September 25, 2011–“Fall’s Last Stand”
“…we’ve been blessed with some incredible sunshine and warm temperatures toward the end of September, and we’ve taken advantage of them to the fullest with activities ranging from backyard football and campfires to catching a few more late run silver salmon as well as bird hunting, firewood cutting, blueberry & cranberry picking, moose hunting, and more. Here are some photos to reflect on as we drift off to winter. This butterfly photo, taken by our daughter, is perhaps the sweetest goodbye to summer. Farewell till next season, Auf Wiedersehen, Sayonara, Ciao and Adieu.
September 23, 2011–“Autumn Aglow With Silvers!”
“…what’s not to love, fall colors in full radiance, fresh fall silvers glistening in the sun, and my lovely fishing partner to share it all with. These fillets are destined for a newly dreamed up recipe of jalapeno smoked salmon with some south of the border zing! We savor these moments of beauty here on the Kenai River with every change of the season.”
19.~.21 Septembre, 2011–“Lyon pêcheurs!”
“…ici c’est le paradis avec un acceuil formidable et un environnement magnifique au bord de la riviere Kenai avec des saumons enormes.”
September 13, 2011–“Father/Son Special Silvers”
“…after dodging a few rainy & windy days, the boys and I slipped out today for some more great silver salmon fishing on the lower Kenai River. Starting with a fresh bright silver off the back of the boat while still tied up to shore just prepping for the trip, followed 20 minutes later downstream when we hit one of my all-time favorite spots just as the tide was turning, and in no time we had a double hook up, followed by more. The boys enjoy the time on the water, knowing all too well that winter is sneaking up on us in these parts.”
September 12, 2011–“More Kenai Peninsula Adventures”
“…the stories continue for Andi aus Europa, with some cool fall Halibut fishing, whale watching as several humpbacks swam very close to the boat, more silver salmon, dinner ala fresh fish five ways….he promises he’ll be back and we’re holding him to that promise!”
September 8, 2011–“Wild Ride on the Kenai!”
“…visiting from Zurich, though his hometown is in Munich, Andi Leidl enjoyed a great trip on the Kenai, complete with a thrilling wild ride through the Naptown Rapids, the only whitewater you’ll find on the Kenai below Skilak Lake, and to run it in a power boat is quite the thrill he said after returning safely home from his trip courtesy of renowned rainbow guide Steve Larson. His day included a nice trophy rainbow as his first fish, a typical spawning red salmon, a mother brown bear fishing in front of a “Waters Closed to Fishing” sign with 3 cubs while two old eagles looked on, loons a plenty in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, seals swimming nearly 50 miles from the ocean to do their own fishing, and a cow & bull moose on the way home to boot! Another nice day in our backyard.”
September 7, 2011–“September Salmon Splendor”
“…Andreas, returning for the 2nd year in a row, secured a first day fishing limit of Silver Salmon on the Kenai River this morning, fresh off a flight from Frankfurt, dinner tonight, then on to more fishing, the autumn adventure in Alaska continues!”
August 17, 2011–“Cooper’s Catch!”
“…Cooper solved the dinner dilemma tonight with this nice fresh caught Silver Salmon after our short jungle cruise venture (you had to be there). Coconut Salmon is cooking as I type…gotta go!”
August 17, 2011–“Sashimi Time!”
“…I’d love to show a picture of the two plates of sashimi that our guests the Ito family devoured fresh from the river…but I wasn’t quick enough with the camera! Here are the fish in their fresh state, caught by boat with their guide this morning along with several others that were released, including a 40 lb king salmon. This family is sitting by the campfire watching a fillet grill in anticipation right now.”
July 22, 2011–“Cooper is King Again!”
“…if you’ve been reading this fishing report for a few years you’ve no doubt seen some nice King Salmon caught by Cooper James, and he did it again today, hitting this beauty fresh from the ocean on eggs & a favorite spin-n-glow that was nicknamed a few years ago by my cousin’s son “Matt’s Flamin’ Fireball”. This strong buck swam under the boat on this bright sunny day but Cooper kept his kool and brought it to the surface for a quick net job. Shirtless and happy as a clam at high tide, Cooper couldn’t have smiled brighter. He shared some fresh off the grill with 10 Swiss guests visiting camp for the very first time, what a great young fisherman he is becoming.”
July 20, 2011–“Kyle Kaptures His First Sockeye Salmon!”
“…baseball buddy Kyle hit a homer with this beautiful first solo sockeye salmon catch off our shore this evening with his father alongside to cheer him on and coach him safely to the plate. Way to go Kyle!”
July 18, 2011–“Sweet Stringer!”
“…Alli Kay showing off her sweet stringer of stunning sockeye salmon in the sunshine at almost age 15, how much fun is that!?”
July 18, 2011–“Boat Buddies”
“…it’s not all just about catching fish around here…sometimes it’s just fun to be out on this beautiful river with your buddies…guys or gals…enjoying our Kenai River paradise!”
July 16, 2011–“Fish Fest 2011”
“…today was the day, the big one, the day the Reds finally showed up by the thousands. Amazingly, they swam past the tens of thousands of dipnetters at the mouth and still showed up along our shore strong enough by evening that our shore could support nearly 30 fishermen, most taking limits in short order. Each of our kids caught fish, as did our good friends, which left me at the fish table into dark filleting 20 beautiful, fresh and soon to be tasty Sockeye Salmon! Here are few sample pictures of the day’s catch and the fishermen we love!”
July 14, 2011–“Quick Red Test”
“…everyday this time of year the anticipation of the big rush of Red Salmon up the Kenai River builds, you hear it in camp “are they here yet” you hear it in town as visitors bustle through stores for supplies to get ready. We always encourage our guests to put in a couple hundred test casts each day, and in just such a test myself I hooked this fine specimen that makes our river so famous, and it took just 10 casts. The fish are getting close…I can feel it in my bones!”
July 7, 2011–“Midnight Reds…all summer long!”
“…I’m falling further and further behind on fishing report updates, but had to include this picture of the kids enjoying a good time in camp from making human pyramids to volleyball, to hide & seek, sardines, rabbit sticks and campfire into the wee hours….while I caught a nice fresh Red just after midnight, my first of the season personally, and first of many to come all summer night long…but no picture of that in the dark to share. We ate it ala “Coconut Salmon” the next day for lunch as the kids all bid farewell to their friends from afar…come back soon they say!”
July 3, 2011–“RED, White & Blue Welcome to the Kenai”
“…on their first morning in camp, this beautiful 4th of July weekend, the Jeffries family got a good taste of why we love living here on the Kenai River. Father, Kent, walked down to the shore with a cup of coffee and took a few test flips of a red salmon fly and before you know it nets were flying and a salmon was jumping on the line with our favorite fly anchored firmly in the corner of the fish’s mouth. After a good run out into the fast water, he worked the fish back to shore and into the net, nice work on your first Red Salmon Kent! A little sample of salmon cooked on the coals of the morning campfire met the approval of everyone’s taste buds…not bad for the first 24 hours in Alaska!”
July 1, 2011–“Bait is Open on the Kenai!”
“…my buddy Scott liked the taste of his first 2011 Kenai River King so much that he went back for seconds on the morning of the bait opener, after a good friend called him for an order of salmon eggs and invited him to join the fishing frenzy just getting under way on the lower river. This beauty of a Mud Island hen ironically hit Scott baitless plug…so much for fishing theory…they bite what they want to bite and it’s all about having your pole in the water at the right place and the right time. Nice fish Scott!”
June 30, 2011–“Ay Scotty, Kings are in!”
“…in a preemptive strike before the annual July 1st bait opener, we launched in Scott’s boat for an evening double date King fishing trip with our gals, in hopes of catching a King before the throng of boats hits the lower Kenai at midnight tonight with bait starting at 12:01am. It turned out to be a great strategy, with my best friend hitting this nice King on our first pass approaching Big Bertha. This nice bright chrome King gave a great fight and we landed it on the beach the old fashioned way, celebrating in the evening sunshine, life on the Kenai doesn’t get much better.”
June 10, 2011–“Twins Catch Kings!”
“…TJ & CJ were on the water today bringing luck our way with two nice hookups on our buddy Scott’s boat, on one of the first trips of the season. The first King one was on the big side of the 46″ slot, released by the side of the boat before we could even get a photo, but on the very next pass TJ hooked this good eater and we enjoyed our first King Salmon dinner of the summer. The water is clear & green, a little on the shallow side still, but there’s lots of good fishing ahead, summer has just begun.”
