Water Clarity/Fishing Report June 5th

This past week the fishing on the Kenai was awful. I cancelled a few of my trips and the only two that I went on were with my good friend Todd and his parents Bob and Janet, and the other was with another good friend Tony and his daughters Sam and Sidney. Prior to coming I told them that the river color had turned muddy and that means poor fishing. They both said they were coming anyway and getting out was just as important as the actual fishing. Needless to say there are no fish pictures to share with you this week.

I'm often asked what does it mean when the river is muddy and off color? Hard to explain but these series of photos will show you exactly what I mean. In the top photo the river conditions are perfect for fishing. See how bright my prop is and the green/teal tinge to the water? The next photo you can see my prop but it's definitely a murky brown. At this stage the river is still fishable but not ideal.

This last photo is what I would call "mud" and this is when I'll cancel trips due to "poor conditions." In this photo the water is more gray than brown but the visibility is poor. Yeah, I know it's fishing but I have logged way too many hours on this river to know that catching a fish during this time is like hitting the lottery. I would sooner send people to the ocean or another river where conditions are better to fish. You should know I practice what I preach and on Monday four of my guide buddies and I went to Homer to fish halibut. We probably caught 70 fish, nothing larger than 30lbs, but had an absolute riot out there.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand....one thing about mud in the river is it doesn't take too long to flush through. Usually it takes only a few days. Today I'm glad to report that the river is clearing up nicely and I expect the fishing to improve dramatically this week.

Stay tuned.....

Will Jahrig

Big Willie. A Renaissance man. Larger than life. A man's man. Problem solver. It all applies to the guy sitting in the boat above and I can't say enough about him.

Will Jahrig may seem familiar to you. If you spent any amount of time at the cabins you've probably run into Will Jahrig and his wife Becky. They keep their boat on the dock and are out here fishing the river all summer long. Anyway, Jane and I were lucky enough to buy Beaver Creek Cabins from the Jahrig's nine years ago. From the dock to the cabins Will and Becky built this place from the ground up. They did a great job and we're both trying hard to continue their tradition.

So, the real purpose of this tribute is to show one of Will's many talents. He builds boats, paints them, and rigs them out. Last fall I was sitting in my boat on the dock and Will thought it was about time for my boat to be scrubbed up. It was definitely looking rough and it wasn't hard to persuade me to have it cleaned up for the 2011 season.

Here's a "before" shot of my boat stripped out and ready to be painted. Pretty ugly I must say.

Here's an "after" shot of the boat after Will got done with it.

And another shot of it from the side.

Every year I think about buying a new boat but it seems pointless when Will can make a Willie boat look brand new. I know cleaning it up once in awhile sure makes Jane and Peter (CPA and life advisor) happy. I know I am.

Thanks a lot big Will for fitting my boat in on your "off" time.

Memorial Day Weekend Fishing Report

Hope everyone is enjoying the long Memorial Day weekend. Make sure to take a moment to remember those who have served and those that we have lost.

I had a couple of trips this past week and I would say the fishing is starting to shape up nicely. On Wednesday I fished the Wynschenk family. What a great crew. The day started out with frost on the boat seats but by mid morning it was a gorgeous day on the water. We saw a moose, plenty of eagles but unfortunately not a king salmon. For about 10 seconds Alexa had one on but it just wasn't meant to be. It was the proverbial "fish that got away" day.

On Saturday I fished long time friends Grant and Jake Watts. Since I first started fishing with these guys Jake has grown about two feet. Jake has had quite a few king salmon on in the past and for some reason or another I haven't been able to net one for him. That changed on Saturday. Although not a huge king salmon for the Kenai it provided the first fresh salmon fillets for the Watts family (photo above).

The other report I have is for the Anchor river which is about an hour away from our cabins. You may recognize this guy from posts in the past or perhaps you recognize him from the hit TV series Alaska State Troopers, but my friend Dan Brom sent me two photos of king salmon that he caught this past week from the banks of the Anchor River. Nice, nice fish Dan and I look forward to fishing with you in a couple of weeks.

Dock Is In, Let The Fishing Begin.

The dock went in on May 17th and wouldn't you know it a moose stopped by to see what was going on. Actually, some of the best moose viewing happens in the spring. The first green vegetation of the year pops up on the Beaver Creek banks and after a winter of browsing on saplings and bark this area becomes a magnet for moose.

Moose aren't the only animals hanging around here in the spring. I took these caribou photos on May 16th. They too were attracted by the new vegetation, and by the looks of things, the warm sunshine.

Now back to more important things.....Through the grapevine I have heard of a few kings being caught on the river. This is good. I have a couple of trips scheduled this week so the first official on the water fishing report will follow soon. I can't wait.

One last thing, a shout out to my mother who came up for Mac's graduation last week. We all had a lot of fun and hated to see the week end so soon.

McKinley Taylor Holtan

For regular readers of this blog you know the topics can be boiled down to two: fishing and the Kenai Peninsula. Although most of these photos involve fish, bear with me as I brag a little about my son, McKinley.


On May 19th Mac will graduate from high school. Wow, where has the time gone? He is the class president and will graduate 10th in his class. He was accepted to several colleges outside of Alaska but has chosen to attend the University of Alaska Anchorage to study business. I think it's a good idea that he stays close. When he figures out the studying part of college, I'm all for it if he decides to transfer.

Here's Mac holding a silver salmon caught on the lower Kenai. You probably recognize this photo from the blog home page and from our website, http://www.beavercreekcabins.com/. At an early age he knew how to take a fish picture. Sun in your face, hold the fish away from your body, and smile!

Here's one of my favorite photos of Mac and me holding a northern pike that we caught in Minnesota in 1997. A few of the things that strike me about this photo are how blond Mac's hair is, how small he is, and where did all of my hair go? Sheesh, a lot can happen in fourteen years.

Mac, Jane and I congratulate you on all of your accomplishments, are proud of you always, and love you very much.

Kenai River Salvage Run 2011

Every spring I like to dust off my one man pontoon and float the river. It's a peaceful time of year and the only other watercraft I'll run into are other pontooners, canoers or kayakers. At the very most I have seen two other people when I've been out. The river is just too low for powerboaters. However, in the next week or two the river will begin to rise and when that happens the big boats will start to come out and play.People that float the Kenai in the spring usually do it to connect with nature. Yeah, that has little bit to do with it for me but the real reason is pictured above. I am proud to say I am a dumpster diver. Every spring when I get the itch I tell Jane I have go do my duty and clean up the river one anchor at a time. Lures are child's play and they're fun to find but the holy grail of Kenai scavenging is finding an anchor. As you can see, I found three this year. No pun intended but the King of scavenging is my buddy Jeff King. He mostly searches around his boat launch but has no need to go any further than that. With his trusty metal detector he's been able to fill half his garage with stuff other people have lost. He's found lots of tools, rod holders, oars, and one year found a 15hp Johnson outboard. The two keys to his success are location and the fact that he gets out before anyone else can. That is why I float the river. I have to get to spots that other people can't get to easily.

So, I thought I'd include a few photos of the "nature" part of the float. Above is a cormorant mid flight. Below is the ever present bald eagle.

If any of my Alaskan buddies want to join me in the future I'd be happy to have the company....and the extra set of eyes to scan for more treasures.

2011 Season Has Officially Begun

For the last two weeks Jane and I have been working feverishly on getting the cabins ready for the season. After repairing a burst pipe from improper winterization (that would be my fault), fixing a leaky faucet and toilet, I'm pleased to announce that we are now open for business.

About a week ago I snapped these photos of the icebergs in Beaver Creek. Since then we have had the right mixture of sunshine and rain and they have disappeared.

This Friday I plan to take a break from working on my boat (I'll blog about this adventure later)
and float the lower river in my one man pontoon. I'll be looking for fish but my main objective is to recover lost gear. It's always a fun time and you know I'll be bringing my camera along for the ride.