Just back from two weeks in AK

[Crowe]

Just got back from our two week vaca in Alaska. We flew, so no RV but wanted to advise on a few things.

The weather is still hot and dry. Palmer was experiencing records temps two days ago. Rain has been and continues to be scarce. This has had a dramatic effect on the salmon. They cannot go up river to spawn in many areas due to low water levels. Water temps are nearing or at 70 degrees. At that temp salmon start to die. The ripple effect is the bears are relying on other food sources such as berries and are retreating farther back into the woods/mountains. Per people who have been there, wildlife sightings in Denali are down, bear fly-out trips are being cancelled and the bear numbers at Brooks River in Katmai are down. We did see about a dozen bears at the Kodiak Brown Bear Center's areas but those numbers were way down from when they opened the week of 7/15. Moose sightings are also scarce. The wildlife is there but just not in the numbers most are used to. Some areas were expected to get rain but it didn't look like enough.

Wild fires are still burning. The Swan Lake fire had died down but was active again as of this past week. There was some smoke along the Seward Highway and fires were popping up near the highway in various spots. Not a threat and not large ones but still there. Everywhere we went (Anchorage, Whittier, Seward, Homer, Kodiak) at one time or another there was detectable smoke smell.

There was construction along the highways (Seward, Sterling) but overall the roads are in good shape. Traffic wasn't bad at all-being from the Boston area I may be jaded!

Overall we had a fantastic trip. The good weather was appreciated although it's impact has been unfavorable on the environment. We are already starting to plan another trip.

[Grit_dog]

Ha! I believe it. Did the combat fishing a couple times. Fun to say you experienced it, but otherwise, there's other places to catch fish.
Best experience was up the Russian, hike in a couple miles, so most of the combat-ers were in better shape, lol.
Slayed the Reds. It was guided with a hookup from a local buddy. Limit was 6 and we came home with enough salmon for the whole year because 1. I didn't need the guide to land my fish and tie hooks so that gained some favor. 2. A bunch of the tourists didn't claim all or any of their fish.
Actually had to buy a freezer when we got back to los anchorage.

[MORSNOW]

MDKMDK wrote:
Safety glasses? It's that bad? Oh my. :E
I'll have to check it out next time in the neighborhood. I'll bring some glasses. :C

They are for flying hooks and lures when someone looses a fish. They fly hard and 100's get hooks in the face/head. The ER in Soldotna has a doll with all of the hooks removed each summer in the place it was removed from.

[Crowe]

Hubby was in a boat with others and a guide. You hopped in, pulled off from the dock, cast your line, floated down river then went like mad to get to the put in spot to do it all over again. You and dozens of other boats. He caught a good-sized King right away then had to stay in the boat for the duration. No one else caught anything. He was with members of some pro football team so the guide tried to make sure they caught something.

[PA12DRVR]

"Safety glasses? It's that bad? Oh my. [emoticon]
I'll have to check it out next time in the neighborhood. I'll bring some glasses. [emoticon]"

Full disclosure, it's never happened to me, although admittedly, I've worked to avoid the Kenai / Russian areas for about the past 15 years.

My friend was an ER Nurse in 🙂 Slo-dotna and over the course of 4-5 years dealt directly or indirectly (i.e. saw them come in) with several (8-10 IIRC) in-the-face hook impalings. No eye incidents but could of been.....so the last few times I went, always had eye protection...usually sunglasses anyway, but clear if it was a crowded but overcast day.

"That guy" down the bank with a full faceshield might have been a bit over the top though........

[MDKMDK]

PA12DRVR wrote:
When a particular watershed / river is
- On or close to the road system; particularly if near Los Anchorage
- Home to a strong seasonal run of a popular fish (i.e. either King, Red, or Silver salmon)
- Near to infrastructure (i.e. motels, restaurants, guide services, etc)

...then there is the perfect mix for combat fishing. The Kenai (we won't look too closely at the King salmon situation) fits the bill perfectly as does the Russian River where it comes near the road system.

The Kenai, particularly the upper part, is a great trout fishing location later in the year (up until a week or two before freezeup)....so I'll go there every so often for trout in September; it's just not enjoyable to fight for a spot on the bank for the dubious privilege of casting a line in an narrow 2'-wide slot and having to wear safety glasses while chasing salmon ...i.e. "combat fishing"

Safety glasses? It's that bad? Oh my. :E
I'll have to check it out next time in the neighborhood. I'll bring some glasses. :C

[MDKMDK]

Crowe wrote:
Thanks to all for introducing the phrase "combat fishing" to my otherwise limited vocabulary. Seriously, I had to look it up, never heard it before. I guess the fishing crowd is more refined in my neck of the woods, or we just have more elbow room in our rivers, creeks, and streams?

Probably more elbow room if your area isn't subject to hordes of tourists. The Kenai is one of the most popular fishing areas for visitors.

My area gets more tourist traffic than most places, but it doesn't usually stick around, except to overnight at the local casino or Walmart, after crossing the border into Canada.
It does, however, create tales of some of the biggest sturgeon catches around, as we're at the southernmost tip of Lake Huron, at the mouth of the St. Clair River. Apparently these two factors drive them to a spot underneath the Blue Water Bridge, sort of a watery corral for the big ones. That's where the monsters are caught on occasion.
At least that's what an old local fisherman acquaintance of mine has told me. :B

[PA12DRVR]

When a particular watershed / river is
- On or close to the road system; particularly if near Los Anchorage
- Home to a strong seasonal run of a popular fish (i.e. either King, Red, or Silver salmon)
- Near to infrastructure (i.e. motels, restaurants, guide services, etc)

...then there is the perfect mix for combat fishing. The Kenai (we won't look too closely at the King salmon situation) fits the bill perfectly as does the Russian River where it comes near the road system.

The Kenai, particularly the upper part, is a great trout fishing location later in the year (up until a week or two before freezeup)....so I'll go there every so often for trout in September; it's just not enjoyable to fight for a spot on the bank for the dubious privilege of casting a line in an narrow 2'-wide slot and having to wear safety glasses while chasing salmon ...i.e. "combat fishing"

[Crowe]

Thanks to all for introducing the phrase "combat fishing" to my otherwise limited vocabulary. Seriously, I had to look it up, never heard it before. I guess the fishing crowd is more refined in my neck of the woods, or we just have more elbow room in our rivers, creeks, and streams?

Probably more elbow room if your area isn't subject to hordes of tourists. The Kenai is one of the most popular fishing areas for visitors.

[MDKMDK]

Thanks to all for introducing the phrase "combat fishing" to my otherwise limited vocabulary. Seriously, I had to look it up, never heard it before. I guess the fishing crowd is more refined in my neck of the woods, or we just have more elbow room in our rivers, creeks, and streams? :E

[PA12DRVR]

"How can you call it Slo-dotna, when it's got beer and fishing?"

Well, in all honesty, the name was earned (appropriately IMNSHO) about 20 - 30 years ago when Kenai was the booming energy hub of Southern Cook Inlet and Soldotna was largely known as the place where you went straight to get to Homer or turned right to get to Kenai. Soldotna's claim to fame then was the small town life....i.e. "Slo-dotna".

Soldotna had the advantage in the 80's and 90's of being a bit less crowded than Kenai during tourist season, although that was all relative. In recent years, Soldotna has become (again just IMNSHO) the more attractive place than Kenai but that could be changing as Kenai is undergoing a bit of a resurgence.

I work pretty hard to avoid the combat fishing experience, but I'd estimate that (absent fires) the Cooper Landing area is #1, followed by the Soldotna area, followed by Kenai, although the recent dipnet madding throngs bid fair to vault Kenai to the #1 combat fishing spot.

Soldotna's other claim to fame (going back 20-odd years, maybe more) was that Hobo Jim played there more often than Kenai. Soldotna was also the venue for a fairly significant (for Alaska) karate tournament for several years...

Having been a visitor to the Kenai Peninsula since the mid-70's, I can't give up the nickname of Slo-dotna (or Squarebanks or the Meth-Su or....).

[MDKMDK]

Those pics are from September 2016. I imagine it's changed even more since then.
A wise man once said "change is inevitable, except from vending machines".:C

[Crowe]

How can you call it Slo-dotna, when it's got beer and fishing?

LOL! That's where hubby went fishing during our first visit to the state 20 years ago. Combat fishing on the Kenai! I had the task of keeping our 7 year old busy. I think I creeped out the people in McDonalds because I was in there so long! :B It was the only MickyDees for miles and it had a play place. I also did laundry and visited a small museum. We went through there this trip and it is nothing like it was 20 years ago.

[MDKMDK]

How can you call it Slo-dotna, when it's got beer and fishing?

[PA12DRVR]

We had visitors (based in Los Anchorage) who took a side trip to Homer. They got caught in the fire delay and spent two nights / 2.5 days in Soldotna. Even with the option to tour the lovely town of Kenai, after 2.5 days, I believe it lived up to it's nickname of Slo-dotna. 🙂