Kenai Peninsula July 2021

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My Dad and I got to do our "dream" trip this past year, of 10 days up in AK on the Kenai Peninsula. The only goal of the trip was to fish every day...and we accomplished that goal. There's too much from that trip to really recap it all like this, and I'm in the process of editing a whole video, but for now I'll just share a few of my favorite pics and smaller stories.

We came home with 50lbs of self processed and vacuum packed fish each if that tells you anything. We flew into Anchorage and drove out to our friend Gary's house in Kenai. Gary is, amongst other things, a retired steelhead guide from Forks who is close friends with my Dad, and who's son and I were best friends through high school. He and his wife sold it all and moved up to AK to retire. Gary is one of the fishiest guys I've ever met, a fantastic chef, and just a genuinely hospitable person. Cannot thank him enough for hosting us and showing us around.

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(Gary left, Dad right....and apparently finding something hilarious)

The Sockeye counts on the Kenai were a little low the first couple days we were there, but promising to improve. In the interest of exploring, we took a ferry from Homer across Kachemak Bay to Seldovia Village, where Gary's Son and DIL have a cabin. They weren't home but let us crash for a few days. There are no roads into Seldovia, but there's a twice a day ferry to bring the locals and tourists to and from. We walked across on the ferry with our gear and got up to the cabin.

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We took the skiff out for a few hours of bottom fishing, waiting for the tide to come in so we could go upriver and hopefully catch a few fish with the tide.

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to be continued....with actual fishing pictures :ROFLMAO:
 
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I was absolutely blown away by how HUGE everything seems in Alaska. Fishing that first night on the river, I felt like I was to first human to ever step foot there. Obviously not, but it still felt like that. We anchored at the mouth and fished our way upriver. We finally got to the first decent pool, and sure enough there were chums and humpies stacked up. The first fish of the trip was this colored up chumdog.

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(I had to tease him about his goofy mouth grip, but I think he was trying to show off the rod I built him)

When we left WA Dad had been pretty stressed out with some work stuff. After he caught this one we didn't talk or worry about work again for the rest of the trip. I was stoked on the fish, and even more stoked that he caught it on the 10' 8wt I'd built for him specifically for the trip. There wasn't another soul on this remote river that day, and we got to watch wild salmon do what they were made to do...swarm up the river in waves and fight for the right to exist. Thankfully a few of them were interested in shaking hands with us as well.

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We spent a few more days in Seldovia, exploring that river and also the saltwater slough running through the village.20210717_232139.jpg
(The daily ferry. This cat could absolutely haul ass.)

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(I've never seen so many sea otters before...they were the very official mascot of Seldovia)

Here's Gary with a firetruck of a King. Would have loved to see that fish chrome bright. Sight fishing for kings in essentially a tidal pond at the end of a slough was crazy...not like any other king fishing I've ever done.

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To be continued....
 

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We made it back to Kenai and the serious harvesting began. I'm usually a C&R kind of guy, and would rather not catch a fish and not see anyone than play the combat fishing game...but I think everyone should take a stab at the Kenai Sockeye run at some point. In WA i've gernally found fishing in close proximity to other people to be a bad experience. Gary described Alaska simply saying, "everyone you meet is the best friend you never knew you had." People were generally so friendly and absolutely stoked that you were there with them catching fish. These pictures were taken at the city park in Soldatna. People of all shapes, ages, and sizes were there to enjoy the harvest and have a good time. One of the days we forgot the net, and our neighbors gladly shared. It was just a completely different experience that what I had in my head.

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(One of the smaller fish, but it was bleeding pretty good so I bonked it.)

I could not believe how hard these sockeye fight! They're chrome bright, fresh out of the ocean and headed upriver. I broke off so many of them on my first day out there because I was using 15lb test. Had to bump up to 30. It's not that they're so big, just that they get out into the main current and point towards the ocean. If you cant keep their head pointed at you and under control, they're gone. It's also a matter of etiquette not to let them run. You're fishing so close to you neighbor that fighting a fish for more than a minute or two starts to encroach upon them.

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Between breakoffs and releasing foul hooked fish, I probably hooked 15+ to get my limit of 3. It was never a matter of "if" you were going to catch your limit, it was "how many" tries it took you to do it.

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We had 3 days of 3 limits apiece. Gary had an industrial vacuum packer in his shop, so we cut and wrapped everything and froze it to take home. The wife and I have been eating most of the sockeye as sushi and poke bowls. It's too good to bother cooking it!

To be continued...
 
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As part of our AK trip we set one day aside for a Halibut charter out of Seward. We ended up on a boat owned by our host's in-laws, Alaska Northern Outfitters. The captain and crew were amazing, and I feel they went above and beyond your average charter fishing experience. The skill and attentiveness of these deckhands was incredible, and the Captain himself jumped right in to work along side them. Their patience with the less experienced fisherman was evident, and it was obvious they loved their jobs. Keeping 20 people of varying skill levels all baited up and untangled was quite a rodeo, and they did an excellent job.

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Dad and I caught the two largest halibut of the trip. Mine was estimated at #80, and his at #50. As you can see, the whole boat limited out on halibut, and also had a healthy take of salmon and rockfish.

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(Celebrating having the two largest, and also being the first two tagged out for the day. I think Dad was disappointed I forgot to bring better beer :ROFLMAO:)

It was a welcome change from Halibut fishing in WA, where most of it is done in anywhere from 200-600ft deep water. Where we fished out of Seward was only 100ft deep, allowing us to use lighter tackle to get to the bottom. Also having an in with the captain was an advantage...instead of the overpowered rail rods on the holders, we were given much lighter tackle and jigs to use, whereas the rest of the rest of the anglers had standard gear. Once we tagged out our rods got handed off to others on the charter who knew what they were doing.
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Fighting that #80 was such an awesome experience. That's my new personal best, and a record that I'm sure will stand at least until the next time I go to AK.


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Taking in the sights from the upper deck after we tagged out. Montague Island in the background.

To be continued...
 
A few more pictures from AK.

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(Exploring the lower Kasilof, not much action down there, but very beautiful. This was the same run where my Mom had landed a 45lb King 25 years ago when my folks went up for their 5th wedding anniversary.)

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(Shameless plug for my custom rod company, Bearclaw Custom Rods. Though she's looking a little naked as I was rushing to get this one built and didn't wrap the winding check or decal. She fished great though. Arctos 9'3" 9WT blank paired with a Redington Behemoth did the trick.)

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(Dad and Garry on the upper Kasilof)

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(Swinging my 11' 6WT Bearclaw Custom on the Kenai up around Cooper's Landing. Landed 2 decent Rainbows but didn't get any pics. I'd really love to do more trout fishing next time I go back.)


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(Shameless selfie...that smile didn't leave my face the whole trip, and it comes back every time I think on it. Which is often!)

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(Side channel on the upper Kenai.)

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I also finally got to see a Grizzly in the wild. Watching him fish down the river was so cool. He would start at the top of the run, float his way down, catch a fish, eat it, then walk back up to the top and do it again. Essentially he fished the same way we drift fish. Though I think his success rate may be a bit higher.
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(Plenty of these guys too!)


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We got to experience both extremes of Alaskan salmon fishing, from elbow to elbow in Soldotna, to the more remote parts of Seldovia and the upper Kasilof. It was an unforgettable trip with my Dad. We met so many great people and had so many incredible experiences. The biggest thanks to our host Gary. Absolutely cannot wait to go back and do it again!

Until next time Alaska!
 
Thanks for sharing. It was fun to read. Alaska gets under your skin. In a good way.
 
i water fowl hunted with the same guy for 20 years. when he died i stopped hunting. but in the meantime his daughter married a guy i knew and they moved to AK. we were standing in our usual spots at 0300 drinking coffee when he told me his SIL had found him a property on the Kenai, river mile 13. he drove up and started construction on his dream cabin that next summer. that following summer i went up and helped him close it in. because you could not tell the time, almost constant daylight, we fished when we were not working. 74# is the largest chinook, had to chase it to tide water to get the VW bug sized net under her. within a very short walk from the cabin is 'the falling in hole' the best silver hole on the entire river. a 1/4 mile hike down river is where the world record chinook was taken. this is really big water so be prepared if you go. catching the 50# chinook may be over forever as killing all those female fish changed the gene pool. have fun no matter, it something to experience in your lifetime.
 
gpt said:
i water fowl hunted with the same guy for 20 years. when he died i stopped hunting. but in the meantime his daughter married a guy i knew and they moved to AK. we were standing in our usual spots at 0300 drinking coffee when he told me his SIL had found him a property on the Kenai, river mile 13. he drove up and started construction on his dream cabin that next summer. that following summer i went up and helped him close it in. because you could not tell the time, almost constant daylight, we fished when we were not working. 74# is the largest chinook, had to chase it to tide water to get the VW bug sized net under her. within a very short walk from the cabin is 'the falling in hole' the best silver hole on the entire river. a 1/4 mile hike down river is where the world record chinook was taken. this is really big water so be prepared if you go. catching the 50# chinook may be over forever as killing all those female fish changed the gene pool. have fun no matter, it something to experience in your lifetime.
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I've dreamed of catching a Kenai king for a long time. I remember my Dad telling me about going for a guided trip there in the 90s. He said the awe and mystery was kind of ruined for him when the sun came up and he could see the golden arches of McDonalds right by the river and surrounded by dozens of other boats. That fishery didn't seem so fantastical to him after experiencing it like that. Even after that story I've always dreamed of experiencing a fish like that. Living and fishing in WA my whole life I've still never broke 30lb on a King. It's hard to imagine that fight, knowing what even a 20lb can do.

Thanks for sharing your memories. AK back in the day must have really been something to experience.
 
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