DocSpotty
09-21-2009, 11:48 PM
Another September weekend meant more trout fishing on the Kenai River. Friday came and my pshrink fishing friend and I decided to head down to do a little random shore fishing before a float through the Kenai River Canyon on Saturday. We were up at the crack of dawn and on the road (at a bit after 11 am….so it wasn’t that early….the trout sleep in late up this far north). The fall colors were fantastic on the 2 ½ hour drive down:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/BeautifulDrive.jpg
We geared up at the boat launch area at Jim’s Creek….Corby had a wet wader boot already so he wasn’t so happy:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Gearingup.jpg
Although it wasn’t a fantastic day for fishing it wasn’t long before we were catching little dollies:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/CorbyFirstBlood.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/JimsDolly-1.jpg
This action went on for a few hours then we headed back to the car to try another area. On the way back I managed to snag a nice rainbow:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/NiceBow-1.jpg
We stopped to help show a young couple with a small rug bunny with them….how to best fish a bead in the river. And, as Murphy’s Law of taking your spouse fishing would dictate, the wife soon after tagged a very nice dolly……we left the man in his solitude so he could attempt to recover his manhood….when she caught another….we left quickly as we felt somewhat culpable for his predicament.
After ingesting some sustenance we decided to head for the mouth of the Russian River where it dumps into the Kenai….this is the famous area of “combat fishing” fame when the reds are running in June and July. During those red runs people will be lined up elbow to elbow for nearly a mile downstream….being impaled by hooks is a frequent occurrence and wearing full battle armor is recommended.
Anyways…the Russian was very low and we didn’t find any trout as we fished down to its confluence with the Kenai River. As we got to the mouth there were several other fisherman around trying to catch the few silver salmon still around. We started beading for trout and Corby kicked my fanny catching 6 rainbows to my none….my only consolation was none were over 11 inches. While playing his last one I noticed a silver moving up in shallow water in front of me and slapped a quick cast in front of it…..BINGO…..big silver on. About 10 minutes into the battle I was thinking my baling-wire reconstructed shoulder was going to be awfully sore the next day…but the test of wills continued. After about 20 minutes I had him beached on a shallow bar and took one quick picture before setting him free:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/RussianSilver.jpg
As we started back to the car it started sprinkling and we had a great picture over the Russian and Kenai Rivers:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/RussianRainbow.jpg
While hiking back we had a moderately close encounter with a smelly bruin just upriver of where we got out….it was getting dark so we climbed the stairs to the parking lot as fast as we could move. Then the fun began. We had planned on sleeping in the car near where we would meet the guide in the morning….little did I realize my fishing buddy was more neurotic than I. He had to rearrange everything in the back of the car so he could lay down…sleeping in the reclining front seat wasn’t good enough. Then as I tried to doze off he commented, “You don’t snore, do you?” HA…..HAHA…..obviously he had never talked to my wife who lives, at night, with giant ear plugs in so she can sleep……well boohoo for Corby for not properly vetting the sleeping quarters earlier. There was an amusing moment at about 2 am when certain bodily functions made themselves known…it was actually pitch dark outside and we were in bear heavy area. After 10 minutes we flicked all the lights on…bolted out of the car, took care of business, and then battened down the hatches….fortunately no one was eaten.
After a somewhat fitful, snore filled night we awoke and headed to Jim’s Landing to meet Dennis. The morning was invigorating:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/JimsSUnrise-1.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/JimsSunMorn.jpg
I’m sure most of you picture fishing in Alaska as a wonderful, solitude filled excursion….well that morning we couldn’t believe all the boats shoving off to float through the canyon …. We saw 15-20 just while launching. This can make fishing extremely difficult as there are not that many areas that hold large numbers of fish and we were going to have to “fight” to get any of those areas before the fish were spooked to death by the impending flotilla of boats. Our favorite area is always the first island down from the launch….but as we rounded the corner a drift boat had already pulled in and then another private boat right on top of them. So we pulled in below the island to try a seldom fished area. We managed several fish there, but unlike last week, most were not very large….although always fun to catch:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/BraidDollRod.jpg
After awhile we hopped back into the drift boat and worked our way down to the 1st gate:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/FirstGate.jpg
As we moved around to catch the first spot there was already 2 boats in it so we had to keep moving down…..some of our best water and we didn’t even get to fish it.
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/LookingUpq1stG.jpg
At least the scenery was beautiful:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/ChangingTrees.jpg
We were coming up on the 2nd gate with very few fish caught…at least the day was nice:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/2ndGate.jpg
This area was fished with a couple of tiny rainbows caught as there were no reds around to hold the trout. We pushed on and decided to pull into a small spot we call the “Lunch Hole” (because many bears dine there) and lo, and behold, no one was in it. It soon became apparent we were the first to stop there as we managed to catch several nice fish from this deep hole:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/LHCorbyDolly.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/LHSpawner.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/NicebowRod.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/LunchHoleDoll.jpg
Pushing off from there we were coming up on the 3rd gate:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/3rdGate.jpg
We were excited about this particular spot as we had seen several very large rainbows in it last week and our guide had a client hook a rainbow of 15-20 lbs in there the day before (client lost it at the boat). But we were disappointed again as another guide was parked right in the middle of the hole. So we floated down a bit and decided to eat a lunch of fresh dolly, corn on the cob and baked potato. Chip was stoked for lunch:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/CasualDog.jpg
We caught a few fish around the island but after lunch pushed on. We stopped at a bar in mid River and caught several rainbows and a few dollies:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/MidRiverBow.jpg
Below this area was the “Miracle Mile”…..the last mile before the Kenai dumps into Skilak Lake and generally the area holding the most fish. But as we rounded this corner it became apparent we were not alone again:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/NotAlone.jpg
This precipitated a tough decision whether to stay on the main river for the last half mile….with lots of company….or take a chance on a small side braid of the river taking a chance no one had floated it yet. The guide started into the braid…..changed his mind….then changed it again and we were committed to the small braid. He was second guessing himself until we tied into two nice rainbows and spotted many reds still spawning. The guides’ intuition served him well as we had absolutely great fishing for the last couple of hours of our trip:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/SideBraid.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/SideBow.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/SideDolly-1.jpg
About this time we heard a tremendous roar overhead and had two of these Air Force C17 transports fly low over us:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/C17Transport.jpg
They didn’t disturb the fish too much, though, and the catching continued unabated:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/PrettyDolly.jpg
We kept moving down the braid….and I hooked up on another very nice dolly, playing it to the closest shore:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/PlayingDOll.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Braiddolly.jpg
As I sat on the bank beside me to unhook the fish there was a distinctly unpleasant odor and I looked over a few feet from me to see a pile of munched up reds on the shore….I had found Mr. Brown bears’ dinner table…..I felt it judicious to move away rather rapidly…don’t want to disturb Mr. Bear. We kept on catching dollies with the occasional bow mixed in:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/SideDolly-1.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/SidePrettyDoll.jpg
We got to the last good hole in the braid and the fishing was just wide stinking open for the next hour….at one point I caught 7 dollies in 7 casts….it was amazing. Then it was time to go and head for the garage. So we reached the end of the braid and hit Skilak Lake:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/EndofBraid.jpg
As we were motoring very slowly to the take out we came across two other boats each towing 3 rafts to the boat ramp….never seen this much traffic on this stretch of the river:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/SkilakBoats.jpg
We loaded up the boat and decided to draw straws for who had to drive:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Driver.jpg
This outlook is off the Kenai River dumping into Skilak Lake….I never get tired of looking at these vistas:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/KenaiMouthOv.jpg
It was home to a nice comfy bed and sore shoulders the next day…….
Brian
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/BeautifulDrive.jpg
We geared up at the boat launch area at Jim’s Creek….Corby had a wet wader boot already so he wasn’t so happy:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Gearingup.jpg
Although it wasn’t a fantastic day for fishing it wasn’t long before we were catching little dollies:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/CorbyFirstBlood.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/JimsDolly-1.jpg
This action went on for a few hours then we headed back to the car to try another area. On the way back I managed to snag a nice rainbow:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/NiceBow-1.jpg
We stopped to help show a young couple with a small rug bunny with them….how to best fish a bead in the river. And, as Murphy’s Law of taking your spouse fishing would dictate, the wife soon after tagged a very nice dolly……we left the man in his solitude so he could attempt to recover his manhood….when she caught another….we left quickly as we felt somewhat culpable for his predicament.
After ingesting some sustenance we decided to head for the mouth of the Russian River where it dumps into the Kenai….this is the famous area of “combat fishing” fame when the reds are running in June and July. During those red runs people will be lined up elbow to elbow for nearly a mile downstream….being impaled by hooks is a frequent occurrence and wearing full battle armor is recommended.
Anyways…the Russian was very low and we didn’t find any trout as we fished down to its confluence with the Kenai River. As we got to the mouth there were several other fisherman around trying to catch the few silver salmon still around. We started beading for trout and Corby kicked my fanny catching 6 rainbows to my none….my only consolation was none were over 11 inches. While playing his last one I noticed a silver moving up in shallow water in front of me and slapped a quick cast in front of it…..BINGO…..big silver on. About 10 minutes into the battle I was thinking my baling-wire reconstructed shoulder was going to be awfully sore the next day…but the test of wills continued. After about 20 minutes I had him beached on a shallow bar and took one quick picture before setting him free:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/RussianSilver.jpg
As we started back to the car it started sprinkling and we had a great picture over the Russian and Kenai Rivers:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/RussianRainbow.jpg
While hiking back we had a moderately close encounter with a smelly bruin just upriver of where we got out….it was getting dark so we climbed the stairs to the parking lot as fast as we could move. Then the fun began. We had planned on sleeping in the car near where we would meet the guide in the morning….little did I realize my fishing buddy was more neurotic than I. He had to rearrange everything in the back of the car so he could lay down…sleeping in the reclining front seat wasn’t good enough. Then as I tried to doze off he commented, “You don’t snore, do you?” HA…..HAHA…..obviously he had never talked to my wife who lives, at night, with giant ear plugs in so she can sleep……well boohoo for Corby for not properly vetting the sleeping quarters earlier. There was an amusing moment at about 2 am when certain bodily functions made themselves known…it was actually pitch dark outside and we were in bear heavy area. After 10 minutes we flicked all the lights on…bolted out of the car, took care of business, and then battened down the hatches….fortunately no one was eaten.
After a somewhat fitful, snore filled night we awoke and headed to Jim’s Landing to meet Dennis. The morning was invigorating:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/JimsSUnrise-1.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/JimsSunMorn.jpg
I’m sure most of you picture fishing in Alaska as a wonderful, solitude filled excursion….well that morning we couldn’t believe all the boats shoving off to float through the canyon …. We saw 15-20 just while launching. This can make fishing extremely difficult as there are not that many areas that hold large numbers of fish and we were going to have to “fight” to get any of those areas before the fish were spooked to death by the impending flotilla of boats. Our favorite area is always the first island down from the launch….but as we rounded the corner a drift boat had already pulled in and then another private boat right on top of them. So we pulled in below the island to try a seldom fished area. We managed several fish there, but unlike last week, most were not very large….although always fun to catch:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/BraidDollRod.jpg
After awhile we hopped back into the drift boat and worked our way down to the 1st gate:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/FirstGate.jpg
As we moved around to catch the first spot there was already 2 boats in it so we had to keep moving down…..some of our best water and we didn’t even get to fish it.
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/LookingUpq1stG.jpg
At least the scenery was beautiful:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/ChangingTrees.jpg
We were coming up on the 2nd gate with very few fish caught…at least the day was nice:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/2ndGate.jpg
This area was fished with a couple of tiny rainbows caught as there were no reds around to hold the trout. We pushed on and decided to pull into a small spot we call the “Lunch Hole” (because many bears dine there) and lo, and behold, no one was in it. It soon became apparent we were the first to stop there as we managed to catch several nice fish from this deep hole:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/LHCorbyDolly.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/LHSpawner.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/NicebowRod.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/LunchHoleDoll.jpg
Pushing off from there we were coming up on the 3rd gate:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/3rdGate.jpg
We were excited about this particular spot as we had seen several very large rainbows in it last week and our guide had a client hook a rainbow of 15-20 lbs in there the day before (client lost it at the boat). But we were disappointed again as another guide was parked right in the middle of the hole. So we floated down a bit and decided to eat a lunch of fresh dolly, corn on the cob and baked potato. Chip was stoked for lunch:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/CasualDog.jpg
We caught a few fish around the island but after lunch pushed on. We stopped at a bar in mid River and caught several rainbows and a few dollies:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/MidRiverBow.jpg
Below this area was the “Miracle Mile”…..the last mile before the Kenai dumps into Skilak Lake and generally the area holding the most fish. But as we rounded this corner it became apparent we were not alone again:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/NotAlone.jpg
This precipitated a tough decision whether to stay on the main river for the last half mile….with lots of company….or take a chance on a small side braid of the river taking a chance no one had floated it yet. The guide started into the braid…..changed his mind….then changed it again and we were committed to the small braid. He was second guessing himself until we tied into two nice rainbows and spotted many reds still spawning. The guides’ intuition served him well as we had absolutely great fishing for the last couple of hours of our trip:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/SideBraid.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/SideBow.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/SideDolly-1.jpg
About this time we heard a tremendous roar overhead and had two of these Air Force C17 transports fly low over us:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/C17Transport.jpg
They didn’t disturb the fish too much, though, and the catching continued unabated:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/PrettyDolly.jpg
We kept moving down the braid….and I hooked up on another very nice dolly, playing it to the closest shore:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/PlayingDOll.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Braiddolly.jpg
As I sat on the bank beside me to unhook the fish there was a distinctly unpleasant odor and I looked over a few feet from me to see a pile of munched up reds on the shore….I had found Mr. Brown bears’ dinner table…..I felt it judicious to move away rather rapidly…don’t want to disturb Mr. Bear. We kept on catching dollies with the occasional bow mixed in:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/SideDolly-1.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/SidePrettyDoll.jpg
We got to the last good hole in the braid and the fishing was just wide stinking open for the next hour….at one point I caught 7 dollies in 7 casts….it was amazing. Then it was time to go and head for the garage. So we reached the end of the braid and hit Skilak Lake:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/EndofBraid.jpg
As we were motoring very slowly to the take out we came across two other boats each towing 3 rafts to the boat ramp….never seen this much traffic on this stretch of the river:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/SkilakBoats.jpg
We loaded up the boat and decided to draw straws for who had to drive:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/Driver.jpg
This outlook is off the Kenai River dumping into Skilak Lake….I never get tired of looking at these vistas:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/KenaiMouthOv.jpg
It was home to a nice comfy bed and sore shoulders the next day…….
Brian