FRIDAY 7-2

Boarded the plane on time, everything is on schedule, chicken dinner on the plane was kind of disgusting.  I finished reading my first book.  I will try to catch some shuteye the rest of the way and daydream about all of the adventures that are about to come.  I can't believe the vacation has finally started.  After all of the preparation and daydreaming and talking the time has finally arrived.  My mind, body and spirit are heading to the gravel pit on the Kenai - the place I feel at home.

SATURDAY - MONDAY 7-3/4/5

The airplane ride was long.  My aisle seat gave me a good opportunity to stretch a lot.  I talked to Beryl, who is from the Texas coast.  Arrived at 8:30 p.m. got to Wayne's and started packing and getting ready.  Rich came up and brought 12 coolers 17 bags and 14 rods or something like that.  Wayne had about the same amount of gear.  I think we were really over-packed for our trip.  We left for Gulkana around midnight.  I couldn't fall asleep, even though it had been a really long day.  Wayne drove.  His gas stop was closed at 2 A. M . so we kept going all the way through to Glenallen.  However we ran out of gas, 7 miles shy of town.  What an excellent way to start the trip. Wayne got out and walked.  He braved rain, bugs, swamp, and he walked about 6 miles before finally getting a ride.  He brought back a two gallon jug of gas around 4:30 a.m. In the meantime, Richard and I tried to get some sleep as the semi-trucks whizzed by our heads.  Wayne returned, but we still could not get the Minnie-Winnie to fire up.  Before killing the battery we decided to try and pour gas into the carburetor.  But first we had to take apart the panel and dashboard. The old "gas in the carburetor trick" did the job, and we were able to get the Minnie Winnie to eventually fire up.  After we got running again, we headed into town and immediately stopped to fill the tank for gas. 

Next, we headed towards Sourdough campground and ended up getting the final camping spot.  We paid for two nights at six dollars per night.  We set up the tents, and immediately headed off to Wayne's secret hole.  It was time to fish for Kings.  However, as usual, Wayne's hole sucked. Rich fished eggs and hooked an 18-inch rainbow trout.  Wayne and I pounded the water with our flies, but we never hit anything.  The secret water-chute that had been successful in the past had changed a lot, too. Apparently floods or high water from the previous year had washed out the chute, and it was no longer the perfect salmon slaying hole that it used to be.  Equally mystifying was the fact that we never saw anything roll, not a King nor a Sockeye.  After a few hours of pounding the water in the intense heat (80+ degrees plus forest fire haze) we decided to call it a day.  Finally, we got back to camp, and instantly went to bed.  I had been up for almost two days straight and I was incredibly groggy.

After a nice sleep, we got up the next morning and went back to Wayne's secret hole.  Again, we had the same luck as before, no fish- none at all.  Went back to camp, and played cribbage.  In the first game I handily skunked Rich.  Well, at least I got one of my "firsts" out of the way and a skunking to boot.  The next game, I lost to Richard and after that, I lost to Wayne.  And after that, I retired from cribbage as my hands begin to hurt. 

We feasted on smoked salmon and moose steak for dinner.  We hit bed and slept in until about 7 a.m. The next morning we broke camp and headed to Glenallen. Two skunk-filled days at Wayne's secret hole left us all a bit demotivated trying again.

We stopped at a cafe and had breakfast.  Wayne drove home.  It was very foggy and wet most of the way.  We stopped at Eklutna, and checked it out for fish, but it looked very lame. We decided to end the trip and accept our skunkings. Dropped Rich off, and then went up to Wayne's house.  I started to pack and unpack gear and get ready for the sockeye season. Loaded the motor home, took a shower, worked on the cabinet door.  In all we had a good trip even though there was bad fishing. When we got back to Wayne's house, we checked the weir count and discovered that no fish- sockeye or King had passed the count station all weekend, apparently the low water and hot weather had the fish hanging out at the mouth of the river.  It's looking like King fishing on the Gulkana needs to be done the last two weeks of June.

Memories:

Eagle flying over Rich.

Rich's trout (the only fish we ever saw!)

Rich, losing his glasses on the bank.

Tinkerbell (Rich's egg soaking bell setup)

Slippery rock River

Weir counts zero

Wayne's hole sucking once again

Winter stories of Harvey

drunk Troy

Richard's moose hunt story

fishing sourdough Creek

So much stuff in the motor home

wet waders

Seagulls versus the eagle

bug killing

Old Glen Hwy

Eklutna

Getting grimy

Hot weather and a rain storms

Stinky water and the motor home

Running out of gas

The howl of the wolves

TUESDAY 7-6

Not much happening today, up around, 8 a.m. and took a shower. Went to McDonald's for lunch and breakfast.  And then I went to Carr's. Next, I washed and vacuumed the motor home.  Then it was off to Williams' for water, sewer dump, and gas.  Went to Lowes' for some L-brackets to mount the knives.  Put the new closet door on.  Around 1pm I headed to the Kenai. Lots of RVs at the airport, but not yet full. I saw Arizona Walt today. Went to see the river, and it was very high.  They've added fillet tables all around. Once again they have reduced the number of fishing spots. Don't these people ever think about what they are doing when they make "improvements" on the river? Any more improvements and there won't be anywhere to stand.

Went back to the RV for lunch, did some reading, fixed the sofa back with an L-bracket. It is now more sturdy for climbing onto the bunk bed.  Got my fishing gear ready. Read my book. Noticed a water leak under the water heater.  Problem.  Looks like the heater is broke.  I think I can bypass it if I can find some parts.  No fishing today-looks like.  I won't be fishing until tomorrow.  My right hand is not swollen so badly today on the knuckle side.

Memories:

big fire at Skilak Lake

lots of rookies already on the river

Fire hydrants

Cleaning tables

Hot weather

Breaking the motor home

Guys who run their generators, all day long

WEDNESDAY 7-7

Up today at 5:30 a.m. decided to try an early a.m. fishing session at the river from 6 to 7 a.m..  No luck.  Only two others fishing.  Water is high.  Hands and wrists very weak, easily tired.  Wanted to see the effects on my hand - a bit swollen. Didn't fish too long and didn't catch anything.  Had to go back and deal with the water leak today.  Went to Home Depot in Kenai.  Got stuff there and proceeded to turn a small leak into a big leak and a big wet mess.  Decided to go call a plumber.  Got Dan the mobile RV man to meet me at Sal's Klondike diner.  He bypassed water lines around the water heater - correctly.  Then we ate lunch at Sal's.  Floor under the bed is wet, but drying out.  Hopefully, it will be alright now.  Back to the airport to hang out, read book, take nap.  Called Bunny.  Planning on going for walk tomorrow.  Will head toward Homer tomorrow.  I have a halibut fishing trip for Dr. Luke.  Friday, I will drop off meat on the way to Anchorage, in order to get Bunny.

Memories:

water leaks

Making a small leak into a large leak

Pumping water while plugging water leaks

mobile Dan, the RV repair man

Home Depot is worthless

THURSDAY 7-8

Went to Anchor River Beach last night.  Got in around 10 p.m..  Nice sunset.  Saw a bald eagle on the river as I drove in.  Set up camp , across from the bird and watched him for a while.  Read my book.  Went for a walk on the beach.  Watched the sunset.  Got up at 5 a.m. to go fishing.  Made a quick breakfast than drove to the Homer spit.  I was on Silver Fox-1 with Captain Jamie.  Also onboard was Jerry the guest crew man, Curtis , the five-day in a row guy, Jim Johnson from Fairbanks, Gordon, Colton, and Megan.  The captain was a very immature kid (early 20's at best).  He talked big trying to impress us-it didn't come off very well.  Went to the ghetto hole.  As usual, I have the first fish on.  Tangled with Curtis's line, when we both hooked into fish.  Our lines and our fish , both wrapped around into Silver Fox Three's anchor line.  My fish ended up being a 50-pounder and a nice fish.  Captain shot them both as they were tangled in the anchor line of Silver Fox Three.  We didn't catch lots, but we caught keepers.  Jerry managed a 90-pounder on a jig, and I got another 35-pounder.  We had many 35 to 45-pound fish.  Good ones.  Finished up early , and we got in around 3 p.m.  Getting stuff to Coal Point was very slow. 

On the road at 5 p.m.  Called Bunny. Called the sonar line.  Stopped at Marvin's , but nobody home.  Looks like the second run of sockeye will not be early this year.  It's already July 8 and we're only at 20,000 fish in the river.  Way far behind last year's pace.  In a way, it is good since my hand needs rest.  Speaking of my hand - right-hand OK today.  It didn't let me down.  My right middle finger got a blister from the halibut reel though.  Headed back to the airport, made dinner, read, and may fish a little bit.  Tomorrow I've got to have a shower and maybe do laundry.  Need to be in Anchorage in the evening to get Glory. Bunny is coming!

Back to Captain Jamie of Silver Fox 1. This kid was the worst captain I've ever had in all of my halibut experiences. First, he was obviously inexperienced. But what he lacked in experience he made up for with a big mouth, unnecessary cursing in-front of the young kids, and some unprofessional boating skills - most notably his dropping anchor on top of another anchored boat and go figure - tangling up Anchor Lines. Then the topper was when he pulled out his gun and popped it off next to my head without giving anyone warning. Normally, when a captain is going to shoot a fish, he'll warn everybody - and typically everyone knows it's ready since it's a big fish. But this jerk popped 2 shots into a 30-pounder - without telling anyone on board what he was doing - because he wanted to impress the other boat. I coulda about killed that guy when I lost my hearing for the next half hour due to his childish pranks. I'd say he's lucky he made it back in without being tossed over that day. That evening at Coal Point I was talking to Gordon (Colton and Megan's father). I was their first halibut trip ever. He asked me if this kind of behavior was "typical" for the captains down here in Homer. Yeah Captain Jamie, you sure made an impression on the whole crew that day.....what a dufus. The even funnier end to this story came a few days later when I was retelling this tale to Wayne. He started chuckling as he related to me how his dad Joe had the same exact story about a snot-nosed dumbass blond kid named Jamie on one of his charters last year with Silver Fox. Seems this guy has pissed off nearly every crew he's ever taken out.

42 pounds of halibut for Luke , 30 bags

immature , Captain.

Whale spouting eagles on the spit seals and puffins.

Caught ling-cod and used him as bait.

Very rough ride and going out , but very smooth coming back in.

Call a sunny weather

Tangled up in the anchor line

Captain Jamie dropping anchor too close to another boat

Losing my hearing when Captain Jamie popped off a few rounds for fun right next to my head

FRIDAY 7-9

Bunny is here today! Up at 4:30 a.m..  Slept all night with the screen door open.  It was warm and I was sleepy.  Went to the river at 5 a.m.  I was the second person there.  Hooked and lost one fish-never saw it.  Foul hooked and released a nice fat Dolly.  Saw Swiftwater Bill go by.  Left at 6:15 a.m.  Still no fish for me.  Saw one guy with two fish last night and heard another guy say he got two yesterday morning.  Still too early in the season for me, though.  No need to use up all of my pitches during spring training week.  Luke's fish are not freezing-too much stuff in the freezer.  Will have to get them to Cooper Landing today.  Will make breakfast today-maybe some egg and cheese omelet.  Then need to go to Safeway, Fred Meyer's, gas, dump, water, and Cooper's.  Then will make drive north.  If I have time, I will do laundry.  Need a shower tonight for sure.  Curious how my hand will do today?

Took a nap until 11 a.m. Got up and prepared to go.  First got all of Bunny's fishing gear together.  Stopped, then dumped, got water, gas.  Hit Safeway for a few items.  Headed to Cooper Landing.  Saw Mark Wilson at Hamilton's.  He is looking older this year.  Put Luke's fish in the freezer.  Pulled over for while at the inlet flats pullout.  Took a small nap.  Hit Girdwood for gas.  Got to Wayne's house about 5 p.m.  Took a very much-needed shower.  Soon Bunny is here!  Need to start catching some reds soon.

SATURDAY 7-10

Got Bunny last night.  Went to Wayne's and Bunny took the house tour.  Marie had adobo waiting for dinner.  Up this morning at 8 a.m.  Made eggs for breakfast.  Took our showers and got ready to go.  For some mysterious reason I felt compelled to check the propane level and found out the brackets holding the tank were broke.  The motor home frame itself was cracked. In fact, the tank was hanging by a thread and was poised to fall off in-transit if something wasn't done soon. This was the first of many miracles that the Lord God blessed us with during the trip! There was really no reason for me to check the propane that morning - I knew it was half full - yet something inside of me compelled me to check it out. Thanks Lord - you saved us from a much bigger incident down the road.

Wayne and I got the tank off and went to find a welder.  Finally got the frame welded-it cost me $80.  Went back to Wayne's house to replace the tank.  Wayne constructed an S-bracket for the front of the tank.  Both of us spent a lot of time laying in the dirt under the motor home.  At 5 p.m. we were finally finished and heading south. 

We bypassed the Hope trip and went straight to Soldotna. This was due to my impatient to start catching some fish. They had to be coming in by now....well, in hindsight we probably should have taken the time and stopped at Hope for the afternoon....oh well.

Saw Arizona Walt and his wife and stopped to chat with them for awhile. Then saw the river.  We made salads for dinner.  I called Marvin and chatted with him for a few minutes. He's not planning on heading to the river until 100k fish have passed the counter. At the rate things are moving so far - that might be awhile. Have seen a few fish today, but the counts are still really low.  Maybe tomorrow.  Anyways, God took care of us.  He helped us fixed the problem before we had a really big problem.  Also Wayne was the MVP.  He is a very good friend and a handy guy with his tools and know-how.  I'm lucky to have such a good friend on my side.  Still hot today , may be 80°.

SUNDAY 7-11

Up at 4:30 a.m.  Glory and I got dressed and went down to fish.  Still slow.  I hooked four fish.  I lost the first one right away.  The second fish was a mouth hook , but I lost it at the bank.  The third fish I landed and the fourth fish I foul hooked and released.  We quit at 8 a.m. with one fish.  Spent the rest of the day sleeping, eating, reading, and sweating in the heat.  Saw Roger and Joan.  Had chicken and mash potatoes for dinner.  I fished from 7:30 p.m. to 9 PM.  Nothing.  Foul hooked and released one big dolly-varden.  Met the Japanese guy from last year - his name is Udo.  He is a regular.  Really weird that there are no fish yet this late in the season - but they will show up eventually. The last few years have seen "early" returns for reds - this year looks like things are flipping back to the "late-normal" cycle.

MONDAY 7-12

Caught no fish again this morning.  Went fishing at 4:30 a.m. until 7 a.m.  Between 3 and 7 a.m. the river was full of people, but not a single fish on.  The only red we saw jumped between Roger and myself.  Took a nap this morning.  Went to Kenai and watched the dip-netters.  Watch for 10 or 15 minutes-not a single fish on - not a good sign at all.  Took showers, did laundry, filled water, got gas, dumped, and finally got groceries.  Changed parking spots to the west end of the third row.  Not much to do but wait.  It's very hard right now, because I have no fish yet (okay I have one).  I will really have to make my six limits soon.  There is a lot of pressure on us now to catch when the run finally does start.  In the big picture of my fish projection I am way behind last year's pace.  Right now I am minus 16 fish year to date.  At that rate , I will end up with only 67 fish.  But maybe even 67 fish is too high of a count for this year.  Still I'm going to get at least 50 fish.  Hopefully Bunny can get at least 15.  Good thing I have three more halibut trips left to go.  The good news: it might be great timing for Kuya and Rodney.  I feel bad for Bunny, she has only two weeks for vacation , and we are just stuck here in the motorhome sleeping and reading and being hot.

I think guys who bring buckets to the river are silly , even if it is Roger - what are you doing - clamming?

The old German guy with 4 inches of pencil lead 10 inches above his fly.  His line goes straight down and he hooks rocks every cast.

The poor girl who do stands there and holds her line still, no drift at all.

Motorhome people who don't know how to park.

Hot hot days, high river, and no fish -big sense of frustration all-around- hopefully it will turn around- and everyone will be "giddy".

TUESDAY 7-13

This is getting ridiculous.  No fish again.  Now I am 20 behind last year's pace.  Another count of 4000 fish today.  On the brighter side today from 4:30 to 8:30 a.m. I hooked and landed two big dolly varden.  I hooked and lost eight sockeye.  In total, I saw 20 hooked, five landed during the morning.  That is outstanding progress over yesterday. Bunny is very bored.  She is counting our coins.  She's playing solitaire.  However , she's not saying anything about it.  Glad when we get to head to Anchor River tomorrow it will be a change of scenery.

WEDNESDAY 7-14

Fish are here today!  Got to the river at 4:30 a.m.  People were catching right and left.  Roger and I struggled hard.  After a few hours quite a few people had limits.  I had none.  Hans had four fish , and he pretended he didn't know the rules.  Roger finally got a big one and a dolly varden.  Bunny came down and fished.  She finally got the magic rock and started slaying them.  She caught two big bucks and one tiny small one.  She was very famous along the river.  Three or four people came over to see how she was rigged up.  We fish next to two Swiss guys that I have seen before.  They got their limits quite quickly.  I caught one.  After Glory limited out I used her rod at the magic rock.  Immediately, I caught fish every cast.  Her rig up was dialed in perfectly for the way the fish were running.  I finally got my third around noon.  Took me seven hours to get three fish - yep I'm good.  I netted many of the Swiss' fish.  They netted mine (with the high water and my poor landing rate I had to consent to a net job).  Finally got some in the freezer.  KPMG Rob and Skyler are due in a few hours.  It is naptime. Tonight we camp and Anchor Point.  Tomorrow is a halibut trip #2!

Got to Anchor Point beach tonight. Unfortunately it was really cloudy and we couldn't see the mountains. However, Bunny was still pleased with the view and the sounds of the ocean. I'm going to sleep good tonight. Finally caught some fishies.

THURSDAY 7/15

Halibut charter with KPMG today at Silver Fox.  We got captain Matt.  He was 100 times better than captain Jamie. Matt was kind, courteous, mature, and very professional. The charter wasn't "about him" - rather it was about us catching fish. Fishing was slow at first.  Hooked some skates, grey cod, and halibut.  Skyler caught a 50-pound halibut.  I got a 40-pounder and a 25-pounder.  After getting my halibut limit, I mooched with the salmon rod.  I caught three silvers and a 25-pound halibut on that rod.  River escapements have gone crazy with over 100,000 fish the last couple of days. Heading back we fished at the airport in the evening.  Glory fished first, but I was a sub, using just her pole.  She made friends with a group of guys.  I was tired and grumpy, but got better after a while.  Glory was famous for all of her hookups and foul hooks.  Eventually we both got three big ones each.  We got finished at about 11:00 p.m..  We processed, got the fish in the freezer and out of possession - and then off to bed.

Evening salmon limits

listening to the whale sounding all day, hearing them from miles away.  The whale doing the tail slap

Skyler and his "two thirds down phrase"

mooching for silvers; getting three plus one halibut

calm and quiet on the inlet

captain Matt; bear guide and halibut skipper

seeing otters

hundreds of seabirds

being tired cranky sleepy and smelly

Friday 7/16

Up at 3:30 a.m..  The river was already crowded by 4 a.m. Roger was there, too. The fish were still in.  I had two on right away, Marvin was catching them a lot.   I released quite a few fish while waiting for Bunny.  She came down around 5:30 a.m..  I finished and watched and helped her.  She caught a tiny and a medium.  I cleaned.  As I finished cleaning, she caught her last fish- a giant buck.  Marvin landed a meteorite (10-pound rock).  Bunny got spooled on a foul hook, but Roger was there and gave her some neon green line. I saw Frenchy keep a bellied-hooked fish. 

After fishing we processed and took naps. Went and did laundry and went to Coopers Landing and dumped and got gas.  Coming back there was a traffic jam from Fred Meyer's to the Funny River.  It took us 40 minutes to get through town.  We visited with Marv and Charmaigne for awhile.  Cooked salmon and potatoes.  Got ready for Eli's arrival.

Saturday 7/17

Eli finally arrived after many plane delays.  Early a.m. fishing stunk at the airport, Bunny caught three really quickly, but I dropped her third back into the river, due to jealousy.  I never got nothing.  At 7 a.m. Wayne, Marie, and I went to Bing's Landing.  They were in thick.  Got three, three, and two fish.  Bing's is a mudslide, but the fish were in thick.  We killed them on every cast.  Fish were jumping four at a time in my hole.  After Bing's, we all went to Chinese buffet.  Then nap time.  Afterwards Glory fished the evening at the airport.  Glory got one for her third of the day.  Eli hooked 15 to 20 fish, but never got one on the bank.

Sunday 7/18

We slept in.  Couldn't wake up at 3 a.m..  My hand would not close, eyes would not open, plus I heard rain.  Good excuse for sleep.  Slept in until 8 a.m.  Made French toast.  Bunny made grilled cheese.  Went to recon the river- spotty and crowded.  Unbelievable how many people are here this year.  Things have really changed here.  Everyone stands too deep.  The airport seems "ruined'.  It is constantly crowded around the clock now.  I guess we are going to head to Bing's again this morning.  Last night talked to Frank. Apparently he knows Ken-dad as he also works for the Oregon State Forestry Dept.

Fished Bing's all afternoon. Fish were still in pretty thick. Ran into Steve Green at the trail in. Got our favorite holes right away - same as yesterday. Wayne fished heavy and deep under the tree. Eli foul-hooked lots of fish. I had 2 mouth hooks right away while acting as a sub for Marie. Eventually, everyone ended up with 3-limits and big smiles. Eli broke one of my fly rods. Glory also broke the tip of her rod. I got an Eli hook in the pinky finger and line cuts all around from being "plier-boy".

Monday 7/19 

Early a.m. fishing at the airport.  Eli and I got up early and got our spots.  We both hooked some right away, but things died down for us later.  Some people got their three limits.  Glory came down late and got one fish.  She's good, we suck.  Saw the Mint Lady's older Japanese friend.

Went to Safeway to get food and supplies.  Headed to Bing's Landing to fish again.  Got our holes right away.  I substituted for couple of guys-got one on the bank on my first series of casts.  Then I subbed again and got another.  Saw Glory and Eli struggling a bit under the tree.  Fished next to the Japanese guy who hooked the same rock every other cast.  I got two hens and gave the eggs to the Japanese guy who couldn't catch any.  Headed back to the airport for chicken and rice.  In the end all of us got our three limits.

Bing's - no older people it's too hard to walk

old guy who is the spot stealer tripped over the log and fell into the river all the way up to his head

the killer rapids at Bing's

morning: dufus who kept standing in people's spot

group of four bass fishermen trying to crowd in

dufus number two-teaching Kuya how to fish

Tuesday 7/20

Up early at 3 a.m. to go fishing.  Kuya and I made it a to our spots-only problem-no fish.  Fish started to trickle in around 7:15 a.m..  Until 10 a.m. I hooked about 15 to 20 fish, kept one.  Kuya was zero for two.  Marvin landed two - didn't hooked very many.  Went back and took naps.  Took showers.  Dumped.  Went to Nikiski and looked at a cabin-no good.  Went to Kasilof cabin again.  Headed to Anchor River to cook salmon dinner.  Walked on the beach.

Wednesday 7/21

Today was halibut charter number three.  Had captain Matt again at Silver Fox.  Others included Jerry, Tom, Alan, and 83-year-old Wayne from Virginia.  Also included with myself and Eli.  We went out to the Barren Islands.  It was a bit windy and choppy and damp.  Slept most of the way.  First hole at the Barrens we got zilch, although I lost a decent fish. On the backside of the island it was rough and choppy, but a small bite started.  We ended up boating about 10 fish there.  I got a 35-pounder and a 72-pounder (my new record).  Eli got the big one at 84-pounds.  There was also a 60-pound fish landed.  The big treat was the pod of humpback whales that were circling all around.  We saw them all day long out of the back of the boat.  Numerous times they rolled within 50 yards of the boat.  Another boat anchored next to us and he never even got a bite.  We were very lucky.  The way home we hit the spud hole.  We caught chickens at 350 feet. The guys who hadn't limited let out almost all of their line to get down to the bottom, but the results were instant chickens.  So, everyone got their limits. Between the two of us Eli and myself, we netted 139 pounds of halibut, which equaled 102 baggies full.  Pretty good day.  Once again it proves how good the Lord is to us, how much prayers are heard and answered!  Back to Soldotna for showers, gas, dump.  My plan is to hit the airport in the morning-then go to Sal's.  Also need to go to the gift shop.  We'll head to the Russian River and Cooper Landing tomorrow.  Friday we'll fish the Russian early and then head to Wayne's.

Thursday 7/22

Up at 3 a.m. for an early-morning fishing session.  We knew the fish were in good late last night, so it's going to be good this morning too.  Got to the river about 3:15 a.m.  Roger was in the process of landing one at that time.  Marvin was there upstream of him-he might have had one already too?  There was a good bite early, although, Eli and I were not landing them.  Marvin and Bob each had three before I got my first one.  Finally I started catching.  By 7:30 I had my six.  At that time Glory and Eli each had two.  I went back to get the video camera and digital camera.  Eli had another one when I got back.  I filmed for awhile then started cleaning the fish.  When I started cleaning there were 11 fish.  When I ended, there were 18.  Both Eli and Glory started catching good, despite the fact that everyone was standing out too far.  Roger took one in the face that drew blood.  Kuya's neighbor - Johnny Reb - landed eight fish and said he was catching for his old lady partner-kinda illegal. After he put his eighth on the bank that morning I went up to him and told him off. He's just lucky F&G didn't come by. And let me set the record straight - this guy wasn't fishing proxy - he was a tourist, and furthermore - the lady he said that he was catching them for was fishing right next to him.  After processing 18 fish we've visited Roger and Joan and Marvin and Charmaigne.  Then off to Sal's Klondike diner for food.  Off to Hamilton's for freezing and box preparation.  Then we overnighted at the Russian.

Marvin is still the best

dufus who caught eight (Johnny Reb)

Eli putting his six limit on the bank

Bunny getting her six limit

so many fish to clean, my crooked knife

Friday 7/23

Slept all night long from 6 p.m. until 7 a.m.  Much needed rest.  I was pooped.  Fished at the Russian Ferry this morning.  Went down to the gravel bank and caught a few.  Had two reds, one huge rainbow (released), and a big Dolly Varden (released).  Eli hooked quite a few reds.  Then we moved up to the next good gravel area and fished in the rifles.  I hooked 20 fish and landed three in the mouth.  We let them all go today.  Eli hooked a few.  On the way to the next gravel area we saw a moose with a baby.  Got a picture.  Back to the motorhome by 2 p.m.  Went to Gwin's for lunch.  Off to Hamilton's to get the fish boxes.  Then off to Anchorage.  Eli and Bunny are headed home, while Rodney is coming in.

Saturday 7/24

Got Glory and Eli to the airport at 10:45 PM.  They got the fish boxes on a cart and headed to check in at Alaska Air.  Eli was very awesome in his effort of moving those boxes.  Anyways, my plan for the overlapping timing worked out perfect.  Rod walked through the gate on time, as Bunny and Eli got done checking in.  Then we all went down to get Rod's bags.  He had a rod holder with Mrs. James name on it.  Rod is "Sykes" in the play Oliver.  All his kids are in the play, too.  Said goodbyes to Bunny.  I am already missing her.  Rod and I met Wayne at the store - got groceries and fishing gear.  The store Carr's was a disaster.  Wayne bought the breaking cooler.  Headed to Bing's.  It was very dark out.  Got to the fishing hole at 4 a.m..  My eyes were very very tired.  We started fishing and Wayne hooked fish after fish after fish for awhile.  Eventually I hooked a few.  Rod was being a rookie-dork. He gave up on his pole in about 10 minutes.  Then he borrowed my flyrod.  He began his path to fly-fishing for sockeye finally.  Wayne had us beat two to zero for awhile.  I decided not to net anymore.  Then things turned around.  Rod got one.  Then I went off and got four in a row, while Rod brought in another.  We were hooking tons of fish now.  Lost a lot of flies.  Dufus guy tried to crowd in everyone.  Wayne got his third.  Then I got a fifth and a sixth fish.  Wayne got another, then Rod hit two in a quick spurt.  Eventually it was Mike six, Wayne six, Rod four.  Back to the RV for power nap and resting of aching bodies.  Headed to the airport.  Processed fish. Rod headed back down to go fishing.  My hands are so tired so I am still on the bank.

Rod's swimming incident

Wayne breaks his rod

Rod's slow start- dacron line

the log in the hole

Wayne tripping and getting wet

Rod's filet technique

finding a bonker club

the bees

my new gunny sack

Wayne's light saber defense

big fish- Kenai hog's

today is the day the finger pads are erased.  I just shredded and peeled two layers of skin on most fingers

big curtain broke in the RV

Rod is Sykes

Wayne is the Blade

Rod getting crowded by the rookie girl who then landed one on her third cast

Rod's first day he gets a six limit

Sunday 7/25

Finally woke up about 8:30 a.m.   Remember seeing Rodney getting ready around 4 a.m. By the time I checked on him at 9 AM he already had two on the bank, one a big purple buck.  Rod was fishing next to Mr. Cautious-the anal retentive fishermen. Those guys netted Rod's fish-which he finally mouth hooked after a dozen tail's snags.  Rod's third fish was a miniature purple buck.  It was DeVito and Arnold the Twin sockeye.  Rod cleaned the fish and we headed up.  We made eggs for breakfast.  Then we set up rods and change lines and processed fish.  Rod's fish bag was full of bees.  He got stung trying to get his filet's out.  Then he dashed around the parking lot trying to avoid the bees.  One bee penetrated the motorhome, but I killed it easily.  We went and dumped and got water and gas.  Headed up to the Russian-Cooper's to freeze fish.  The wind picked up and Alaska's topsoil begin blowing away in a big dust storm.  Rod got 30 pounds in the freezer Mike got 20 pounds.  We came back from Hamilton's and went to the airport.  More people at the Russian River now.  Rod slept both way on the drives.  Checked at the hardware store but it was closed.  We went over and got pizza for dinner.  Went to Safeway.  And then back to the airport and had dinner.  Went for my walk.  Rod headed down at 8:15 p.m. for evening fishing session.

Rod's bee sting and parking lot dance

swarming Hornets docile or deadly?

Dust storm and wind

Marvin's twisted rod and WD-40

Marvin's slow storytelling

guys scared to put the fish on the bank

old Ichiro had me take his digital photo

Roger fishing shallow versus dufus standing deep

after Marvin left, everyone stood out in his catching hole, even after witnessing his catching rate while standing shallow

closers: one guy hooked them, the other guy is the closer - reels them in

Germans with 30 fish on a stringer- just whose are they?

Swollen hands, no finger pads, no sense of touch

Hamilton's cooler refilling = my good timing

airport parking much thinner now

weather cool and cloudy, dark threatening clouds

probably time to cut down on sockeye hours- can save my hands.

the stinky dumpsters

looking like you're on vacation

grabbing condiments

people who are messy at the dump station

Rod running one into the stairs

sockeye that twirl on in the mouth

sockeye head shots, stay down in the water then zip line in the water moving forward, then flop

Marvin doesn't like to eat salmon or halibut very much so he gives it all away

9 p.m. the cold glacial draft became quite noticeable

dark blue lights of the airport runway\strobe light

the pink cloud at sunrise

grey time a little more every night

the nice gas station

showers

dreaming of a piece of land

fishing left-handed because of righthanded failure

giving away fish in Texas?

Hearing the rain on the motor home roof

walking the trail, it ends sooner than it used to

Monday 7/26

It's a sleep in day.  Got up at 9 a.m.  Rigged up fishing rods and reels.  Processed.  Went to town-took shower.  Went to to the hardware store and got a new fishing rod, some bags, and a sharpener.  Back to the airport.  Ate Halibut.  Split two games of cribbage.  Took nap.  Rod went fishing at 8 p.m.  It's now 10 p.m. and raining hard.  Gave my hands another day off today.  Finger skin healed better.  Want to go fishing in the morning tomorrow.  If my hands feel better.

Tuesday 7/27

I got up and went early a.m. fishing this morning.  Rod came back with six fish last night, processed, and took a short nap. He got up again this morning to go fishing and I decided to join him. My hands had been beat for a few days, but I just couldn't resist any longer. So, we went fishing.  Marvin and Roger were already there in the hole, Marvin had one.  Light steady rain today.  The river is way high and very fast.  Never got a fish on the bank until Marvin got his six and had left.  Then I landed four.  Rod already had two.  Finally finished and got a cleaning table from Sergeant Schultz.  Yarded all the fish up to Hamilton's.  Took a nap at Safeway.  Headed south and scouted the Kasilof property.  Stopped at Bob and Chi's cabin and got supper.  Met his friend Bob and Larry and their wives.  Bob was the guy who brought down the rookie girl who caught the fish right next to Rod.  Visited for awhile then went down to Marvin's.  Visited him until 10 p.m..  Then we went to the beach at anchor point.  Good ocean view.  Wayne showed up about 15 minutes later.  Played cribbage, I skunked Rod, and beat Wayne.  Time for bed, halibut charter tomorrow.

Rod had me two to zero, then I got him 4-2

Marvin getting his six very easily

the Germans hoarded the filet tables

old guys who stand too deep (late arrivers)

early a.m. fishing in the rain

using Glory's rod

Rod hooking the old guys boots -words were exchanged

Rod being stung by a bee on the other foot

the jackknifed semi trailer

no sunset

Wednesday 7/28

5 a.m. wakeup.  Left the beach at 5:30.  Got to Homer Bluff at 6 AM.  Checked in and paid.  We're going out with Captain Matt.  Crappie weather so we will fish the Inlet today.  Along is Julie and Randy from California, and old Frank.  Stormy weather and rocky seas at times.  Tough fishing from Matt's boat.  He's going to change charter outfits next year.  We were team zero.  Team 0 got four of the first five fish in the well.  We boated 5-40 pounders, and 1-30 pounder.  Wayne released many 40 pounders in search of a bigger one.  He also caught a shark.  Randy caught a skate.  Julie hooked the big fish and got a shooter that weighed in at 101 pounds.  Old Frank finally got the hang of it and reeled in from his knees two good keepers.  He boated two other chickens that he threw back.  I caught about four fish, kept two decent ones, then mooched for Silvers-unsuccessfully.  Got to port at 2:15.  We limited out at our first hole-a rarity.  Headed to Soldotna.  Stopped at Kasilof property.  At the airport fishing now.

No whales today, but lots of otters

smell of the stinky boat

old Frank-a little old and clumsy to be in the back of the boat by himself

Julie catching big fish

my arms OK but my hands are cold and sore. right middle finger is bleeding the skin is peeled off

Evening fishing was excellent.  The fish were running very good, lots of space, a quiet evening of silence on the river.  Pretty much a magic evening.  Wayne got two before leaving early.  Rod ended up with five and I got three.  Each landed our final one as the other was cleaning.  Got back and hung out until 1 a.m.  No way we are going to be awake for the morning assault.

Thursday 7/29

Up at 9am. Both of us slept in - and I had to yell at Rod a couple of times to turn off the alarm at 3am - I knew we couldn't get up. Got up and processed the fish from last night.

-evening fishing was great - great sunset and beautiful evening

Rod and old guy combat fishing / boot hooking

Rod got the guy's glove and whacker

Rod bums a smoke from the germans

lots of elbow room

using Glory's rod - aching right shoulder

Kuya's waders work well - got out and I'm in my shorts already

sunny hot morning

river high- at flood stage - fishes good in the shallow trough

planning a lake adventure and or clam trip

I need better glasses for night fishing, mine are dark and dull.

showers are very good

Made the trek to Hamiltons. I have 3 boxes full and so does Rod. Came back to town and played b-ball and cribbage. Took 10 minute nap. Called Bunny. Went evening fishing. Took places just down from the #1 hole. Nobody else below us. We hooked up immediately. I lost my first fish while pulling him onto the bank. He flopped off and both Rod and I missed our feeble attempts to pin him against the bank. Rod caught one and landed it in his makeshift landing net - made out of the orange barrier fencing. I did the same a bit later. Torpedo fish came in very shallow. Water was high and deep, but fish were in close. We each missed about 15-20 fish each, but I had awesome fights. I ended up with 3 and in the process landed 3 dollies and a huge pink. There was an additional fish lost during landing when he got down underneath the twig bundles along the bank. Rod did battle with a pile of hogs and ended up with 4 reds and a nice fat rainbow. Evening session was very satisfying. Great weather. Nice and quiet most of the time, although, we were below the peanut gallery and had to listen to a lot of comments. We left at dark just as a foggy mist rolled in. It was good fishing a different hole and doing well.

My hook setting in my throat - fish trying to hit my jugular

Friday 7/30

Slept in until 9 AM.  Processed fish, ate some salmon for breakfast.  Headed off to watch dip-netting.  It was the first-time Rod had ever witnessed dip-netting.  Stopped by the Pillars State Park.  Dumped and watered.  Going to hang out until we are ready to fish the evening shift.

Fished the evening shift.  Starting getting ready about 6:15 PM.  Old Johnny Reb was out, playing his harmonica as we dressed.  Later, he followed us down and watched from the platform.  As I write this the Reb has turned yellow and fled from the gravel pit.

Went to the river and our hole at Marvin's rock was wide open.  I grabbed it and fished shallow right above the guy in front of the stairs who had one fish on the stringer.  He was decked out in matching camouflage gear, backpack, and a nice fishing glove.  He was a lefty, too.  We started hooking up right away very shallow and my fish were going into the guy below me.  The first hook or two were foul -both peeling drag off the reel.  I have a feelin the reel is about shot and the water being high and these being very big fish it was difficult to control them.  On my first mouth hook I ripped the fly out of his mouth while trying to land him in the sticks.  My next mouth hook I landed on the bank-then he gets free and flops back into the river.  Later I land a mouth hooked dinky red.  Rod catches and releases a big trout.  Both of us are hooking and losing tons and tons of fish.  My neighbor below me hasn't hooked a thing since we've been there.  Later another guy comes down the next stairs and fishes.  He pulls up a lot of mouth hooks and leaves quickly with four fish.  I finally catch two more very big ones.  Rod loses all his fish and is pissed.  He's not having fun.  He claims the fishing line is broke because he keeps snapping off flies.  Later he grabs the new trout rod that we bought at the hardware store and claims it doesn't work either.  Rod finally lands a red then loses it, and gets his sleeve wet while looking desperate.  I cleaned my three, and Rod hooked a lot more, but never got any of them to the bank.

Rod's apprehension about dealing with the docile bees

Rod's containment improvements

is that a hook in your finger?

Getting hit in the glasses with a fly last night

my weights hit me in the head, out of the tree

the temperature change at sunset

cleaning before dark

the last rays of the evening the sun field

solitude at last

the excuses people make not to come to Alaska (huh, Tim?)

mindless banter that takes place

the guy who couldn't light his cigars-little problem with the matches?

Guys who stand too deep and don't yield to a fish on

the slow wear down of the motorhome

paper towels

where ya from?

Watching the jet land last night the sound and the takeoff

Saturday 7-31

Rod went down in the morning and got a couple.  We set around the airport most the day.  Wayne called to cancel clamming-Marie's relative passed away.  We did the run to Hamilton's and dropped the fish off.  We just hung out and and fished in the evening.  We got into the number one branch hole again.  Had 20 on before I left.  Old Penguin and Jack the Ripper moved in.  Another guy complaining about them too.  Moved to Marvin's hole and caught one.  Rod also caught one.  Quit a little bit earlier than previous.  The fish have gotten thinner-less frequent hookups.

Sunday 8/1

It is shower day.  We recon'd the river and watched old Hacksaw-Reynolds.  Age 83.  Tail stagger.  Fly rod.  Split weights.  Hard jerk.  Wears a baseball cap.  Has a son for helper.  Old Elf Guy showed up for the first time all season, he's finally made it - but quite late this year.  Only seven people on the river this morning when we go down to watch.  Still it was better than the Russian River-there we found lots of old ones and not many of them were very bright or keepable.  Probably going to be better luck back at the airport and less people too.  Russian River's not fishing very good today.  We fished the usual spots there but not much was happening.  However we have a pretty view of a good sunset.  I'm betting that were going to return downriver to Soldotna tomorrow.

Monday 8-2

Awake around 8 a.m. at the Russian River.  We sat around for while and then decided to head back to Soldotna.  We wanted to take our chances with large fresh silver fish, instead of these old Russian River reds.  So we made it to the airport and went fishing.  It was slow.  We spent three hours on the river and I only had seven hookups.  Three of them were mouth hooks.  I did end up keeping one fish.  Let one fish go -due to its massive brain hemorrhage.  Also caught a really big pink and got a nice picture.  Went back to the rig for lunch.  Then we went fishing again in the mid afternoon.  Finally got a good pulse of fish.  I finished around 9 p.m. with a with a good six limit.  Over the session in the evening I had 47 hookups.  Had pinks, dollies, reds and a trout.  I caught my six and cleaned- and while I cleaned Rod continued to fish and catch.  Rod also landed fish and he ended up with three.  His total is now 35 for the year.  Dinner is another hot pizza bread.  Celebration time now.  All of my fish this evening were caught on Glory's rod.  We talked to old man Schmidt.  He has a Schmidt beer hat.  He asked me what the secret to my success was.  He's a German.  Mother's name is Shultz.  Great fishing tonight-no crowd-nice afternoon lots of space blue sky.  Like I told Rod, we may have stumbled across a beautiful day.

Watched a nice moonrise this morning

finally beat Rod at cribbage

fished next to Hacksaw Reynolds

have a mosquito bite on the top of my head and now I'm taller

got some good photos

old Johnny Reb was a watching us

tomorrow is the final sockeye day

cortisone shot appears to be melting down

weather was sunny and hot, good breeze-totally awesome day.  No sweatshirts.

count was only 14,000 today

Tuesday 8-3

Woke up around 4:15 a.m. and went for our final morning fishing session.  The moon was still out and high behind us.  It hadn't moved very much from last night.  That probably had more to say about the shortness of our sleep than anything.  Rod and I were the only ones on the beach-this is the time you can really dream about.  Hooked a few at Marvin's hole.  Then I started walking the beach, casting and doing the step down.  Hooked and lost one down the chute midway.  At the base of the number one hole, I reeled in a 26-28 inch rainbow trout.  I immediately yelled for the camera.  We get a good picture of the fish before I released it (for the record - I mouth hooked it - the big gouge on its belly is a prior wound).  A few minutes later back at the rock, I landed two nice reds.  One buck, one hen.  They are sure skinny of meat.  Rod hook fished and lost them or released them.  Eventually one fish got Rod good and sent his weights back into his face.  At first I thought he was just frustrated, but later Rod moaned that he had been hit in the eye.  He didn't have his glasses on either-and he took a nasty weight shot gashing him in the cheek.  It also scraped the bridge of his nose and drew blood and caused some swelling. According to Rod there was a big "pow" and then he saw darkness and then the stars came out and his vision completely shutdown and then he had to sitdown and recover for awhile.

I ended the day with 14 hookups, two fish landed, and a huge rainbow released.  At last the dreaded day is here the last day of sockeye fishing- it lingers in front of you every day always coming nearer and nearer.  Went back to the rig for Frenchy toast and naps.  Off to Hamilton's and then Wayne's today. And then it's off to the airport in Anchorage because Rod has to go home.

Quickie Quiz:

When you hear that your neighbors generator has quit running, it means:

A) they are leaving finally

B) they've been killed by other neighbors

C) it's another neighbor's turn

D) they are pouring in more gas

 answer: D, sometimes C, unfortunately never A or B

We never did make it back for an afternoon session.  We ended up making Frenchy toast and then sleeping.  We shoved off around 2 p.m.-stopped at the bank, dumped, got gas, then stopped a few minutes shy of Hamilton's place.  Rod checked out the gravel driveway just down from South Cooper Creek campground.  The driveway leads to a free camping area-fire pits and all.  We hung out there until it was time to go-then we picked up the fish at Hamilton's.  I swapped Rod's soft fish for some of my frozen fillets.  Rod ended up with four boxes: 50, 50, 70, and 25.  Not bad for his trip.  I know he was pleased with his fishing results this year.  I mean he had 15 fish just like that out of the chute in the first few sessions.  Six limit on his first two days.  Yes he did really really well.  Actually the days I fished with him he did worse.  Got back to Wayne's around 7:30 p.m., watched Wayne work.  Gave Rod the house tour-since it was his first time to Wayne Manor.  Took showers.  Watched TV and milled about.  At 10:35 p.m. I said 'Rod it's time to go' and with that we headed to the airport.  We threw the fish out on the curb and Rod found a cart.  I parked.  Rod picked the slow line.  We said our goodbyes and then he was off without a problem.  I made the dark drive back to the airport in Soldotna-very sleepy and bleary-eyed.  I arrived there at 2:40 AM.  Set the alarm and got my gear ready and then fell asleep.  I couldn't wake up until 10 AM.  Guess I'll be fishing late.  I called Bunny but she was busy and at work.  I'm slightly on a downer now since I am alone.  Had a great group of companions for the last three weeks-Wayne, Bunny, Eli, and Rod.  The next few days will be more introspective and reflective I believe.  Hoping to write a bit more now.  I have no plans until Thursday evening.  Then I must decide my weekend fishing plans.

Went down to go fishing around noon.  Saw few guys with full stringers.  Got the rock hole.  Started hooking up right away.  Foul hooked a lot of fish.  Ended up hooking 75 fish.  Put six on the bank.  Three were huge two were big and one was just OK.  At least three people come down and asked what I was using.  One old guy below me came up and fished above me for while.  He wasn't hooking anything so I offered him some advice and told him to move back about three steps out of the hole.  Immediately on his first cast after moving back he hooked a red that I netted for him.  We continue to hook and land fish and then Mr. Lame came down and tried to crowd in with us.  I kept hooking-finally he left.  His excuse was that there's no fish up there were he was.  So he's going to go into my hole?  The whole rest of the river was open.  Finally I got all six.  Broke an eye on Glory's rod tip.  It is now under repair.  Processed my fish.  Called Bunny called Rod called Wayne.  Went to Safeway and got food.  Today was an awesome day.  It was sunny with a little overcast but cool.  The RV crowd has thinned out and there's not so many people here anymore.  Lots of room.  It's nice to have a 40,000 fish day without any crowd.  Very nice indeed.

Saw moose last night at the street below Wayne's house.  We slowed down and it ran up into his backyard.  On O'Malley at twilight we saw a mom and a baby moose eating along the road.  After dropping Rod off at the airport I had a moose run out in front of me on Minnesota Street near C Street.  Saw an eagle again today at the river.  Caught an 18 to 20 inch rainbow today.  Hooked quite a few pinks.  They were a few dark red ones mixed in today as well.

The Lord greatly blessed and favored me today on the river-I wish I can understand what it is all about.

Ready for a.m. fishing tomorrow.  Will get a good nap tonight.  Good to catch that six limit on the first session of the day- that way the hands get the rest.

I forgot to tape my wrist last night

the motorhome is awesome- I'm very pleased with it

Thursday 8-5

I got up at 4a.m. and went fishing.  Not sure what to expect today.  It was dark and cloudy very gray morning and a small chill.  I guess it was basic Alaska fishing conditions.  I was rewarded with being the first guy on the water.  I hooked up early and often.  I had many hookups and as usual I lost a couple of my good mouth-hooks.  Hit about 15-20 fish before I landed one.  By then four other people came down to the river and were fishing upstream of me-all hitting fish.  Included with them was Arkansas Phil and Arizona Walt.  The first guy down in the morning besides myself broke his rod or line while landing a fish. Heard the crack of something breaking.  Then the silence was further broken by a "god-dammit".  He did the same thing a few hours later.  Whatever he did he had to leave the water for 15 minutes and go back up the gravel pit.  Phil and Walt finished first.  I finished as they were cleaning their fish.  By the end of the session, I had logged 80-plus hookups and had gotten six on the bank.  A couple times I landed pinks and some dark ones and tiny rainbows.  The two old Germans from yesterday morning came down a little bit later.  I watched them as they were fishing below me and I saw at least two questionable kills.  Of my six fish, I had four really big bucks.  The stringer was very nice.  Was a good stringer for going in the river and yes I was quite impressed looking at it.  One buck was a little bit darker than the others, but still had sea lice on it.  The weather turned out quite pleasant all morning.  I'm always a little bit scared during the morning gray light when I don't have my eye protection on.  When that happens I have to pull my hood up, use my hat, close my eyes, duck down, and look away.  Had mixed success with the new spinning rod.  It is little bit longer than Glory's rod and as a result it was a little harder for me to handle.  I would like to trim off one or 2 inches off the end.  I got Glory's rod tip repaired and want to try it out again very soon - maybe tomorrow?  I caught about half of my fish today with the flyrod.  The water started to go back down, but fish are still extremely close in - in the first and second slot.  The lack of other people on the river has made for the finest fishing of the year, and that rivals the all-time records for fishing.  To think that it's August 5th and I'm still catching bright bright fish in Soldotna. The peak of the tourist crowd has really come and gone-three weeks in July-what a contrast to right now.  Went back to the rig and processed the fish.  Freezer can easily handle 12 plus fish, however, they have to be added slowly.  I can't just add six fish then another six fish hours apart or they will never get cold and freeze.  I will need to offload the freezer tomorrow.  And may need to head north anyways to meet Wayne?  Took a good nap after breakfast and processing.  Got up and then walked on the trail.  Went down and watched at the river and saw some fish being caught -saw a few on stringers.  I've put 18 fish on the bank over the last three days.  Last year I ended up with 83 at this time and that was at full fishing strength.  I'm at 74 now and have a chance at more if the fish hold out through the weekend.  Spent no money today.

Not sure how many more fish I want to catch.

Why don't people understand shallow has been the key advice?  Everyone wants to know what rig or bait you use or where you're from?  How about understanding your prey?

I watched the little girl across the parking lot swatting at bees-I'm glad I'm not the only one with a bee problem

why do I like Soldotna in August?  Late sockeye runs and no people

wonder where Mr. Lame was today?

I had a lady today I had never seen before at the parking lot ask me if I wanted some of her salmon fillets today- I don't think so

it's unbelievable that there are people showing up to fish reds for the first time this year

it is nice to go down and just hook for fun

seems like a lot of the brush and trees have grown longer overnight-I've been hooking a lot on my backcast lately

another beautiful kenai day-no wonder I have dreams about this place

25 days ago I caught my first red, and now I have like 74 fish

I still need to fix the big motorhome curtain

hooked a few fish this evening walk playing catch and release doing the beach walk

Friday 8-6

Things are pretty slow this morning.  I did not get up at 4 AM.  Instead I fished from noon to 3 p.m.  I did not get very many hookups.  Lost all of my mouth hooks.  Headed to Hamiltons and prepared my fish boxes. I have filled my fourth box of fish.  I prepared three boxes and taped them up and got them ready to go.  The fourth box I will leave open so that I can put some silvers in it.  I called Wayne and arranged to meet him at Bings Landing.  I got there at about 6:30 p.m.  Not many people, but everyone had fish.  Hooked and landed one right away.  It was slow for me.  Around 7:15pm Wayne called and said he was in the parking lot.  I landed another one before he and Marie made it down to the water.  I ended up with four fish.  Wayne got three and Marie got one.  Was a beautiful, clear sunny day.  The evening Sun was blinding.  Went back to the airport to camp overnight.  We got there at midnight.  Started cooking salmon and processing fish.  Wayne called me outside to show me that the Northern lights.  So we watched them for awhile- while I shot some video. First time in all of my years coming north that I got a good look at the northern lights. Cool.

Saturday 8-7

I woke up at 5 a.m. to go fishing-just me.  It is a gorgeous morning-clear, orange sunrise, and a line of fog blowing down the river.  I hooked 13 fish in my session which lasted until 7:15 AM.  However no hookups came in the last 40 minutes.  The total included two pinks, a Dolly, and three dark reds.  Stick a fork in it baby this run is history.  Went back to the motorhome and made an omelet.  Time to move up river.  Probably go to Bing's and/or the Russian River today.  Another nice sunny day is on the way.

Wayne's two kodiak bear stories:

working containment in a landfill, driving the car with Jeff-see a grizzly bear that is bigger than the car, it runs up the hillside, and turns and comes back down

Wayne and Marie have decided to come down to go fishing again this weekend.  They made it down to the airport and he has gone down fishing.  I give him an hour and then I go check on him.  He has nothing and it is slow.  So, we closed the chapter on the airport-and we decided to head for the Russian.  I do the usual gas, dump, and water.  Wayne and Marie head off to the gift store.  We ended up meeting at the Russian River parking lot.  Wayne and I go fishing at about 6 p.m. Marie has decided to stay behind and rest.  We start at the riffle hole and then go down around the corner to the gravel bar.  We start hooking fish there.  Most of the fish are very dark and red-a lot of whitetails, green heads, and red bulls.  In the end, Wayne gets three and I get two decent fish.  As the sun goes down the salmon began to boil all-over it was really awesome to watch- it reminded me of the way they used to boil back in year four.  Except this time the fish are very dark red instead of bright silver.  Across the river at the pools the fish are going crazy all night long.  It is amazing to watch them jump one after another over in the pools.  After fishing the three of us go to Gwins Lodge for dinner-and then we play cribbage before bed.

Sunday 8-8

We all slept in until 9 a.m. Wayne and Marie went off to breakfast at Gwins then they crossed the ferry and went fishing.  I decided to stay behind and just hang out.  Fishing for beat up reds has kind of lost its appeal.  I check my phone messages and discover that J. D. Cannon was born on 8-7-04.  He was 5 pounds and 12 ounces.

I called Bunny and told her about the baby

I watched the fish and game officer walk along the bank and check every single person for a license.  He also observed every fish that was hooked to determine if it was legal.

Wayne and Marie made it back and ended up with one nice red and one nice Dolly Varden.  We hit the road and I headed straight for Ship Creek.  I got there at 5:30 p.m..  I observed for a few moments and determined that fishing was very good-so I made the decision to go fishing.  I got on the water at about 6 p.m.-I was a little bit late.  Because I was late I kept finding myself behind the school of fish and I couldn't get a good spot or angle at them.  On the outgoing tide I was 0/4 on hookups.  Two of my hookups were good mouth hooks-but I lost them anyway.  At Slack tide Wayne appeared.  I was happy to see him arrive to go fishing after all it was his birthday and we have this tradition of fishing at ship Creek on his birthday.  Wayne had excellent luck and he went 3/6 on hookups-and got an easy limit of Silvers.  I lost two more mouth hooks.  The tide was coming in big-time and the fishing session was just about over.  Wayne went up river to clean his fish.  I frantically tried to get one on the bank so I would not be skunked.  Finally I caught one.  He went through my legs but I held on.  I got him and slammed him into the mud and did my best job to get my stringer in his mouth-however he flopped and flopped four times and I ended up very muddy.  Eventually I got the stringer through his mouth and got the other end of the stringer tied to my waders.  He was mine now.  But he was still flopping around-so I went for the knife in the head.  I got a good knife blow in his head but he was still flopping.  I made a few more casts and then decided he needed another blow to the head with my knife.  Oh yeah I was going to bonk him with my stick however I left it on the dumpster on the way down to the river-but that is another story.  Anyway, I go for the second death blow with my knife this blow opens up his head and the blood gushes forth -however the next thing I know my fish has slid into the water and is getting away.  The next two seconds I am mystified about what is happening-then I realize my second knife blow has not only sliced his gills but my stringer as well.  I feel the fish bump into my legs- I make a desperate grab underwater and try to recover him but he is gone.  Wayne is going to love to hear this tale.  So I caught a fish, I landed him, I put him on the stringer, I all but killed him, and he still got away-and furthermore once again I am skunked-while Wayne, who came down later than me, got his three limit.  This ranks right down there with my tales from ship Creek.  Well the only good part about this story is that none of the other fishermen next to me noticed what happened, or at least if they did they didn't tease me about it.  So I guess at that point I decided I'd better quit because things couldn't get any worse for me.  Got back to the rig and told Wayne about my story and he laughed for about 10 minutes-it was probably the best birthday present I could've given him. To quote Wayne this is a birthday I will always remember- this will be known from here on out as "The day Wayne came down late and got his limit while Mike sliced his stringer and lost his only fish".  To top things off I've discovered that my fishing backpack has a broken zipper and is now garbage.  Another perfect ship Creek day! The funny thing is I had a really good time-it was an extremely fun fishing session.  In addition we had a beautiful sunset to watch as I told Wayne my story of lameness.

The corner has changed-the island is gone now-but now there is a narrow deep channel

there are so many people of different races fishing at ship Creek: Japanese, Samoans, Chinese, Vietnamese, Mexican, black, white, Filipino-it's kinda cool

being behind the surge all night

pulling into the parking lot and seeing the zoo of people

Wayne's goal for the night-to get no mud on my new Texas Rangers hat

lots of hookups tonight many on the Slack tide-hard to get a good hook set

walking around the bend and fishing new territory for me-the cargo hole, the fishtail hole, and the bend

four pinks

being down in the mud wall maze, blue sky, fighter jets and cargo planes, lift truck's, seagulls, geese, ducks, and a little salmon stream running through it-very surreal experience.

The changing river conditions, quick current, medium current, Slack water and deep, keep changing weights, three small weights for a quick drift and four weights on Slack water

sometimes it is hard to land the fish, get them stringered before removing hook, and then kill the fish

beautiful sunset

morning time is better-less people

Wayne doing the "sniff sniff" skunked boy to a stranger

Monday 8-9

Got up at 6:30 a.m.-milled around a bit then drove down to Ship Creek.  Got my favorite parking spot number 14 at around 7:15 a.m. and then went fishing.  Perfect timing and not many people.  I made a longer rope stringer today-had to replace the one I slashed in half.  Carried the new knife on my body hooked through the strap on my waders.  I went downriver around the bend and continued down and fish that stretch along the cargo hole.  Down at the cargo hole I immediately hooked fish, however, it was four pink salmon.  It was kind of weird hooking so many pinks.  Finally I got into Silvers at the cargo hole-but I ended up losing all six that I hooked.  After about an hour I was 0/14 on hookups and I decided to move back upriver towards the bend.  Strangely the water at low tide was low for an hour, and then the water level went up a bit as though the tide were coming in, but it wasn't.  Perhaps, upriver they let some water out of the damn.  Finally the tide turned and the water came up a bit and a nice big school of fish came into the river.  I had moved up to the fishtail hole at that point and I started to hooked fish. I probably hooked seven or eight fish there and got my first one on the bank.  As the water came up, I moved up and landed another one.  Then the tide came in pretty hard-I got into the big school of fish right at the bend-and I must of hooked seven or eight fish, but I either lost them or they were foul hooked.  As the water rose I had to cross the bend or I was toast.  I moved up towards the chick hole narrows and dinged a mouth hook for my third fish.  Yea!  I got my revenge on Ship Creek.  Went back to the rig and relaxed for a few moments then processed the fish.  I cannot wait to return tomorrow and do it again.  Headed to Wayne Manor.  Took a much needed shower then had lunch-a salmon fillet and a Coca-Cola.

Tuesday 8-10

Up at 6:30am, had juice, got ready to head to Ship Creek. Except the Motorhome would not start. Crank crank crank, but no spark. Great. Now what? Tried the WD-40 in the carb trick - but no results. Found a jug of gas and poured some of that in - but no results.   Finally after an hour of cranking and trying I gave up and decided to make breakfast. Sat down and cooked eggs for breakfast. Before my last attempt - prior to my decision that I'd have to call USAA roadside and get towed out of Wayne's driveway - I prayed to God for help. On my next attempt there was a slight hint of a spark. Finally, it fired up. Thus again I was treated to an answered prayer from God. I immediately headed down to Dean's Auto Repair for help. On the way down I had the mental argument of whether or not to head to Ship Creek and fish first, but I thought that was a stupid idea in the long-run. I needed mechanical assistance right away. Dean sent me over to his other shop that borders Ship Creek. The guys decided that the fuel pump was going bad. It took them awhile to source the part. Then when the part came in it was the wrong part. Finally, they got the right pump and got to work on the rig. At least this problem happened in town and not on the way down to Seward. Well, my hands needed the day off anyways. Got done at Deans at 3:30pm for $322.00. Headed to Wal-Mart to pickup antifreeze for the MH water system. Spilled 4 gallons on the way to Wayne's and that made a mess for a few days on the carpeted step (antifreeze doesn't evaporate real quickly I found out). Anyways, the Lord saved my butt again today. He came through with an answer to my prayer.

Stayed at Wayne's for the rest of the evening. Need to play some more cribbage tonight, right now I am minus 2 games. Richard stopped by to load up Wayne's extra wood boards - he's building a cabin. Wayne made it home from Fairbanks. He helped Rich for a bit, then we made food and played cards. I caught up with him finally. Tomorrow is my last Ship Creek day, then after the session I will head down to Seward. And the day after that, I go to Kenai for a silver charter. The trip is about over. The die is cast. Well, at least I have a new fuel pump. Can't wait to hook some more silvers tomorrow.

Wednesday 8-11

Got to Ship Creek at 8 a.m. got on the water soon after, a little bit late still?  Headed down to the corner near the bend.  Again I see the old guy with the red and black plaid flannel shirt and cigar.  I bumped a couple on my way down to the bend.  I wade down to the submerged ladder -and bumped one really close. A couple fish were swimming behind me and hit my legs.  As soon as I'm comfortable with the water level, I make my crossing at the bend.  I head downstream another 20 or 30 yards.  In about 10 minutes I mouth hook a nice hen.  My reel is really messed up.  I ended up hand lining the fish into the bank.  In the slack water it was not too hard.  I landed it back in the muddy hillside and buried in the mud.  I reached  for my knife and gave it a kill shot. And I get it on the stringer.  He thrashes and I take a thick mud shower which is pretty usual for me though.  Hey it's Ship Creek and I'm in the mud-bog salmon fishing! I get number one on the stringer and start fishing again.  Soon thereafter in the slack water I hook up with another one.  It comes in and struggles a bit more in the muck thoroughly covering me with mud slime. I make a kill shot with my knife and cut my hook off in order to get everything out quick and easy. I put the second fish on the stringer and get back to fishing searching for the school as it moves with the outgoing tide.  Things go dry for awhile.  I go down to the cargo hole and have a couple of hookups, but  put nothing on the bank.  I go around the next bend and fish the first stretch after that, but I find nothing.  It is amazing how quickly the school of fish suck out of the river with the tide.  I moved back up the river.  Hey, I've lost my pliers.  Darn it.  And my reel is broken it won't turn at all by hand.  I foul hook one at the cargo hole and it splashes me and I am very wet.  Then I work my way back to the fishtail hole.  The tide is still out but occasionally a fish is running up the river.  At the fishtail hole it is me and another guy hitting the water with our flies.  I'm casting into the hole and having very nice drift.  Quickly I hook a few but they get off.  A few minutes later I hook another and my third one is on the bank.  Now it is cleaning time.  I hike back up the river around the gravel bar and find a nice flat space to clean.  Got back to the truck at 11 a.m..  Process the fish, make a snack, and get out the video camera to take some pics.

Head up the road to Fred Meyer's.  Bought some hangers, hooks, potato sacks, armor-all, and rope.  Went off and did laundry.  Afterwards high-pressure washed the motorhome.  Then off to the gas station. Went up to Wayne's for a shower.  Best of all the motorhome starts every time now.  Hit the highway and headed to Seward.  At Girdwood I meet Wayne in the parking lot and we hang out and play cribbage for awhile.  Wayne was coming back from Kenai City.  We split the games of cribbage but I'm still up four games now.  Yes, I had a big six-game turnaround last night.  And that included two skunks at the end of the night.  I make it to Seward at about 8 p.m..  I drove through town.  It is cold gray and misty here.  I drove up to Resurrection River and parked and made dinner.  Dinner was pizza-salad.  I made my lunch for tomorrow's charter.  I'm going out with Aurora Charters, $185 plus tax for an all-day silver charter.  I'm hoping for a big day tomorrow - a six limit.  That's what I was thinking about the trip last year as well, but I only ended up with one fish.  This year will be different.

Thursday 8-12

Got up at 5 a.m..  Had a nice sleep alongside the river.  Made a quick breakfast and got dressed.  Got into Seward at about 6:05 a.m..  Check-in with the slow girl at the charter office who didn't want to take my traveler check even though she said she would on the phone day earlier.  Our Captain's name is Seth.  The rest of our group is from South Carolina.  The leader is Joey, Lee, Joe (who looks like Jerry Reed and Joe Schmidt), William (dark look and mean looking).  Quite a group of rebel-good-old-boys.  About half of the stuff that they said for the first hour I could not understand.  And it took me a while until I could dial in on their dialect.  Then I was finally able to understand what the heck they were talking about.  They were actually a friendly bunch though.  Seth seemed to me to be burned out and and annoyed all-day but he wasn't too bad of a captain.  His boat did suck though.  He kept telling us that we had to sit down all the way, but he only had two real seats.  His other seats were detached car seats that slid around as the boat moved through the water.  I'd have to say that if you're going to invest in a boat especially a charter boat, maybe you should make some provision for seating.  He kept bragging about his $20,000 engines - but what about chairs?  His boat was very fast though.  He said it did 30 knots.  We had a brief bout with fog on the way out of the bay. The fog really limited the visibility in the Seahawk, which I named the "Sea chicken".  We ran out to the end of the bay and hung a left.  Then we went diagonal towards the right side of the big Island (Montague) and on past up to some little creek bay Inlet (these are very technical detailed directions for those of you who wish to follow us).  There were half a dozen boats in each spot.  We got nothing in the first spot.  We drifted over to the other corner and I got a fish on.  I landed a nice hen.  William also got one on.  That first fish for me came soon after I said a silent prayer to God to get some fish.  Another answered prayer.  After that, Joe got one.  And then William got another.  After that brief flurry we drifted into a school of dinky little black cod. We moved around after that to another hole.  That spot yielded nothing.  So we went back to our first hole.  We drifted around and ended up having words with the Captain of the Melinda Rose.  Not sure what his problem was....well maybe I did.  Captain Seth put us right in the middle of a group of boats and there was a close call as a couple boats almost got pinned against some rocks.  We ended up moving again as we had no more fish, but our next move put us back into the black cod.  We also started catching sea bass.  The Carolina boys kept a few of those.  We took off across the water and headed to the driftwood hole.  That hole is back towards the bay entrance on the other side of the Island.  I quickly had two big bucks in the boat.  Everyone else started catching, too.  In the end we had 18 fish, everyone had limits of silver outside of the bay- even the Captain got his.  We also had 15 rockfish and a ton of little black cod.  A couple of us fished for halibut. Joe had one on briefly but lost it. Joey was the last to get his limit, and Captain decided to start trolling.  Within one minute of trolling Joey got his final fish.  Then we headed back inside the bay to try to get our other three fish.  We fished near the gun emplacement hole.  Nothing.  Fished closer to home near the lumber mill.  Nothing.  A big wind came up and the water got rough - it was time to head back.  Well at least I got three fish today. Here's a pic of our catch for the day --> Silvers at Seward

The Captain's boat really sucked -get some seats

mooching for Silvers is fun

Joe had a hog that went under the boat and jumped up out of the water

the Captain caught one in 2 feet of water near the boat

my big fish jumped out of the water and almost into the motor

those darn rebels

Joe ate cigars and spit them out

Lee pretended he was a tough guy

Joey said "Lee you couldn't do a sit up on that thing if I put a pistol in your ear"

beautiful day on the bay and ocean

sea lions on the rock - fighting and bellowing

the bald eagle swooped down and got a fish

I think I would like to try Safari Fishing Charters

our Captain had to fillet the fish as well

a full-day charter is much better than a half-day

Derby fishing is in the bay only

Headed back to Soldotna at 7 p.m. to process the Silvers and make pizza bread.  Got dressed to go sockeye fishing.  From 8 p.m. until 10 p.m. I had 15 hookups.  I saw the Japanese guy named Udo-and waved to him.  Saw Arizona Walt.  There was some burly headed dude and his friends in my hole.  He was in shorts bare-legged. He had two dark ones on the bank.  I went above him and got nothing.  Then I went under the number one hole near the stump and hooked one.  It got off right away.  Hooked another one in the mouth.  It got off too- darn it.  Tail hooked a big bruiser and had a nasty battle.  Later I moved back up to the log hole.  I hooked one right in the head but it came off right away.  Next I hooked another one in the mouth.  I fought that fish for two minutes then it popped off.  Poop.  Then I rolled a giant- probably a silver.  After that I had a bunch of pink's- let them all go.  I de