Managing Your Expectations

Realistic expectations of the Kenai River experience is what this post is all about. I have had the good fortune of guiding many accomplished anglers from all over the world and I have also had the pleasure of guiding people to their first fishing adventure ever. A large component of making sure the trip is a successful one is managing the expectations before they take a step into my boat. This is usually done by phone, email, or in person at a sport show, and it's done well before the trip even begins. I want no surprises and I want people to know and understand what can and can not happen on the river.

Let me start by saying that a guide can not, nor should ever guarantee a fish. That is not what it's all about. Granted, you are on a guided fishing trip, not a scenic cruise, but the guarantee should be about an opportunity to catch fish and about the entire fishing experience. If we all have this understanding before we hit the water then the trip will be a success. It reminds me of a saying that one of my guide friends likes to use, "....if you sell the fishing, the catching will take care of itself." I've been amazed how often this statement rings true. The people that are happy just to get out actually outfish the people that define their entire vacation by whether or not they kill a fish.

Now the "opportunity" to catch fish is different for everyone and I always want to be crystal clear about the action that can be expected. For instance, if you come in May, June, or July to fish for king salmon I tell everyone to prepare of a long day on the water. If you come in August or September for pink and silver salmon you will have a lot of action. When it comes to king salmon fishing patience is a must and not everyone will catch fish on the trip. In fact, I usually explain that over the years a good catch rate for king salmon is 25%. That's one in four anglers retaining a fish! Oh sure, some days everyone in the boat catches a king, but there are also days when no one catches a fish. That's just the way it goes when you're chasing king salmon. On the other hand, it is very rare that we don't catch fish in August and September. Pink and silver salmon are great fish to introduce families to fishing because the catching is usually pretty darn good.

If you know me, you know that I like to talk and occasionaly get off topic (ha!) but I remember a conversation I overheard years ago at the local tackle store. It's a great example of managing expectations. This conversation was between someone new to Alaska and one of the oldest, most respected guides in our community. It went like this:

"Are you a guide? I'd like to catch a king salmon on the famous Kenai."

"Yeah."

"Can you take me out?"

"Yeah."

"Will I catch so many fish that my arms will get tired?"

"I guarantee you your butt will fall asleep before your arms get tired."

"I thought this was Alaska. I thought you're suppose to catch fish all the time."

"This is the Kenai and it's king season. If you want action, come in the fall."

A good guide will tell you what to expect truthfully. A poor guide will tell you what you want to hear and then make excuses all day long about why fish aren't being caught. It all boils down to ethics and hopefully during the "interview" of your guide you'll be able to to distinguish if he or she is being upfront with you or not. A little hint: if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is.

A few comments about the photos. If you follow the blog, I'm sure you've seen the guys in the top photo before. Jeff and Brian, "Team ABC", have done a lot of fishing on the Kenai and they have fished nearly every month and have experienced all the different run timings on the river. They have filled their coolers and they have also gone home empty handed. As you can see by the king salmon in the photo they didn't exactly set the world on fire. But, they had a great time (Brian will say he had a better time because his fish was bigger) and the best thing for me is they keep coming back. The next photo is one of those magical days that happens a couple of times a summer. Definitely not the norm on the Kenai. The final photo is a typical fish box filled with silver and pink salmon caught in August.

Fishing Report Week Ending 7/31/10

The 2010 Kenai king salmon is officially over. We had some good "catching" days and not so good "catching" days but the fishing was GREAT. Thanks to all of you who joined me on a trip or two on the world famous Kenai River. Sharing this river with so many good people is what makes it easy for me to get up every morning at 4:00am.

The last week of the season was fun for me because I was fishing full day trips with Team Oregon and Team Canada. Team Oregon consisted of Karen, Peg, Karen, Susie, and Ray. Team Canada consisted of Jim "aka Fuzzy", Kirk "aka Cut Plug", Ty "aka Fortuneless Fortune Cookie", Rocco, Rick, and Jake. For Team Oregon let's just say I may have to have a bag of cheetos and Orvis the Bear on my boat every season. Now to the photos. The top photo is Karen with her beautiful king salmon. Photo two is her dad Ray. The next photo is the good luck charm Orvis. Photo four is Susie and Ray with a couple of nice kings that where taken on a day that we actually had sunshine.

I suppose you're wondering where the photos of Team Canada are. The boys had been to Seward before they came here and they had over 700lbs of fillets to go back home with and decided that their Kenai trip would be about fishing and not keeping. It was kind of nice to release fish on the river and have surrounding boats applaud us for doing so. Wish I would have taken a few pictures of their fish but I find when we are on catch and release mode I don't want to stress the fish any more than I have to. Overall the numbers of fish released did not match their 2008 trip, but they still had a great time.

One last note, yesterday I took Kathy, Peg, and Lou out for an experimental day of pink/silver fishing. We casted spinners behind a few islands and caught quite a few pinks, a couple of dollies, and one silver. It should be a good start to the new season.

Fishing Report Week Ending 7/25/10

This past week was a great week of king fishing. Although not everyone caught fish the average size and the numbers steadily improved from the previous week. Let me start out by saying that I didn't have enough room for all the photos so my apologies to you if I left you out. The top photo is Sarah who takes top honor for the largest fish for her family. The second photo is my wife Jane who finally got out for her first official king trip of the season. This was her largest fish ever and boy did it give her a battle. The third photo is Eric, Jamie, and Glenn with a trio of nice fish. I should mention that Rick was the fourth on the trip and he had a couple of opportunities to limit the boat out. I guess he'll think twice next time about bringing a banana on the boat. The next photo is Dave with a nice chromer to end his week. The following two photos are Ursula and David with a couple of nice fish as well. The last photo is Ron and my old pal Gary Rudisell. Once again Gary was a perfect two for two. Two king trips and two kings. I think he needs to parlay his luck and head to Vegas as fast as he can.

This next week is the last week of king fishing. The way things are going I hate to see it end. For all of you that are coming in August, we've already boated our first pink and silver salmon. It looks like our fall fishing is shaping up to be a strong one.

Fishing Report Week Ending 7/3/10

This past week the trend of lots of bites and small fish continued. We did manage to pull out a few nice ones. Pictured above is Papa Dan with Caroline with her biggest king. Dan and Mary Meyer give each grandchild a special Alaska trip when they turn 10 years old and this year it was Caroline's turn. She was a lot of fun and had a great attitude every day. For those of you who would like to know, the final fish count was: Caroline 4.5, Dan 2, and Mary 1.5. We look forward to seeing Dan and Mary again this fall when the silvers are in. The bottom photo is Rick Baron with his largest king. During a couple of days fishing Rick Smith may have caught more fish but Rick B. will gladly point out that it's all about the quality and not the quantity. It was great to fish with Rick and Rick again and I look forward to seeing them down the road.

Happy Independence Day to all of you and I'll write again after another week of fishing.

King George....Fishing Report Ending 6/27/10

Another interesting week of fishing. The action was okay but the sizes of the fish were definitely on the side of small. As my friend Kyle said to me on the river the other day, "someone forgot to invite these fish to the buffet."

George took top honors for the week with the salmon pictured above. After showing everyone else the Kenai and what the king fishing is all about he has now officially scaled the mountain. His brother Jerry still points out that his king in 2008 is still the largest amongst their family. The bottom photo is Linette proudly posing with a 60lb halibut that she caught with her husband Mike.

See you next week.

Kenai Opens To Bait

Strange days indeed.

In a matter of a couple of weeks the Kenai River went from catch & keep, to no fishing, to catch & release, to catch & keep, to opening up to bait. The Alaska Dept. of Fish & Game has decided that the Kenai River reached the optimum escapement goal and has liberalized the fishery to bait. Needless to say my head has been spinning trying to keep up with the changes.

So, the report.

Fishing was challenging this week with only a few kings boated. I have to give a shout out to Jim, Tina, Paul, and Chaquita for their perseverance. With wet and cold conditions and a slow bite they definitely kept a positive attitude day in and day out. That's Jim in the top photo and Paul is in the second one. The third photo is Jon and Nathan and the final photo is of George and Jerry with some nice red salmon taken at the Russian River.

Hard to say what the Kenai will hold this week but there's no doubt that the red salmon are in full swing on the Russian.

Pre Memorial Day Report

My group on Tuesday canceled and I was hoping to give a first hand report about the start of the run this year. So far my only reports have come from a few guys that have been out and they've described the bite as fair.

Today was my official first day and within the first hour Pat caught this beautiful 35lb female Kenai king. We caught it at Fall In Hole on an orange spin 'n glo. That was it for our action today. I spoke with a Fish and Game officer later in the morning and he told me he counted 14 boats on the river and 4 fish had been caught. Not a bad percentage considering the low counts on the sonar. What a great first group and a great first day and my egg curing season has officially begun!

I'll be guiding the next 3 days so expect another fishing report soon.

Release A Hog & Take Home A Trophy Program

The Kenai River is unique king salmon fishery. In terms of the size of the run it is not considered large, but the fish in the run are the largest in the world. Eight of the top ten king salmon caught on rod and reel have come off the Kenai. The crown jewel is Les Anderson's world record coming in at 97.4 lbs caught in 1985.

Over the past ten years the numbers of gigantic fish have decreased which has been of great concern to the sport fishing public. The oldest are the 5-year ocean fish and they typically account for 2-5% of the total return
The Kenai River Sportfish Association (KRSA) has acted on these concerns and created the Release A Hog program. KRSA will pay up to $800 for catching and releasing a 50" or longer Kenai River king salmon.

Here are the official rules for the Release A Hog program.

*participating king salmon must be caught between July 1st and July 31st only.
*Anglers must hold a valid fishing license.
*To qualify, angler must catch a release a trophy fish measuring 50" long or longer.
*An affidavit of the catch and release with the signature of the guide, the angler and one additional witness will be required.
*Fish will be verified with a photo of the fish in the net next to the yardstick in the water.
*The photo and affidavit must be delivered to KRSA office within 7 days of the date of the catch.
*A certificate will be awarded to the approved angler. Upon receiving a photo of the angler with his/her reproduction, and a copy of the paid taxidermist invoice, the angler will receive up to $800.
*Only one fish per year per angler can qualify for this program
*All guides and anglers must comply with ADGF&G regulations.
*Certificates expires 18 months after date of catch and release.

Pretty good deal. You get the thrill of fighting a Kenai king and you get to hang a replica on the wall for free or nearly free.

If you know me at all you know I can get side tracked and easily digress, so, allow me this moment to tell you a story about a potential Release A Hog. Nine years ago I was guiding a repeat client but instead of fishing with his family he decided to come with his college buddies. I explained to them the Release A Hog program and they all decided they wanted to be part of it if they caught a large king salmon. Fishing was slow but in the last half hour Don finally catches a fish. It was large, just over 50", and while it was in the net I asked him what he wanted to do. Without hesitatation he said, "BONK IT!" I get the fish in the boat, bonk it, and we take pictures and high fives are exchanged all around. Fifteen minutes later, after the adrenaline has subsided, Don asks how he can be part of the Release A Hog program. I told him it's called Release A Hog and not Bonk A Hog so if you want to get a replica made it will have to come out of his own pocket. The following year Don told me that he was caught up in the heat of the moment and he kept the fish because he wanted to be the top dog in his group of buddies. He's regretted that decision and in subsequent years has yet to catch another one over 50".

Ultimately it's up to you if you want to release a trophy salmon and I hold no ill will if you choose to keep it. But, there's no doubt that this is a great conservation program that allows more big fish to reach the spawning beds. Hundreds of anglers who have received replicas agree as well.

New World Record King Salmon Caught Today!

This article appeared in the Anchorage Daily News today.



New World Record King Salmon Caught Today.
by KEN GULBRANDSON (AP)
kgulbrandson@adn.com


With warm weather and early break-up this year, Soldotna angler John Ohlin thought it would be a great day to float the Kenai River in search of a king salmon. He was right.


Launching his driftboat at Centennial Park with co-angler Bob Morey, the two set out for a day on the water.


"I know it's April, but I had to give it a try," said Ohlin.


After a couple of hours of enjoying the scenery and watching Morey catch several jack salmon, Ohlin decided to anchor his driftboat in the Big Eddy hole. "I was using a chrome Wiggle Wart and hadn't any luck so when I anchored I switched to a chartreuse Lirpa Sloof. My lure wasn't in the water for more than a minute when the big fish hit."


After more than an hour fight and several drag screaming runs the leviathan finally came to the boat. Said Morey, "the fish was so huge and I'm not the best at netting fish, but after several swipes we finally got him in. I just wish John would have brought a bigger net."


The two immediately left the river and drove to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in Soldotna to have the giant salmon measured and weighed. Pending certificaton of the scale the salmon measured 59 1/2 inches long, with a girth of 37 inches. The unofficial weight is 99.2 breaking the previous record set in 1985 by nearly two pounds.


"I knew Les Anderson (current record holder) and he told me that it would be a matter of time before it would happen again" said Ohlin. " I know old Les is smiling down at me and telling me job well done."


A job well done indeed.

Kwikfish

If I had to choose one lure to fish for silver salmon and king salmon it would be Luhr-Jensen's Kwikfish. There is something irrestible about the slow wobble of a kwikfish to a salmon. I'm not sure if they think it's a food source (wrapping the bottom of the lure with a sardine greatly increases effectiveness) or if it's an irritant to them. Either way a kwikfish flat out catches fish.


There are several sizes of kwikfish and a huge selection of colors. The guys and guides that are in the know believe color is not as important as the wobble of the lure. Straight out of the box many kwikfish are out of balance and a small adjustment is needed to the eye hook. Either turning it left or right will "tune" your lure to run straight. The lure will also need to be "tuned" after a sardine wrap is applied, or after catching a fish or getting caught on a snag.


When it comes to guiding on the Kenai I've noticed that there a three types: plug fisherman (kwikfish and variations of them), egg fisherman, and a combination of both. I fall into the latter. If I'm fishing four people I'll have two kwikfish and two eggs out. I feel options are good and I'll let the salmon tell me if they want "steak or eggs" that particular day.


In my next post I'll discuss the names of the kwikfish. Believe me, there are some very, very interesting names.

Catch & Release Techniques 101

In Alaska, you can not remove a king salmon from the water if you intend to release the fish. If I know the fish is going to be released there are two things that go through my mind to make this as easy on the fish as possible. If I have to net the fish I'll reach for my rubber net. A rubber net is far superior to a standard mesh net when it comes to releasing a fish. Rubber is gentler on the fish and will rarely scratch scales,fins or bruise the nose of the fish. A better way to release a fish is not to net it all and use a needle nose pliers to remove the hook. If the hook is imbedded deep in the mouth, cutting the line as close to the hook is an acceptable alternative.

I know quite a few of my clients would love to take a king out of the water for a picture before a release but in all my years of fishing I've come to the conclusion that this is a law that is best for the fish. This practice of not removing a fish from the water has resulted in mortality rate on the Kenai of less than 10% (Bendix study).

One thing that I have yet to do is what I call the "Keeneye" king photo opportunity. This is a reference to one of the Kenai's biggest advocates of catch and release fishing and how he photographs his fish. The "Keeneye" when taking a photo will jump out of the boat in a shallow water area and cradle the fish in a half in the water, half out of the water pose. Beautiful, beautiful photographs. I would love to have a client catch and want to release a 90lb plus fish and I would gladly wade in the cold, glacier waters of the Kenai for a photo of a lifetime.

Now the question I have is this. Will 2010 be the year of the "Keeneye" king pose? Let's hope so.

Tight lines,

Keith

When Silvers Were King....Last Fishing Report of '09

My last trip of the year was on 9/26 and today I decided to take the boat out for the year. I asked Jane if she wanted to fish one last time and she didn't hesitate to say yes but it had to be at noon and it it could only be for an hour.
Perfect, I thought, because the tide would be coming in at about that time. We fished for about a half an hour and the first salmon bit my line. As Jane was reeling in a second salmon hit her line. A double. I landed Jane's fish first but we had trouble getting the hooks and the fish out of the net. So, thinking fast I decided to net my fish while Jane's fish was still in the net. What you see on floor of the boat was the result. We could have fished for another half hour but it didn't take us long to realize how perfect it would be to end the season right then and there. Wow, what a great way to say good bye to the Kenai for another year.

So, photo number 2 is Renae and Kevin who came back to fish one last time. Photo number 3 is Bill and Jason. Photo number 4 is Jason. And finally, photo number 5 is Bill and Jason. My hats off to Bill and Jason for sticking out during a couple of days of bad weather. One morning the thermometer read 24 degrees. It wasn't until 11:00 a.m. that the frost finally melted off of the boat seats. Another day it was blowing and raining very hard and they stuck it out like troopers. I guess it's growing up in North Dakota/Minnesota that has hardened them to all weather conditions. It doesn't hurt that the fishing wasn't too bad either.

This won't be our last post but it is the last fishing report. I titled this entry "When Silvers Were King" because '09 turned out to be an excellent silver year while the king fishing not as good as previous years.

It's time to winterize the boat and the cabins. As time permits we will be sure to give all of you an update.

Fishing Report Week Ending 8/09

The silvers are in!

The first week of August has been good for the soul. The silvers have been coming in steady and they have been more than willing to bite. In addition, we've been catching a few kings that were immediately released and quite a few rainbow and dolly varden trout.

My apologies to the Kennedy family for not having their pictures posted. The pictures you do see are of Dan and his grandson Alec, and Missouri Dave and Minnesota Dave.

It sure has been a fun week and the run of silver salmon should only get stronger.

Week Ending 7/31....King Season Is Done for '09

Wow. What a strange, strange king season.


The last week of the year the king numbers were down to 300-400 a day and the river was at flood stage. This made for difficult fishing but we managed to boat kings on a daily basis but not on every trip. Definitely a year for the record books but for the wrong reasons.


I apologize to the guys that do not have photos on this post. Turns out my camera was not working properly so many of you are not featured in this report. The lucky anglers pictured are Stan, Russ, Stan, and Pat.

The reds are still coming in strong and the fishing has been very good for them. In addition, the silvers are starting to show and we are even catching them off of our dock. Hopefully the silver season will be a "normal" one with lots of action for all.

Fishing Report Week Ending 7/26/09

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. The best because I'm guided a lot of friends but the worst because the king fishing was not as expected for this time of the year. As far as I can tell there were two factors that kept the catch rate down. The first was the low numbers of kings entering the river. The second is that the river is at flood stage due to rain in the mountains and the increased melting of the glaciers that feed into the Kenai. This has produced high and muddy water, a bad combination for fishing.

The few fish that were caught include Sarah, Dave, Ursula, and Adam. In addition, there is a photo from the halibut trip that Jane had taken with the Sporrer/Johnson/Dawson group. A definite positive this week is the red fishing with most groups limiting out daily. Also, the minus tides produced great clam digging for many of our guests.

Four days left in the king season. I hope mother nature will be kind..........

Week Ending 7/19/09

As you can see we are knee deep in the run of red and king salmon.


Overall, I would say the red fishing has been great and the king fishing has been good. At the beginning of the week I personally saw my largest king ever. It wasn't in my boat but landed in a boat next to me. The hawg of a king was measured, photographed, and released. It was 58 inches long and had a girth of 34 inches. It was conservatively estimated at 90.5 pounds. Conservation of large fish is often talked about by guides but until the moment hits you and it's hard to say how you will react. I was glad to see such a large fish released to once again help populate the mighty Kenai River.


Here's a recap of the photos. Photo one is Tim, Eli, Phil and I after a morning of dipnetting. Photo two is Joe Schnitzler with his first Kenai king. It took him four attempts to get his prize. Photo three is Ed Stamper and Daisy 3 Irons with a couple of dandy fish. Photo four is of Derek, Joe, Ed, Ron and Rick with their daily limit of red salmon. Photo five is Debbie and Jason with a pair of 50 pounders. Photo five is Collin with the quickest king to the boat this year (sitting in his seat without a rod by 6:11 am). Photo six is Phil and Don showing the success of their early morning trip.


Stay tuned, the fishing should only get better.