Disclaimer: Many fish were killed during the compilation of this journal. Note to others: At no time were any daily limits or possession limits exceeded during this trip. All fish caught were processed, vacuum-packed and frozen by the start of my next fishing session. My fish go in the freezer immediately, and I have adequate freezer space for about 15 fish in my RV. All fish kept and retained were legally hooked in the mouth. I don't keep snags and I don't let others keep them if I see it happen. Admittedly, I do foul-hook fish on occasion, but that's sockeye fishing. But I release all foul-hooked fish. So, go complain and accuse somebody else...maybe a Frenchy or a German somewhere...

Monday 7-3

Long day today, but the adrenaline is kicking in now. Had an early A.M. flight at DFW this morning. Had to get up about 4:30am Central time. Got to Anchorage via Seattle about 20 minutes early, arriving at 1:07 pm. What do you know - it's the first time ever that my bags are the first ones off the plane. I battled two loaded fish boxes full of gear and my suitcase all by my self, since Wayne was unable to pick me up. I manage to kick and slide one of my boxes all the way to the taxi cabs while I juggled the other items in my arms.

The cab ride up the hillside was pretty good. The driver was quite entertaining. After arriving at Wayne Manor I quickly loaded up the gear and got ready to head out. The motorhome was pretty much in a ready state, having been de-winterized in May during the cabin building trip.

The Turnagain Arm was very sunny today, but extremely windy. I had trouble keeping the rig aimed down the center of the highway at times. As a result, I had to drive a bit slower than normal until I hit the mountain pass. On the way down to the property I stopped at Cooper Landing / Hamilton's Place and visited with Mark Wilson for awhile. While I was visiting, a fisherman brought in three reds for freezing. Driving by Sportsman's landing showed that there was a lot of folks still out trying to catch some first runners. Apparently, there are still some first run reds to be had at the confluence. Nevertheless, I'm more interested in headed down to the property right now. There's plenty of time for reds later...

Traffic on the highway until Sterling and Soldotna was extremely heavy today, however, those two towns seem "dead" right now. Strange. Pulled into the fishing hole to take a look at things. Not too many folks camping here yet - good, and no one out on the river right now. After a short recon I continued to the property.

The property looked good when I arrived this evening. I immediately went to work unloading the rig and setting up things around the motorhome and cabin for my summer stay. I got all of my fishing gear out and prioritized into my "sockeye slaying kit". Stored other stuff in the cabin and shed. The wind is blowing mighty cold this evening and it's getting late - almost midnite now. I'm sure to get in a good sleep tonight - it's been a long day. Already I miss my Bunny, too.

Wildlife: Spotted 2 eagles flying over the Turnagain, 1 moose in Cooper Landing

Tuesday 7-4

Another busy day today. Up at 7am and started cutting boards for the upper roof line on the front and back of the cabin. When we left in May, our siding had a half-inch gap or so at the roof line which needed to be filled in. So, I started on that. I measured and cut 16 boards, hammered them in place and screwed them in. Next, I went out to shed and screwed in some cross braces into the shed and made a mount for my solar shower bag to hang in the sun. Later, Wayne pulled up with Abigail, Marie and her sister in their new Pickup and Camper. Finally, after all of these years Wayne doesn't have to tent camp anymore. I really like his camper - it reminds me of the ones that I used to rent 4 and 5 years ago. It's in good shape, with nice interior, and best of all its got electric jacks on it for easy removal from the pickup. Before Wayne left I got him to reseat the front door on the cabin. After he took off I did a few other jobs around the campsite and then decided to drive over to the Kasilof and cast a line.

Pulled up into spot 32 and paid my $5.00 for the day. Hiked down a little bit past the people hole and found a nice quiet area. After about 20 minutes I landed a nice 20-inch Dolly V, which I promptly released after admiring him for a short moment. Five minutes later I mouth-hooked a nice red. Fish-on! He stayed down and gave battle for a good thirty seconds. I took a few steps down stream to improve my angle of attack, but after a good battle he threw the hook right back at me. Bummer. Felt good to get a sockeye battle going though! Ten minutes later I hooked another red. I was more focused on landing this one. It was a good battle. I had a lot of backing up to do since I was a ways from the bank. But, eventually, I put him on the beach. First fish of the year! It was a decent sized buck - not a record - but definitely a keeper. After that battle I hooked into another Dolly V, which I released, followed by a tail-snagged jack-king, which I also released. Later, I foul-hooked another red which ran downstream before throwing my hook back at me. After that, things slowed down and after 45 minutes of nothingness, I called it a day. Cleaned my catch at the bank and made 2 nice fillets. In all, the evening at the river was wonderful. It was a nice temperate sunny evening, with a gentle breeze. Not too many people about. Serene. Good Alaskan scenery. And the river bank is still wild-Alaska - no metal stairs!

Wednesday 7-5

Dr. Luke called and woke me up at 5am. I missed his call and went back to bed until 9am. Got up and cut a few more boards for the cabin. Then I went into town and did the gas-water-dump cycle. Went to the hardware store and bought a new vacu-sealer. I took the old one back home with me in May. Headed to Safeway for groceries and the SBS for some paint and supplies. After getting back home I decided another fishing trip would be in order, so I headed back down to the Kasilof again. Despite the fact that it had been raining most of the day, I really wanted to get back out on the water. As I drove into the parking lot, the sky began to breakup a bit, and the rain let up. Yay!

Yesterday's hole didn't produce anything, so I walked downstream even farther. In a span of 15 minutes I hooked up with three kings in my new spot. I'll have to make note of this place! Anyways, those kings easily over-powered my sockeye setup and just basically took off on downstream runs. One of them I was able to battle for a short-while until he got down humoring me, then he took off, too. After he spit my hook he went flopping across the water for about a hundred yards downriver. Looked like a nice big 25lb male from what I could see. I had no chance of landing him, so I'm glad he got off the way he did. 

Headed back home for dinner. Got things cleaned up and put in place for my upcoming Homer halibut trips.

Thursday 7-6

Up at 4am. Hit the road soon thereafter. Got to Homer around 6am. Weather was really foggy this morning. Hope that clears up a bit. My picture from the bluff wasn't very good. Hope Dr. Luke and Dad get a better view when they make their trip later this month. Fished with Capt. Matt again today - on the boat Foxfire. It fished 14 people, with a crew of 3. Crew: Capt Matt, Pat, and Andrea. As I was waiting on deck with the other folks Capt Matt came aboard. Right away he came right over to me and greeted me. That instantly gave me some credibility with the rest of the passengers, which was kinda nice since I didn't know anyone else on board. I road the outbound trip next to the Captain up in the wheelhouse. Apparently, he's moving back to Missoula after the summer, but will still come up and guide during the summers. We made a 2-hour run out to one of Matt's secret holes. On the first pass there were lots of tangles and rookies mistakes among our passengers. I even got caught up a few times with some folks. Finally, I got down to the stern of the boat and got into some fish. I brought up a nice 30-pounder. I let him go though. Next fish was a small chicken which I also threw back. Then Matt stuck a salmon head on my hook and I got a nibbler that felt really small. I pulled it away and bounced back a few feet lower on the bottom. Then I got a solid take-down. It bent the rod over and took line. Matt was smiling and going - "That's what we're looking for!". An arm crunching 15 minutes later I pulled up an 80-pounder and put him in the boat. All of a sudden I had the big fish of the day. After a short rest, I baited up again and let down my bait. This time I pulled up another good fish - a 70-pounder. And with that I was retired from halibut for the day. I went inside and ate my lunch and then returned to the deck with my salmon rod baited up and ready to harvest some silvers. Deckhand Pat was telling me there weren't any silvers around yet. Regardless, I felt I might hook into a least one, and since we still had an hour+ of fishing time left, I needed to be doing something. The current was raging pretty strong at that point, but I battled and continued to mooch the best I could. Eventually something grabbed my chunk of herring and began to swim around. I set the hook and saw a nice silver salmon on the end of my line. Aha! About the time I said "fish-on" the silver came up to the surface and then somehow just let go of my bait and swam off. Kind of a bummer! Andrea saw my salmon for a second, but refused to confirm that I actually had one on when I was telling Pat about it later. After everyone limited out, we finally cleaned up and headed back in. Overall, it was an extremely successful day. We had 6 big chubbies on board - halibut that went 70, 75, 80, 90, 90 and 100 pounds. The two biggest fish of course, were caught by older ladies! It always pays to have ladies on board! Back at Coal Point I ended up with about 90 bags of halibut. That should last awhile. In all, it was an excellent day of fishing. Sure would've like to have had that silver, though. Shucks.

wildlife: Whales, puffins & otters

Friday 7-7

Today is the second of my back-to-back halibut trips. I over-nighted at one of the shoreside campgrounds along the spit. I had a nice view of the ocean and also got a really good sleep. Got up at 5am and drove the motorhome down the spit into a more strategic parking spot for the day. Boarded the boat at the usual 6:30am. A trio from Seattle was onboard already, followed by a large group of 13 Home Depot store managers. I immediately made for the wheelhouse again to make sure I would have a prime seat for the voyage out. Today was nasty, windy, choppy and cold out. One of the more unpleasant days that I've been out for halibut. We fished the same hole as yesterday, but with mixed success. The big fish certainly weren't in today. I actually boated the first fish of the day - a nice 30pounder which I kept. For whatever reason, about 75-80% of the time I land the first halibut of the day on my charters. Today was no exception. After that, though, I began to suck...which is also not unusual. I landed chicken after chicken...when I wasn't losing my bait that is. I struggled all day and eventually settled on a 20pounder for my second fish. That really goes to show you how halibut fishing can go on any given day. Yesterday, I was "da man" with a 70 and 80pounder and finished early in the trip. Today I struggled just to get a 30 and a 20 onboard. Also, because of my struggles I had no time to mooch for salmon today. The only good news was that I didn't get that much more meat out of the processor today - since I didn't need that much after accumulating 90 bags yesterday. Ultimately, everything averages out, and I had about as much meat for the 2 days that I had planned on. After the trip, I headed back to the property and immediately filled Dad's freezer nearly up to the brim.

Saturday 7-8

Got up at 8am and decided to start digging a hole for my outhouse. I wasn't sure how long it would take, since neighbor Dave said he really struggled digging his hole in May. Luckily for me, the extra two months of summer had worked its magic on the permafrost and I had no trouble getting down into the gravel layer. I got the hole about 6 feet deep when I decided I had done enough. It was a tough, dirty job, but it really felt good to get it done. Later, I worked on building an enclosed shower area around the side of the shed. With some scraps of plywood I was able to enclose a shower area in about a 300-degree arc, with the open area pointing to the trees. So, I felt pretty secure in my birthday suit as I took my first solar shower of the trip.

For whatever reason, some of the wires underneath the dashboard of the motorhome have come disconnected and the stereo and cigarette lighter no longer work. As a result, I headed to town and searched for an electric charger for my cell phone. I finally found what I needed at Fred Meyers. Good old Freddies! Went and did the gas-water-dump cycle again. Hit Wells Fargo for some cash and then to the hardware store for tackle and building supplies.

Still haven't bothered with fishing the Kenai yet - still getting better fish counts on the Kasilof. Might as well wait a few more days.

Went down to Kasilof at about 6pm. The evening weather has really improved - and it was clear and sunny again. It was a really nice evening to be out on the water. I was just really basking in the serenity of God's creation all evening - especially since I wasn't doing much with the fish. I got 1 hook-up all night long - a nice red hen - right in the mouth. It made a dash for the current and headed downriver on me. I maintained control and walked down the river a bit to give chase. It sure is nice having room to play a fish! I just wish there were more fish to play....Anyways, I battled the red for awhile and eventually walked it down the bank and found a good place to land it. I found a good stick and put the hen out of her misery and then walked her back up and stuck her on my stringer. I was hoping this was the signal that I had finally found the reds this evening, but it was to be my only hookup of the day. Oh well, another fish on the bank for me!

Sunday 7-9

Got up and started work on the outhouse. I started building a shanty shack out of left-over wood, but after I had made the floor, I started hearing Wayne and Joe-Dad's voices in my ear chided me for my poor construction methods. So, I started over with fresh wood that I measured and cut to size. I got the flooring done and then slowly measured and cut walls and a roof. Then I decided to paint the cabin. So, in the blazing heat of the day - stripped down only to my shorts, I threw up a coat of paint on the house.

Later, I went over and visited neighbors Stewart and Dave. Shared some of my fresh halibut with them.

Swept out the cabin with my broom. I like a nice clean swept house. Later, I took another solar shower. It was hot enough out today that the water heated up to 116-degrees. Not bad at all. Everytime I use the solar shower I'm saving $4.50. That's helpful! Afterwards, I organized the stuff in the shed and then just milled around the campsite. Collected a few more rocks for my eventual firepit. No fishing today - took the day off. I've been here a week already and still haven't set foot in the Kenai.

Monday 7-10

Worked around the cabin all morning long. worked more on the outhouse and the cabin. Did some more touch-up painting. It was another gorgeous sunny day. Fished the evening at the Kasilof, but didn't hit a darned thing.

Tuesday 7-11

Worked on the outhouse some more today. It is almost finished. Its got 3 walls, a roof covered with tar paper. Today, I cut a hole in the floor today. Tomorrow, I will assemble the toilet bench and cut a hole for the toilet seat. I've already cut a few "splash plates" for the bottom interior. I just need to get everything assembled now. Also, I need to go to town and get a sheet of plywood for the door. I just don't have enough wood scraps to assemble a door.

Cleaned up around the cabin and shed and property today. Still hauling wood out of the yard all the time. There is layers and layers of dead wood everywhere. I've assembled three firewood piles around the camp right now. Eventually, I'll have to muck them all together somewhere. Built another shorter / lighter wood ladder for use around the property. Can't be hauling my loft ladder around anymore - it weighs a ton. Went to town today and shopped at Fred Meyers. Found a couple nice t-shirts today. New colors of green! Bought a toilet seat and door hinges at the hardware store. Hit Safeway and got some chicken and rice bowl.

Finally headed over to the Kenai and went fishing for a bit. There were about 12-15 people down at the river stroking it. About 30 minutes in I hit one in the water and had it on long enough to call "fish-on". It gave a couple of tugs before it was gone though. No one around me even noticed it - that's how quick of a battle it was. Five minutes later I got a good mouth-hook. It came to the surface and splashed around a few times, then takes a good run before coming right to the bank. I grabbed him behind the gills and carried him over to my gear bag, where I let billy-bonker club straighten him out. Got the knife out and did the slice-slice...and then put him on the stringer. Another 30 minutes go by before I touch another one - which I promptly lose. Twenty minutes after that I get a self-hooker right in the mouth. This fish is a chubby monster. He did a high-jump three or four times before I got him under control. I had a good hook in him though and I brought him to the bank. Number 2 for the day goes on the stringer. Folks watching at the stairs were mighty entertained by that battle. Lost a couple more foul-hooked fish before retiring for the day. In all, I went 2 for 7 in a three hour period. Not exactly fast and furious, but enough action to keep my interest while I was there.

Wednesday 7-12

Fished all day long at the Kenai. Got there at 11am and stayed until 3:30pm. Joe Dad came with me, too. Didn't land a darned thing. Nothing coming by at all.

Headed back to the property for a brief rest and then headed to Kasilof for a quick session. Hooked and released one Dolly V. Then I battled and lost another big Kasilof King. Finally I hooked into a nice red buck. I gave him plenty of space to play himself out. Eventually he came into the bank, but landed himself right in a snarl of over-hanging tree roots. When I noticed what he was doing I made a dash for him, but by the time I got there all that was left was my fly sticking in some roots...the buck was gone. Smart fish!

Went back to the property and Joe and I worked on the outhouse until late.

Thursday 7-13

I told Joe that I was going to fish the early shift on the Kenai. The alarm went off at 5:30am - I squeezed my righthand - it was swollen and stiff, so I rolled over and went back to sleep until 9am - when Marvin called and woke me up. He was checking on my fishing results so far. Got up finally, and Joe and I worked on handrails for the outhouse. Only thing left to do now is the door. Joe started searching for halibut trips over the phone.

Dilly-dallied most of the afternoon and then headed up to the Kenai for an over-nighter. Needed to fish the early shift on friday and then be back at the property to meet the roofers at 8am.

Late in the afternoon, Joe and I headed up and bought plywood for the outhouse door. And got some spare 2x4's for other projects. We mounted and finished the door finally. All we need now is a latch and door handle...and a roll of TP. Took a solar shower and then a short nap. Headed up to the Kenai for a fishing session. Went 4 hours - no fish again. Same old story. Right now this run is shaping up a unprecedented for its crappiness. Something needs to give. We need some fish! You can definitely discern a general level of frustration building down on the river.

Friday 7-14 / Saturday 7-15

Up at 4am for an early session. First person on the river....because there's still no fish. By 7am all I managed was one foul-hookup. Went home and waited for the roofers to arrive. Pete was ontime right at 8am. Man, I've really picked some good contractors this summer - everyone has shown up when they said they would. Pete was also under-budget. Yes! I slept most of the time they were here, since I was dead tired. When I awoke I was pleasantly surprised to find a nice green metal roof adorning the top of the cabin. Sweet. All I need now is for my electrician to come out and wire me up. Called him - and he'll be out tomorrow morning.

Went back up to the Kenai for an evening session - hoping for a miracle I guess. Still nothing happening there. I saw one fish caught all day. I guess I'm still in the season lead with the 2 fish I caught a few days ago. Talk about slow. Things are getting desperate. My arm is aching and I have no fish again.

In the morning I headed home to meet with Ron, my electrician. He showed up on time and started to work. He mounted a permanent box on the side of the cabin. Next, I need to call HEA for my inspection. Then Ron can come back and wire the interior.

Since, I was bored this afternoon, I decided to head back for another fishing shift. Something has to be in the river by now...But no.

Saw Udo-san at the river. He gave me a nice Nissan jacket. I was ready for him this year, though, and I gave him 3 shot-glasses in return. He's here for 90 days this year. This is one of the few guys that has a vacation even longer than mine. I invited him to come by the property if he gets in the area.

Sunday 7-16

Up to the river at 5am. A few folks out already. I grabbed the number 1 hole. I did okay. By 10am I limited out - going about 3 for 20. Lost a couple of mouth-hooks along the way, too. Joe came down and lost his only hookup of the morning. Told me about his crappy halibut charter, too. Apparently, he only hooked-up 4 chickens before he got seasick. His total take for his trip was 12pounds of meat. Ouch. And most of that was from his share of the crew's fish.

After my Kenai session I headed back home and processed. Took a good power nap and made salmon dinner for Joe and myself. Joe even liked it! We installed a handle on the outhouse and decided that it is officially finished. We've even initiated it now!

Headed up to Kenai to camp overnite in preparation for morning session. Met Kevin while reconning the river this evening.

Had a hard time sleeping this evening. It was 12:30am when my neighbors finally got fed-up with the loud Germans. I heard him go over to their rig and start yelling at them to turn off their damn generator. Good for him!

Monday 7-17
 

My alarm finally went off at 3:45am. My first thought was...I'm late. Oh no. I made a quick dash for clothes and gear and got out of the door by 4am. Got to the river and took Marv's rock, but by 5am I had slid down to the #1 hole. Hooked a monster keeper on my 2nd cast at that spot. A guy next to me was messing with his hook and ignored my plea for a net job. I battled that fish for what seemed like an hour, hoping that guy would finally net it, before it just popped off. Eventually, the hold-overs from the night crowd went home and the Germans moved in. Big guy moves in right below me and intentionally crowds my drift and retrieve -even though there is a ton of room below me. Obviously, he is placing a stake on the border of Germany and letting me know it. A few more Germans go down below him. Finally, an old German lands the first fish of the morning. It must have been his first fish ever, because he starts whooping it up and celebrating - and walks over to his bag and pours himself a straight-shot. Even I had to smile at that. Next, I hook a big hen on Glory's little rod. I almost dropped the rod in the water, but get my grip back. Big German even netted it for me. I was surprised by that. Fish were coming in pretty good now. I hooked and lost a ton more before bringing in another medium buck that the German netted again. Joe-Dad finally came down and we shared the spot for awhile. Grandpa slow-mover came down and fished next to us. He walked with a cane and fished so slow and dis-jointed that it looked like he had Parkinson's disease when he was casting and drifting. He cast upriver too far and hung up in our lines time and time again, and didn't move very far whenever we got a fish on. Oh well he was doing the best he could I guess. Later, I mouth-hooked another nice fish. It jumped and plopped around a couple of times. Big Swissie came over to net it. He missed it, then the hook popped out of the fishes mouth and lodged itself in the fish's tail. Never seen that happen before. So, I had to toss that one back. Finally around 8am I got my final fish of the morning. As I was cleaning my fish another group of Germans came down and crowded into spots that were already full - now the were guys standing in rows 2 deep in some spots. What a frickin zoo this river has become. I had to go up to one German and yell at him and call him a "coward" after he intentionally crowded out a lady. Man, that is low. At least have the balls to pick on someone your own size, but don't crowd out a lady or a young kid. Overall, the fishing has finally gotten decent. It was definitely good early, then became mediocre as the morning went on. Pretty typical actually.

Tuesday 7-18

Got up at 2:45 am after a long 5-hour sleep. It was actually dark out when I awoke. Haven't seen much darkness on this trip yet. Drank some juice and then headed to the river. I wanted to fish the #1 hole, but it was crowded already, so I took over Marvin's rock. The river filled quickly this morning. Joe-Dad came and fished below me, and another guy I recognize - Greg fished above me. He is a cop with the PDX East County bomb squad. He has cabins on the Nehalem and Wilson rivers back in Oregon. I was first on the board this morning when I landed one around 5am. Joe netted it for me. I scored again 20 minutes later, too. Then Greg got one that I netted. Later at about 6:30am I got my last one - a super big hen that Joe netted. I cleaned and headed to the rig for processing. I guess I was beach champ this morning - landing 3 fish on only 4 hookups. No one else had more than one fish when I left, and only a couple of folks had one. So, I guess I've got time for laundry and showers this morning.

Spent the evening doing odd jobs around the property. Joe and I built a plywood table out of scrap wood. Put the latch on the outhouse door. Played fetch with Big Jim. He really bonded with Joe. Joe threw that stick for him about 100 times. Got a good night's sleep after going to bed at 9pm.

Wednesday 7-19

Up at 2am. On the river at 3:30am. Went to the #1 hole and started fishing. Joe showed up soon after. Only action was a lady who tail-snagged a fish. Her husband netted it and then bonked it on the head - and they left soon after. Later in the season, I came to recognize these folks as part of the regular night crew. They typically finished every morning around 4-5am, and they kept everything they hooked. Belly-jobs, tail-snags, etc. The wife would hook 'em and the husband would net 'em and bonk 'em. When it started getting light enough out to see what they were doing they magically reeled up their gear and headed home. Hey, I guess it takes all kind to make a world...

Eventually, a school came through and I started hooking some. I ended up going about 1 for 20. Lost 4 or 5 good fish right at the bank. I ended up quitting with just one fish this morning. Ouch. Went by and talked to Marvin. He had only one fish on six hookups. Slow slow slow.

Since I didn't limit out in the morning, I went back down for an evening fishing session. I fished next to two Japanese guys. Same guy that had been down fishing earlier this morning - and he was still there. Also fished next to the Elf Guy, Bob, Dad and Kid (Champ). Talked with Don-fly in the cheek. Met two guys from Washington State. Hooked about 10 fish in the first hour. Landed one big buck that a neighbor netted for me. In the evening the sun came out and lit up the water. Once that happened, the fish moved deeper and I never touched one again.

Dad called while I was on the river. He made it to town - and is sleeping over at Wayne Manor this evening. He'll be down tomorrow. Joe-Dad is also headed back up to Anchorage for a few days. He's also going to yard all of our fish up to my freezer at Wayne Manor. That will clear up Dad's freezer for the next few days of fishing.

Beat Joe Dad at cribbage twice - first game was a good skunking, too. Like son, like father I guess.

Due to the poor run so far, rumor has it that the limits are going down to 1 fish per day starting saturday. Ouch. Boy, will Dr. Luke be pissed.

Thursday 7-20 / Friday 7-21

Thursday morning I hit the river at 4am. Bob was down in Marvin's hole already. We struggled for awhile, but then I finally landed one. I ended up with 2 fish in the morning session, and Bob had only 1 when I left.

After Dad arrived, we geared up and headed down to the river for an evening session. We fished the #1 hole. It was still slow. I managed to get my 3rd fish of the day, which Dad netted for me. Dad had not much luck - only hookup was a dinky that he snagged in the side.

Friday morning I was back down on the river at 3:30am. Again, Bob was down in Marvin's rock already. I wandered around the river from hole to hole looking for a hot spot, but never could find one. Never got into a good drift or rhythm. Finally at 7am, I was so tired, and had no fish, so I retired and went up to the rig for a nap. I went back to bed until 1pm. Then I went down and saw that Marvin was fishing. After going back to the rig for lunch, I got dressed and went down to join Marvin for a session. We both struggled for awhile, but slowly we caught our fish. First me, then him. Then me, then him. Then me, then....well, he was still fishing when I left with my 3rd fish of the day. Fish #2 was a really huge buck...a really good fish. I also had 2 big plump hens as well. This afternoon was the best fishing of the year so far, but still only "so-so" by Kenai standards. I'd guess that maybe it was a 20k day.

Back to the property at 8pm. Processed fish and then had dinner. Read my book and then finally got a nice long 8-hour sleep. Dr. Luke is coming to town tomorrow. The electrician comes in tomorrow for the interior wiring, as well. And Wayne and Joe may be headed down, too.

Saturday 7-22

Slept in until 7:30am. Got up and headed to town for gas, dump and water. Took showers and got groceries. Back to the house to wait for Ron the electrician. It rained off and on all day long. Ron got there after lunch and wired the place until about 6pm. Have all the interior outlets and wiring installed now. Cool. Went over and visited with Stewart for awhile. We think we're going to try Jim's rock n roll fishing camp tomorrow. Got a bad call today - halibut trip for tomorrow is scrubbed due to damaged boat. Change of plans now. Guess, we'll be heading to Kenai in the morning with Dad and Luke and try to get some sockeye before the fishery gets closed for good. Luke got in late in the evening - about 9pm. We talked for a bit and then he moved his stuff into the motorhome for the week. Hey, rain finally stopped!

Sunday 7-23

Got woke up about 2:30am when Wayne and family arrived at the property. Headed up to the Kenai with Dad and Dr. Luke. We took up positions at Marvins rock for awhile before deciding to slip down and fish the #1 hole. The limit has been reduced to one fish per day now....that sucks, but it should be easy to get a limit. It took me about an hour before I caught my fish. Dr. Luke took about 30 minutes of casting time before he got the Kenai-flip down. After that he hooked into a few. Some fair, some foul. He landed a skinny hen pretty early in the morning, which I convinced him to let go since it was so small. After that he struggled for a couple of hours to land a fair-hooked fish - chiding me all the time that I tricked him into releasing his hen from earlier. Eventually, though, he got his fish. Now, however, it was Dad that was sucking. He just kept missing fish after fish, and eventually had to retire with a goose-egg next to his name.

We took naps and then headed upriver to meet with Stewart and Dave and check out his buddy Jim's riverside property. It is pretty much directly across the river from Bing's Landing. After we hung out there for awhile, I decided to take Dad by Funny River campground to see if he could get his fish there. Dad fished maybe an hour or so before I netted his fish for the day. He ended up with a nice big buck, too.

So, in the end, it was a successful day. Both Dad and Luke got their first fish of the year on the bank. That always helps to improve the campsite morale.

Monday 7-24

The alarm went off at 3:45 am, but it was really cold, windy, and rainy outside, so it was an easy decision to roll-over and go back to sleep. We finally made it down to the river around 5am. Things were pretty slow at first, but I managed a medium hen at the #1 hole pretty early in the morning. Dad came down later and landed his fish in under 10 minutes of effort. That left both us to heckle Dr. Luke as he struggled to catch a fair one over the next couple of hours. Luke got a fish-on and thought it was a rainbow trout, so he nonchalantly netted it himself. Turns out that it was a small female red. After thinking about it for 30 seconds he decided to keep it and retire for the morning.

Headed to Sal's for breakfast and then went over and took showers. Then we scoured Soldotna looking for a King Charter to fill in the time tomorrow, since the sockeye fishery is officially closed beginning tuesday. Eventually, the three of us settled on Big T King fishing on the Kasilof...just right down the street from the cabin.

Tuesday 7-25

Wet, rainy, and cold again today. Perfect Alaskan fishing weather! Despite protests I decide not to wear waders on the trip - and for whatever reason the others follow my lead. Oops. We got to the Big T at 4am and headed over to the Kasilof boat launch with our guide - Captain Mark. Mark is a young kid from upstate New York.

We launch the drift boat and head downriver a few holes before tying just below the tip of an island past crooked creek. We sat there for about an hour watching the eagles up in the trees. Wasn't much action going on, and we were less than enthused after Mark told us how the fishery has pretty much been squashed since all the nets have gone in at the terminal area. In fact, yesterday he told us how they had been skunked without even a take-down. Ouch. After awhile, we sprinted down into the muddy tide-water to see what was happening. The rain started coming on really hard and we were all soaked. We attempted make-shift ponchos out of plastic bags. Dad was about asleep when his rod finally bent completely over. Fish-on! After a good ten-minute battle Dad brings to the boat a nice 15pound buck! Thank you Lord - fish in the boat for Dad. Well, of course, now Dad is all smiles, so that was awesome to see. A few minutes later, Dad's pole bends over again and he fumbles the rod trying to hand it off to me for a hook-set. By the time Dad gets it together and hands off the rod, there is nothing at the end of the line for me. Boohoo. At this point, our Captain recognizes that the the left side of the boat is fishing in the hot spot so Mark has Dad, who is sitting in the front left, switch places with Luke who is behind me. Luke drops his bait over the side and as he is still sitting himself down into his new chair his rod bends over with a takedown. Luke makes a lunge for the rod and finally gets a good hook-set on the fish. He has a good battle with a 10-12pound female king. He gets it right up to the boat and Mark leans out with the net. Just then, the fish makes a second run and the hook pops out. Bummer. After that we get another short flurry of takedowns - a couple we miss, a couple that were probably Dollies or trout, and then one that finally hooks up with my rig. Fish-on! Another good 10-minute battle produces a healthy 18pound buck. Two fish in the boat now! I believe this is my first official Alaskan King. Sweet. After that, it's downhill. The bite is over and all that's left to do is sit around and chide Dr. Luke for losing his fish. I keep praying that Dr. Luke gets another chance, but in the end we run out of time and the trip is over.

Mark works his butt off rowing us down to the boat ramp take-out. We have another short adventure there as the metal cable snaps while Mark is pulling the boat up the ramp with his truck. Both Luke and I were lucky to avoid being injured when the cable snapped right next to us. And Mark was extremely lucky when his boat didn't slide back down the muddy slope and head back into the water with nobody at the helm.

On our way back, I notice Dad is extremely cold and tired, and I have Mark drop him off at the cabin so he can change into warmer clothes. Luke and I go down to the Big T with Mark, where he cleans and fillets our catch for us. Then we posed for pictures with our fish - with Luke taking Dad's spot at the scales. We get a couple of good pics - including the picture that Dr. Luke later "doctors".

  Original Pic         Luke's Doctored Pic

Afterwards, we head back to the property and Luke and I get the day's catch processed and put into the freezer. After we take naps Dad and I head into Kenai to Home Depot to purchase another freezer, while Luke heads up to Soldotna for some gift shopping. Tomorrow, we head down to Homer for our over-nite halibut trip. This trip allows us to catch limits before and after midnight, so we'll each come back with 4 fish a piece - hence the new freezer.

Wednesday 7-26 / Thursday 7-27

Headed out to Homer around 10:30am. Stopped for a couple of photo ops along the way. Beautiful blue-sky out today. Should make for a nice pic at the bluff. We stopped by and visited the Marquardts for awhile. Saw Charmaine and introduced Dr. Luke to everyone. Stopped at the Homer bluff for some good pictures. Parked on the spit and got Subway sandwiches to hold us over on our journey. Luke went gift shopping afterwards. Boarded the boat at 3:30pm. Stowed our coolers on deck, went down and claimed our bunks, and then went up above to find decent seats for the ride out. We saw a lot of whales on the way out of the bay. Seas weren't agreeing with us so we didn't make the Barrens right away. Went to some other poor excuse of a chicken hole instead. Fish started filling the boat though. I didn't get to fish right away - as there were more people than available poles. Had to wait in line. Finally figured out how to adjust their goofy drags so that 20pound chickens weren't able to strip line anymore. Dad limited out first, then me, then Luke. Luke got the first fish on board and the biggest of the trip - maybe a 30pounder. In between trips and limits we headed down below for power naps. I wasn't too impressed with our Captain and crew's attitudes and personalities. I won't be going out overnite with these guys again. At night, the wind picked up and so did the swells. The 2nd limit was much harder to get than the evening limit. More and more folks started to get sick and the puke fest was in full force. I'm guessing Dad, Luke, and myself were about the only folks who held their lunch the entire trip. As I was fishing along the side, I looked in the window and saw a guy about ready to barf in the sink inside. Frantically, i pounded on the window to get his attention. Once a guy pukes inside - the smell starts to work its way through the boat and everyone gets sick. Luckily, I got the attention of a deckhand, who rushed in and towed the guy to an outer railing. Whew, that was close. Luke and I finally finished up our AM limits, while Dad still had one fish left to get. Luke and I napped while we relocated to our final fishing hole. The last hole was brutal, with the wind and swells making the back of the boat look like a scene out of the show "The Deadliest Catch". Folks were struggling with all of their might just to stand upright and not fall overboard. Dad was out there though, determined to bring in his last fish. Finally, he hooked one and handed it off to me for help in reeling up. It wasn't very big, but at that point Dad was determined that it would be his last fish of the day. So, with that our group was limited out. In total, we had a dozen chickens, saw some great sights and scenery, saw the volcano, saw whales aplenty, and never puked. Still, the chicken hole factor combined with the personalities of the crew were a definite turn-off.

On the way back to town we stopped for food and showers and some final Homer pictures. Luke had me stop along the Homer roadside as he went off the road and chased an eagle around for some pictures. Back at the rig we took naps and then headed up to BJ's tavern for pizza, beer, and Hobo Jim.

Friday 7-28

Dad got up early and headed to the beach to look for agates. Luke and I got up later and started to load fish boxes for Luke's departure. Luke got loaded up and then hit the road. I stuffed some extra sockeye and halibut in his boxes to make sure he had enough. As he left, Joe woke up and pulled out and headed to Anchorage. About that time, Bob (Bob and Chi) showed up to check out the property and have a good neighborly visit. After that, Dad and I went to town for wood, and to SBS to buy a 6x6x10ft treated post for my electric meter.

Did some more odd jobs around the cabin. Put up the metal flashing on the corners. Then took the last scraps from our metal roofing job and put them on the outhouse - so now the outhouse has a partial green metal roof, as well.

Saturday 7-29

Me and Dad got up in the morning and went to fish the Kasilof for reds. Some guy is sitting there on the bank with 5 reds on a stringer. He says things were good earlier, but it's all over now. He was right. The water is 2 feet higher than it was three weeks ago, and I can't even get down to my favorite holes.  I guess we should have headed upriver to the bridge right away, but no, we stayed at the people hole and took a zero on the day.

Went back home and I dug my 100ft long, 3feet deep dirt trench to run my ac underground. I still have an hour of work left to go, but I will wait until the morning, right before the electrician shows up to finish my job. Starting working on siding trim and caulking the cabin. Dad and I sawed and cut and hammered for awhile. After getting really sweaty and dirty, Stewart came by and challenged us to a fish-off at the Kasilof. So we all went down there again - to no luck. The only action was a small Dolly V. that Stewart hooked.

Sunday 7-30

Slept in again this morning. I had kicked around going fishing at the Kasilof, but my body said 'no' this morning. Somehow, 31k fish went through the Kasilof yesterday, but in 2 sessions I never saw a thing. Weird. After some morning jobs and a shower, I finished caulking the inside of the cabin. Then I went and added some more support ribs to the tool shed. Got materials in town and built a couple of foot-brush scrubbers to clean shoes and boots on before entering the cabin. Bought enough stuff that we made one for Stewart, too. Called fish and game this evening and found out that fishing would be opening up on the Kenai again tomorrow. Called Marvin and let him know. Went to bed early in preparation of a fishing session tomorrow.

Monday 7-31

Last day of July. Fishing changes now. King season is over and done. Silvers are on their way in. Ship Creek starts to becon. The Kenai is re-opening for reds today! And there are lots of them in the river now. The plan this morning is simple - get fish and get them early. Dad and I depart for the fishing hole early in the morning. Dad and I are driving up separately this morning so we can stake out a spot and have his truck to run around town. Heading down Cohoe, Dad's truck suddenly slows and then he pulls over in a gravel pit. What's going on? Just like that it appears that his truck has died. Completely. Well, it's 3am and ain't nobody coming out at this hour to help him. So, he gets in the rig with me and I tell him - there's no use worrying about your truck right now. It's 3am and there's nothing you can do about it until morning. There's only one thing you can do now - catch your fish early and often. Get your fish and get off the river early in the morning, so you have time to deal with your truck this afternoon. Well, that's pretty much how things played out for us during our fishing session.

We get to the river at about 3:30am and start the walk down the dark trail. It is dark and foggy out. Perfect fishing weather! We get down to the river and take places at Marvin's rock. As predicted, the river is extremely high. There's only a few folks on the river. I guess word got out. I tell Dad to fish extremely shallow. Within minutes both of us are into fish - catching them in the extreme shallows, just a few feet out. A surreal orange cloud sunrise begins to appear all around us. Upriver is a dense fog bank. All around us it is dark and quiet except for the gurgle of the river. It's a totally awesome sensation. Still in the dark, Dad mouth-hooks a nice fish. It is extremely difficult to see his fish in the grey-light and even harder to net it. Eventually, I somehow net it though. Dad is on the board. Early and often, early and often I repeat to him. After hooking up some more we notice that there are an awful lot of small hens running this morning. Dad mouth-hooks another fish, but it is one of those small hens so we let it go. Always tough to do, but with the sheer number of fish going by I'm comfortable in giving him that advice. Dad is on fire, he can get better ones! Of course from that point on, he begins to struggle. His next one is a monster buck, though. I got one early, too, in the dark - also a medium hen. I also choose to be more selective and I pick my way through fish until I hook into some nice big males. In the dark, there appeared to be an old guy fishing the next hole below us - turns out to be Kevin once we get enough light to see him. That was kinda funny. By 6:30am, both Dad and I were over 20+ fish hooked, and were done for the day, with 3 apiece. We packed things up and headed back down the highway to Dad's dead truck. I left him at the rig and went back home to get things processed. He called me a couple hours later from the repair shop in Soldotna and I went and picked him up.

Well, despite the truck trouble, the last day of July was a good one. We got our limits and we did it in a timely manner so that we could get Dad's truck fixed, too.

Tuesday 8-1

Up at 3am again this morning and soon after we are headed to the river. Parked in the lot and began to suit up. Kevin was also in the lot getting ready at the same time. I just can't go anywhere without running into him it seems. Headed down to Marvin's rock. Bob was there already, but for some reason he yielded the hole to me. Dad slipped in just above me. After about 20 minutes I started getting into some fish. The first fish that I landed I knocked back into the river as I went to club him. Oops. Dad struggled and didn't do much early. Bob was hooking a bunch of those skinny hens that seem to run so early in the morning. In a short time Kevin came walking over - said he went 3 for 3 this morning and was done already - and was headed back to bed. Bob soon limited out as well, so now it was up to Dad and I to go to work. I went through quite a few fish before I put three on the bank. Dad continued to struggle until I got him dialed in with my flyrod at the rock hole - and then he began to hook-up quite frequently. Somehow, he managed to lose every single one that he played. A couple might have been due to his perpetual dull hooks - lots of rock catching. We joked at one point that he was '0 for 32' and having 'the day that everything got away' day. Joking aside, there was a bit of anger and frustration starting to show, as well.  I went up to get my camera and take a poop around 7am. On the way down I told him to get it together because there were about a dozen guys in the parking lot that were gearing up and headed down to crowd the river. Soon thereafter a great throng of folks did descend into the river. A guy I called "The horser" moved in above dad. This guy would yank his fish 4 or 5 feet across the river in the air anytime one of his fish would jump. It was odd to behold. That guy was battling hogs, too. A few minutes later young Hans and Franz move-in near Dad, and finally the left-handed goofball moves in below him. Thirty minutes ago we had the river all to ourselves, now there's not an empty space to be seen. Every now and then Dad has moments were he gets into the 'zone' and hooks up on three or four consecutive casts. I miss netting a good fish for him, too, and he loses it. Finally, as I go and start cleaning my catch he starts landing them. His first is a decent hen. As it goes into the net, the hook pops out. Instantly, I direct Dad back out into his spot so he doesn't lose his hole. This maneuver keeps Hans from doing the boot-slide down into Dad's spot. His second fish of the day comes just as I am clearing the net of his first fish. This fish comes right into the net, but unfortunately his hook skewers the net and has to be clipped off. Luckily, Dad didn't have to move an inch out of his spot during this battle, so again, Hans is unable to dislodge Dad from the rock-hole. Still standing in his spot, Dad ties on a new fly and goes back to fishing. Hans and Franz now back off a little, seeing that Dad has 2 fish on the bank - assuming that they can takeover Dad's hole after his next catch. Dad plays a few more fish before bringing in a large male. As I start to process Dad's fish, Dad calls the goofy-lefthander over and tells him to take the rock-hole. Once again, Hans and Franz are denied.

While cleaning our fish I watch as the goofy-lefthander struggles. He can't catch a fish to save his life. I tell him he really needs to switch arms - to hold his rod in his righthand and drift down across his body. "I can't," he says. I really love it when people say they can't. Whatever. Eventually, I show him how to improve his lefthanded technique instead. This guy is going to suck no matter what. He was dumb as a rock.

Wednesday 8-2

Dad and I fished the corner at the #1 hole. Action was fast and furious from the get go. We were both done by 6:30am. We cleaned our catch and then went for breakfast at Sal's. Headed back for a nap at the property. Got a call from the electrician that he was headed back out to complete our hookup. I got back up and worked on finishing my trench. Also started digging a hole to set the power post in place. I spent a couple good sweaty hours manning the shovel today. I'm ready for my final inspection now.

Thursday 8-3

Up for fishing early again this morning. Once again we manned the #1 hole. No fish at all early - nothing ran until about 5am. Then things picked right up. Probably hooked into 30+ fish on until I finally landed my first one. Fumbled another nice buck back into the river, too. All told, I probably got into 50+ fish, while Dad was into about 20+ fish. The fish didn't seem to be as big today, although, Dad's last one was a definite monster. Cleaned fish and then stopped by McD's for breakfast. Went back home and took naps. Then we drove all around the Kasilof area, checking out backroads and such. Drove past Johnson Lake, Centennial Lake, and the Upper Kasilof campground. Also went down to the mouth of the Kasilof river. Came back and organized the fish in the freezer. Dad is nearly at capacity in his freezer - maybe he can fit 6 more fish. He decided that he'll probably head for home once his freezer is full. Can't argue with that logic I guess.

Friday 8-4

Up at 2:45am. Neighbor Dave was already here ready to get going with us today. We made the drive and slid down into the #1 hole. It didn't take long until we got into fish. I got into one, looked over and told Dad that 'fish are in' and instantly, he hooked up, too. He landed his though, for a 1-0 lead. I got another fish on right after that, but lost it prior to a netting attempt. A few minutes later I landed two medium bucks right in a row for a 2-1 lead over Dad. Dad soon countered with his 2nd fish and put the pressure on. Then I got my 3rd fish - a quitting fish - and retired right at 5am. Dad followed minutes later with his 3rd fish - a nice hen. We were done cleaning around 6am and headed to Sal's for breakfast. For whatever reason, Dave didn't have it going - never hooked a thing. He was fishing left-handed and was struggling to get a drift in our hole. He did net a few for Grandpa, though. I must say that Dad is definitely on track for the 2006 Most Improved Player award. He's had something five consecutive 3-limits now and is approaching 20 sockeye for the year, with a couple more sessions left to go. Considering he only managed 8 fish last year, his fishing prowess and confidence seems to have greatly increased. It's awesome to see him having fun and doing well on the river - and he's getting to play a lot more fish this year, too.

After breakfast I stopped at the hardware store and bought a wheel-barrow. Some assembly required however. I chain-sawed up some of my woodpile and started hauling into a centralized depot with the wheel-barrow. Dug a fire pit today and built my first campfire. Cut plywood boards for the window and doors - winterization. Light drizzling rain again today. Good for campfires, though.

Saturday 8-5

Dad's last fishing session today. He's on a string of 5 consecutive 3-limits. We got to the river at our normal time this morning. It is a little windy, but not too cold. We start hooking up in the dark again. I blow a couple of early chances. The fish seem to come and go in waves this morning, but overall we hook lots of fish. Took us awhile to start landing anything, but finally we did. I got all bucks today, and Dad got all hens. Eventually, I finish at about 6am, while waiting for Dad to get his final fish. I watch him for awhile and then decide to start cleaning my catch. About an hour later he finally hooks into a little tiny red. I net it for him and he decides to keep it. He tells me it looks like "a big buck" in the score-book. So, with that he's done and limited out again. We finish cleaning our fish and then stop and get breakfast. We head home and Dad starts right in on packing up his stuff. I process the fish and then hit the bed for a good nap.

After sleep, I start more odd jobs around the property. I haul more wood. I haul dirt. We assemble the internal t-supports for the winterization of the shed. Our neighbor Richard came by and visited for awhile. I headed up to the Kenai about 10pm to meet Wayne and Joe. They went down fishing and I went down to watch and heckle them. Wayne caught rocks, while Joe hook and caught fish.

Sunday 8-6

Got up at 3am and got ready to fish. As I was putting on my gear, Wayne came out and said for me to wait that he wanted to go, too. After waiting around for 10 long minutes, doing some side projects, and not sensing any forward movement from Wayne, I ditched him and went fishing. By the time Wayne came down I was already playing my 4th fish. The first fish was a quick hit and loss. The second fish was a mouth-hooker that I tried to hand-land at the bank. As I grabbed my leader line at the weights to haul him up on the bank, the fish made a final run and snapped off my fly. The third fish I landed, but it was foul, so I let him go. The fourth fish I landed as Wayne came down and stepped in next to me. Wayne struggled a bit until twi-light, then he began to hookup regularly. In the end, I got my 3 fish, Wayne got his 6 fish (proxy-boy!), and Joe added one more plus a Dolly V.

Monday 8-7

Closed things up at the property. Put everything away. Loaded up the fish. Headed to town around 2pm. Got gas and dumped. Stopped at Gwin's for a burger. On the way past the Kenai/Ferry area, I saw a bear swimming in the river. Stopped at Hamilton's and visited for awhile. Weighed out my boxes on their scales. Headed to Wayne Manor. Freshened up at Wayne Manor and got gear ready for a Ship Creek session tomorrow.

Tuesday 8-8

Struggled to wake up at 8am. Took shower and had good breakfast. Headed to Ship Creek, parked in spot 14. People seem to be making it down the stretch at LT -3hours. Went out to my spot. Hmm...the corner hole and the pallet hole have been washed out and are completely different again this year. Can't seem to find any fish. I hooked four in slack water but don't land anything. I walked up and down the river looking for a nice hole or drift. Went down around the next corner and finally hooked up with a couple of dinky silver hens (trout or mud-hens as I call them). I waited too long to clean and had to battle the rising water along the gravel island as I tried to filet my catch.

Wednesday 8-9

Up at 8am again - had to battle hard to get out of bed, the body is just plain exhausted at this point in the trip. Took a shower and had a quick breakfast. Got to Ship Creek around 10am, and waited for the water to drop to the correct level. Changing over to Glory's rod and reel today. Hit the water at LT -3.5hours. Fished the slack water at the corner. Hit a couple of fish, but didn't land anything. Made my way downriver trying to stay with the pulse of fish as they sucked out with the tide. I didn't do much however. Went down to the next corner - this year's new hotspot, and hooked a few fish. Landed a couple but they were fouled and had to go back. Made my way down the next corner and landed another dinky-hen. Later I went back upriver and landed a nice fat silver hen. Hooked and landed 4 more fish during the outing, but I released them, because they were small - jack sized silvers. Not much meat on those guys. Finally, the tide came in and it was time to go.

I pretty much decided to head back out of town again tomorrow. Ship Creek just doesn't seem to be hot like it was last year. Maybe next year!

Thursday 8-10

After a slow waking up I got going and headed back to the property. Got to the property about the time it quit raining. Unloaded and arranged stuff. Cleaned the shed and used the wheelbarrow to cart stuff around. Afterwards, I went up to the Kenai for a 2-hour fishing session. Had 15 hookups - mostly pinks and crusty old reds.

Friday 8-11

Rained all night long. Laid in bed until 10am. Had to get the AC heater going in the rig to stay warm. Finally got out of bed and did a few tasks. Screwed some boards together, caulked some more of the cabin. Stained the stairs and some of the loft ladder. Got my fishing poles re-rigged and ready to go. Moved dirt around the gravel pad. River numbers are on the down-swing, but I am looking forward to a Saturday session - if the rains quit. There was an OTF index number of 144 a few days ago, but haven't seen a big pulse of fish in response....are those fish coming or were they really pinks they counted?

Saturday 8-12 / Sunday 8-13

Started each morning at the dirt pile with the wheelbarrow. Trying to lay dirt around the edges of the gravel pad in order to keep it from eroding. Got a good 50 loads of dirt moved. It is hard work moving the earth! Saturday afternoon I went up and fished. Saws "Pops" at the river. Don and Mr. Negative were above me heckling me for most of the session. Later I moved up to Marvin's rock and landed a monster buck. It was a good dinner fish. In the evening I went back and did more work around the campsite.

Sunday was much the same, although I didn't go fishing. Had another campfire. Jerry played his guitar loudly until midnite. I kept an ear open and listened to him play. Sometimes he was good, sometimes he was just loud. Had salmon and mashed potato dinner. Stained more stuff. Even stained the interior of the outhouse.

Monday 8-14

Up at 8:30am. Started in on doing odd jobs. De-commissioned the outhouse for the winter. Cut down my green tarp fence and put it away. De-mobilized the solar showers. Prepared the door and window covers with lots of defensive screws. Loaded crates of stuff into the rig. Emptied the cabin and shed of anything valuable. Coiled up AC cables to return to Wayne. Tore down my plywood shower wall so it would collapse the shed over the winter. Screwed closed the shed and cabin...and I'm gone. Headed up to the river for a final fishing session. Had a great finger skin peeling party last night. Not much padding left until bone. Had to apply lots of bag balm.

After showers and laundry I went fishing. Went and fished near the #1 hole. There were 3 guys in my spot already. I struggle to find some fish. Finally I move way up the beach, near Glory's tree stump hole. At that place I hook into a huge buck. He comes to the bank and I get him up into the sticks for a good kill. Sweet. The fish is 1-2 days blushed, but still has sea lice on it, and is starting to form a big hump. But it's a nice big fish. The meat is good! I miss a few more fish at that position and then slide back down river into my spot at the now open #1 hole. In about 10 minutes I mouth-hook a decent hen. I do the self-net exercise with Dad's new net and score fish #2. A few minutes later I get my 3rd fish - another self-net job. It was a nice big shiny buck, too.

Clean fish and then head back to the rig. It's getting late - about 10pm. The sky is getting darker and more rain is coming, so it's time to hit the hay. I head back down to the property for sleep, figuring I'll fish at the Kenai again tomorrow, instead of going up to fish Ship Creek. The fish on the Kenai are bigger and better anyways! Even though the water is rising daily, the river is still quite fishable. As I pass the Kasilof I notice that river is way high - doesn't look like the spots below the bridge are supporting hip-waders at this point.

In retrospect, tonight was definitely a magic night on the Kenai. Even though it rained the whole time it didn't really affect anything. That said, it was calm and quiet out. There were just a few folks out on the water - maybe a dozen or so. No foreigners. No pinks were running tonight, either. Perhaps someone netted all of the pinks (wishful thinking)? I caught lots of fish, had some self-hookers, caught fish at multiple holes, had some nice bucks, did some self-netting, and was never crowded or harrassed. August fishing is great - lots of fish and nobody around to catch them but me! There is absolutely no pressure. Fifteen-twenty thousand fish in August, with no fishing pressure is much different than the same fish count in mid-July. Also, 90% of the fish tonight were fresh chromers - not too many red reds. As I fished I really thanked God for letting me be on the Kenai. And now, even as the season draws to an end, I am already dreaming and plotting for a way to return.

Tuesday 8-15

Up at 9:30am. Had to move quickly to stay on my schedule this morning. Got the waters emptied and the Motorhome loaded again. Cleaned out the shed for the last time and foamed some of my air gaps in the cabin. Reeled in the last of the AC cables, and then got my wire fence up in place. Went over and said 'later' to Jerry, and went by and left Stewart some books. Said a parting prayer in the driveway as I left. Thanked God for our property and prayed his protection over the place. Can't wait to get back!

Headed to the river for a final fishing session. Took my raincoat with me, but it didn't rain while I was at the river. Fished at Marvin's rock hole. Had pretty consistent action. Landed a huge buck - a little blushed but again still full of sea lice. I tried to self net him, but missed, and ended up just dragging him up onto the bank behind me. Lost a couple of other keepers. Had about 15+ hookups over my 2 hour session. My last hookup of the year was a seagull. Finally got one of those bastards. There was a guy cleaning his fish up above me. He was cutting off little strips here and there and tossing them into the river at his feet. The gulls were in a feeding frenzy, flying figure eight loops above my head. A couple of them almost pooped on me. I timed and aimed my casts towards them to scare them off. For the most part they kept clear of me, but one bird, for whatever reason, flew right into my casting zone. All of a sudden my hook connects with a seagull in mid-air. My line and weights pull him out of the air and down into the river. The gulls lands in the water and starts a spasmodic squawking. I yank on my line a few times to bring him closer. As I would reel him in, it would pull his head down under the water - and that bird got that look of - "Uh-oh, I'm a goner". But, I grabbed my line and started to plier the line off of him. As I did so, my rod tip snapped. Anyways, I got the bird free, but in return he got my rod. I'm pretty sure that bird will keep his distance from me. As he flew off, I yelled at him, "Go tell your brothers what can happen if you get too close...". Anyways, with that the fishing season was over. It was a heckuva good run though. Thank you Lord.

Wednesday 8-16

Spent the night at Wayne Manor. Spent most of the day packing stuff away and preparing to Winterize the rig.

Thursday 8-17

Going home day. The trip is over!

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