It took no time at all to agree, we were finally going to go to Alaska! This was going to be a trip for both of us, and it was going to take some serious planning. We started by listing and investigating all the things that we wanted to do.
The author with his first Alaska salmon. Guide Nigel did a great job running the river and getting Paul and Cat into salmon.
I was sitting in my La-Z-Boy in the summer of 2021, when my wife Cat reminded me, “you are turning 70 and we will be celebrating our 40th anniversary in 2022, so we should do something big!” It took no time at all to agree, we were finally going to go to Alaska! This was going to be a trip for both of us, and it was going to take some serious planning. We started by listing and investigating all the things that we wanted to do. Biggest for me was what kind of fishing to try? For me plenty of salmon fishing on the Kenai, and Cat wanted halibut, glaciers and whales. We settled on the Kenai, basing our trip out of Soldotna.
After figuring out what we both wanted to do and what time of year we could go, I called Nick and asked for any suggestions. He said I should connect with George at Fish Alaska, which I did. George gave us some good contacts in the Soldotna area and we connected with Drift Away Fishing. Andrea and Jeremy helped get us organized. We ended up choosing salmon fishing for three days, halibut fishing one day and a day trip out of Seward to find glaciers, whales and wildlife. And we had the delight of staying in a cabin at Silvertip Lodge, which they run, all as a packaged deal that they organized for us.
Our cosy cabin at Silvertip Lodge.
Now I have wanted to go to Alaska since 1975. So, on the day we left, I was up before the 3:30 a.m. alarm. I handed Cat her coffee as she got out of bed, and I put on North To Alaska by Johnny Horton. She groaned, laughed and rolled out of bed. When we landed in Anchorage it was overcast with light rain. We got our rental car and provisioned at Costco, then took off for Soldotna. We found out that it had been raining every day for the last three weeks. Driving to Soldotna was an adventure as we drove by Turnagain Arm, a big, shallow bay with white cap waves and 30 mile winds. Welcome to Alaska, the great north! Arriving at the fish camp late that afternoon, we met Jeremy and Andrea, who had our itinerary printed out for us and helped us get our Alaska fishing licenses. We were ready to fish!
On our first day we hooked up with our first guide, Nigel. We decided to start at 6 a.m., because it was still dark and Cat was struggling with getting up so early while on vacation! Nigel was waiting for us at the boat ramp with his brand-new Willie Boat sled, which had lots of room for the three of us. Just as we started, I heard one of my favorite birds calling—sand hill cranes. It seemed like they were saying, “Welcome to Alaska.” We motored out of the Moose River that flows into the Kenai, which was running at 19,000 cfs. The three weeks of rain had the Kenai flowing into the trees. Now I am not a white-water kind of guy, and I soon found out that we had to run upriver 13 miles through some class 3 to 4 rapids. Nigel did a great job of running through them, while we took in all the wildlife.
The Sizzler crew ready for a fishing adventure.
We started by casting spinners and bait-wrapped plugs for silvers. But the wind picked up and the water was so high, it made it hard to get accurate casts, so we changed tactics pretty quick. Nigel decided to slowly back troll bait-wrapped plugs through the runs. After letting our lines out, it was nice to watch all the eagles feeding on the different kinds of salmon. There were pinks, sockeye, silvers and kings all in the river, but silvers were the only fresh runs. The others were already going through their change. After hooking pinks and sockeyes, and shaking them off our hooks, we soon found out how different the silver bite was. While the rods were in the holders, the silvers would bury the rod tips and they would stay down. As Nigel maneuvered the boat to stay near the shore, he told us that where we were hooking fish was usually bone dry. Everywhere we looked the fish were rolling! It sure was fun to watch. Finally we got our silvers, late in the day due to starting so late, and it was time to run downstream through those rapids again. After a great day of fishing and site seeing, I went to the fish house, equipped with vacuum sealer, scales and freezer space for each cabin, and processed our fish. Then we settled in for our first salmon dinner.
The next day we were supposed to go halibut fishing, by launching off a beach in Ninilchik. But 30-mile winds and high seas killed that trip. So, we had a free day and went down to Homer to poke around, with a quick stop at Ninilchik Beach. I was glad that trip got cancelled after I saw how they did it and how small the boats were. Then we heard Andrea was able to book us on a halibut boat out of Homer the next day. So, we ended up driving back to Homer the next morning. We found our boat, the Sizzler, at the docks, a nice 51 footer with crew of three hard working hands. The boat was big enough for me since I have never been on the ocean, and that day the water was calm and the skies clear and sunny.
The Sizzler took a group of 14 of us out about 26 miles, to some really rich halibut fishing.
The Sizzler took a group of 14 of us out about 26 miles, to some really rich halibut fishing. As the boat headed out of the bay, we saw lots of sea otters with pups. That was way cool! Talking to the captain, I found out he was from upstate New York, where we used to live. I told him that I used to fish for salmon and steelhead on New York’s great Salmon River. As we motored to the first spot, the Captain explained the fishing process and what the bite looked and felt like, and how to reel them up from a depth of 295 feet. Our rigs were circle hooks with a whole herring and a 3-ounce weight. We all lowered our rigs over the sides, and very quickly the fishing was on! Watching our rod tips for a hit, I was amazed at how soft the bite was. You had to reel and reel and reel some more to get them up. I had never fished for halibut and didn’t realize it was going to be that hard! We were allowed to keep two fish, one small slot fish and one any size, which we all wanted to be the “big one.” All on board were having fun and the crew were working hard getting all those rods untangled, keeping hooks baited and cheering us on. When the boat anchored over a school of halibut and the bite was on, the rods on one side of the boat would hook a fish and then the fish would run to the other side, tangling lines under the boat. Cat and I had a double going right off the bat! Cat threw her next one back, hoping to go bigger. She wasn’t ready to quit having fun! We filled our quota about two hours later and even caught a small shark.
After that we got to rest and have fun watching everybody else catching their fish. The crew would put different colored zip tags marking each party’s catch, an idea that worked out great. We all cheered on the last few people needing to catch fish. As soon as the last lady caught her small fish, she’d been catching big fish all day, the crew started taking pictures of each group holding their fish. After pictures were over the crew started to fillet all of the halibut. On the way back to the harbor the captain changed course to let us watch a lone humpback whale breeching. Cat moved to the front of the boat and got a great picture of it. What a great way to end the day! Back at the dock it was 65 and sunny, so we grabbed some chowder, then headed back to Soldotna. Back at camp nothing could have tasted better than fresh halibut, pasta and a glass of wine. Then we were off to bed early, because we had to get up the next day at 4:30 a.m. to go after silvers. No complaints though, we were in Alaska.
Great catch, good eats! Not bad for a couple old farts!
The next two fishing days we would be fishing silvers with Nick and his big black dog, Jay. I have to tell you about Jay! The first night in camp we were making dinner in our cozy cabin, located at the edge of the woods. Hearing stories about Alaska and bears, I was hoping to see one on this trip. I thought I heard something on the front deck, so opening the door I saw a big black…bear? dog! That was how I met Jay! He had that look that says, “What are you cooking for dinner?” He was the size of a small bear, but a gentle soul, and he likes to go fishing. We met Nick at the boat ramp with Jay, and another Willie sled. This time when we headed back up the rapids it was easier for me with Jay at my side. We cruised all the way to Skilak Lake. It was picturesque and a great place for a photo op! Just as Nick cut the motor, a family of loons was calling to each other in the mist. We hadn’t heard loons since New York, in the Adirondacks! What a great way to start the morning!
Picking up our rods, we started casting spinners and bait wrapped plugs. Today it was much easier not fighting the winds, but the water was still high. The salmon where holding 2 to 3 feet from the shore because the water was still ripping at 19000 cfs. If you didn’t get the lure right on the edge of the woods, you would not get any hits. We were hooking pinks and humpies, but no silvers. Nick had been on the river since early May, so by late August he knew what to do to get us fish, switch to back trolling. He got the boat lined up right and we let out our lines the distance he told us. The plugs were on their way down stream and we were hoping that they would piss off a big silver. It wasn’t long and one of the rods went slamming down with a silver. The pinks and sockeyes would fight but not like the silvers, and we would just shake them off.
Cat and Nick and a silver.
The next day we were up really early again, this time to drive to Seward for our glacier cruise. It turned out we were on a small charter with only three other guests and two crew, very intimate! This was a full day boat ride down Resurrection Bay and into Aialik Bay, where we saw two pods of Orcas cruising along the north shore, blowing and diving. Then we went into Holgate Arm right up to Holgate Glacier! We enjoyed our lunch with a spectacular view. Throughout the day we saw puffins, sea lions, harbor seals, and loads of other birds. And in Holgate arm we had a nice close up of a mama sea otter floating with her babies on her belly.
On the last day of fishing, the temperature had dropped, and it was raining harder than it had before, which made fishing harder. Running back upstream through the rapids, good old Jay put his head on my lap and looked up, as if to say, “These rapids are no big deal.” Nick knew where to go today, but he had to work hard to find the silvers. Sliding downstream through one run, he was explaining how the silvers liked to hold in the long grass next to the gravel bars, which were now under water. I was amazed at all the schools of smolts heading downstream while we were watching our rods for any hits. It didn’t take very long to get into some great fighting silvers.
Plunking at The End of the Road.
I screwed up on one nice silver—went to the left of the motor, when I should gone to the right and the hooked popped out. I still see that one in my dreams! We saw eagles everywhere, or pigeons as the guides called them. Roosting in the trees they looked like they couldn’t eat another salmon. We got our silvers early that day, so we rigged up for trout fishing with beads. The salmon where next to shore, but the trout were in the middle of the river. We would cast our bobbers and beads up-stream and float them down river, hoping for a takedown. Nick told us about all the different colored beads he had for all the different river conditions. After a few takedowns and misses, I finally hooked a nice rainbow, which threw the hook right at the net. We had been sitting in a cold, steady rain most of the day, so we called it a day. We had achieved a limit of silvers and I had fought a Kenai trout to the net. We had enough! Nick asked Jay, “Are you ready to go home, boy?” Man was he ready to get out of the weather into a nice warm truck. We never got to fish with Jeremy, but Nick and Nigel were excellent guides, and Andrea did a great job getting the Seward glacier trip and the Homer halibut bookings line up!
The first time that I ever fished for salmon was way back in 1968 in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Our family was staying at Novak’s fishing resort on North Manistee Lake, when he told me and my brothers about some great salmon fishing. So, Dad drove us to the creek at Lake Michigan where we could give it a try. Now back in ‘68 I was 16 and all I had was a Shakespeare spin cast rod and reel. We found where the action was by just by looking for the crowds. The silvers were trying to get to the small steam. Wading in my jeans and tennis shoes, I started casting out into the surf. What worked that day was a small, gold Cleo spoon. There were so many fish that you could feel them hitting your legs nosing in the surf. After that day of trying to catch salmon, I was hooked for life, and I knew that I needed a new rod and reel. Boy that was the start of my obsession with salmon and steelhead fishing. That obsession blossomed when we moved to upstate New York, and grew even more once we moved to Oregon.
Holgate Glacier, up close and personal. A great spot for lunch.
Speaking of salmon obsession, I was married about a week to Cat, when I went to the Salmon River in New York for some salmon fishing. Being new to this river, I didn’t realize how slippery the rocks were. I hooked a nice silver and it started running downstream. I went to follow it when I slipped on the rocks and went in. When I got myself up, I realized that my new wedding ring had fallen off. I looked down into the water and could see it rolling downstream. I threw my rod and reel on shore and made a quick dive for my ring. Somebody was watching over me that day, because I got my ring and when I got back on shore and picked up my rod, to my amazement the silver was still on. I landed her and set her free, sliding her back into the hole to do her job upstream. I may have written a story about that day 40 years ago, back in the day for STS.
During the last days of our Alaska trip we went sightseeing out of Anchorage. The day we left camp we packed up our frozen fish in an airline approved freezer box, which we found at Fred Meyer. We took it to the airport, where they have storage freezer space that you can rent by the day, easy and efficient. I tell you this because we stressed about what to do with the fish while we were in Anchorage, but it was so easy!
The salmon where next to shore, but the trout were in the middle of the river.
I’ve always wanted to take the train on the Alaska Railroad, so we took the Denali Star to Talkeetna and back in one day. Talkeetna was much more fun than we expected. The weather was great, and we spent a couple of hours watching the locals plunk for char—waiting as Denali came out of the clouds. Later we did all of our shopping for souvenirs. While sitting on the plane on the trip home, I thought about my first salmon trip. The egg stocks had come from the West Coast. To finally get to Alaska was the trip of a lifetime! I had come full circle. Thanks Cat!
SPRING CHINOOK TIPS - JD RICHEY
