Saturday’s Surrender

We had our best King Salmon day yet on our favorite local stream.

What a gift today was!

 

Middle of the week adventure

Getting up at 2 in the morning sounded horrible, but our guests were
rewarded when they came to the river, and saw the beautiful scenery there. As
we hiked through the woods towards the river, we were welcomed by the birds chirping and the pleasing sound of the wind blowing
gently through the branches.
It didn’t take long for one of our guests to hook a nice King Salmon.
His father proudly took many photos, and shared the excitement of fighting the
strong salmon that took them down to the next bend, where it was finally landed.

After our guests had finished their trip, the Silverfin boys went
back to the water to enjoy fishing on their own.

When it looked like fishing was very slow, Keisuke managed to land his biggest king ever – a 33 pounder that measured 42 inches long! It was worth sacrificing
nap time, especially when you knew that the king salmon were there.

What a beautiful fish, Keisuke!

 

Fresh from the ocean

Kings started to show up at Nick Dudiak Fishing Lagoon. The Silverfin boys had a great time catching bright and feisty King Salmon on 8 weight fly rods, which are the same setups used for salmon fishing on the rivers.

Gary lands a King at the Nick Dudiak Fishing Lagoon.

The Silverfin boys, Fukutaro and Keisuke

 

Fukutaro’s special day

“It has been a week since I came to Alaska. I love fishing and ended up being an assistant guide for Silverfin Guide Service. Fishing has been a part of my life since I was kid, and June 1, 2009 was probably my best fishing day of my life. I caught 3 King Salmon at different rivers and kept 1 that day. When I hooked a King Salmon, I got an incredible adrenalin rush! No words can explain fighting a King Salmon, as it’s somewhat like fighting a combination of a Bat Ray and Striped Bass, I guess. It was a very exciting, precious and unforgettable day for me. I had a great, fun time with Gary, Kei, and Mark. Thanks to Gary for teaching me how to catch a King Salmon, and I appreciate Lynne for her wonderful food and hospitality. ” ~Fukutaro Hiraki

 

A peaceful morning

Sunday was a much warmer morning, with overcast skies. The significant lack of other people on the river made for a very enjoyable morning for the two folks we took fishing.

Even though fishing was slower, we still managed to find fish for each person, by exploring several different holes.

We also had a special treat of seeing a moose crossing the river, not far from us.

 

Recap from Sat., May 30

We had another great day of King Salmon fishing, on one of our favorite local rivers. Everyone fishing caught at least one King Salmon, and even though it was a very cold, clear morning, we all felt satisfied with our day’s adventure.

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Early Summer fishing 2009

Currently, we are fishing for King Salmon, in the area rivers and on the Homer Spit. King fishing really started to pick up on Wednesday, May 27th. We had a wonderful family from Hawaii out for an early morning adventure, on one of our local rivers.  Some nice Kings were caught, with the biggest one at 22 lbs.. Later, my newest assistant, Fukutaro Hiraki, (who this week arrived from California, driving up the Alcan Highway), landed his very first King Salmon! He was so happy, that he did a little celebration dance right next to the river. It was a good day of fishing.

crossing the river to get to a hot spot

Fukutaro Hiraki catches his first King Salmon!

 

mouth watering goodness…(bait curing tongue-in-cheek)

We are a quaint boutique eggery, priding ourselves in procuring small batches of organic hand processed clusters, using only the finest ingredients, harvested from free-range hens of the sea.

We “harvest” the fruit when it is in it’s height of maturity and ripeness, adding only ingredients to enhance the natural occurring color and flavor. The finished product is what we pride ourselves in, delicate, yet firm to the touch, with nuances of tantalizing taste and pleasing aroma. Slimy? yes, but slime with a purpose. Smelly? yes, but smell with a goal in mind. We want you to enjoy the fruits of our labors by having fish in your freezer. We are dedicated to sharing our passion with you.

~The world is our oyster, and the ocean is our vineyard.~

Egg curing….every woman’s dream job…..

 

they’re here, for the taking…

There’s a problem. Getting up early. Ugh. Getting to the rivers to catch the treasured Silver Salmon is an early rising ordeal. But, ah, the disturbance in sleep is well worth the while, as the secret to catching is often in being in the right place, with your line in the water, at first light. There’s the calmness at the river’s edge….the sound of the rushing waters…the chill of the fresh Alaskan air….the anticipation of a nibble at the end of your line…
We’ve been meeting folks these past few days, very early in morning , and then caravaning to the rivers, a mere 20-35 min. drive north of Homer.  Since it is now dark in the middle of the night, (unlike June, with the King Salmon fishing), we must wear headlamps to illuminate our hike  to the river.

Once on the rivers, as of late, the fishing action gets underway quite quickly. During the past couple of days, we’ve had many satisfied clients, with lots of exciting action on the end of their lines. A father and son, fishing together had a terrific time, as the son managed to land 2 fish before 4:30 AM! Later he caught 2 more in the same area, and his father played a couple, but didn’t succeed in getting them on shore.

Others in the same fishing  group enjoyed good action with the Silvers also. Each of them caught at least one in the same area of the stream.

Once the Silver Salmon stopped biting, we went to the upper stretches of another river for Dolly Varden trout fishing.

Hiking through the woods, and along the river’s edge was an adventure all itself. We happened upon some very recent bear tracks in the sand near the water. They were quite impressive in size and freshness, so we decided to be purposely noisey. Actually, we started singing loudly. Gary broke into a rendition of Frank Sinatra’s “Strangers in the Night”.  Humor is a great antidote for fear. Apparently, the bear didn’t appreciate good music. Actually, we’re sure that any bear in the area would have fled far away, from our noisy group.

 Very large Dolly Varden Trout were discovered in the river’s “secret hole”. Most were caught with bead eggs.
The wildflowers were an outstanding splash of color along our way.
We’re pleased to report a very successful outing….our guests couldn’t wipe the smiles off their faces.