8-7-2013 Back on the Kenai

We met our guide at 7am and headed to the boat launch. We put in just below the Kenai Lake and did some drift fishing for some Rainbow Trout. It didn't take long before we had our first Rainbow. On the Kenai you catch and release the Rainbow. This time of the year they are not too plentiful. It’s a little early in the season for them to be in great abundance. They feed on the Salmon eggs. The Salmon have not spawned as of yet, but will in the next few weeks. The Salmon are still making their way up stream, not in the numbers that they were a couple of weeks ago.

When you are drift fishing, you let your line bounce along the bottom until you feel the fish hit the line. Then it’s up to you to finesse the fish into the boat. Its takes awhile to get the hang of it, but with a little patience you get the idea of what you are trying to achieve. Our guide is not only a good guide but a great instructor as well. It was very educational in the proper technique required to be successful fishing the Kenai.

Don and Bobby each caught a Salmon and I brought in 4 Rainbows. We also did some Alaskan Fly fishing as well. That requires some coordination and skill. It’s not for the faint of heart. After getting the line wrapped around your body a couple of times and hooking the hat off your head as well as the guy next to you, you either get it or you get the crap knock out you. I finally got the hang of it and really enjoyed that kind of fishing. I’m not ready for a small river but the Kenai is so big it allows for many errors.

We had a fun day floating and fishing the Kenai. We saw several Bald Eagles as we headed down stream. You always seem to stop what you are doing when you see one. They are so majestic and you want give them the respect they deserve for being the symbol of our nation.

After a whole day on the water we were exhausted. So it was an early night for all.

Tomorrow we head back up the highway toward Anchorage, working our way toward to Valdez.