Protect the King

ADF&G: based on preseason outlook, the 2013 Kenai River early-run of king salmon is expected to be very low.

There are, in fact, just 343 kings in the river right now.

Emergency orders on the Kenai peninsula, for both the Kenai and Kasilof Rivers are out in an attempt to protect the early-run kings which have been low in recent years.  This comes on the heals of last season, where many guides and fishers saw their season ended weeks after it had begun, due to historically tragic number.  Fishing for kings is still allowed, but is it moral?

My first Kenai King.  I'm afraid it won't be topped

The new regulations prohibit the retention of any king between 20" and 55".  This one here came it at about 54", and within the 2011 slot limit regulations prohibiting retention.  I'm not interested in keeping fish that size.

Wild Kasilof King

The Kasilof has an emergency order prohibiting the take of any native fish greater than 20", down from  retention of 10 jacks per day and 2 greater than 20" with natives allowed just three days per week.

The good news is that the sockeye are expected to have another strong year, and if last year was any indication they are just days away from hitting the Russian River weir and are probably already stacked in Power Lines and Guardrail.

Current Kenai King Counts:

http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/sf/FishCounts/index.cfm?ADFG=main.kenaiChinook

Current Russian River Sockeye Counts:

http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/sf/FishCounts/index.cfm?ADFG=main.displayResults&COUNTLOCATIONID=13&SpeciesID=421

ADF&G Automated Fish Count Hotline

(907) 262-9097

Sunrise up North

There's little that is more excited than an approaching season.  Some wait for ski season, some wait for beach season, and others for fishing season.  In places like Colorado, New York, and California the action exists through the winter in a subdued version of its exuberant summertime self.

In Alaska, however, fishing is more volcanic - dormant for the majority of time and then absolutely explosive.  Two weeks ago the action was imperceptible, dormant except for a few awakening twitches.  Come summer, the Kenai and the rest of the frontier waters will be explosive with bent rods, gip and grins, combat zones, trophies, and fulfilled dreams.  There are days when we can't empty the net fast enough, when we can fish any fly in the box and hook up, when I lose count before 8 am.  This is the explosion.  Its not daily, some days it's just smokey, but sometimes it's just on fire.

At Angle 45 we're getting ready for our season on the Kenai.  Rods are coming down, lines, waders, and boots are being washed, reels re-spooled, boxes organized, flies tied, and boats dug out.  Dormancy is melting off the shoulders of spring.  After more than 11 feet of snow it's taking some work to dig out camp, but warm weather, many hands and a few cold drinks make for quick work.

We're ready to hit the water - excited to see some returning friends again and make some new ones on the river.

c. DFisher

No more broken legs

So last summer, while wearing rubber-soled boots, forging a creek to retrieve the umpteenth fly a friend snagged on a rock, I broke my leg.  This led to x-rays in Seward then surgery in Anchorage two days later.  I have a plate a screws to show for it... see HERE.

Patagonia has taken a page out of the mountaineers handbook with this nifty piece.  Something I'm including in my next order.

Why, because they're awesome.  You can take them off (which is great if you spend any time in boats).  They're not studs so they won't rip stuff up when you step in the wrong spot, and hopefully they'll save my legs. I'm completely convinced, they are one more piece of gear to keep track of, put on and take off, and actually seem a little unstable.  But I trust Chouinard

Yvon Chuinard is a blacksmith by trade, and this came right from his workshop.

New Photos

Including my mother, monster chinook (54', 75lbs), blue fish, strippahs, and more.

RIGHT HERE

Do you have nay bragging rights? Send your slabs to me.

Sticks and Stones

It's not often I get a terrible day of guiding.  In fact, it is very rare, almost never.  Days can be tough or low in numbers, low energy, nasty weather, general lack of luck, but never really awful.  But there are exceptions and this is the result of one of those really awful days.

X-Ray taken after surgery in Anchorage, AK

Taken 2 months after surgery

Lots of hardware 

Laid up on the couch in Hope, AK.

Ten days after surgery I was on the water again with my mother.  Blue bird day and plenty o' fish.

I still managed to get on the water once before leave the Kenai, 10 days after surgery

Farewell trout?

My mom got into some good fish

 Needless to say my guiding for the season is over.  But now my time is my own and recovery happens.  The East Coast (home) is laden with stripers so it is to the salt and away with the waders for a while.

In The Flesh

When salmon carcass is thick in the river, when fishing for trophy trout, nothing beats the flesh fly.  It might be a bit bold or lacking in the sophistication many newer trout flies possess but it catches fish.

It's a quick and easy tie, and you'll want a box full

These are about as small as you'll see them.  Some are 4"-6" inches long, articulated and weighted, but these are considered micro.  They are simply wrapped rabbit fur strips in colors that mimic the rotting flesh that fills the waters.

You don't need to be a perfectionist to tie a flesh fly that will catch fish

Don't be surprised by high numbers of big trout

Sockeye Fever

Sockeye fever is simple.  People want to fill the freezer, and with a limit of 3 fish per day it can happen quickly.  It means 3 am mornings, standing thigh deep in glacial melt swinging ounces of led and a snagging hook with an 8wt  for hours on end.

Regulations say you can't use a bare hook but it wouldn't matter for catching them

A good wide gap and short shank make for great hooking and holding power

Pound for pound sockeye (red) salmon are the hardest fighting fish out there.  The first run salmon average about 8 lbs and we use 25 lb mono to construct a 9' leader.  With the drag cranked these guys still peel line.

I put this one through my finger

The pliers come in handy for removing hooks (from fingers)
and the scissors I use to bleed the salmon before knocking them

The second run of reds started in just the last 2 or 3 days.  By now there are over 700,000 salmon in the Kenai River and working their way to its headwaters.  The Kenai River automated fish count reports can be heard at (907) 262-9097.  The fish in this run average 14 pounds or so and put everything into the fight.

This is sockeye fishing at it's worst.  Combat, shoulder to shoulder,
what ever you call it I prefer trout

These salmon run the gauntlet as they battle upstream to their spawning grounds

There are places where the crowds dissipate and fish still hold.  They way to access these little places is by hiking a little or using a drift boat to get to gravel bars along the Kenai.  There are a dozen ways to prepare salmon, from the grill, smoker, canner, hung dried, cold smoked, etc.  They are all delicious.

The pay-off is a smoker full of fresh salmon.

The second run of King Salmon is in hard as well. About 1,000 to 1,500 kings enter the Kenai every day  now.