| KENAIDREAMS.COM | ALASKA JOURNAL 2005 | |
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Disclaimer: Many fish were killed during the compilation of this journal. Note to others: At no time were any daily limits or possession limits exceeded during this trip. All fish caught were processed, vacuum-packed and frozen by the start of my next fishing session. My fish go in the freezer immediately, and I have adequate freezer space for about 15 fish in my RV. All fish kept and retained were legally hooked in the mouth. I don't keep snags and I don't let others keep them if I see it happen. Admittedly, I do foul-hook fish on occasion, but that's sockeye fishing. But I release all foul-hooked fish. So, go complain and accuse somebody else...maybe a Frenchy or a German somewhere...
Sunday 7-3 Made the 6-hour flight to Anchorage. Back is a little bit achy right now. Read my book. Listened to music on the headphones. Wayne arrived at 9:30pm to pick me up. He’s in a rental Subaru wagon. His truck is getting its transmission repaired. Went to Carr’s and got groceries. Spent $104.00. Headed up to Wayne’s to load gear, food, and prep for our Russian River fishing trip tomorrow morning.
Monday 7-4 Got to bed at about 1:30am, which felt like 3:30am to my tired body. Up at 3:15am. Took a shower and made enough noise to make sure that Wayne was awake. He quote “wants to make it in time for the first ferry across in the morning.” Good luck, I think to myself – but, hey, I’m not going to be the reason we’re late. Took a shower and had a quick breakfast. Wayne got up about 4am. By 5am we’ve gassed up and hit the highway. We made it to the Russian/Kenai Ferry at about 7am. We took an easy “free parking spot”. Perhaps this is not such a good sign? We cross the ferry and get in the #2 and #3 holes on the Russian side of the sanctuary. We see a few fish every now and then but nothing that would indicate fishing is still hot. A couple of different guys talked about “last week”. Oh well, it’s pretty much what I figured it would be for the first run this late in the season. After an hour of fishing I am 0 for 2 and Wayne is 0 for 0. I ask him if he wants to trade spots for awhile. I move into his #3 hole and on the first cast I mouth-hook and land a small hen. Hey, first fish of the year is on the bank! From there, though, it is all down hill. Over the next couple hours we go fishing down below the ferry. At that time I am 1 for 8 on the day and Wayne is 0 for 5. We spent an hour or two below the ferry and then march back up to our prior spots. I end the day going 1 for 26, while Wayne ends up 0 for 18. Wayne’s highlight was his belly-snagged large, thick, spotted rainbow that he had to let go. I rushed to get a picture for Wayne, but he fumbled the fish back into the river before I could bring the camera to bare. At 2pm we call it quits. Overall, it was a slow day and we worked too hard – but I did score my first fish of the year. My poor filleting of that skinny hen proved that I wasn’t in mid-season form yet, and I ended up with a lot of hamburger from the b-side of the filet. Back at the rig, Wayne took revenge on me and skunked me at a game of cribbage to go up +2 on me. After, he drove home while I headed off to Seward. Got gas and then headed up the Resurrection River to camp overnight. Called bunny and chatted with her for awhile. Called Safari Charters to confirm my trip for the next morning. They are trying to screw me. Instead of a halibut/silver combo trip they say we are going out for a halibut/lingcod trip. What the hell? How can you change the species after I’ve paid for a silver combo trip? Whatever. I really hate cod fishing and couldn’t care less if I ever catch one of them again…and now I’m paying to do it?
Tuesday 7-5 Went out on a 6-pack boat – The Ghost, with Captain Justin. He’s a big burly red-headed guy. Nice guy though. There are only three other people on the trip: Kevin and Ian, and Kari. Minus two people means that we have more room to fish, but it also means that there are less paying customers. So, again I get screwed, as the captain tells us that it isn’t profitable for them to go outside the bay with only 4 people on board. Okay, I understand economics, but shouldn’t I get the full value of my money, no matter how good or bad of a job the company does on selling its fishing spots. I mean when you book they don’t tell you that it cost $150 bucks and you’ll fish for halibut unless it’s not profitable in which case you’ll just have to fish for rockfish instead? What the hell is wrong with folks and businesses these days? Apparently, customer satisfaction is not a metric that Saltwater Safari measures. That really blows. Also, we have to wait in the fricking dock an extra hour in case we can pick up some stragglers that want to go fishing. So we are last out/last in of the fleet on this day…and unable to go out to the good halibut grounds. At least the weather was perfect. Not a cloud in the sky and the seas were quite calm. We saw porpoises and humpbacks on the way out. Fished first for lings. Everyone brought some nice ones to the boat except me. I caught a dink that was barely legal, but I kept it so that we could move on to fishing for other species. I was happy with the dink anyways, because I wasn’t really that interested in cod meat. The sun kept getting hotter and hotter and soon we were all down to our last layers of clothing. While cod fishing I snagged a few jigs on the bottom, much to the chagrin of our captain. After cod fishing we searched a few spots looking for halibut. My first fish was a 20-pounder, which I mistakenly threw back, as it would have been a monster for our boat. We all struggled with halibuts for awhile and caught and kept some real chickens in the 15-20 pound range. In the afternoon we headed back towards home while we fished for silvers in the bay. I boated 2 silvers and 3 pinks during this time, which made me much happier. I definitely like mooching for silvers – it’s one of my favorite pastimes, and I’m pretty darn good at it, too. I lost a third silver that was pretty big. He made a good solid run, took some line, and as I brought him in, he made another run and tangled in Kari’s line. Then he broke water and launched himself into the side of the boat – throwing the hook in the process. The captain was bummed that we lost a nice silver, but heck, it was great to be part of that battle. That’s what silver fishing is all about, man. During the trip I also caught a couple of black sea bass. I left the pinks, cod, and sea bass behind for the captain and whoever wanted them. Overall, our boat caught 6 different species: ling cod, sea bass, yellow eye, pinks, silvers, and halibut. Personally, I hooked into 5 species of fish on the trip, which was pretty cool, and says a lot about the Seward fishery. We also saw whales, porpoises, otters, sea lions, puffins, and eagles during the trip which made for a nice day. Ian and Kevin were friends that lived in Hatchers Pass. They were in there mid-20’s. Kari was in her early 30’s and looked like actress Karen Allen. They were all in town for the July 4th – Mount Marathon run. It’s a big event for the whole town. On the day before as I was coming into town to get gas there was a two-mile long line of cars leaving Seward as the event was wrapping up. And up along the Resurrection river there were more campers and tents than I had ever seen before. Got back into the dock at 7pm. Justin cleaned the fish and then I headed to the rig and vacu-packed my catch. I made a fast drive to Hamilton’s to beat their closing time. I ended up with 25 lbs of meat for the trip. Gave Mark a big bag of lingcod. Then I headed down to Soldotna. What a surprise. The gravel pit was completely full already. Not a single red in town yet, but the tourists are already here in force. Found a crappy spot to squeeze in at and got things ready, then went to bed.
Wednesday 7-6 Got up and on the river at 4:30am. First one there for the morning – for about 15 minutes anyways. Had three hookups, which I lost, before the stomach started to ache and I had to go on a potty run. Went back up to the rig and then went back to bed. Slept until 10 am. Then went to town and dumped the rig, took a shower, got groceries. Bought chicken and rice at Safeway. Went back to the airport and fished from 4:30 til 6:30. Fished below the #1 hole. There was an old lady there – kind of a “Jessie Faye” type lady. Whenever I hooked a fish she started giving me instructions on what to do. Finally I had to tell her, “Ma’am, please stop talking. I know what I’m doing.” I ended up going 1 for 7 on the evening. Processed my fish then headed down towards Homer. Stopped at Marvin’s place. He was eating with 3 relatives/friends. Stayed and visited for an hour or so. Had some home made bread which was excellent. Went to the Anchor River beach to camp. Got the rig stuck in the sand – which is much deeper and looser than previous years. Found a kid who helped me dig it out. Praise God for that kid. I was kind of screwed without his help. He said that’s been happening a lot this year. That was an extremely stressful 15 minutes while I was stuck. What a terrible feeling. Note to self – bring shovel. Watched the sunset at the beach. It was clear with few clouds out. It should make for some good pictures. Then I went to bed and got ready for two straight days of Homer halibut trips. I plan on keeping mediums the first day in order to get meat in the freezer and then speculate more the second day in search of the big one.
Thursday 7-7 Left Anchor River around 5:15 am and headed to the spit. Got a good parking spot then got ready for the charter. Searched for Born Free and Foxfire down at slip F-1. Saw the Foxfire – which was not my boat. They pointed me over to Capt Matt’s ship – The Spirit. It’s nearly as big as The Spirit of Portland. This is a ship, not a boat. A definite upgrade for Matt over his urine-smelling piece of crap Silver Fox boat from last year. There’s a huge cabin inside with a full kitchen, 2 tables, couches, TV and DVD, and more. Two nice big bathrooms complete the setup. The wheelhouse is upstairs and secluded from the passenger area. I through my bag on one of the padded benches behind a table and grab a seat there. A few minutes later a group of 8 comes aboard that fished the previous day. I hear one lady commenting that they should have the same setup as yesterday. She walks into the cabin and sees me sitting at one of the tables already and gives me a frown and a sneer, and with a snotty voice says “There’s a bag there already.” Apparently, I’ve already messed up her plans for the voyage. Eventually I move my stuff and take up residence on one of the small couches. This group of 8 that boarded were loud, obnoxious, drinkers and cursers. All of my favorite characteristics in a fishing party. Another half dozen folks join the cruise before we head out. I meet a guy named Richard from Oklahoma. He’s a Methodist pastor in Soldotna now. He was with a friend. Then there’s another family of 4 from New Hampshire. They Dad looked exactly like Roy Scheider. He had a chubby/chatty daughter, a curly headed kid, and his wife with him. Nice folks. And then there were a couple other folks I didn’t know. We went out straight into the center into Cook Inlet
territory. We started by free drifting. All 16 of us were on one side of the
boat and were letting down our lines together. There was some major tangling
going on which I managed to avoid. I brought up a measly 20 pounder for my
first fish. Sent him back into the depths of the sea. My next bite revealed
a big old nasty grey cod. He went back, too. Finally we weighed anchor and
people spread out around the boat. The next fish I cranked in was a 25- As usual for my trips, the weather was outstanding – sunny and hot. It got really warm after the first hour. The only downside was that the tide was moving hard and fast all day which made for some hard fishing. Being my first halibut trip on a big boat (well, that’s not quite true – we did a big boat cod/butt charter out of Seward once)…okay, being my first Homer charter on a big boat, I must say that I really enjoyed the experience. The ride was extremely smooth and pleasant and comfortable. The bathrooms were awesome. The view from the top-deck was nice. And I had no fear of dying like I do on some of those crappy little six-packs. I didn’t get beat up by the pounding of the boat. My back felt great all day. And when we got back to shore I wasn’t tired or drained at all. The only downside was the number of people/idiots fishing next to you. But after the first hour of fishing, that wasn’t so bad either. As soon as a couple of folks got their limits more space opened up and tangling was no longer an issue. Plus, with the high number of baits in the water, there was a good scent trail below our boat. In all, I’m officially never going out on a six-pack again – if I have anything to say about it. Headed back up the highway to find a place to sleep. Didn’t really want to drive on the sandy Anchor point beach again, so I found a highway pullout along the upper Anchor River. Parked the rig and got some sleep.
Friday 7-8 Up at 4:20am. Time to get ready for another halibut trip. It’s my 3rd charter in 4 days. Got a good sleep and the body feels rested. My left hand is a bit tired still, however. My right thumb pad is healing up fine though. Headed to the spit and got my usual spot. Got ready to go. This time I grabbed my salmon rod to take with me, hoping to catch a few silvers after limiting on halibut. It’s an ugly stick (2 piece) with a bait caster reel full of green 25lb line. I’ve got a banana sinker and an eagle claw steelhead leader setup (18lb) tied on and ready to go. Today’s group of fisherman were big and sleepy. There were half a dozen huge dudes on the boat and nearly all of them were asleep until fishing time began. Two of the guys were ultra-fat and nearly impossible to get by on the railing. I met Theo, Mike Kelly, and a couple of others. The sun was blistering hot today, especially on my ears. I rode the top deck and in the wheel house for most of the journey. Everyone else was passed out below. The silence of the crew was a sharp contrast to yesterday’s loud and obnoxious crew. Mike Kelly came up to the top deck and started calling one of his friends – trying to impress them with where he was. He was telling them all that he’s in a boat in the gulf of Alaska (were in Cook Inlet) and that the Captain has us headed towards the Bering Sea (Uhm….actually the Barren Islands) and that we’re gonna fish in the Bering Straits. Okay, so he gets minus points for listening. Anyways, I start laughing to myself when I hear him telling his buddy this story. I walk into the wheelhouse and tell Matt and the crew what he’s saying and they have a good laugh about it. Then Matt relays the story over the radio to a couple of other boats which also have a good laugh. To top this episode off - a few minutes later, Mike Kelly comes into the wheelhouse and asks Matt – Just how close to Russia are we going to be anyways? Perhaps a geography lesson might be a good idea… Anyhow, we make the Barrens in good time. On the first drop it is dead slow. I get a really strong bite – it takes line, but then I lose it. Darn it. Then we swing around to the back side of the island. That’s where I melted in the sun for awhile. I peeled off a couple layers of sweatshirts and clothing soon thereafter. Finally I bring in a good 35-pounder. It was a good fighter and took line a couple of times. One guy managed a big fish – a 160-pounder by the book. It was really nice. Also saw a 70pounder come in, too. Later I caught a second keeper as we were finishing up at the islands. Then we headed to a cleanup hole and as we went, I readied my salmon rod. I wanted to try and hook some silvers. I cut a small chunk of herring and let down my rig about 75 feet. At the time everyone was fishing in a 300foot chicken hole. There was quite a good feeding frenzy going on with all of the guys trying to finish up their limits. On about my third jig I hook a fish. I immediately set the hook expecting to battle feisty silver, but the bend in my rod just got bigger and bigger instead. Oh no, what have I done, I thought? I got a few cranks in on that halibut, but with my light salmon rod all I could do was to hold on and try to apply some thumb pressure when it started to run. Luckily, I had my finger-saver on and it worked well as I battled that halibut on my light setup. That fish drug me all around the boat making quite a scene. I eventually tangled with another guy as my fish came to the surface. It was a decent sized 25-pounder. Cool. That was an awesome battle. I want to do that again. So I baited up again and sent the mooching rig back down – but only to 50 feet this time. Immediately, I was into another halibut. Apparently, they were everywhere in the water column. I bring this one up to the boat and release it – honestly amazed that my small 18lb eagle claw steelhead leader and hook can bring up a 30pound halibut. What a killer battle. This rocks. I do it again. This time I hookup at 30feet. It’s much easier to bring to the boat. I get it to the boat and it’s kinda small. Maybe only 15 pounds. I try hard to yank my hook free, but it’s lodged in the corner of the ‘butt’s mouth. Finally I get it to pop out. Whew. Now, I can see halibut all around the boat just below the surface, following other halibut up from the bottom as they get hooked. It’s quite a scene. Once more I bait up and toss my mooching rig overboard. I hookup for a fourth time at 20feet. After a final battle we’re done at this hole and it’s time to go. In all, I battled for ‘butts on my salmon rod – excellent battling! On the way back in I laid out on the top deck bench and took a good nap in the hot sun. When we got back I said my good-byes, tipped Captain Matt, and promised him a new hat for next year – his ballcap looked awful. Got another 40 pounds of halibut off of this trip. Around 6:30pm I had my fish onboard the rig and was headed back to Soldotna. I service the rig and then head up to Hamilton’s to get the fish in the freezer. I’ve got nearly 2 full boxes of halibut in the freezer already. That’s the way to start the summer! Went back to the airport, but could only find a crappy spot next to the rusted fuel tank. Too many folks this year. Unbelievable. Hit the sleeping bag at 11:30pm. Set the alarm for 3:30am….it’s time to focus on reds now. Really enjoyed the big boat charter experience. Comfortable, smooth ride, better sitting and sleeping arrangements. Nice bathroom. Fishing wasn’t too bad once people started getting limits lots of space opened up. Geography lesson: Kachemak Bay and the Barrens Islands are not in the Bering Sea or close to Russia. Here’s some goofy stream of consciousness thing I wrote one evening:
I want to fish, I need to fish, yet fishing is slow, so I should save my arm… The decision to wait is not easily made, but fishing is slow, and so I sit here and wait, and wait… Now, more years in age, still a sockeyer, but also a sage, I know I shouldn’t suit up and go, yet I want to fish – I need to fish. Others are fishing now, even daring to stand in my spot, may their luck be poor, with no fish being caught. I covet the knowledge of the power of my spot, why others would dare, I know why not. But as I picture them there, my passions rise hot…and along comes something – a most devious thought. I want to fish, I need to fish. A yearning which comes from what craggy knot? Gathering myself I shake off the poison of the mysterious sockeye fever, the passion subsides, the sage revives, and again I am content to wait... I wait… I wait… I want…? I want…to fish. I need…to fish. I squeeze my right hand and a puffiness abounds which tells the story from yesterday’s rounds. Signals from my body begin to pour in, only confirming the knowledge of the state that I’m in. So, I can wait… And wait… I scarcely notice myself walking down the trail, suited up and ready to go. The walk was silent except for the echo of my footsteps. A few short minutes later I make my first cast. I guess I couldn’t wait. I need to fish.
Saturday 7-9 Up at 3am and down to the river. There are a few guys around already. The morning fishing was slow. Not much happened until after the crowds arrived at 8-9am. Got one fish early at 5:30am. Then it took awhile for the 2nd and 3rd. The fish were big though – good sized. I’ve noticed a lot of guys with buckets this year. What’s up with that? Are they clamming too? I fished near the god-dammit guy. Stood next to some real aggressive okie-snagger today. He nearly injured himself when he finally hooked a fish. Eventually, God answered my prayers with a 3-limit. I landed 2 on the spinning rod and 1 on the flyrod. My left shoulder appears to be tweaked. There is a sharp pain that comes every now and then. My hands are a bit tired, but not too bad yet. I pray that they hold up. Went for showers and to Safeway today. Finally feel clean again. When I came back I got a better parking spot near the trail. Cooked up some fresh salmon for dinner tonight. Not bad at all. Saw a bunch of Frenchies walk by.
Sunday 7-10 I fished next to a guy this evening who was an idiot. He finally hooked and landed a fish – and then just stood there looking at it for awhile. Then after about 2 minutes of keeping it out of the water, he decided not to keep it anymore because it had a blemish or net mark on one of its sides. So, then he proceeds to kick it back into the water and it floats away belly up. I hollered at him to go revive the fish. He stares at me cluelessly until I chew him out some more. Then he makes a short dash to grab the fish to revive it but misses. What an idiot. Why are so many people here completely clueless?
Monday 7-11 Up at 3am and headed down fishing. Another slow morning. And when it did get better I did my usual – lose the mouth hooks at the bank and land the snagged fish. I hate that. I took me all morning just to get 2 legal fish on the bank. I finally had to quit and retire back to the RV with just 2 fish today. I ate food and took a real long nap. I brooded in the rig all day because I only managed 2 fish and struggled. I went for a 7pm recon and things looked good. At 9pm I went fishing and instantly got my spot. Lots of space, too. A moment later I get a mouth-hook on my first cast. I lost it of course. However, the fish were in thick and I play quite a few over the next hour before taking one to complete my limit. The sun was shaded orange all evening because of the fire smoke.
Tuesday 7-12 Up at 3am after a good power nap. It was hot and I slept with the door open all night. It was chilly in the morning, but not too bad. Fishing was spotty this morning. The bugs were really bad in the twilight. Eventually, the fish came in. I was the first to 3 this morning. I had cleaned my fish and was back at the rig by 6:15am. The first fish I kept was a dink. I kept him because he was a first fish. Had I known how the morning was going to turn out I would’ve thrown him back. Each of my next 2 fish got bigger and bigger. I threw a few more back that were small, too. Fished next to the same 2 guys as last night. Hooked and landed a nice 20-inch rainbow. Two old guys fishing below me nicknamed me “fish-on”. The old guys wouldn’t stand shallow, wouldn’t take any advice, and hardly hooked anything. Being the champ this morning means I got to have breakfast and an extra long sleep. Woke up at 11am when Marvin appeared at my door. Took another nap before making the Hamilton’s freezer run. Got back to the airport at 5pm and had chicken dinner. Saw Marvin on his return from fishing. Both he and his grandson had their 3-limits. Started preparing things for Bunny’s arrival.
Wednesday 7-13 Got to the river at 3am. A couple of guys were in my spot, but they left soon after I arrived. Marvin came down a little later. We fished hard with limited success. Marvin hardly got anything. I hooked lots and finally managed 2 keepers. Marvin’s grandson came down at 6am and got his 3 fish in short time. Marvin finished with 0 fish for the morning – something almost unheard of in sockeye history. I quit at 10:30am with my two. Went back to the rig and processed the fish then hit the sleeping bag. Joe Schmidt pulled in some time later but he was unable to wake me from my slumber. By the time I awoke at 4pm he was already gone. Went for a walk and saw Marvin fishing. I went back and got ready. As I got to the river, Marvin was just finishing up so I stepped into our spot. A little kid next to me finally caught his first salmon ever – and it was a chum. Eventually I hooked some. Elf Guy showed up and we chatted a bit. Finally got my third fish of the day and retired. -People still standing too deep - Mr. Dufus just crowds in everytime - I taught a guy how to filet his fish - Marvin had this funny comment about how I was just “wounding the fish”
Thursday 7-14 Down on the river at 4am. Slow going again. Eventually there is a Filipino on my right and an old german on my left. The german is standing way too deep – out in my hole, crowding my cast even though there is plenty of open water around. Additionally he is a rookie. And despite his LA Raiders cap and Alaska vest – I can tell he is a german right away. By the way he is standing, I keep thinking to myself that I’m gonna hook a fish and he’s going to get the business from it. I hook a few that get mixed up with him, but he never catches on that he’s standing in a bad spot. He doesn’t get it. I get frustrated with the situation and I give Marvin my spot when he comes down. Marvin can’t believe it either and tells the guy he needs to back up a few steps – all which is ignored. I go fish below the german for awhile. Then Marv hooks a fish that takes line and runs down past me. Then the fish heads for the shore and wraps Marv’s line around my left boot. Marv’s line snaps and the backlash of the weights hits the german square in the eye, knocking the lens of his glasses and sending the guy into the water. When he recovers he all of a sudden can speak English, and he tells Marvin that he must take him to the hospital. Herb had his cell phone and calls 911 and escorts the man up to the parking lot. I just knew that guy was gonna get hurt the way he was standing out there. Tragic. Hopefully, he’s okay. By the way, we never see him again. For more on this read – Whacked in the Eye. Ended up with 2 fish for the morning. Herb netted my 2nd, that’s how bad things were going for me. Fishing was spotty and tough.
Friday 7-15 We’re on the back end of a 14k/16k fish stretch, so things are mighty slow. I end up hooking up pretty early and getting one fish on the bank. Struggled for awhile. The river was really smoky from all of the forest fires nearby. The wind seems to have died down a bit though. Ed and Elden came down after a few minutes and complain because they didn’t beat me to my spot. I explained to them that this is my spot, not their spot, and they need to find “their spot”. They shouldn’t even try to stand here, because it’s not their spot. I think they finally understood my logic. Marvin came down a bit later. We all struggled during the morning. Marv and I eventually quit with 2 fish a piece. Went back to the rig and processed and took a nap. It was 11am when I drifted off to sleep. A few minutes later I hear Marvin at my door telling me to backup so he could leave. I get out of bed and move the rig, then go back to sleep. Before I know it Marv’s back and asking me to move my rig so he can get back in. After I get up I dilly-dally awhile and decide not to fish the evening shift. It’s too slow of a day and I need to save my fingers and arm. Headed to the showers instead. There is a long wait. Then I make the round trip to Hamilton’s and transfer my fish. The drive is difficult in the extremely heavy smoke. No passing going on today, too tough to see. When I get back to the rig I go to sleep. I get another 30 minutes of rest before the Schmidt’s arrive back from their halibut trip. Then I finally get some good sleep.
Saturday 7-16 1 more day until Bunny is here! Yay. Down to the river at 3am. Already full from the night shift. My spot was open and I chase the night guys away. I got four hits early and I landed one at 4am. It was a big buck, too. Marvin showed up after that and got one that was even bigger. Then I got one that was bigger than his. And then he got an even bigger one. By the time that Wayne and Joe came down things had slowed dramatically. I quit at 8am and went and made some French toast. Saw Kevin. Went back to watch Wayne and Joe struggle for awhile. They each had one fish apiece. Went back to the rig for a nap. In the afternoon they went down around 5pm. I headed down to watch them and came across Rob and Dave. They said they had just finished up and were absolutely slaying them. Instead of doing a recon, I went back and got dressed. The fish were in thick. Oh my. Wayne and Joe were able to finish out their limits and Wayne’s proxy and I finished my limit in short order. Had a streak where I broke a couple of leaders on my flyrod, but things got better after I quit trying to horse the fish so much.
Sunday 7-17 Bunny arrives tonight, so I need to finish up here in short order today. Got up at 3am and hit the water. It was colder and rainy all night, until I got ready to go, then the rain stopped. That was nice. Coming to my spot there were 2 dudes that were cleaning a pile of fish. One guy said to me that I’d make short work of things this morning. On my 3rd cast I proved him right and landed a nice chromer. My second fish came not ten minutes later. I had two on the bank before Marvin even made it down. After a few minutes chatting with Marvin I land a third fish. I look at Marvin and ask him, “too small?” I wanted to keep fishing in this thick run, but I also knew I needed to be done early today. So, I bonked #3 on the head and start cleaning. I was almost done cleaning by the time Wayne and Joe arrived. They were pleasantly surprised to see me done already – and they were eager to start catching their own. They took their same spot as the prior evening and commenced project fish-kill. For whatever reason, there was hardly anyone on the river this morning. Strange but true. Go figure. I headed to the rig for breakfast. When I finished I walked back to take pics of Wayne and Joe fishing. They were slaughtering them pretty good and in a short time Joe had his limit and Wayne had his two (proxy) limits. After they finished up I headed back to Anchorage to get bunny.
Monday 7-18 Got bunny at 9:45pm at the airport and headed to Carr’s for groceries and her license. Then we made the nighttime trek to Soldotna. I got in around 1am. Took a short nap then went fishing. There was a Japanese guy in my hole when I arrived at 3am. I fished below him and he told me to move out of his way. I wasn’t in his way, though, but I guess he wasn’t accustomed to combat-style fishing. I fished near the stairs and lost a couple of early fish. Marvin came down and fished about the Japanese guy. Marvin hammered his three fish in quick order – vintage Marv. I slowly got mine in. After my 3rd I hit the filet table and noticed that the Japanese guy was still standing there with no fish on the bank. As I headed up the trail, bunny was coming down the trail dressed to fish. She was livid when she saw I was done already. She was mad because it took her so long to get ready and there I was coming back already. She didn’t want to fish now by herself, so we went back to the rig and processed. I slept most of the day. Then I took Bunny down to fish at 7pm. Lots of fish were in. She got the rock-hole spot and hooked lots of fish while I helped net them. Bunny used my flyrod and got two nice fish.
Tuesday 7-19 Slept all morning. Too tired to fish. I was raining, too, which helped me make up my mind about things. Got up at 11am. Wow. Went for showers and then to Safeway. Bunny taking another nap again. Thinking about fishing later today. Totally lazy day today. Around 6pm we dressed and went fishing. Glory and I got our usual spots. Lots of fish again. Glory hooked four and landed one before I even got my line in the water. Eventually I tied her 2-2 and it was a race to get our limits. I got #3 first, and bunny followed suit 5 minutes later. We both limited out in under and hour. We spent more time waiting for a filet table to open so we could clean our catch. Bunny got the first fish and the biggest one, of course. Visited with Marv, Charmaine, and Jeff. Joe-Dad came to visit at our rig and shared some of his Sal’s French-dip leftovers. That was good. Back in bed by 9:30pm. I definitely needed an easy day like today.
Weds/Thurs 7-20/21 Bunny and I got up at 3am and hit the water. The river was already crowded this morning and the limits are up to 6 per day now. Don, Marvin, and Jeff were in our holes already. Don had 3 fish and was hooking them on a nice long slow shallow drift. I put a stop to that when I stood below him. Sorry, not enough room for that kind of fishing during rush hour. He left in a few minutes after getting 5 fish on the bank. I closed up into his spot and began hooking fish after fish. Lost a ton of them, but eventually landed one. Then the Germans moved in. They put all of their stuff right behind us and stood behind us on the bank, crowding our casting. Little Hansel really wanted my spot very badly, and every time I landed a fish he came running over to try and get in a few casts –pleading “5 minutes, 5 minutes”. The daddy german tried to steal Ed’s spot when he landed a fish and almost had to get his ass-kicked before moving. After my third fish, little Hansel thought he had my spot and tried to sneak in again. I had a small confrontation with him and chased him off again, explaining the limit was 6. Dumkopf. After I land my 4th fish, he comes back again, yelling 5 minutes, 5 minutes. I tell him to get the hell out of my spot. I tell him he’ll never stand here. Ever. In fact, I’m going to stand here all day long, fishing, and releasing fish just so he’ll never get a chance to stand here. Man he pissed me off. After awhile, there are literally Germans everywhere. It’s as though a complete division of stormtroopers had infiltrated our lines. After I get my 6th, Glory takes over my spot, and I spend my time yelling at the Germans to give her room to fish. I video tape awhile while Glory uses the flyrod and starts hooking up regularly. She lands 2 really big ones. Ed finally retires. Marv and Jeff (3/2) retire and it’s just Glory versus Germany. I start cleaning, and when I’m through, Glory retires. The score – me 6, Marv 3, Glory 2, Jeff 2, Ed 1. Ed broke his rod while landing his only fish of the day. Bummer for him. Ate and napped a bit, then dropped fish off at Hamilton’s. Got boxes sorted out and weighed up. Came back and napped awhile. Walked down and watched fishing. Saw a guy sitting in a lawn chair in our hole. What on earth has the world come to now? Lots of rookies on the water. No spots open. Saw a guy drag his 5 uncleaned fish across the parking lot. They were caked with mud and gravel by the time he threw them into his trunk. Saw another guy do the same thing. But he drug them across the street and hung them on the airport gate, while he went into the airport and readied his plane I guess? Some people are a little goofy. We headed down to Anchor Point. Tomorrow I am supposed to me Skyler and Rob for a free halibut trip out of Homer. The sun was setting and so we stopped at a pullout near Ninilchik to take a few pics. Afterwards, the rig wouldn’t start. It seemed the battery was dead or shorted out. I was able to finally start it by kicking in the auxiliary batteries. We decided to drive all the way to Homer instead of parking along the Anchor Point beach. Got to Homer and checked under the hood. Oh no – all of my coolant is now leaking out onto the ground. This is extremely bad! Either I blew a hose, got a radiator leak, or the water pump cracked apart. Won’t be fishing tomorrow, regardless. I’ve got to get this thing fixed. Called USAA roadside helpline. Flat bed truck showed up in the morning and took us back to a shop in Soldotna. It’s the water pump alright. I did fix the battery problem, though. It was just a loose cable. God helped us tonight. He gave me a pesky battery problem, so that I would check under the hood and see that I had a more severe problem and I would go straight to Homer instead of getting stuck out on the beach. He is watching out for us. The repair took all day long to get fixed. We were at the garage until 6pm. Then we went back to the fishing hole and checked things out. Visited with Marv and Charmaine – they will be leaving tomorrow and heading back to Anchor Point. Then we went for dinner and took showers. I’ve been itchy and grimy all day long.
Friday 7-22 Up at 3am and got dressed to go fishing. Almost forgot to put on my waders, oops. Marvin was already fishing when I arrived. I fished below him and took his spot whenever he landed one or changed his tackle. He had a tiny tiny red on the stringer when I arrived, and I kidded him about it. Fishing was slow but I managed a couple eventually. Marvin quit at 9am with 3 fish. I had 3 at that time, too. During the morning I had an altercation with a big burly german. Marvin broke his line and stepped back to repair things. I moved up into his spot just as the german was giving Marvin the “5 minutes” speech. We each hit his spot at the same time, but I had inside fishing position. We had a bit of a shoving contest, but I held my ground and began to cast. The guy swore at me in german and attempted to cast over the top of me, but his backcast got stuck in the tree above his head. Some other America guys next to us move closer and voice their verbal support for me. There was a lot of tension on the water for awhile. After Marvin left, I took over his spot for good. I must have hooked 25 fish and lost them all. Finally, I made peace with the Germans and try to explain nicely, that we don’t appreciate their style of barging into our spots. Of course, they tell me how it’s the Americans who are so rude. Whatever. But we shake hands and I even share the spot on occasion. But when I get ready to go, I motion one of the Americans over to take my spot. After I clean my fish I do a garbage patrol and get about 2 bags full of crap. But a couple of folks also thank me for my cleaning up. Went to the mouth and watched the dipnetters. It was slow and spotty. Went to Safeway for groceries. Bunny handed the guy 91 pennies as part of our payment. Sweet. Back to the gravel pit. Found a nice parking spot far away from the tent idiots playing their rap music. Slept for a bit. Made salmon and mashed potatoes for dinner. River recon showed that fishing was slow again. I noticed that there are a few less people and RV’s around.
Saturday 7-23 Wayne and Joe arrived at 2am. They setup camp and then went down fishing. There was a lady in my spot, so we went down and fished the #1 hole. Then we moved up to Joe’s favorite spot. Moved back next to the lady and she says – you don’t need to be moving in on me now. I say “excuse me? Have I cast over your line? No. Have I blocked your casting? No. Then I don’t think you should be having a problem.” That kept her quiet for awhile. Talked with Ed for a bit. He went king-fishing yesterday. He snagged a 50-pounder by the tail. He hooked a 20-pound submerged log with 20 lures in it. They spent $450 for 17 pounds of meat. He was less than enthused by his experience. Joe-dad caught one early. It was slow all morning. I had 2, Joe 1, Wayne 0. At 8am we stopped and headed to Sal’s. Then we went and attempted to make contact with Oty. He never returned our call until late that evening. Wayne and Joe went back to fishing. Glory and I joined them later after seeing that the fish were starting to come in again. They were fishing the stretch below the #1 hole. Glory was a bit reluctant to go out fishing, but in the end she was glad that she did. Glory and I shared a spot and below us, Wayne and Joe were sharing a spot. It was relaxing to get a break every so often. In between us was a couple that had crowded in, but we kept them boxed in to a very narrow cast. Fishing was steady and improving every hour. Mainly, I helped Glory catch hers – netting and rehooking up her line, and subbing for her when she tired. Finally, a huge school moved in and we basically hooked up every cast. Glory was on fire. As the sun went down I went and cleaned Glory’s four fish and my 2 fish. Then I fished some more after that. Glory was hooking up right and left. Despite me telling her to quit catching, she put her fifth and sixth fish on the bank. Now I’d have to clean fish in the twilight. I hate that! After we finished our second round of cleaning bunny and I packed our stuff back to the rig. While she processed our fish and put them in the freezer, I went back to help Wayne deal with his fish. -For awhile Bunny struggled to catch anything. Then we both prayed for a fish for her. An hour later she had 4 on the bank -Had to clean next to my german buddy. Even used his knife sharpener - Bunny put a hole in her waders when a fly popped out and stuck her - Fished next to a chubby left-handed fisherman. He had 3 fish early then struggled. Eventually he had to grab a fish that floated by on a stringer for his fourth and final fish - Lost my white stringer, but found my yellow one - Broke my bonker club in half when I hit a stump while whacking a fish
Sunday 7-24 Another sleep-in day. Schmidt’s got up and went fishing first. They got the same spots below the #1 hole again. We joined them after awhile. They were fishing next to Don. When we arrived they had 4 on the bank. I subbed for Don every now and then and got 2 on the bank very quickly. Bunny came down and joined in. Over the next few hours we put a good dent in the sockeye population. The fish were coming in very steadily. Every one limited out. It took a long while to clean, that’s for sure. Decided to follow Wayne back to Anchorage and take the day off. On the way to Hamilton’s I heard a weird noise underneath the front of the rig. Pulled over and checked in out. Both front shocks appeared to be broken and dangling free. So, we opted to return to Soldotna for repairs. We’re going to Midas in the morning.
Monday 7-25 Up at 7am. Quick meal then went to Midas. The left shock is broke, but the right control arm is sheared off. Major problem. So, we only got a tune-up today, as they have to try and source a control arm from the lower 48. Ma and Pa have made Anchorage today and will be here tomorrow. We’re going to take the day off from fishing today and give the fingers some rest. I need to heal the fingers – unless of course the river recon reveals the fish to be in “thick”.
Tuesday 7-26 Ma and Pa are headed down to Soldotna. Of course, that triggers the rains to begin. Took morning off. But I go down and start fishing in the evening, hoping to have a spot reserved for Dad when he arrives. I go down below the #1 hole and go 2 out of 4. It is raining really hard and the river is starting to rise. Not a good sign for Dad’s fishing prospects. Dad decides not to come down this evening, so I retire with my 2 fish.
Wednesday 7-27 Me and Dad get to the river at 3am. I get Glory’s spot below the #1 hole. It is slower than slow. I go 1 for 6. Dad is 0 for 3. Only saw 5 or 6 fish landed all morning long over 6 hours. Head to Homer to sightsee. Stopped in Anchor Point to visit Marvin.
Thursday 7-28 Slept until 8am. It is too rainy to get up and fish. Head up to the Russian in search of a good pulse of fish, since nothing is happening here. Got there at 11am and fishing is again slow. Saw my german buddies again. Just can’t get away from them. Glory hooked into 6 fish right away. Dad lost a couple. I landed 2 fish, but they were pretty dark, so back they went. Mom even tried a few casts. Drizzly rain started in. This is probably the slowest day in mid-run that I’ve ever experienced here. Back to Soldotna for showers and food. Beat bunny at Yahtzee three times. Watched people fishing at the river. Saw a guy snag a fish and keep it. I yelled at him from above. He said that the back of the head is just like in the mouth. He raked the gills with his knife, bonked it a few times, and then decided to release it, floating it downriver belly up. Nice.
Friday 7-29 Up at 5am. Fished until 8am. No fish for us. Very slow all around. Made breakfast and took a nap. Midas called me and took the motorhome over for repairs. The rig finally was done around 4pm. We drove off to dump the rig and heard strange metallic noises from underneath the rig. Back to Midas. Apparently, they didn’t seat the suspension spring properly. Another hour later and we are ready to roll. Hit the river at 6:30pm. Beautiful evening, a few fish being caught. Saw an old guy – Colorado (son is F/G biologist) – from last year. Visited with him for awhile. Netted a fish for him, too. Netted one for a bluecap in the #1 hole, too. Netted fish for a Swiss guy even. Caught one after swapping holes with dad. Glory and dad were hooking nothing. I caught and kept a few more. Glory got the rockhole and landed her only one of the night. Dad still has zero. I landed another above Glory. Had to hand her my pole and net my own fish. Don came down and visited. Fished next to Al from Georgia. He hooked 5 dollies in a row, and a stickleback. I caught a dolly too. Glory landed a big rock. Dad got zero. We picked up garbage and then cleaned. Even though fishing was slow, everyone had fun, and it was a nice evening to be out on the water. Nice people, no crowding. Good attitudes. All around good feeling along the river. Bunny leaves tomorrow, boohoo. Off to Anchorage tomorrow.
Saturday 7-30 Another great day. God has answered a prayer. Dad has caught a fish! I could retype the whole story here…but it would be easier just to read the essay instead. Here’s the link….. Dad’s First Fish After our fishing session we headed to Hamilton’s and prepped the rest of our boxes. Then we went up to Anchorage to drop Glory off at the airport. Glory got to spend the evening holding Abigail for the first time. About 7:30 I took Glory to the airport and dropped her off. We had a 40 minute visit before she headed through security to her plane. Headed back to Wayne’s and took part in a nice salmon dinner that Marie had prepared. Played Wayne some more cribbage. I started at -2 on the evening, but two consecutive skunkings turned things around and I ended at +2. On the first game, his deal, I need a 20 hand to skunk him before he gets to count his cards. He deals me 3 kings and a 5, so I’m holding a dozen in my hand with a chance at big points with a good turn card. I cut the cards and he flips over a 5. Fifteen twelve, kings for six, fives for two more and that’s my twenty. Skunked. Now I’m back to even. Then next game I need 11 points to go out and skunk him. He deals me absolutely zero. Nada. So, I figure at least I’ll win one game here. I think I’m holding a 3, 4, 6, and a 7. But, we turn a 2 as a cut card. That gives me seven in my hand. Suddenly a skunking is once again in range. I just need to peg four. I get him for a run for three and after a “go” he lays down a nine for me to play my six on for two more points. So, I’ve pegged five and I start to give him the old skunk “sniff-sniff” move. So, I skunked him twice in a row. Plus 2 for me now!
Sunday 7-31 Slept in at Wayne’s until about 10am. Took a shower and made some lunch. Headed to Lowes and priced out a freezer. They have our home freezer in stock for $357, which holds 400pounds of food. Back at Wayne’s we split a couple games of cribbage. Later, I finally headed back south to Soldotna. Got in late. Stopped and visited with Dad for awhile.
Monday 8-1 Slept in ‘til 9am. Went to check on Dad at the river. Others were catching but he had zero even though he was standing at Marvin’s rock. I told him to wait there and fish until I returned ready to go. As soon as I got back I took over his hole and showed him how to catch fish. I hooked fish after fish. They were in thick. Hooked one on my third cast and about 10 in my first 10 minutes. Lost lots of flies. Too many snags unfortunately. Settled down and put some big bucks on the bank. Landed 4 big bucks and 1 big hen. Dad finally got into the act and landed 3 nice fish. I lost one for him while trying to net it, too – oh well! Additionally, we each released a couple of small dinkies during the session. We’re getting selective now, I guess. Argued with the Swiss lady that Dad calls Eva Braun. Fished next to Indiana Jim. Swiss lady got mad when I asked her how many she had kept already today. Dad claims he saw her land 8 fish, and that another guy was running them up the bank to their rig. Later she came over to me while I was cleaning and accused me of being nosy, no good, kindergartener. She claims she was only down to do catch and release. Sure, sure. In 13 years I’ve never seen a german release anything. Ever. Nice story though.
Tuesday 8-2 Up at 4:30am and went down to the river. Fished below the #1 hole. Not much happening right now. Caught a nice fat rainbow though. Moved up to Marvin’s rock and went 0 for 6. Quit around 7am with no fish on the bank. Kinda slow. Back to the rig for eggs and sausage breakfast. Took nap and then went for a shower. Drove the parents up to Browns Lake and around the area. Contacted a realtor to get a list of properties I could go view tomorrow.
Wednesday 8-3 Alarm went off at 5am, but it was cold and rainy out. Went over to Dad’s rig, knocked on the door, and could tell that he wasn’t too excited to go down to the river either. Sleep was definitely the better option. Back to bed until 9am. Went to visit the realtor. With the way the run has died out, looks like I may have caught my last sockeye of the year? Realtor gave me a good listing of properties, all of which were decent. Went up Funny River and around Browns lake area. Some okay stuff there. Thick with big trees. Some questionable “deliverance” type neighbors. Went thru Kasilof area, Echo Lake, and Cohoe Loop. Liked the property at Cohoe Loop. Called my wife and talked to her about the property and got an okay to make an offer. I will get up early tomorrow and go see the property again and really give it a good looking over. I want to examine the neighborhood, too. Fished with Dad in the evening at the #1 hole. Didn’t do much. I lost 2 and Dad lost 1. Don was watching us and heckling us. Dad had the rocky hole and was doing nothing. I had him switch with me and I got 4 hookups really quick and put one nice buck on the bank. Banked 2 more fish a little later. Dad lost a couple more. Nearby, an old guy who had 2 fish was impressed with my rate of hooking, and was amazed when I declined any netting assistance that he offered. I told him I just wanted to bank them instead. Went and cleaned my fish and then fished a few minutes after that, hooking up a couple more times. We headed out about the same time that Indiana came down to fish.
Thursday 8-4 Slept in ‘til 7am. Notice that the pattern of sleeping is starting to change? It’s harder and harder to force the body to move any earlier now. Headed down to Cohoe property and took measurements and pictures. Met the realtor in Soldotna and made her an offer and left some earnest money. I will come back in a few days and check on progress. Headed up to the Russian river for a camping trip. Parked and went to Hamilton’s to dump fish. Introduced the folks to Mark Wilson. Then we went to Gwins for food, Princess Lodge to site-see, and then cruised the Russian River campground, and visited Hidden Lake. Went back to the rig for salmon dinner and then dad and I went across the ferry for an evening fishing session. We were able to site fish darkies moving up the bowl. Fished just below the ferry and watched in amazement all of the kings that were rolling in front of us. Slow fishing night but a beautiful evening to be out on the river.
Friday 8-5 Ma and Pa headed to Hope, but on the way there, I got a call from the realtor and had to go back to Soldotna to sign a counter-offer. Visited the property again, and confirmed that I was really happy with it. It will cut into fishing time the next few years, but with a few improvements, it will make a great fish camp. Then I headed north and met the folks at Portage glacier. It was one of those gorgeous, blue sky days at Portage – very rare – but great for the folks. Dad, Skully, and I hiked into Byron Glacier. Skully ran around on the trail back and forth like it was the first time she’d ever been outside. Glacier continues to recede at a high rate.
Saturday 8-6 In the morning we headed into Anchorage and I went straight for Ship Creek. Got dressed and went fishing. Hit 4+ fish and 1 king down below the “chick hole”. Crossed the corner and finally managed to land some. I hooked 20+ during the day and ended up with 3 medium/small hens. Not too many people on the lower half of the river – which was nice. But it was a complete circus above the bend when I came back up. Glad I missed that crowd. Had a wrongful ticket from the parking fairy on my rig when I came back. Called those clowns and the lady told me to ignore it. Went up to Wayne’s house.
Sunday 8-7 Went with Joe to Lowes and got a freezer. After, I geared up and went to Ship Creek again. Got there and started fishing the outgoing tide underneath the bridge. I followed the fish down as the river allowed. After crossing the corner I felt a few hit me in the leg. Once the river level went down I started hooking up. A few folks were there already. The same guy as yesterday was there killing them again. He got 3 quickly and then headed out. Saw a guy in hip waders get stuck and fall down and get really muddy. Fished the corner for awhile and went a painful 0 for 10. It started to crowd up a bit so I went downriver, hooking and losing fish as I went. Went 2 more corners and hooked up again. Had to pray really hard to get that one to the bank. Finally had one on the stringer! Hooked another there and lost it. As I made my way back up to the corner hole I landed fish #2. Another tiny one. That’s five smalls in a row. Ten minutes later I got a big fat hen at the corner. Finally a nice one. From now on I will be more selective on the size of fish that I will keep. Went to the RV wash and hosed down my gear and boots. Went to Wayne’s. Had dinner with folks at the Peppermill. Played more cribbage in the evening and got to +3.
Monday 8-8 Wayne’s birthday, however it doesn’t look like he’ll make it down fishing today, since he slept in late. Went with Joe, Ma and Pa to Gwennies for breakfast. Came back and prepared for fishing. Went down about noon today. Dad was there already waiting for us. I bypassed the bridge fishing and went straight down to my corner spot. Too early though. Water was too high to fish. I got stuck in the mud for a moment and decided to stand up on the bank and wait for the right moment to plunge into the river. One guy coming down around the corner nailed three fish in about 5 casts and was done quickly. I lost 4 or 5 fish early, and then foul hooked a big red king, which about spooled me. Luckily it ran and beached itself on a mud bar, or else I would’ve been out of line. Later, I landed a small silver which I released, since I wanted bigger fish today. Then I lost a lot more fish, and started to regret putting tiny back. I finally hooked and landed one. The fish basically landed itself in the much. That was helpful. After that the Filipino dad and kid came down and started crowding me – but it was okay, we were all being friendly. Hooked and landed another decent one for my second fish. Ten minutes later I limited out with a big buck. Cleaning time! Went back to the rig and changed my clothes, then went out and videotaped Dad and Joe for awhile. Dad had 0, Joe had 1. I kept three fish heads for Joe to use as halibut bait. Headed to the carwash to hose down the gear. Left my nice stringer hanging there. Went to Carr’s. Went up to Wayne’s and showered. Watched a young girl “Tracy” out fish her dad at the 2nd hole. Tons of folks lined up above the crossing point. Pair of hip boots stuck in the mud today Lots of fish in the river It’s like fishing on a strange planet down there in between the mud walls Good battle fighting that king So far, everyone on the river is friendly, and no Germans around Silvers stink more than reds Broke my string of little ones finally – got three nice ones today
Tuesday 8-9 Today was an excellent day. Thank you lord for the great day. Up at 8am and made a quick breakfast. Drove out to the Motorhome store and ordered my cover. Went back by the carwash and recovered my stringer. Weather was beautiful and hot today. Good day for mud bog fishing. There was a bit of haze over the city due to fires, though. Got down to Ship Creek in the early afternoon. Gingerly made my way down into the water as it was receding. Talked to Pat for a few minutes as we fished the outgoing tide. Lots of fish rolling and running into my leg. It’s hard to believe that a fish could even see in that water to take a bait. Finally I commit myself to going into the water and land my feet on solid gravel. Fishing time is on. Fish kept hitting my legs until the water lowered into its normal channel. After about 30 minutes the fishing started to get hot. I lost a couple of mouth-hooks early. And then as people started crossing into my hole I foul hooked a big fish and it spooled me, breaking my line with a shotgun ‘crack”. I was totally bummed that I’d have to get out of the water and go back to the rig to get line, and then fight for my spot again. However, a passing fisherman handed me a spool of 25 lb line and told me to go for it. In record time I respooled my line and get hooked up, never leaving my spot open. In less than 3 minutes I was back fishing. That was really cool of that guy. At that point in the day I was 0 for 10, with quite a few keepers lost. The corner guy from the last two days came down and started slaying them from his spot. He got one monster that he called his derby winner. Finally I landed a keeper. It was a struggle and I nearly lost it at the bank, but it beached itself in the muck at my feet and I get it on the stringer. After that, I get in the groove and can feel the school of fish just layered into my hole. Nearly every single cast, without effort, no Kenai-jerk, no tugging, results in an automatic wiggle-on mouth-hook. This is awesome. Better than any sockeye day I’ve ever encountered. I just hammered fish after fish and became very selective, releasing fish after fish. It was easily the best fishing day ever for me on Ship Creek. I became the “star” today. I landed and released 10+ mouth-hooks in about a half hour spree after I had put my 2nd on the stringer. Too small. Too small. Not quite ready to quit yet. Too small. That one has a side gash. Too small. A hen. I want a big buck. Too small. In all I had over 30 fish on during the session. My last fish was the biggest one of the day, a really large buck. That one was worth waiting for. The two guys standing next to me were just shaking their heads in disbelief, as they weren’t hooking anything. I finally checked out the guys rig and noticed he was fishing too light. I told him to put two more pieces of split shot on. He moved into my spot and instantly got into the fish. I went downriver to a gravel bar and cleaned my catch. Thanked the guy again who loaned me some line. Noticed he had 3 fish on his stringer already and was still fishing hard. He said he wasn’t proxy fishing, that one fish belonged to his son. Then he said later that he was fishing catch and release. Then he said he was fishing for chums. Hey partner, tell it to F&G when they ask. Just hope your story is more convincing at that point. All I know is that you got three fish on your stringer and are still fishing away. Joe came over to the bluff and yelled down at me while I was cleaning. He told me he was champ since he was done before me. If only he knew what kind of day I was having…Anyways, back at the rig I look at his fish – they are so small – I ask him if these are trout or silvers. He went 3 for 4 today and was pretty excited about his good luck. I told him I hooked 30+ fish and released 10+ mouth-hooks while waiting for a nice one to finish on, but he wasn’t impressed. -Joe got his 3 first, but I caught more, landed more, released more, and had bigger ones - Joe had trouts Getting spooled down in the mud is a bad feeling Getting new line was awesome – so smooth for the fingers Perfect mouth-hooks, wiggle on feel, no effort
Wednesday 8-10 Another Ship Creek day. Dad went with me down to my fishing hole this afternoon, but after 2 steps in the muck on the hillside he got stuck. Then he fell down and got major stuck. Bad bad scene. Luckily another guy helped me pull dad out. It took at least 30 minutes and all of us were dead tired. It was a bad bad scene. To Dad’s credit he took a short rest, then went up the river and went fishing under the bridge. Some folks would’ve been too traumatized for that, but Dad didn’t quit. His only challenge was catching his breath. I went down into the river and had to scrub mud off of my body for about 10 minutes. Dad said he hooked 6 fish, and landed 1 for his first ever Ship Creek silver. I fished my same hole as yesterday, and had the same results. I slayed ‘em. They were in thick again, and I just hooked fish after fish in the mouth without effort. The only change from the prior day was that the water was a little higher so I had to add an extra split shot. On my 5th hookup I got a nice keeper. I repeated that on my 10th hookup of the day. I really got into the zone after that and hooked lots of fish. I released a lot at the bank again, much to the chagrin of a young kid who wanted my spot. But, hey, it’s not always about getting them quick, as it is about having a good time fishing in the zone. I really got crowded by a family of 4 Filipinos. They were amazed at how many fish I played while they had squat. I got to fish number 22 with no problem. Then fish 23 – a nice mouthhook went downriver and popped off. My weights snapped back and hit me square in both lips and top teeth. Thank God it didn’t knock out my teeth. It felt like Mike Tyson punched me in the mouth though. It split both of my lips, and I spit out blood for a good 20 minutes. I had a small red rag with me which I stuck in my mouth, and then went back to fishing. I had blood all over my shirt and 2 fat lips, but what the heck, fishing was good, so I kept at it. I got into a streak where I had 3 or 4 hookups where my weights or hook flew back at me and nearly hit me. Mainly, it was because I was boxed in by the Filipino’s and couldn’t move much to play my fish. So, I had to stand and take it. Still, I had a the perfect spot – perfect drift – no yanking, no jerking. All I had to do was cast and drift into that hole and wait for the feel of a fish wiggling its way onto my hook. The more I got crowded the more I just wanted to stay and fight fish. I counted every single hookup outloud. I was up to 35 fish-ons for the day, while my closest rival maybe had 5 or 6. All of the Filipinos wanted me out so they could have my spot. Told the young kid next to me to add some split shot to his line. He was too light. After landing and keeping number 35 I went down and cleaned. Number 35 was my biggest buck of the year, definitely a good quitting fish. I noticed that the kid was finally catching some now that he had added some weight to his line. After cleaning it was time to go and fix my face. For whatever reason, I can never go through a season on Ship Creek without doing something completely stupid. I look like Mick Jagger now I love Ship Creek – if you’re not muddy you’re not having fun yet It was a record fishing spree at Ship – in 5 days I had over 125 fish-on, and recorded 5 3-limits I was “the man” two days in a row Friendly people at ship, no Germans, only met 1 real jerk, and 5 or 6 kinda jerks, made a bunch of friends, too
Thursday 8-11 Slept in ‘til 9am. Got up as Wayne and Joe were heading out to their overnight halibut trip. Soon they returned after realizing they had forgotten their salmon heads in the freezer. Went to the Zoo with the parents today. Got a call from AK Saltwater that our Seward charter was cancelled because their boat is broke. The gal she tried everyone else in town and couldn’t get us booked with anyone else, so we were out of luck. I wasn’t satisfied with her answer, so I made a quick call to the Fish House and easily booked us passage on a silver charter for tomorrow. Dad was kinda hoping that I would book a halibut trip out of homer instead, but I really wanted to make a Seward trip. We made the drive to Seward. Stopped and got ice cream. Ma and Pa paid to park at the RV center, while I drove up and camped for free along the Resurrection River.
Friday 8-12 Up at 4:30am. Silver fishing today. My tummy hurts and I need to poop, but it won’t go. Get into town at 5:45 am and get Dad. We check in at 6am, but don’t leave until 6:45 – so I have time for my poop after all. We are on the Captain Kid – a small 4pack bayliner. Our captain is Doug. We have with us Sky Evans and John. We head out to Rugged Island on a beautiful morning. We troll with downriggers in a nice quiet cove surrounded by jumping pinks. We hook some pinks, some small baitfish, and Sky lands a silver, too. We then mooch for awhile and John gets one. And then sky gets another. Dad catches some pinks and some more baitfish, and lands 3 dog-fish/salmon sharks. A pod of Orcas swim by and pushes a school of silvers our way. In a 15 minute spurt I catch 3 silvers at about 25feet down and John and Sky get another one each. Dad catches another shark. I start calling him Captain Quint. I keep praying for Dad, and finally he lands a dinky silver. As a group, the four of us go 3,3,3, and 1. It was a great day on the water though. Here's the link to a picture of our catch....Seward Silvers We saw Orcas, glaciers, 2 eagles, seals, puffins, pinks, sharks, silvers, the fog, old schooners, and much more. I netted one pink for dad. We all had a good time. Sky won the 1st fish and John won the biggest fish. When we got back to shore, the Captain had to prepare for his afternoon run, so he phoned up “Bobby” to come over and clean our fish. After 20-30 minutes, I just grabbed my filet knife from the rig and filleted our fish. After fishing, we all went up to Exit Glacier. Skully had to go back to the truck as there were no pets allowed on the trail. It was sunny and hot, but a little cooler and windy at the glacier. Great scenery. After that, we headed over to Soldotna in preparation for our silver charter the day after tomorrow. We weren’t in the lot for more than 5 minutes when Mr. Negative came over and told us the fish were in. Dad and I suited up and went and hammered sockeye for awhile. I hooked over 50 fish and Dad was around 20. I kept 2 big bucks and dad got one big buck that I netted. Got some good pics and video too. It was a great night of fishing. August this year is similar to last year – good fishing and no crowds. Lots of room. Lots of fish, some are colored, but there is an occasional keeper in the midst. I told dad that this was batting practice. No pressure. Hit a few for fun. Wayne reported mixed pleasure with his overnight trip. They basically got into a chicken hole and got small ones. They saw a big pod of Orcas, too.
Saturday 8-13 Good lazy day today. Slept in til 9:30am. Got up and took a shower and went to Safeway. Ate lunch and went back down to visit the Kasilof property. Steve Green came by and looked at the place and gave me some advice. Went back to the gravel pit and took a nap. Went down and watched fishing today. Still some coming by. Lots of red ones now.
Sunday 8-14 Today the Lord provided! Up at 4:30am for our silver charter. Cloudy but kinda warm out today. Met Mark Tudor at the Sports Den and then headed over to Poachers Cove. We made the 20 minute ride down to Mud Island and set up in our spot. Mark said silver fishing had been really slow. Yesterday they only landed 3 out of 5 hookups. Not a good day at all. However, I was confident that we would do okay today. There was just me, Ma and Pa today, no fourth person, which was nice. I asked Mark to keep an eye on Mom today, as she was going to need a little extra help. Mark was great all day and really took care of my folks. About 15 minutes into fishing, I spit in the water to attract the fish and soon after get a good takedown. I set the hook and the battle was on. I brought it to the boat and Mark reached down to net it just as the hook popped out. No! Doh….bummer. Man, I hope that wasn’t my only bite of the day. Reds started rolling all around us. Lots of eagles and seagulls around us too. After a slow spell with only some trout and dolly nibbles, Dad gets a good takedown. I roll the video camera and Dad battles a nice 12.5 pound silver. It runs and jumps all over coming out of the water 5 times. We pull anchor and drift down following the fish and Mark puts it right into the net. Dad scores a monster! Right on, thank you Lord. A few minutes later, dad repeats the act with another big buck – maybe 10pounds. Two good fish for dad, and now he’s limited out. Mom moves over to the right side and takes Dad’s hot seat. But, now it is my turn. I get a good takedown and land a decent sized silver. Not big, but a silver. Mom battles a couple more dollies and some trout, and misses on a genuine silver bite. I also miss a good takedown. The action isn’t hot yet, but it is steady, and I’m confident we’ll get a few more chances. Another boat pulls in nearby and asks how we’re doing – Mark says we caught 3 and lost 1 (while pointing at me). The other boat razzes me a bit. Moments later though, I get another takedown and boat my 2nd fish. I’ve limited out now, too. Now, we’ve got to get mom some action. Glory calls on the cell phone at that time and I tell her she needs to pray for mom. About this time, Mom’s confidence begins to wane, and she’s not sure she’s going to catch anything. I say some silent prayers and know God will get her some fish. Mom breaks out a Twinkie and finally catches one. It’s a little dinky hen, but it’s a silver. Mom has her first Alaskan salmon in the boat! Twenty minutes later she lands her second. This one swan around the boat, under the motor, all over the place before Mark was able to net it. Thought mom was gonna break her rod on the side of the boat a couple times, but Mark was really patient with her. All in all we go 6 for 8 and limit out – not bad for a slow day. We were watching the other boats below us and never even saw them get a bite. Prayer works, folks. Mom and Dad were both pumped and happy. We head back to poachers cove for some pics and fish cleaning. Then it’s on to Sal’s for breakfast. Back at the gravel pit, I awake from a nap and see Udo-san parked next to me. I chat with him for awhile and he gives me gifts. I told him I brought him a hat, but gave it away to Capt. Matt already, because I didn’t see him here this year. He and his buddy were very friendly. I showed him Dad’s silver filets and he was very impressed.
Monday 8-15 After milling around in the morning, we head back to Anchorage. The rig loses power around summit lakes and feels unresponsive the rest of the trip home. Called Deans and he thinks I’ve got a manifold problem, in addition to my known exhaust leak. He’ll need 3 or 4 days to fix things, so I’m going to have to ask Wayne to take care of it for me, again. Went to Air Cargo and sent Eli 2 boxes totaling 96 pounds – cost me $48. Not bad. Beat Wayne at cribbage again. I’m still +3 and the 2005 champion.
Tuesday 8-16 Got up and started packing things this morning. Went downtown with the folks and walked around the shops for awhile. Looked at a local cabin manufacturer. I was impressed but they are out of my price range. Watched the M’s play ball on TV at Wayne’s. Lost 2 cribbage games to Dad. Held Abigail while Wayne and Marie packed and headed to the airport. They are going to Oregon for a funeral, I think. Reflected on my trip this year. Can’t believe it’s almost over. I miss my wife, though, and am ready to go home. But I can’t get out of my head the year I’ve had. Somehow, these trips get better and better each year – which is difficult, considering how high I always set the bar. Glad the parents made it up this year. Dad finally caught some fish and mom got some too. Good to meet Abigail. It’s nice to see Wayne and Marie as parents. Had good bonding time with Joe-Dad, too.
Wednesday 8-17 Dad and I make the roundtrip to Hamilton’s to pick up the last of my fish. Then it’s off to the airport and home to see my Bunny! KENAIDREAMS.COM |
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