The Fishing Report: Kenai Kings and Klams

The staccato kee…kee…kee alerted me to the young eagles
presence. He was perched just 20 feet above the hole that I had
sacrificed so dearly to get to first and was relieved to just see
him and no one else.  The bear tracks I saw on the trail were small
so I knew it was just a black bear and not much to worry about.
There was the cow Moose that grazed in the willows 100 yards across
the open meadow but I had already seen 10 or so just driving the 45
minutes here at 5:30 in the morning. 5:30 in the morning is not
that big a deal generally to a fisherman, in that we live by the
credo that the early bird gets the worm, but up here in Alaska in
June, the sun doesn’t set until 11:30 and I had fished until dark
the night before.  
All in all, the river looked pretty good. We got them here last
night until the tide faded at 8 but fished until dark anyway. We
were fishing the Ninilchick. This small river on the Kenai
Peninsula hosts a good run of King Salmon as well as all the other
varieties but at different times of the year. I was fishing with a
bobber and roe. The stop was set for just 4 feet. This is not one
of the big green  rivers you read about in Alaska that are glacier
fed like the Kenai itself. This little tannin-stained beauty is
about the size of Dry Creek and a deep hole is maybe 5 feet deep. 
My first half hour of casting was met with little activity. The
Eagle however sat and watched, occasionally cocking his head as if
to ask “what the hell are you doing in my hole?” Then the bobber
went down.  I reeled and set the hook. The fish rocketed off
downstream and I set off after him. The small confines of the river
give little room for a big salmon to play its usually dogged style
of resistance game. Instead it has no choice but to boogie and
boogie it did. First it went down through the slot and first set of
riffles and around one log jam. Then it went under another. I
couldn’t quite cross the river and had to pass my rod over the tops
of the downed logs to a another angler while i made my way around
the big log jam. After 20 minutes or I so, I worked the big fish to
the shore and was able to subdue it. Don’t wake me up… I think I am
in Alaska.
Five guys went to Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula for a week the
beginning of June. We stayed at Mike Aughney’s house in the quaint
little hamlet of Clam Gulch. Mike rents his centrally located house
out on occasion and is a great deal for the angler on a budget. It
will sleep six and it includes a quality 4×4 Chevy Suburban which
allows you to take full advantage of all the fishing things going
on. And we did. The first day we went out from Homer across the
sound and got a 5-gallon bucket a piece of steamer clams and in the
afternoon fished the world famous Anchor River. We landed several
fish a piece including several nice steelheads, which were out of
season and released. The next day we dug for razor clams on a beach
right down from Clam Gulch. I guess that is why they call it Clam
Gulch. You are allowed 60 of these apiece. These guys require a bit
more cleaning and we spent the rest of the day getting them ready
for the table. The middle day of the trip, the weather really
turned cold and rainy, and as luck would have it, we had scheduled
a drift boat trip down the Kasiloff with Val Early We had one hook
up, and it got bitterly cold, so Val pulled the plug. No one else
was getting them either. Val is a great guide, a lot of fun to hang
with, and I would highly recommend her. The next day we went out
with Steve Smith on a halibut charter. We fished in 200+ feet of
water with 4 pound weights and managed a couple of halibut a piece
to 45 pounds with a 15 pound average. Steve blamed the commercial
fishermen and their 1,000 hook long lines for the low size quality
of the fish, but as far as table fare, they couldn’t be beat. Steve
is also a class operator and I also would recommend him highly. He
also fishes for world record ling cod, salmon and rockfish when in
season.
All in all, the fishing was less than what I had hoped.
Apparently the King Salmon are being effected even up in Alaska by
the same unknown conditions that are affecting us down here. My
understanding is that later in the year the red salmon and silver
salmon fishing is off the charts, and I will have to come back up
if given the chance. It was a lot of work, not much sleep, but we
had a great time and came back with a respectable box of
seafood.
For more information and/or reports please contact Hunt
Conrad at Prospect Mortgage in Healdsburg, 431-9715.