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Three Lucky Charms!
The Kenai Peninsula's Kasilof River hosts thousands of king salmon anglers each year and the nice thing about this stream is anglers have great success whether fishing from shore or from a boat. Over 4000 kings are typically harvested from the early Crooked Creek run and fishing is so good that many anglers catch and release several fish before bagging one for the ride home.
Due to the very shallow nature of the Kasilof, drift boats are the typical method used to fish the river by boat from the Sterling Highway bridge to the tidewater section. Kings destined for Crooked Creek typically average around 17-20 pounds in the early run which enters the river in early May and peaks in early June, eventually declining in late June. This year nice bright fish continued to enter the river past the normal peak as this photo taken on June 16th shows.
Jon Arend is an avid drift boat angler who enjoys taking out the ladies for a day on the water. There's a good reason for chosing ladies which may even be apparent in the photo.....women anglers tend to be "luckier" than the men. Jon's boat is one of the larger models of Koffler, and when friends ask "How many people will it hold?" his reply is always "Four women and a man."
Left to right, Tina (sister-in-law), Tracee (best friend's wife) and Kristy (Jon's wife).
Jon was one of the first drift boats to participate in the newly created non-motorized boat, nonguided king salmon fishery on Mondays in July on the Kenai River which began last year. Its some killer opportunity to experience multiple hookups on the Kenai River in a single day and have the whole place to yourself. This year his buddy Andy has a new drift boat and the two will be "competing" on July 17th....4 couples....two boats....the guys in Andy's and the gals in Jon's. It may end up no contest at the rate these gals catch fish.
Photo Courtesy of Jon Arend ©2000
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