Quest Outdoors

BrianD · Posted: Tue Jul 04, 2006 9:32 pm Post subject: Kenai River Alaska Report

Hey Gang,
just back from a week of fishing the Kenai River with Keith (ChromeBuck) from the forum. Had a fantastic time, made some new friends, saw some spectacular scenery that I hadn't seen in years, and of course put the hurt on some mighty big fish. Story below w/ as many pics as I can muster...

After a sleepless night and a grueling day at work, I finally leave DTW at 8:00pm Friday night. Clear skies made the flight enjoyable. I could trace our way to Saginaw Bay, over to Traverse and across Lake Michigan, over the UP and grazing the corner of Lake Superior. After crossing the Boundary Waters in MN I sort of tuned out to a good book untill I looked out to see Alaska's Chugach Range. I have to appologize for not having my camera handy, but the Chugach Mountains are some of the most beautiful, rugged, and remote I've ever seen. It's been far to long since I've been to Alaska!

After landing in Anchorage I had a short wait for my shuttle to Soldotna, my "home base" on the Kenai peninsula. I love small plane flights, and in Alaska I'd say they're a mandatory experience.

Flying to Soldotna meant I missed the chance to drive through the Kenai Range, which provides excellent scenery.

Fortunatly I remembered my camera this time. I think the view of the sun setting behind the Chigmit Mountains and Cook Inlet more than made up for it. BTW, this photo was taken about 11:30 PM! 20 hours of daylight is a trip!

Keith is waiting to greet me at the airport. It's always good to see old friends. Nice to see Alaskan life is agreeing with him.

After a quick hello it's off to the Homestead Lodge to crash for a few hours before the morning's fishing. We got a bit of a late start Saturday AM. About 8:00 if I remember right. This is my first view of the Kenai River in years. One of the boats we'd be running is in the foreground. The 20' Willie's Predator seems to be the boat of choice on the lower Kenai.

Finally we're fishing! I knew the Kenai was the most famous (Pacific) Salmon river in the world, but I didn't know what Keith meant by "most competitive" untill now. Look at all those boats!

Now I'm finally relaxed. That's Mount Redoubt, one of the worlds most active volcanos, visable in the background. This doesn't suck!

Before I get to much further I should probably introduce my Kenai crew. That's Keith on the left. The tall guy with the blonde locks is Scot Merry, Keith's buddy and Kenai river guide. On the right is Rick, in town from PA to visit Scott's girlfriend Donna.

This is Donna with her dog Jake. I'm not sure which of the two liked to fish more!

As much as I hate to admit it, the fishing the first two days was a real grind. We put in a ton of hours with only "rats" and trout to show for it. Rats are what the locals call Kings under 20#, which gives you an idea of how big Kenai fish really get. You'll also notice there's not a ton of glory pics. On the Kenai, you can't remove a fish you're going to release from the water, making pictures nearly impossible. They also have a slot limit in June where Kings between 44 and 55 inches must be released. Good to see such tight resource management.

Rick is in to his first fish...

Here's a rat about to be released...

I'm bent for the first time. Even the smaller Kings have explosive power.

Keith with a rat destined for the old wood shampoo...

OK, enough beating on the little fish. Monday rolled around, which is "no guides and no motors allowed" on the lower Kenai. Yeah, the river regs are strange and confusing! We headed to the upper Kenai for a change of pace... a little Sockeye fishing. The first run of reds was going gangbusters and the scrappy little b@stards taste delicious.

Our first stop was this gorgeous little series of bars in the middle river that we could just wade out to.

No Sockeye here, but Keith picks off a nice little Dolly.

We finally break down and head to the infamous Russian River ferry at the Russian's confluence with the Kenai. This is a huge Sockeye spawning and migration route, but also a huge tourist destination. I've seen the circus before and wasn't too keen on fishing there, but we headed down stream a ways to avoid the crowds.

Sockeye fishing really isn't that tough when you're a reformed Michigan bottom bouncer!

Damn it Keith! Wake up and take my picture! Guess all the excitement wore him out.

Sockeye, it's what's for dinner! Tasty...

Here's an interesting little segway... Does a bear {shucks} in the woods? Apparently only as a last resort! Surrounded by nothing but forrest, this bear prefers the lodge's driveway. Probably the same b@stard that's tearing up the trash at the lodge every night.

As Tuesday approaches our expectations are high. With limited pressure on guide-restricted Sunday and Monday, Tuesday is known as "Bloody Tuesday" on the Kenai. We're in an unstickered boat, so we drop lines by 4:45am to get a jump on the guides. The first drift through 1/4 Mile is perfect. Less than 5 minutes down and Rick's into his first fish.

Only another Rat this time but we're still hopefull. 5 minutes later it's my turn! Ends up to be another Rat but we manage to get it in and released without pulling any lines or screwing up the drift. Turns out to be a good thing too since a massive plug hit immediately followed. Rick's on his first real Kenai bruiser.

50# class King, just shy of the 44" slot limit!

Damn it! I want a fish too! We drop down to Porters to see if we can connect and I'm bit right away. The guides look on as they wait for guide hours to start.

My first Kenai King! OK, not a monster by Kenai standards but I'll take whatever I can get after so many long hours of fishing. Next time I'll open my eyes for the photo.

Tuesday night rolls around and we're on the water and racing down river to meet an early high tide. Hurry the hell up Keith!

We "bounce" the Crossover and the Beav hoping to connect on the flush. Once again the scenery around here really sucks...

Nothing but Rats tonight but nobody minds much since Donna's tending bar. Only problem was Jake kept on eating the damn bait!

Wednesday rolls around and we've got some Halibut fishin' booked. We're off at 5:00 for the 3 hour trek down the Kenai to Homer, the end of the road. OK, it's only just over an hour. Inside joke! The drive down is great, with perfect views of Cook inlet and the Chigmit's. You'll notice the beaches have very dark sand, which I'm assuming is from the 3 active volcanos just across the inlet.

When we arrive, the captain advises us of 5-7' seas and he recommends we call off the trip. It took us about 1 second to say "hell no, we're going!" As soon as I can find the captain's name and website I'll add it here. He was a great guy, and suprisingly grew up in Bay City, MI. Turns out he's fished much the same waters Keith and I did. Damn I wish I could remember his name.

What you can't see in the photo above is how rough the seas were as soon as we rounded the point. Talk about a ride! It was to rough to go on the hook so we tried drift fishing. Keith had brought our own tackle; G. Loomis Muskie rods, 100# braid, and 16oz. jigs. Would they work in such heavy water?

Oh yeah baby! 5-Man limit in 30 minutes flat! Nothing huge but all perfect eaters in the 20-35# class. While Rick and Donna used conventional Halibut tackle, Keith and I had a blast on his new rigs.

Hey, I wan't a photo too, but I'm not crazy enough to do it in the back of a speeding boat!

Homer calls itself "A quaint little drinking village with a fishing problem", and no trip to the spit is complete without a visit to the Salty Dawg.

I highly recommend the Homer Brewing Company. Ah, clean livin'!

OK, getting late... again! Guess I'm doing this post in installments. As Keith would say...

Bye for now.

Brian

Wallacio · Alevin Joined: 19 Jul 2005 Posts: 16

Great report Brian!!!! Looks like Keith is doing well up there.

I look forward to Pt.2 - can't wait to see the big tanks!!!

BrianD · Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2006 11:27 pm Post subject: Updates

OK, updated the report with Monday-Wednesday, but I'm saving the best for last. Promise to wrap it up this weekend.

Dave, good to hear from ya. Hope you've been well and you'll have to ring me up to get out this fall. Still itching to do the Maitland.

Best,

Brian

PEte · Lunker Joined: 09 Dec 2004 Posts: 396 Location: Ontario

Brian,
You are killing us here... get to the good stuff!!! SWWEEET pics btw
PEte

Chromebuck · Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2006 4:26 pm Post subject:

One from the hog pen boys....A friend from Anchorage bounced up this fish two days ago on my vessel (46.5 X 27). Unofficial scale weight of 57lbs. Salt bright with bugs! I have relatively small hands, but look at the amount of space between my fingers on the wrist of this buck.

Nice to see this board still active...Pete you play nice...Dave, very nice to hear from you...Brian the tide is delivering fish consistently now, but unfortunately my digital capabilities are still nonexsistent. Last night I released a 40lb plus chrome bright hen on the flood.

Things are going well up here so far, and I'm just amazed at how much there is to learn about this fishery. The tides, baits and methods are a refreshing change.

Chris Andersen sent a couple of the new Sage gear rods up for me this week and I will be giving them a spin for the rest of this month. Will report back on my thoughts. Also, Chris is trying to organize this falls trip to the T, and I told hime to count me and Brian in! Dave if you or Rick are interested contact me via PM. I'm assuming Addi will already be there on some creatively financed trip Laughing

Francois????

Thats it for now..

~CB

Westcoast Chrome · Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2006 5:31 pm Post subject: Kenai

CB,

Great to hear from you! Wow....good to see that you are setteling in up there, those are some mighty fine chinnys there! Just curious to know what Sage models you'll be using cause even though I have a Med-Heavy action Sage, I wouldn't dare use it on big Kings.

When you say organizing a trip to the "T" do you mean the Thompson? I'll be anxiously awaiting more posts and pics of your new surroundings and the new adventures of ChromeBuck. If you did mean the Thompson, you won't miss me, I'll be fishing with a hot blonde girl.

Best of luck
WCC

Chromebuck · Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2006 5:46 pm Post subject:

WCC,

Nice to hear from you! Of course I'm talking about the Thompson! If your going to be with a blonde dame I'm sure not to miss you...I'm planning on a last minute ticket that coincides with their escapement counts.

If you have the newly published gear catalogue(not on website) from Sage they are the 490. I thought they were a bit on the lite side considering they are rated only to 25lb line, but Chris assured me they have the beef to handle these kings. He has fished and guided up here many years.

More to come.

~CB

SageDrifter · Lunker Joined: 02 Sep 2004 Posts: 726

Tres Bon Gents!

Nice to see & hear you have settled in K. I see your using Islander FR's on some Fly Gear. They really can take a stink load of abuse & keep begging for more,can't they?

Keep us informed as the season progresses

FISH ON · Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2006 9:51 pm Post subject:

Keith, Keep it up, it looks like thing are going well for you up there.

Brian, You lucky dog and keep in touch for this fall.

FISH ON,

Charlie

PEte · Lunker Joined: 09 Dec 2004 Posts: 396 Location: Ontario

Chromebuck · Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2006 10:52 am Post subject:

The older I get the more my fishing buddies have a sense of priority! Whats happen to us all? I thought you might show up with the new Lamiglas or something Laughing

Drifter_Darek · Smolt Joined: 06 Jan 2005 Posts: 46 Location: Toronto, ON.

Sweet pics Brian, Alaska looks awesome. Keith good to see you're still hammering em Twisted Evil

Wallacio · Alevin Joined: 19 Jul 2005 Posts: 16

Steel_dog · Posted: Mon Jul 10, 2006 8:07 am Post subject:

Super amazing trip guys! Thanks for sharing.