Fishing Report Week Ending 6/13

So, if you notice there are no fish pictures posted on this entry. I wish it was because I left my camera in my rod shed but it was because there were no fish to take pictures of. Last week could best be characterized as "...it was the best of times, it was the worst of times." It was the best because I had great people in my boat and it was the worst because the "catching" was awful. The sonar counts were great, so that wasn't the issue. The problem was the muddy water and when that happens catching fish is difficult. On several days we saw more moose than we saw salmon netted.

I'd like to thank Mike and Amber for sticking it out for several days. I would also like to thank Althea, Duane, Tim, Judy, Ron, Sue, Keith, Bud and Betty for their perseverance as well.

On a positive note, the Kenai has been clearing up everyday and the likelihood of the use of bait is just around the corner. Also, the Russian River opened for red salmon fishing on 6/11 and all reports have been outstanding. I may have to check out for myself.

June 4th report--2/2 Thursday

Today I fished Kevin and Christopher Dens from the town that Jane and I grew up in, Brainerd, Minnesota. I never met them before but today was a great introduction.


We started out at Airplane Hole and on the first troll Kevin caught a nice 25 lb king. After working our way down the river to Eagle Rock Christopher was next and landed a beautiful 24 1/2 lb king. Dad's fish weighed more but Christopher's was longer so they both have bragging rights. For me, hearing from both of them that "this is the biggest fish I have ever caught" absolutely made my day.

Good luck at the U of M Christopher and "Go Gophers!"

June King

So, here is the first king caught in June. Team Texas consisting of Zach (pictured), Tim, and Dana patiently put a day in to land this fish. Not the largest fish but it certainly was a good fighter. Zach was hoping to bring some fillets back to Texas but instead decided to barbecue this fish for dinner. Hard to beat a fresh salmon right out of the water.

The early run of king salmon is starting to shape up. Yesterday 205 salmon came through the sonar and the cumulative run since May 16th is 2,117. It's a safe bet that the Department of Fish an Game will be able to meet their escapement goal which means the river will open to bait soon. Hard to say exactly when that will happen but when it does the catching should improve considerably.

Stay tuned....

p.s. to Robert Allen, this fish was caught 50 feet from where you caught your fish last year.

Halibut, Cod, but no Kings

Yesterday was exciting time to be fishing in Cook Inlet. I went out with some friends and it was one of the best days that I've had fishing for halibut. We caught at least 60 halibut......each! Needless to say my whole body hurts.

We started out trolling for kings but had no luck. We switched over to halibut and after a couple of moves we found the honey spot about 30 miles out from Homer. There were times that the halibut were in so thick that my jig never found the bottom. The largest was about 50lbs but on average they were 15-20lbs. I've caught larger fish but this by far was the most action that I've seen for a whole boat.

So the fishing was great, the camaraderie as well, but the best part of the trip was the ocean was completely FLAT the whole time (check out the water in picture above). I, for one, am prone to being seasick and this was a welcome relief.

So here's an update on the Kenai for salmon fishing. The sonar count has been picking up as of late. Yesterday 79 kings passed through the counter. The trend has been up so hopefully the bite will pick up over the weekend.

For all of you fishing over the weekend, good luck. Otherwise have a safe Memorial weekend.

So You Want To Be a Kenai River Guide?

I just finished my licensing for 2009 so I'm all legal and ready to go. Here's a list of all the licenses/certificates needed to be a fishing guide on the Kenai River.

*Coast Guard captain's license
*first aid card
*cpr card
*Transit Worker Identification Card (TWIC, fingerprinted and registered with Homeland Security)
*enrollment in a random drug testing program
*liability insurance
*commercially registered boat
*commercially registered trailer
*commercially registered vehicle
*state business license
*state registration/licensing for "fishing guide"
*completion of 40 hrs of class work at Kenai Peninsula College/Kenai River Guide Academy
*sales tax account with the Kenai Borough
*registration with Alaska State Parks, Kenai River Special Management Area
*fishing license


Everything listed above, except the sales tax account, have fees attached to them. And, despite all this, the guys that do this year in and year out do it because they love it.


That would still be me.

Sports Authority/Pro Cure

Just a heads up to all my Alaska friends. This Saturday, May 9th, I will be at the grand opening of the Sports Authority in Anchorage from 10:00am until 2:00pm. I am part of Pro Cure's Pro Staff and they asked if I could be there to help represent their product.


Stop by and say hello. I promise I won't go on and on about the new UV enhancement to their egg cures.....

2009 Season is Officially Here

Hello to everyone. We hope you had a good winter and are looking forward to spring and summer. I know we are.

It was an uneventful "opening" of the cabins this year. I'm grateful for that because our first guests of the year are coming in today. The first fishing report will be coming later as our guests are staying but not fishing. It is a little bit early for the river although rumor has it that a king was landed the other day.

The unofficial opening of the season occurred last night. Hobo Jim played his first show of the year at BJ's. Jane and I always like to see his first show of the year to get his take on the world. Hobo announced that after he was subpoenaed for the Ted Stevens trial he wasn't going to talk politics. That lasted until his 4th drink!!! As always, a fantastic show and a great ambassador for the state of Alaska.

It's good to be back and we look forward to sharing Alaska with you.