A Triple Header King Salmon Catch on the Kenai River in Alaska!

Alaska Outdoor Journal's Photo of the Day!

A July Triple Header!

JULY 12 - If anyone tells you king salmon catching on the Kenai River is easy....well they must have an ulterior motive in deceiving you. And all those who have fished the river for chinook, whether you are a 30 year local such as myself or one of the thousands of visiting anglers each summer, all know that ONE fish in the boat is a successful fishing trip since the average catch is about one in four anglers.

So just think of those rarities when your boat & guide can do no wrong, and with boats surrounding you all day long fishing all of their rods, your boat continues to haul in fish after fish as each school moves through. No one can explain this phenomena when one boat in a group of 50-100 will catch multiple fish while the rest of the fleet goes nearly fishless that day. My very wise grandfather recognized the consistent "luck" of women anglers throughout his life, starting back in the 1890's when he started fishing. I guess this boatload is more documentation to back up that speculation about lady anglers. Throw in a 70+ degree sunny day and as one saying goes, "it don't get no better."

This here is a "Two Day Approach" group that decided to cut the odds in half and fish two days in a row. Their first day brought in a small 20# king (Judy) and the fading memories of a very large fish (suspected over 60 lbs.)(Judy) which was smarter than all on board and used a big rock to free itself after a good fight - taking with it the spin n glow and hook they were using. With the weather being perfect on the second day, you couldn't dampen this crew's spirits as they anxiously set out Wednesday morning. Obviously the gals were out to prove grandpa's point.

Cellphones and emails are great. By 10am KK already knew of one fish in the boat. By noon I was aware of three fish in the boat. Needless to say, since these were Holly House guests I gave George a call to update him on their progress/success so that he would be sure to have his digital camera ready when they passed by on the way back to Loren's dock.

OK, lets see if I can figure this picture out. Both couples, Buddy & Lori Hughes, and Rob & Judy Walker, hail from Federal Way, Washington. Rob is the angler who didn't make the connection today, so that must be Buddy holding up the 45 pound hen on the left side of this chorus line. Moving right, Judy "hot rod" Walker is posing with her 41 pound hen while Rob at least gets a little slime from helping heft the fish. Lori took the middle ground with a 43 pound hen king. All fish were chromers, fat, sassy, and with sea lice. BTW, two of the fish were taken where KK's Kenai River Fishing Prognosis weekly fishing tactics suggested to fish this week if you are a private angler! :-)

Thanks to my neighbor Loren Flagg of AK Flaggs Kenai Charters for making their day, and to George for being quick on the trigger and providing a very fresh photo of reel-time action on the Kenai.

Photo Courtesy of: Holly House Bed & Breakfast

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