for the soul. The icing on the cake was having new friends, Cheryl and Mush, in the boat. They fished with me last year during some very poor king salmon conditions and I told them they ought to come back to fish the fun fish....silvers. Glad they did. 

What’s better than doing this one day with these guys? It’s doing it for two days. You’d be proud, George, that I didn’t repeat a single story. That feat is nearly as impressive as the fish we caught over the two days.

The next day we had the first double silver salmon catch of the year. That's Cliff and Jason.  

We didn't get all of our fish, but sure had our chances. Thanks Jared, Jeremy, Jason, and Cliff for a great day on the water. Your enthusiasm for this fishery tells me you’ll all be back. 

 

It was hard to believe that it's been six years since Billie and Gwen last fished with me. Instead of family, they brought their friends, Lee and Sandra along to enjoy all things Alaska. The ladies had their limit early in the day (naturally) and we were struggling to find the last two fish for the guys. We missed a few, but on our end of the day Hail Mary troll we had our second double silver salmon hook up of the week. In my world, it was as eventful as a walk off home run in baseball. Wow. That’s how you want to end a week of fishing.  

See you next week for an update on the silver salmon action.

Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service

Fishing Report Week Ending 8/18/19

Silver salmon was the focus this week, and the fishing was very good.

On Tuesday, I fished the Marlatt family once again. Here's Alyssa with her first silver salmon ever. It took a little coaxing to get her to hold it, but she came through like a champ (notice her hands...).

Sister Megan continued her fishy ways from the week before and caught this one. She also caught another one to complete her silver salmon limit.

Dad Mike, ended the day with the biggest fish. Please don't ask me why there's a beer coozy in it's mouth...

On Wednesday, Angeline and Tavish got their limit of nice silver salmon. Way to go Team Wisconsin.

On Thursday, I fished with my college roommate, Buddy, his son, and their friends.

Here's his son Tucker.

We caught our limit of silvers (and let a couple go). From left to right are Tucker, Buddy, Derek, and Byron.

On Friday I fished with Cy, Matt, Craig, and Ardiss. We didn't quite get our boat limit but we had our chances to do so. Can you tell what state everyone is from? 

Saturday, I had Derek, Tucker, Byron, and Buddy out on the river once again. The only thing different from our trip on Thursday is we caught a couple of extra fish: a pink, and two red salmon. The competition was hot for these guys, and as judge/guide, I would have to declare a draw when it comes to Team USA vs. Team Canada...

I finished the week on Sunday with a solid effort from Team Minnesota and Team South Carolina. That's Mike and Mary in the front (Team Minnesota), and Robert Allen and Robert in the back (Team South Carolina).

My only prediction for the week ahead is more of the same. I've got great people coming in, and I expect the silver fishing to continue to be great as well.

See you next Sunday.




Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service

Fishing Report Week Ending 8/11/19

We spent more time this past week out of the boat than in the boat. That's because the red salmon fishing has been that good. We tried to find a few silvers, and we did, but the generous limit and action with red salmon was too hard to resist.

Here's Kris, John, Nate, and Del. We spent the first two hours of our day trying to catch silvers and found only one. We spent the next two hours fishing red salmon and caught twenty three.

It's been awhile since I last saw Orrin. He brought his buddy Tim along and before lunch they had their limit.

Taylor and Kris were in Alaska for their honeymoon, and the last thing they did before flying back to Wisconsin was fish on the Kenai. We targeted silvers first thing in the morning and Taylor found this one.

It was slow going in the boat, so we put on our waders and started flipping for red salmon. The action was steady.

If you read last week's report, you know I haven't been able to fish with Jane as much as I'd like. Well, we had an open afternoon, and I brought her and Kate out. Glad I did.

A great week of fishing ended with the Marlatt family. From left to right are Alyssa, Anders, Mike, Alex, and Meghan. Mike, and his wife Pam, fished with me two years ago during an incredible king salmon run. This year they wanted to try silvers (or reds, or whatever was in the river) and brought their daughters and sons in law with. It was fun, fun, fun...

Thoughts about the week ahead. I really don't know how long this fantastic run of red salmon will continue. I hope it's just long enough for a big ball of silver salmon to find their way into the river. I have some old friends coming in this week and I really don't want to tell them, "you should've been here last week..."

See you next week for a new report.

Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service

Fishing Report Week Ending 8/4/19

I was reminded by Jane that she didn’t get out fishing last year for red salmon. That was enough of a hint for me to find time to right this wrong. How's this for timing? A big school of red salmon moved through the lower river when we were out. It took less than an hour to catch our limit.

Speaking of timing, if you notice, they’re are no photos of king salmon this week. The final day of the season ended with a thud. Thanks Jim, Colin, and Michael for your patience in the boat. We tried hard and fished a lot of water but the mighty king proved to be elusive. To quote Jim, "you can't catch what's not here..."  Sad, but true.

Now on to something completely different.

The Beaver Creek All Stars were out in full force dipnetting for red salmon on July 31st, the final day of the 2019 season. Here’s Mack and Carol doing what they do best: recreating on the Kenai. 

It’s a deep bench for Team Beaver Creek.  I was invited to go dipnetting with these perennial All-Stars. From left to right is El Capitan, Greg, fish wrangler MJ, and the deck foreman, Ron. It was a well oiled machine and in a couple of hours we had all the fish we needed.

Thanks guys, for helping Jane and I put away a few fish for the winter...

With the king season in the rearview, August 2nd was my first day fishing for silver salmon. Team Sedlacek returned after a six year absence and it was good to see them all. Here's Jake with the first silver of the year. 

Silvers were a bit scarce on this day, so we changed things up and decided to get on the bank and target red salmon. Here's Summer, the fish whisperer with a jumbo red salmon. That's her dad, Lowell in the background with her brother Jake, and sister in law Phoenix.

The next day, I fished with Jake and his family. The silver action was a little bit better. Here's Ty with the first one of the day.

His sister, McKenzie, followed up with a nice one as well.

Heidi caught the next one. About fifteen minutes later she caught a second one. She officially is the first, of what I hope is many, people who limit out on silver salmon this year.

I've got a full week ahead of silver trips and I hope each tide brings in more fish. If the silvers prove elusive, we may switch things up a bit and go after reds. Come back next week to see how it all shakes out. See you then!







Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service