The last two nights I went over to the main town park in Soldotna AK to go salmon fishing along with hundred of others dotted along the Kenai River that runs through town. Tonight's one landed Silver (also known as Red) Salmon was 28 inches and weighed somewhere around 7-8 pounds! The night before I landed a 24 inch. These are the first two salmon I have caught other than the much smaller land-locked variety when I fished with my Great Uncle Ed as a sixteen year old on Flathead Lake, Montana. It has been a thrill; these fish are great fighters. I had hooked many more but they managed to get off the line before I could land them.
Our next door neighbor in the RV park where we are staying paid for a guided boat trip about five miles downstream from where we were located. He showed me the pictures of proof as he described his 48" and his 50" fifty pound King Salmon he caught and released. Because of the nature of our travels and the size of our freezer compartment, I am done for awhile unless I catch and release only. After fileting the two fish, I have at least six meals for the three of us in storage.
My dad has elected to not fish, but I was able to convince him to come and watch the action tonight. His eyesight is getting worse by the week and he will need to have some surgery to correct his vision when we are back in the Denver area in early Fall. He is a good sport about it all, reminding me of his 14lb. Lake Trout he caught in Camloops, B.C. some decades earlier, his largest ever. Louise seemed to be pleased for me these past two evenings, taking pictures and full of congratulatory remarks, particularly tonight since she watched me pull it in.
You know that you have been fishing when even upon washing your hands twice, thoroughly, your fingers still smell like fish. This is a burden I am willing to pay for the experience of catching such great sportfish! As I waded knee-deep in the Kenai River casting my lure out in the swift current, I was again glad for the decision I made to retire early and travel with my wife, Louise, and my dad, Floyd. These days will also be remembered for the unique gift to fish such a river in such a beautiful place. We really like Soldotna, a newer town of several thousand folk. This area was basically wilderness back in the late 50s until the federal government opened it to Homesteading. We have about another month in Alaska before we start heading back south into BC and the lower 48. An yes, I have more fishing to do, particularly for Halibut! To do that, I will need to break down and pay the piper and go on a 1/2 or full day boat.
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