Fishing Report Week Ending 7/16/11

This past week has been the most consistent king bite on the Kenai. We've been working the tidal area from the Crossover to the Pasture on a daily basis. Most fish have been caught on a spin 'n glo with eggs with a few caught on kwikfish with a sardine wrap. Pictured above is Arne, Jim and Mike with their Super Tuesday limit of kings.

Here's Jeff and Christy releasing a nice Kenai king. This is one of three they caught and released on Saturday afternoon. They told me they would get all the red salmon they need in the week ahead and just wanted to catch and release. Good for them and long live the the kings!

Here's Joe, Butch, and Jigs of "Team St. Paul" posing after a successful afternoon of fishing

Mike Stacken bounced out a nice king early Saturday morning. Mike was definitely due to score first.

Wally and Lisa (visibly happy and pregnant) show off a "quitting time" fish. The two hadn't had a bite all afternoon and with less than 5 minutes left in the day this beauty hit.

I anticiapate the week ahead to be strong. We are definitely hitting the peak of the second run of kings.

One last comment, the red salmon have hit the river in huge numbers. Let the madness begin.

Fishing Report Week Ending 7/9/11

The fishing this past week was steady. The best bite was either in the morning or with the incoming and outgoing tide. Most of the fish caught in my boat have come at the Crossover or Mud Island. Pictured above is Bill and Terry with a couple of nice fish caught on a spin 'n glo with egg and a sardine wrapped kwikfish. I didn't post Terry's second fish but he is officially tagged out for the season. Not bad, two trips, two Kenai kings.Here's lovely Jane (my bride) with a nice king caught on Sunday. This fish fell victim to a chrome and chartreuse kwikfish. Jane managed to catch this fish on her second troll and it took plenty of muscle to get it to the net.

Here's Phil with his king. The last time I fished with Phil was a couple of years ago. He was proud to tell me that he's batting a thousand when fishing kings with me.

Here's picture of Nikki Crawford with the largest fish she has ever caught. Glad I could be a part of it.

Like Nikki, here's Everardo with the largest fish he has ever caught. Team Apple Valley one upped Team Woodbury but I have a sneaky suspicion that they'll all be back to try it again. I had a great afternoon fishing with these guys.

For the week ahead I expect the king bite to improve. And, for you red fisherman, a few reds are starting to show so it will be a matter of time before all mayhem breaks loose.

Tight lines!

Fishing Report Week Ending 7/2/11

The first part of last week the Kenai was closed to the use of bait. Inconsistent best described the fishing. One day there would be a decent bite and the next day was not so good. That all changed when the "no bait" restriction was removed on July 1st. There's no doubt the first day of bait was the best day of fishing to date. Many boats caught multiple king salmon. July 2nd was a good day as well but not quite as hot as the day before.

Pictured above is Tony Brown with a nice 48lb king salmon.

Here's a photo of Greg Maas with a 40lber. It only took him 4 misses before this one finally stayed on the hook.

In between the fishing action the wildlife viewing was great this past week. It's not often that I see a bull caribou on the river but it was as if this one wanted to get it's picture taken. We were in the middle of a troll and this one jumped in the river and swam right in front of our boat.

And, here's a bear track along the river bank next to our dock. That is as much as I want to see of a bear at 5:00 am.

Even though we are in between the first and second run of king salmon, for the week ahead I anticipate the bite to be consistent with a mix of small and large fish.

Fishing Report Week Ending 6/26/11

Fishing was fair this past week. There's no doubt that you had to put your time in to catch a king. Every day we landed a fish and some days we caught two. There's been no consistency with the bite. Some times it happened in the morning, sometimes during the afternoon. Other days it would be on the incoming tide and then the next it was the low tide. One day all the action would be on a spin 'n glo and the next it was kwikfish. A bit frustrating but at least everyone stayed interested until the very end.

One thing that has been nice is the size of the fish. The photo above is Kasey with a 50lb buck.

Here's Kasey's brother in law, Eric, with a nice 30lb hen.

Here's Judy struggling to lift a nice 30lb hen.

Finally, here's Karl with a 28lb buck.

This next week I anticipate the bite to be about the same. However, on July 1st the Kenai opens to bait and the action, whether trout or salmon, should be the best of the year.

One last thing. Charlene gets the "Atta Girl" award for spending three days in the boat without a bite. That hasn't deterred her in the least and she said she is coming back to do it all over again.

She Said Yes!

On Tuesday, June 21st, the summer solstice, a "first" happened in my boat. Eric Taylor and Holly Mower were fishing with me and during our backtroll near Eagle Rock Eric proposed to Holly. Eric, on one knee, gave Holly a ring and she said "Yes!" Here they are pictured above soon after the proposal. We were basking in the glow of what just happened and continued our troll down to Eagle Rock. I spied these two seagulls sitting on the rock watching our boat. I thought why not take a picture of these lovebirds to commemorate what just happened. Very nice symbolism of the finest kind.

Just after we pass Eagle Rock who do you think gets a bite? Holly of course. This bruiser weighed in at 45lbs and took about 20 minutes to land.

Could it get any better than this? Well, on the very next troll guess who else catches a king? Eric does. Being a gentleman, Eric doesn't want to upstage the bride to be so he catches one a little smaller. Pretty interesting that we were fishing for about 8 hours without a bite and just after the proposal was made and accepted we catch two kings.

Holy moly, what great luck. So, does anybody else want to increase their chances of catching a Kenai king? I'm just sayin'.........

Father's Day/Fishing Report 6/19/11

Happy Father's Day to all.

This is special fishing edition and tribute to fathers and sons. This past week I had the pleasure of fishing Joe and Rafael Schnitzler. These guys usually come up later in the year but made an early trip this season before Rafael begins his training in London with Deutsche Bank. We had a great day on Wednesday and these guys had their fish by 6:45 in the morning. Always a great time catching up with these two and I look forward to Joe's return visit in September.

Here's another father/son moment enjoyed in Alaska. Digging clams can be fun but cleaning clams is another thing. Several hours into cleaning I can't believe these guys are still smiling.

Here's Mark and Lori with their fish caught on Saturday. I had a great time with these two and I'm glad I could be part of their "trip of a lifetime." Biggest fish for both of them, ever! It was nice to get a limit on the 18th and continue the standard set by my good friend George French and his family......thanks as always, Dad.

On Thursday Jeremy caught this scrappy Kenai king.

.....and, his buddy Darin hoists one up as well.

All in all the fishing was fair this past week. Not everyone caught fish but most at least had a bite. Sorry Dan and Temeka Brom, and Dan Meyer. Great attitudes don't always mean fish in the box. Oh well, at least I know that you guys will have another opportunity to get even this year. Eric and Charlene, you guys get another chance on Tuesday.

What do I expect for next week? The tides are starting to ebb, this is good, so I expect the bite to be steady and show an improvement.

Only time will tell.

Fishing Report Week Ending 6/12

This past week was very interesting. Let me start out by thanking our neighbors, Mack and Carol Padgett, for sending me this photo of a momma moose and her newborn calf. They took this photo early in the morning as they headed out to fish for the day. I would have to say that Mack and Carol enjoy and utilize all that this river offers more than anyone I know. Life is good for Team Pabst... Anyway, on with the report.

Tuesday was perhaps the best day of the week for fishing based on the river wide reports that I received. Our boat had several opportunities but unfortunately could not land a king salmon. During the course of the trip we counted seven moose....a personal record for me! Scott and Holly said that if their friends ever ask them who is the best moose guide on the river they wouldn't hesitate to recommend me. Ha!

The rest of the week the fishing was so-so, in my boat, and the rest of the river. We managed to catch three and all were on the small side. They were released and the only photo taken was of the fish above.

I mentioned in the last report that I went out halibut fishing. I forgot to include a photo so here's one this week. Nothing large but oh-so tasty.

The water on the Kenai looks fantastic right now and the sonar counts have been strong. I have a full week of fishing ahead so naturally I like our chances.

Come back next week and I'll let you know how it went.