Oncorhynchus Gorbuscha*

Pink-A-Poolza.

While chasing silver salmon in the middle Kenai River last September, I came across this scene. In a backwater slough there were literally hundreds of dead, spawned out pink salmon entangled in a weed bed. With the teal green glacier silt water mixing with clear water, the encounter was surreal.

Here's a clear water pink spawning ground in the same stretch of river. I think Ketchikan artist Ray Troll said it best...."Spawn Till You Die".

I look forward to seeing all of their offspring in 2020...



*scientific name for pink salmon.





Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service

Jeff King: End of an Era

I first met Jeff King on May 19th, 1985. I'll never forget the date for two reasons: 1) it was when my father and I first fished the Kenai with Jeff, and 2) it was the beginning of a long fishing, working, big brother type of a relationship with one heck of a guy. I'm not overstating this, but Jeff's influence on where I am today can only be rivaled by my father. That's high praise.

It was five years ago Jeff said that 2018 would be his last year guiding on the Kenai. I told him I would like to hire him one more time, preferably his last day as a guide. I didn't want Jeff to forget this so I would remind him about this every year after he told me his retirement year. On September 15th I got a text that said, "last hurrah, Tuesday (9/18) 7am?" I told him that would work. I was both happy to be fishing with him, and sad to know that he would no longer be running up and down the the river in boat #003.

Well, how did it go? The photo above happened within 15 minutes of being on the water. Attitude makes a difference and it's a saying Jeff believes in and I do as well. I've fished with Jeff many, many times and I always felt like we were going to catch a fish. Sure, it didn't always happen, but I knew he was giving me his best effort. I mean, that's really all you can ask for from a professional guide, isn't it?

I've met a lot of people who have fished with Jeff and one of the comments I often hear is, well, ummm, the cleanliness of his pants.  A couple of years ago we had a group in the cabins and one of the guys last fished with Jeff over twenty years ago. When he saw Jeff after the long absence he noticed his fishing attire and asked if those were the same pants he had on when they first met. Jeff's answer....yup.

One thing that really stands out to me about his thirty six year career of guiding is the thousands of people he's introduced to the Kenai. His longevity and his approach to his profession has rightfully earned him a place at the table with Spence DeVito, Harry Gaines, and Bix Bonney. All are legends of the Kenai.

There are many things I enjoy about Jeff but one thing I've always admired has been his generosity in sharing his fishing knowledge with anglers. Whether you were a guide, a private angler, a bank angler at his boat launch, he always talked shop and would share "guide secrets". Here he is explaining to me the finer points of backtrolling. "You know, Grasshopper, you can be just inches away from putting a client on a fish of a lifetime."

Never truer words spoken...

It's been a heck of a ride Jeff and your daily presence on the water will be missed. But, I know you and your running partner, MP, still have a lot more gas in the tank and I wish the both of you happy trails. Alaska, Montana, Mexico, ?????...to quote the great Canadian philosopher, Neil Young, "Long May You Run"!







Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service

The Year of the Dock

Now, it's really over. When the dock comes out, our season is done.

There are a lot of things that I will remember about the 2018 season. Perhaps what I'll remember the most is the trouble I had putting the dock in the spring, and the trouble I had taking it out in the fall. I could see one day Jane and I reminiscing about seasons past and one of us would say, "remember the year we almost didn't get the dock in or out? That sucked. " 

The photo above is the "before" shot to show where the dock is stored for the winter. Tide comes up, the floating section is detached from the gang plank, and the dock is pushed onto the the flat, grassy area where it will rest until spring. In the past, I was always able to get the dock in and out with a minimum high tide of 22.7 feet. Not this year. I needed more water.

This is the "after" photo where the dock ended up when the tide started to drop. Even though it was stuck, I didn't hit the panic button just yet because the following day's tide was higher. Knowing that, did not keep me from wondering (for 24 hours) if that tide wasn't high enough, what then? My alternatives were not pretty.

Yes! Luckily, the 23.69 foot tide was high enough. As you can see, I had plenty of water to maneuver the dock to it's winter resting place.

I had a few small things to do to my boat after the dock was pulled and then the padlock went on the gate. The book is now closed on the 2018 season.

Sigh. I guess it's only seven short months until it's time to put the dock back in.......

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Kachemak Bay Bonanza

I got a call this past week from my friend Boo Kandas of Tall Tale Charters and was asked if Jane and I wanted to help him take his saltwater boat out for the season. For those of you not immersed in fishing slang, "taking out the boat" is code for one last fishing trip. Considering neither one of us has had the time to visit Homer, and that our freezer was devoid of halibut fillets, we couldn't say no to an offer like this.

We left the Homer dock at 8:00 am. A little bit of maritime fog greeted us, but it would soon give way to a sunny day.

As you can see, the seas were calm...a perfect day for a guy like me who isn't fond of waves. And the fishing, well, it was incredible.

I've always been told if you fish for halibut in the fall all you're going to catch are small ones. Last year was my first time fishing in the fall and Boo put us on a nice mess of fish. I thought maybe we just got lucky because, you know, you only get small halibut in the fall. This year the quality of fish was even better with the largest topping 100lbs. That's proof enough for me to know it's not about luck. It's about having the right captain who knows where to fish in the fall. 

Thanks again Boo, for a wonderful day, and for cleaning all the fish. I hope you call us again next year to help you take your boat out...






Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service

Fishing Report Week Ending 9/30/18

Moonset on the Kenai

The run is done.

And so is my 2018 guiding season.

If I haven't done so already, I would like to thank everyone who experienced the roller coaster of a fishing season with me. The fishing was just that....fishing. However, what remained constant were the great people that passed through my boat. I am very fortunate to do what I do and can't wait until the 2019 season arrives.

So, how was the last week of the season? One word describes it....cold. Not only the fishing, but the temperatures as well.

If you know of anyone who makes heated boat seats, I'd like their number...

Tuesday evening was my first trip of the week. It was for only a couple of hours. Tim, Gregg, Paul 1, Paul 2, and Matt ended up catching one silver salmon. Considering we only fished one spot for a short period of time, I figured our trip the next morning would be much better. It wasn't. That's Paul, Gregg, and Matt finishing up a quiet day on the water with no fish. Thanks guys, I enjoyed your company and conversations.

I couldn't let my day end like that so I called Dan and Mary Meyer to see if they wanted to help me find at least one fish (it's a blessing and a curse to be competitive). Mary came through with this beautiful silver.

My last trip of the year was scheduled on Friday with my my college buddy Dan and his daughter Katie. Since the lower river had been slow, I decided the best use of our time would be to fish further up river. I called my friend Boo for a middle river fishing report and he said it's been okay. He also said he didn't have a trip on Friday and would graciously take the three of us up there. How could I not pass up that offer? Well, what had been okay fishing definitely dropped off. At least Katie was able to find this fish. It didn't surprise me in the least.

Well, that's all folks. It's hard to type this, but this is it for the official 2018 fishing reports. It's now time to shut everything down and get ready for winter (gulp). It doesn't mean I still won't be fishing, though. I just won't be guiding. When I do get out again, I'll make sure to share my adventure.

See you next week.








Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service 

Fishing Report Week Ending 9/23/18

High water, due to a glacier dam burst at Skilak Lake, coupled with low fish numbers made for long days on the river. Sure, we found fish (except for a brief afternoon trip), but it was often hours between bites.

I started the week fishing Vernon, Remington, and Rick. Their real purpose for coming to Alaska was to do a remote black bear hunt. Lucky for me, just like three years ago, they were able to work in a fishing trip. Hey guys, it was great to talk about fishing, hunting, and all things Texas.

That trip was followed by a fun day on the water with Mary and Nancy. Jane, and neighbor Mary, were also on board too, but ducked out during this photo.

I ended the week fishing with Susan and Jim. We tried and tried to get the last fish to bite for Susan, but unfortunately we couldn't get it done. Oh well, even though you were short a fish you'll still have a nice pile of fillets to take back with you to Hawaii.

Of course, I couldn't post a fall fishing report without a photo of Jane. Her goal on this day was to catch enough fish for the canner. As you can see, she easily reached it.

Next week I have a handful of trips and sadly that will be it for the year. I know the water levels will be dropping, but I'm hoping the salmon numbers will start increasing. Come back next week to see if they did.




Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service

Fishing Report Week Ending 9/16/18

It really didn't feel like the second run hit it's peak last week. We caught fish everyday, but it took quite a bit of effort. It seemed like everyone was happy with their time on the water, but I truly expected a more sustained bite throughout the day. I guess the fish didn't get the memo that it's their time to come back to where they were born. Anyway, thanks everyone who fished with me. I really enjoyed the fishing and conversations.

On Tuesday Joe, Rollo, and Mike caught these silver salmon. 

On Wednesday Rollo and Mike caught these.

On Thursday, Mike, Rollo, Brittany, and Nick brought these nice silvers to the dock.

On Friday, it was Walter, Susan, Nick, and Brittany with this catch.

Saturday saw the most action of the week. That's Paul, Gayle, Nick and Brittany posing with their haul.

And on Sunday James, Katrina, Chase, and Gary each brought a fish to the boat. That was their goal and I was happy to help them reach it.

Thought I'd finish this post with a photo of our fall colors. We just finished perhaps two weeks of the finest September weather ever in Southcentral Alaska. Highs near 70 and barely a cloud in the sky. However, it all changed today and we're back to a normal rainy weather pattern. Maybe the rain will help bring in the silvers. Maybe not. Come back next week to find out if it did.




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