whipped! But I am back and it is TIME to fish! the tough thing is the time of year. We will be in search of that elusive first
SAFE ice. Last year we were ice fishing on October 31, and two years ago it was November 7th.
Now make sure that if you venture out on the ice you go with a partner and some safety precautions. A life jacket isn't a bad
idea, and you should have a rope to pull someone out with. Of course the idea is that if it is that marginal you shouldn't be on
the ice in the first place. now having said that, it always amazes me how strong ice is. I feel safe on a solid clear two inches
of ice. but if its two inches where you tested it, it could easily be one half inch a couple of feet over. JUST BE CAREFUL!
So I am going to to go look. BE SAFE!!!!! I can't say it enough. BUT LET THE FUN BEGIN! Dang I love the winters
here!
she wanted to do and she wanted to go see if we couldn't catch a different species.
Seeing as she likes to take pictures, I thought the grayling would be a good candidate.
After visiting one stream and finding salmon but no trout or grayling we eventually
worked our way to another area where a stream joins the Big-su. The water level is
pretty low when compared to the salmon season. But we tossed #1brass vibrax and
#2 chrome vibrax spinners. Not hot action but we managed 3 beautiful grayling of
about 16 inches and 5 rainbow trout. They average about 18 to 20 inches but we
caught one monster that had to be 25 inches and 4 pounds if not more. The big
rainbow battled like crazy nearly spooling her ultralight rig with 6 pound test on a
couple of occasions. It didn't leap much but that's okay all the other trout we hooked
looked like they were on a trampoline! It was awesome. We releaed all of the fish. I
wish we had a picture of the big one but here's picture of the 20 plus inch fish!We got
to the stream late and the best time was definitely as the sun was going down. I may
have to try this one more time before it freezes up!
hadn't done yet, we decided to take a canoe to a small Mat-Su Valley Lake and try to find a few more rainbows and Dollies.
This time year is typically hot for trout as they go on a feeding binge in preparation for the winter time. We did relatively well
trolling various hardware. The best spinner was a brass blade black body panther martin spinner. I did the best using a 2
inch long Yo-Zuri pin minnow. Doug being the kind of guy that changes his lure every other minute caught them on virtually
everything he threw out there. Looking at my logs we have maybe 2 to 3 more weekends before the ice starts forming on the
lakes. Its a gret time to get out and hammer a few. We were fishing a stocked lake and kept a few in the 12 to 16 inch range
and fried them up when we got back. They were pretty TASTY!
rainbow fishing. Much better day! Went and fished by the canoe landing in sterling and managed to constantly hammer
rainbows from 8 to 16 inches all day long. Single eggs under a bobber did the trick. pieces of nightcrawler worked pretty
well too. The trick is definitely to use a bobber since the grass makes it tough to fish any other way. Nothing huge but with
ultralight tackle it was a blast! In typical rainbow fashion, they would jump as soon as you hooked them. fishing with
ultralight tackle also made hooking the occasional silver a blast! They were dark red and didn't have too much fight to them
but an 8 pound fish on 4 pound ultralight is always fun!
on Saturday to Big Lake. With the weather getting colder, you would think the rainbows would just be on
a feeding binge fattening up for the winter. Well that's the way it always seem to be this time of year.
Well not on Saturday. The three of us trolled around in 5 to 20 feet of water ALL day long and we had
one rainbow to show for it! I have no idea what the problem was. We didn't see any fish on the sonar
and we certainly didn't see any fish on the end of our lines. We tried everything from spinners, to spoons ,
to earthworms on a spinner harness. At the very end it was a yo-zuri pin minnow (an expensive version of
the rapala) that ended up getting the one fish of the day. I may try it one more time but it'll be hard to drag
myself out there considering how bad the situation was. I don't mind not catching fish, but it was pretty
lame fishing! Hmmm....what to do???
would be using. Fred is Native Alaskan and has access to polar bear fur. Now before anyone goes ballistic, let me tell you
that these bear skins are sitting in coolers around Alaska basically going to waste because there is no market for them. They
are harvested for subsistence purposes strictly in accordance with subsistence laws. Now having said that, I looked at the
flies and there is an incredible shine that almost makes the fur look artificial. They make some GREAT looking flies. In the
sun and under the water, the white becomes a combination of almost iridescent colors.
So after watching Fred tie up a variety of patterns, off we head to Deep Creek to see if we couldn't find a few steelhead or
silvers that might be interested. It was kinda rainy and miserable but you could see the fish in the water. Mainly silvers and
pinks but a few fish looked like steelhead. The silvers were about half turning color with the other half still mint bright fresh
out of the ocean. It too a while to get the hang of things, I haven't used a flyrod with flyline in years. Many of you know my
favorite rod is a flyrod for salmon, but I rarely cast a flyline with it. I prefer straight mono with a bit of weight in the fast
flowing Alaska streams.
with fly line on it for a while, I would lose all of the fish as I tried to get excess flyline off the water and back onto the reel. Still
with perseverance I land a nice hen silver and a nice pink salmon. It was awesome! I can't wait to try these flies out
elsewhere. The only problem is they are hard to get. In fact, Fred was just being nice and gave me a few. These flies retail
as gift items for $20 to $25 dollars a piece. They make great gifts but I'm not sure I can afford $25 everytime I snag up!!!!
Still they worked great. I'm trying to pry out of Fred a few of the flies in case any one out there would like them. he is putting
on the finishing touches to his home page and I'll have the address for all of you in the near future. What a cool experience,
fishing on a stream for Silvers and steelhead, nobody around using flies tied with polar bear hair. Have I ever said "I LOVE
THIS PLACE" What an unique experience! I hope Fred invites me back!!! Oh yeah, not only can Fred tie flies, but he is
dang good at cutting hair. I look more civilized now that he helped lop off the excess growth on top of my head. THANKS
Fred!
Creek, we decide to throw anchor and try our hand at halibut. Though Bob had caught a few fish two weeks prior, we both
knew that the halibut were starting to move further off shore. Still we hoped to be able to pick up a chicken or two. Well the
action was slow! With the small tides we were able to fish for most of the day using 2 pounds of lead. We had absolutely no
action until the tide slackened up. Then all of the sudden Bob's rod doubles over and the battle is on. Oooooh it's a good
fish! It rips out line and Bob is huffing and puffing as the we "see color." Looks big, looks brown, looks flat, looks like
uh...skate??? Wow it was a monster skate that had to go at least 70 pounds. It was massive! We repeat the episode twice
more, once for me and one more time for Bob. Both times we pull up some monster skated in excess of 50 pounds. great
battle but not worth keeping so we cut the line and let them go. Finally Bob hooks up to a fish acting much smaller and a bit
different but it gets off before we can do anything. Hmmm...I guess the halibut fishing is over for the small boats off of Deep
Creek. I have heard that further south if you can find some kelp beds and structure you can pick off the occasional halibut for
a bit longer.
anything. We got off to a late start at around 5 pm. Well it was slow. During the first 30 minutes we hook up to two nice
fish, but lose them both. Well at least they are biting today...we thought...no, they were biting those 30 minutes because it
took us forever to catch another fish. I got skunked, Douggie caught a nice 6 pound silver and a trout, and his friend did the
best landing a couple of nice rainbows. It should only get better but that sure was disappointing! Well ya gotta have your
bad days to appreciate your good days!
Alaska! We left early at 3:30am so we could fish all day.
As we were driving out, we saw a spectacular display of
the northern lights! It was a full 180 degrees around us!
At any rate, the fishing...
catch fish. Well we both opt to cover as much water as possible so we put on some big spoons. After about 3 hours of
casting I finally nail one on the first cast after tipping my spoon with a small piece of herring. As my arm was about to fall off
from all the casting, I decided to be lazy and fish herring under a bobber. First being lazy, I snap on one of those stupid big
red & white round bobbers. Why I had one, I don't know. But at any rate, they have to be pretty big floats since you need a
bit of weight to cast your rig with herring on it without tearing into the fish. So as I rig the cheapo float, I notice its a "really
cheap" cheap bobber. So I wrapped the line once to keep it from sliding around because the springs were pathetically
weak. WHAT WAS I THINKING?? Of course I hook a fish to only have the line snap instantly. BAM, BAM,
BAM...that's me pummeling my head into my desk for being so stupid! So I dig and dig and dig through my car and I find
what I am looking for, a large slip bobber I used for Pike. Its amazing how much fishing gear a fully loaded truck can haul.
Other people have "Plano" tackle boxes, mine is my truck....
A slip bobber is a must for this type of fishing!!!!! Its infinitely easier to cast, you can adjust the depth to 30 feet or more (try
casting THAT with those stupid red bobbers), and they offered MUCH less resistance when the fish took the bait. Since I
got the hit on the snap on bobber with only 4 feet of leader, I adjust the slip sinker relatively shallow at about 8 feet. Well in
the next two hours, I caught three mint bright silvers! Too Awesome!
My guest didn't catch a silver, but he did manage several species of rockfish, a greenling, and a bunch of miniature ling cod
(got to let them go in Resurrection Bay!). The rockfish and greenling were pretty tasty fish though! Other highlights included
watching a couple of sea lions toss salmon around while feeding. they would grab the fish and flip it 10 to 15 feet in the air as
the tries to break off pieces to swallow. Entertaining but I'm sure the silvers left the area for a while during all the commotion!
On Monday I head back but it was just too windy. There was surface chop and the wind was blowing at you which made
casting next to impossible. I got a lot of small strikes but none that would take the bobber all the way down. I wonder what
they were? I noticed a few small "salmon like" fish jumping around about 12 inches long though. I did not get skunked as I
caught two mint bright pinks on herring after the wind died down a bit. Still it was fun. I'll be back sometime again for sure
tag a long. What a great couple of days. First we got to my favorite small stream fishing hole and just
HAMMER silvers. We easily caught our two fish limit. Spinners and bobber and roe did the trick. On
Monday we head back and repeat the same thing. The silvers may be dwindling in Bird and Ship Creek,
but I know a few of the streams on the Kenai Peninsula are still LOADED with silvers. I had another
report from another fishing buddy that he hit another small stream on the Kenai Peninsula and caught over
20 silvers on a fly rod! We also saw another Black Bear at this fishing hole. Some guys were chasing it
away and firing a gun around it. That kinda pissed me off. They said it had acted aggressive toward a
camper but when I saw the bear, 4 or 5 photographers were chasing it down the bank. Didn't seem that
aggressive to me and if there were that many people around, I think it was all BS and a case of
testosterone idiocy if you ask me. But I wasn't at the actual campsite so maybe it was. But if the bear is
already departing, why shoot at it? Especially since these morons were coming awful close to the bear.
The way the photographers were hassling the bear, I'm surprised it didn't turn around and maul them.
Idiots....
Okay, more fishing. On Tuesday, we hit the Kenai River to see of we couldn't find a few silvers. As I
am running up a small slough, I hear whap, whap, whap...for a 25 yard stretch....huh? I know I am not
bottoming out, so I look around and behind me I see a bazillion pinks going berserk on top. WOW! I
have never seen such a concentration of pinks in one place on the Kenai River. We tried for silvers and
just couldn't keep the pinks off the line. So we switched over to our ultralight tackle and we hammered
pink after pink. It was AWSOME. Pinks get a bad rap but that's because everyone fishes them on their
regular salmon rod. Go down to 6 pound line and give it a try on ultralight gear....it's a blast. Of course
its even more fun when the occasional silver slams your lure. We had two on but couldn't land them.
The line didn't break, the hooks just popped free. Oh well...... There were so many fish in the water
that we saw a lot of eagles and we even saw a big seal up by Eagle Rock. We also saw a nice bull
moose. Couldn't tell if it had 3 tines or not but we weren't hunting so it was safe! Truly an Alaskan
adventure for my guest!
I guess there is still a week or two of silver fishing left. May have to keep at it! Man my hands are all
torn up from releasing at least 50 pinks! I guess I shouldn't whine about being able to catch and release
so many fish! You gotta love this place!!!
embarrassing story as short as possible, she manages to hammer two more nice silvers with the largest going well over 12
pounds. The big silver was already turning colors with a massive hook nose. A great picture, but we let it go! Still she
manages her two fish limit keeping some nice fish. All three were caught on a red and silver pixie on 8 pound trilene xl, on a
G Loomis ultralight outfit. It was a major battle to get every fish in! She did a great job!! Just to make sure no one thinks I
got skunked, she let me use the ultralight and I managed a pink salmon. Yipee!
One thing I noticed was that most of the silvers I saw hitting spoons were hitting them right at the bank. They must follow the
lure in and whack it when they start running out of space. Keep the retrieve going all the way into the shore line. It was
awesome watching fish strike lures in 1 foot of water with two feet of line dangling from the tip of the rod. Conversely, I was
amazed that I didn't see anyone break a rod tip when the fish hit so close.
my urban fishing buddies are hammering fish out of Bird Creek and Ship Creek. I think the urban fishery will start to die off
here but silvers will be available through the month of September.
Does anyone know why they would close the silver salmon season on the Kenai River in October??? The late silvers in the
Kenai are AWESOME fish. They look fight and taste different then the silvers we see in August and early September. they
are usually twice as big. I'd go fish them even if the limit was one fish!
The streams up north appear to remain productive. I am hearing more trout being caught in streams like Montana & Willow
Creeks. I've heard there were a few bears around the streams so go with a group and make lots of noise. for the most part
the bears will act much like the one I encountered a couple of weeks ago. They tend to be more scared of you then you are
of them...if you can believe that! Still if you plan on walking through thick brush, carry some pepper spray and always let
other people know where you are going and when you will be back.
and slow. Despite being able to see hundreds of pinks, we couldn't get them to hit anything. Its pretty typical, without
current, the fish seem to be very passive. One of guests manages to hammer a nice silver on a #5 fire tiger vibrax before we
leave and we manage to hook maybe 3 pinks in 2 hours. next stop was Sheep Creek. Bingo! Pink after pink after pink. It
was a blast! Mix in the occasional 15 pound chum and you have some excitement. I even manage to pull one nice silver out
of the creek with a pixie. It was actually pretty cool, I was simply ripping the lure in as I thought I was done with the cast
and as I was picking the lure out of the water, the silver just came out of nowhere and smashed it! Too cool. I saw it all and
it was literally two feet from my feet. Awesome.
As the paper was saying this is a GREAT time to get out with the family. Pinks are out in force and they are the perfect fish
to introduce them to salmon. Lots of places to go. up North, Hope, the Kenai Peninsula. Not to be the bearer of bad
news, but we have August and September for silvers, then October for trout and if you check my logs from last year, we
were ICE fishing October 31!!! Still a bit early to sharpen the ol'Auger blades....but it's not too far off!
to land over 20 silvers. Most of them came in a short 30 minute flurry. I usually don't catch release silvers because the higher
mortality rate, but I was careful as possible to release them unharmed. The ticket was roe and bobber and I made sure to
set the hook early so they wouldn't swallow the bait! I also had a close bear encounter! The distance was about 10 yards,
both the bear and I froze as I rounded the corner and came face to face. After getting my wits about me, I screamed at the
bear and it took off in the other direction. Whew! You gotta love Alaska's wilderness...but you also gotta respect as well!
okay! HUH? Well I had some bigger fish to fry this vacation. I remember in my logs a year or two ago about how fortunate
I was to not have any responsibilities other than my own. Lemmee see...oh yeah, you can find the statement I made here in
my logs of 5/24/99. Well I guess that will be coming to an end. Can you believe it, I got engaged! Her name is Aki and she's
great! I hope it all works out. What can I say? She loves to fish! That's good enough for me! Still no one here wants to
read about my personal life, the topic of the day, on this site is still FISHING!!!!! Click on the pix for a bigger JPEG image!
Fortunately for all of you, a couple of my frat brother's happened to be in town during this week as well so they caught plenty
of fish. I thought mixing my fiancée and frat brothers would be like oil & water but they got a long great! I'm starting to
compile a vacation page. For a lot more pictures go to: . Picture Highlights of the 2000 All Zete Fishing Tournament right
here!
Early in the vacation the reds were in the rivers in force. Fishing above the Soldotna bridge, it was no problem the first couple
of days to hammer the reds. Looking up and down the banks, we hooked up and landed fish at a rate of 2 to 1 over the
other fisherman. When I was checking in on them, I walked up and down the banks to see what we were doing differently
then the rest. The answer was pretty simple. We were using gamakatsu hooks and everyone else was using the 39cent
Russian river flies. Take a size 1/0 gamakatsu octopus hook next to a factory turned Russian river fly and take a close look.
You can fish whichever one you want, but if you want to catch fish...it's a no brainer. Things to look for are sharpness,
diameter of the entry point, hook gap, and amount of material used to tie the fly. The funny thing is that the gamakatsu hooks
are cheaper! Yup, in 100 lots, you can get them for under 40 cents each. By a 2 dollar package of yarn, and you have 100
Russian river flies that will outfish the cheap factory stuff 2 to 1. Be careful though! In flyfishing only areas, you'll have to use
smaller gamakatsu hooks since there is a gap restriction in many areas. even with the smaller Gamakatsu hooks, you'll double
your hook up rate. If you have to use the Russian river pre made flies, here's a great trick. The material is there to get the
angler to buy the hooks. Take nail clippers or scissors and clip off about half of the material used to tie the fly. Also make
sure there are no hairs obstructing the hook point. It'll sink better and the result is greater hook ups. Other difference
included we were using a longer leader length ( up to 4 feet) and we were fishing right up against the cut bank shore line while
everyone else was flipping 20 feet out as far as they could comfortably flip. REDS ARE BY THE SHORE! The reds then
proceeded to dwindle until the last weekend when my dipnetting buddies caught a total of 10 fish in three separate trips to the
Kasilof and Kenai River.
clarity of the water wasn't bad, but the volume of flowing water made it hard to fish. The first couple of
days, we got nothing! But a couple of my guide buddies were scratching out a few fish. Well by now
you know who I turn to for the best advice on catching salmon and that's Danny France of Salmon
Herder Charters. Another on of my friends chartered with him over the weekend and hammered two
really nice fish! Thanks again Dan. You can see the two fish on the left. He had told me that spin & glo
and egg combo was working great. the only problem was that the standard 20 foot jet planers were just
not stable enough in the high water. He of course was right. With the smaller planers, everytime I made
an adjustment on the boat you can just see the line dipping side to side as the small planer worked hard
to dive to the bottom. We solved the problem by going to a size 40 (versus 20) Luhr Jensen jet planers.
We opted not to use the massive large planers because they just pull to hard for a few of our rods. We
also lengthened our leaders by an extra couple of feet. the planers tracked truer behind boat and the
result was the next two times out, we caught 3 bright chrome kings over 40 pounds!!!!!!!! All of them
caught backtrolling spin & glo and eggs near Eagle Rock.
was they hammered two of the fish by themselves! here I
am supposedly showing them how to catch fish and the one
day I am not on the boat, they limit out! Thanks guys!
to pick up. But better yet, I managed a couple of nice silvers from secret spot and so did my frat buddies. Nothing fast and
furious but they are in the rivers and they should be fishable at least through September!
you do but give it a last go. So after work, off we headed to Montana Creek. The action
wasn't fast and furious but both Kurt and I manage to hook and land several Kings before
deciding to keep some nice fish. I landed a 40 pounder and Kurt nailed a 25 pounder. Both
fish were caught on a small spin n glo over single hooks. No bait is allowed, but the kings
will whack just the spin n glos. Talk about a battle! A 40 pound fish from the shore in the
raging current of the Big Su river tested my equipment to the limit! I actually snapped my 20
pound line on a previous fish so I moved up to my Big water rod which basically has 40
pound test. It still took a half hour to get the fish in!
the time on the Kenai River. Get ready for them reds! They are a blast! Of
course we'll do our best to land that first triple digit sport caught king. 100
pounds? It can be done! It might as well be on my boat! While we have seen a
bunch of small fish and jacks, I have also heard reports that the big fish are
bigger this year! Ooooh, one sure thing! THE FISH ARE IN THE WATER!
Gotta get out and wet a line!
an unusually high number of jacks caught including 3 by our boat. The Big Kings were scarcer. From 4am to noon, we saw
maybe 5 fish total hooked up of any decent size. On the upstream run back to the boat launch, we did see 5 or 6 more kings
hooked from the High banks to Eagle Rock. Our best hits came downriver at the "cow pasture". I had one great
takedown....but I fell a sleep! Net thing I know my line is racing up river and everyone screaming! I set the hook nothing.
Dang it! dang it! dang it! Oh well it'll teach me to drive all night and just jump in a boat. Is that why every other normal
human being sleeps? Sleep is a luxury while the Kings are running! But I certainly paid for the lack of sleep! Live and learn!
Well the "Herder", Dan France of Salmon Herder charters comes through again! While we flailed and failed (like the 90% of
other boats) Danny picked up a nice 58 pound king for Bob's wife Susan who was out with her dad. Nice catch Susan! Not
to be outdone, Bob heads back out on to the Kenai on Sunday and hammers a 52 pounder! Too cool! Click on the image
for a larger jpeg image. Both of their fish were caught backtrolling spin n glos and roe outfits in between falling in hole and Big
Eddy somewhere.
Not to be outdone, Kurt heads off to the Kasilof immediately after we are off the Kenai and hammers himself a nice 30
pounder on a fenton fly tipped with roe. its late in the season, but the Kings appear to be still in the Kasilof in good numbers
and I have heard reports of reds moving through as well.
I'm going to sneak up North to check out the fishing for the last couple days of Kings. the water is definitely going to be
higher so I'm interested in seeing what the fishing will be like. I also just got done looking at site by Tony who has started up
a web page like mine. great stuff! I mentioned it earlier but if you like my pages, you'll like Tony's pages. More info the
better! Check his page out right here: http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Campground/4909/index.html
but a few bright ones are still being pulled out. I can't say I have had much luck but I'm only able to fish a couple of hours at a
time due to work! The Russian river sounds good. We'll be hitting the Kenai this weekend. Hopefully they will allow bait.
we'll see. Lifting the restrictions was a good sign for the Kenai! Gotta give it a try!
weeks in Asia. Still Kurt-san is a fishing maniac so it was the right motivation to get me out. Well after working
till 10pm on Saturday, I picked Kurt up and off we were to Montana Creek. After getting there early, the water
was up high limiting the fishing holes. Everything seemed to be working. Kurt hooked up and landed five fish in
a span of four hours. I opted to let him fish in the crowded spot. Of course I didn't catch anything. Should have
brought some spinners. number 6 fire tiger vibrax seemed to be a hot offering. I got my guest hooked up so I
was happy. I know there is fish in Ship Creek still and it sounds like the run on the Kenai is picking up! Time to
fish those KINGS!!!!!!
rivers up north. This may be your best time to go out and hammer a king! Do it in downtown Anchorage or try for a bit
bigger fish 2 hours north of Anchorage.
Creek, the fish are IN! My buddies are down right now hammering fish. IT IS TIME! I've heard good reports from river
up north as well. If ya want a King this is it. I heard I didn't miss too much though all of my buddies have all hammered a
couple of kings already. Check Fish and Game's home page for details at:
http://www.state.ak.us/local/akpages/FISH.GAME/sportf/geninfo/eo-nr/region2.htm
three fish from the shoreline. But on Sunday Sean and I went out with Dan and had a great day. I hooked & landed 4
Kings! Sean hooked 3 Kings, and the other two guys on the boat hooked a total of 3 fish. We spent the day back
bouncing spin n glo and roe rigs as Dan probed the holes. The line would skirt off to the side after a light tap and set the
hook. Hold on tight! We fished in holes less than 3 feet deep and so you would only have 5 feet of line. Hooking a king on
five feet of line is just WILD! Too much fun. The herder comes through again! I'm off on a business trips but I'll update
more detail here when I get back!
It was tough fishing from the shore. Only a couple of our group landed fish. The fish are all mint bright and beautiful. We
definitely got our chances but as always these first of the year fish are hard to hook up!
Douggie stayed in town but managed to hammer another King out of Ship Creek! Good job Doug!
tide! Amazing thing is Doug's recovering from a leg injury but at high tide he was able to battle the fish in! Givin his condition,
I am sure he was still fishing a spin-n-glo and roe rig. Good job Douglas....the second king of the year for our group and its
still May 23. This is a good start.
"test the waters" of this fishery. Dan is always so busy on the Kenai and Kasilof Rivers, he seldom gets to around to this
fishery. But heck, Who am I to say "no" to an offer of a test run fishing for Kings!
My father, Dan, and I head out on the afternoon tide in search of King Salmon. We start out trolling cut plug herring using a
flasher and two ounces of lead down by the twin falls. It couldn't have been 20 minutes and I am hooked up to a mint bright
king! SWEET-OH! After a good battle, I land my first King caught in saltwater! Too cool! It wasn't huge but it was a
solid fish of around 25 pounds. It was so bright it almost looked black..it was kinda strange on how it could look so chrome
from one angle and almost black from another. So we are starting to think...THIS IS EASY! But of course things never
work out the way ya think. We trolled another 3 hours and we saw a total of four other fish caught in an armada of at least
75 boats. Good thing one was on our line! Who knows, they could have hammered them on the net tide series, salmon
fishing is like that.
For the last couple of hours we head off shore for some halibut fishing. We didn't go to far since we were in Dan's powerboat
he uses on the Kenai river. Still his boat handled awesome and we were full throttle on the water! We didn't hammer halibut
but both Dan and I hammered a bunch of chickens. I think the biggest was 30 pounds. But after filleting the fish out, we had
plenty of nice fish!!! This combo thing is too cool. Fresh Salmon and fresh Halibut tonight! Are we spoiled here in Alaska or
what!!! We are definitely doing this as an annual deal! Dan's streak of tough fishing days with me continues...BUT his streak
of putting my group onto fish continues! You NEVER guarantee fish in fishing, that's why they don't call it catching (how old is
that joke?), but Dan has come through in tough conditions every time. Thanks again Dan! oh yeah, I'm booked with Dan
next week for a bit of Drift fishing the Kasilof! I'm spoiling myself a bit now because I'm off on an overseas trip for two
weeks...BUMMER! A major miss in timing, but I'll still be able to hammer a few first run kings I'm sure.
They are the guys in the photo below. I guess they did well for the rainbows in the Big Su tribs. Tony's got a log page going
about his fishing adventures. you can check it out at: http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Campground/4909/ Although I
haven't had much luck this year, Tony & Vic seem to be hammering the trout! Take a look at his site, He just started it last
year but its got some nice photos and it should only get more fish as we start into the salmon season!
Martin also had a report for Ship Creek. More and more fisherman are now hitting Ship Creek. While I am sure the action
is not fast nor furious, fish are starting to show up. As Martin was in the area for work, he noticed one fisherman hooked up
and battling a nice king. This is the second report I have heard of a King being hooked up in Ship Creek. It's almost
time!!!!!!
caught fish on the Big-Su this weekend. Tony writes that he and a friend caught and
released four fish ranging from 13 to 22.5 inches. Some really nice fish! They caught
them tossing out spoons. I went up and tried it for a couple of hours but didn't see a
fish. It was amazing how the water levels would change by a foot or more in just a
couple of hours. During the morning and mid day when the clear water (relatively
speaking) run off is greater seems to be better for fishing. Definitely saw more signs of
activity like diving terns and sea gulls that I didn't last weekend. Most of the area
lakes are starting to break up but it might be a couple more weeks before the lakes
"turn over" and the fishing improves.
for saltwater kings off of Deep Creek. Well, how can I pass that up? Dad and I will go out with Dan on May 20th weather
permitting. I hope we get a good weather day! I'm definitely going out with Dan on May 28th for a drift fishing trip on the
Kasilof! Oh yeah, IT'S TIME for those KINGS!!!! Dan reports that he has already hooked up into two king in the lower
Kenai River on his last trip out. Sounds like the new Single hook only regulations are making it tough to keep good fish on.
The KINGS ARE IN the KENAI!
Ship Creek rumor: I also heard a second hand rumor that a lucky angler caught a King Salmon from Ship Creek on Friday,
May 5th. Wow! That's early! Look for the peak to occur from about June 7th to about June 20th. Still its just about time
to check out the gear.
I'm gonna maximize my King adventure with a start out in Saltwater on May 20th and an early season drift trip on the Kasilof
on May 28th! SWEEEEEEET-OH!
