Fishing Report Week Ending 10/25/15

And the beat goes on......

So I get a text Tuesday morning from Brad Adams. He asked if I wanted to go fishing in the afternoon. I texted him back and said, "how about now?"  It was game on.

  

The old fisherman's proverb of "you never leave fish to find fish" held true on this day.  We went right back to where we were fishing last week and in just over an hour we caught our six fish limit. How good was the bite you ask?  Well, the fish above Brad caught on his first cast.  I wasn't as fortunate.  It took me about ten casts before I caught my first silver.

Here's my buddy, Buddy happily posing with our catch of the day. Buddy is Brad's 11 month old yellow lab. It's a terrific dog in the boat and I'm beginning to rethink whether I should have a Buddy as well.....

I think this trip was it for the year, but I haven't officially closed out the 2015 fishing season just yet. Come back next week to see for sure.

Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service

Fishing Report Week Ending 10/18/15

It ain't over until it's over.  For this past week, it definitely wasn't over.

I got a text Thursday morning from my friend Brad Adams asking if I wanted to go fish the middle Kenai river with him. Brad is a former Kenai guide extraordinaire who left the river for a career as a bush pilot.  Because of that he doesn't get to fish like he use to.  He told me his goal was to get a few silvers for the freezer and I said I would be happy to help him.

Mission accomplished.  In two hours of casting kwikfish, we kept 6 nice silver salmon.

Friday morning I get another text from Brad asking if I wanted to go fishing again.  Now he said he'd like to get a few silvers for the smoker.  In an hour we landed these six silvers.  Thanks Brad, glad I could help you sock away a few fish for the winter.

While I was fishing with Brad on Friday, I got a text message from my old pal Jeff Raisanen.  He keeps a boat in Homer and wanted to king fish on Saturday.  His problem was he was coming with his 2 year old son, Ross, and he needed another adult on board.  Why not?   Within the first ten minutes of trolling around the Homer Spit, Jeff lands this nice feeder king.

About ten minutes after our first fish this 28lb king slammed the lure.  It was by far the largest feeder king that either Jeff or I have ever seen.

It was a great day and the bite was continuous.  A 2 fish limit for everyone!

The icing on the cake was that one of the kings was a white king. From the reports I've been hearing, there's been more and more white kings showing up in Kachemak Bay this year.  Many people think they're a delicacy, while others say they're no different than a "normal" king. The way I see it, it's a win/win situation no matter what.

For the week ahead, unless I get a bunch of texts from guys who haven't winterized their boats, I suspect the only fishing I may do is from the bank of a river.  Kenai, Kasilof, Anchor?   There are definitely choices available.

See you next week.



Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service

Fishing Report Week Ending 10/11/15

Rats.

I didn't get out fishing this past week.  I winterized the last cabin and I decided to winterize both boats as well. From here on out the only fishing I'll be doing is from the bank.  Hmmm, I've heard a few good reports about steelhead on the Anchor River......

Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service

Fishing Report Week Ending 10/4/15

"He's baaack!"  And, my second line is "they're still heeere!"  And what I mean by "they" are silver salmon.

Had a hunch that Dan Meyer would make it back to Alaska for a third time this year.  My only doubt was whether Mary would make it as well.  She couldn't so Dan either fished with me or he fished on his own this week. It didn't matter where he was at: he caught fish every day.

The first day we went out on the lower river the water was rising.  It still had reasonable "Kenai" color so the fishing wasn't too bad.  Three fish came to the boat.

The second day the water was muddy and the bite shut down.  We managed to get one silver in a few hours on the water.

When the Kenai River muddies up, the majority of the mud comes from the Killey River.  I talked to my friend Boo, who was fishing the Kenai above the Killey this week, and he said the water was great and the silver fishing was excellent.   He said he had room the next day and invited us to come along.  I'm glad we did. The five of us, which included Boo, Brad, and Darryl, got our limit of fresh silver salmon.  Pure alchemy.

It wasn't all about fishing this past week. The ceremonial ending of my guiding season took place Wednesday night when we took the dock out.  Here's my capable helpers, Dan and Jane, suited up and waiting for the tide to rise.

It's always sad when the dock is sitting on the grass for the winter. Oh well, I have to remind myself that May is only seven short months away.

The week ahead I'll be winterizing the last cabin.  I will also winterize one of my boats.  I can't quite put away both of them because the fishing is still pretty good and I'd like to get out at least one more time. Make sure to come back to the blog next week to see if I've used my boat again.




Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service

Fishing Report Week Ending 9/27/15

It was a cold week.  In fact, it was cold enough for me to decide to winterize three of our four cabins. But the temperatures weren't so bad to stop me from going fishing. I managed to get out a couple of times on the lower Kenai River and also spent a day fishing the middle Kenai River with my friend Boo.

Did I mention it was cold out?  Here's a photo of my truck gauge on the way to the boat launch.

A beautiful morning at Bing's Landing (middle Kenai River).

The first hour of the day, the temperatures were below freezing and the fish were not cooperating. But, after the temperature warmed up so did the action. Here's Boo with the first silver of the day.

It took me awhile to get on the silvers but I was okay with that. The rainbow trout had a tough time staying away from my gear and I ended up catching four of the biggest rainbow trout of my life.

The largest of the trout all measured between 27"-29".  This was a day I'll never forget.

All in all, the fishing was very good on this day.  We ended up releasing a few silvers and keeping five.

Besides fishing the middle Kenai River, Jane and I did get out on the lower river a couple of times this past week.  The days we were out the bite had been inconsistent.  This is a sign that we are on the backside of the second run.

So, what's going on for the week ahead? Besides pulling the dock out, Dan Meyer is coming back up and he said he wants to do some more fishing.  I guess the winterizing of my boat will have to wait a little bit longer.

See you next week.



Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service

Fishing Report Week Ending 9/20/15

I love September on the Kenai River. Specifically, mid to late September is one of my favorite times to be on the water.  Reason number one: there are only a handful of boats out so there's no reason to go out at O'dark thirty to get "your spot".  Reason number two: even though the weather might be a little nastier this time of year, the catching sure makes up for it.  And finally, reason number three:  I get to spend time with my favorite fishing partner and wife, Jane.

I started the week fishing Colton, Eric, and John (pictured above). Eric received a brand new GLoomis rod and XtraTuf boots for his birthday and I was happy to help him break them in.

The next day I sat in the rain with DJ, Tim, Todd, and Steve.  Tim told me it was five years ago we last fished together and he said he's not going to wait that long again.  I hope not.  My memory isn't quite like it use to be...

Here's Jane holding the largest silver of the year so far.  It was 18lbs. What I like about this photo is there is not a single boat in the background.  Pure Kenai magic.

Jane turned the tables on me the next day and said I had to post a photo of me with our fish. There, satisfied?

We went out the next day for a couple of hours and naturally Jane caught her limit.

Same thing the next day, except one of those fish was not so smart and bit my line. It's the little one in the middle.

I ended the week spending a couple of hours in the afternoon with my friends, the Crawford's.  That's Nikki, Chase, and Gary.  Always fun to spend time with these guys.

Next week I expect the fishing to be steady.  The pattern has been either a fish or a bite every 20 minutes or so.  I do not have any days booked with clients, but I plan on being out their for a couple of hours each day.  It's a sad time of year for me because it's starting to wind down fast.  The fish will be gone before too long and the snow will be arriving soon.  On the bright side, that means ice fishing is just around the corner!

See you next week for an up to date report.



Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service

Fishing Report Week Ending 9/13/15

It was another good week of silver fishing.  Some days fast and furious, other days we had to put our time in.   Here's Matt, Marc, and Bryon with their limit.  This is the fourth time Matt has fished silvers with me and he's always got his limit (and he's been the first to do it every time).  I told him don't tell everyone that's the way the Kenai is because not everyone does that. Anyway, great fishing, great stories, and we were all back in time for an early lunch.

Since Dan and Mary Meyer cut their vacation short, I had a couple of days off which allowed me to catch up on a number of things I've had to postpone this summer.  Namely, sleep. As a fairly rested guide I participated in Senator Lisa Murkowski's Womens Classic on Friday and Saturday.  It's always a pleasure to be part of this event.

The "swag bag" that the women get for this event is always the best. Pink rain coats, and life jackets were just a couple of things that the participants received.

This is Gina holding her first Kenai salmon.  Talk about a small world. Gina and I both attended the University of Alaska Fairbanks at the same time.  We actually had a few classes together. Neither of us has changed in over 30 years!

The ladies know how to do it up right. Moose's Loose donuts, a variety of snacks, and Orange Mimosa's were flowing freely.  By the way, that's a 6 pack of champagne on the side storage tray. Also, take a look at the rubber boots that Laurie wore (on the right). Those are a cheetah print cowgirl rubber boots.  I'll say this about the Women's Classic, for all the years I've been involved with this event, fishing has been the least important part of fishing. For them, it's all about the camaraderie on the Kenai River.

Yesterday evening I was able to take out Eric Taylor's son Colton, and Eric's cousin, John. Eric was aboard as well but unfortunately he wasn't able to catch one and decided he wouldn't be in the picture. John, you may remember from one of my reports back in July, caught a very nice king salmon.  He told me he's still shaking when he thinks about that fish.

Today, Roma and Roger were able to scratch out a limit of silvers. Always fun to put people on their first Alaska salmon. How about that hat Roma is wearing?  Classic.

Next week my fishing calendar is light.  I have a few trips, but when I'm not guiding I plan to be out there with Jane. Not sure what I'll find but ADFG says the middle of September is the peak of the second run.  Come back to this site next week to see if they're correct.




Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service