Eating is cheating, sleep is the Enemy

That's a phrase I coined to describe the month of July here at Mile 14. We're up at 3:45 every morning. MP opens the launch and parks cars, I'm in the boat at 4:15 for an hours prep work and then we shove off at 5:45 for a days fishing. MP is a machine, we both know that the month of July is showtime....bare down...do it and do it well...do it hard. We do 75% of it all in July so it has to go smooth. With 5 days left its now apparent that we're going to 'make our season' and the silver fishing will deliver a slower pace to our lives. I would never ask MP to cook this time of year so its fast food and Pizza, last night it was take out Chinese. My garage smells like the YMCA locker room from all the drying clothes and rain gear. Some how or another I got salmon egg cure on the toilet, mosquito repellent is everywhere and we've had a black bear turning over the dumpster. WE LOVE IT ALL. The picture below is a list of goals I compile on the chalk board every year to help keep me focused and motivated. Its in my gear shed next to the river and I see it daily as I load and unload, even the shed smells a little funny now that I think of it.

Fishing this week was steady, we held our own and batted a good 500 for the week. some of the fish were absolutely gorgeous like this one that Tom Brugeman caught yesterday. This fish was interesting as I was experimenting with hooks because we'd been missing some bites. I had Tom rigged with a big wing cheater and an 8/0 hook, usually a 6/0 is what we do. This fish swallowed the hook so deep that it couldn't be retrieved without major surgery so when Tom took the fish he got the hook as well.

For me theres nothing better than guiding kids and older folks onto fish. Its really what my job is all about, peoples safety and availing them to the wonders of the Kenai River . So naturally I was just tickled when Kobe who is Nikki's 78 year old dad caught this beautiful King. This fish flat fought, we moved several boats, it jumped, it swirled, it ran and now he's on his way to a barbecue. Wow.

The guys are pretty good at catching those big ole salmon but it takes a women's touch to catch and appreciate a fine salmon like this one. Pam caught this Jack...or in this case a Jill on a K-16 Kwikfish that was almost the same size as it. Now that's an ambitious fish. She is a cousin of Cindy Keyes who told her that fish like that are just like veal, soft and tender and oh sooooo flavorful. And please never mind that they took this pic right in front of one of my signs, they really are trying to help me promote business. After all, we're all about honesty.

The last pic is the view from guide boat #003 as we back bounce the tide. Its a floating social club, everybody knows each other and are bonded by the simpleness of fishing and having fun. In the foreground are my old friends Mac and Carol Padgett. In the always together department they are worse than me and MP. This day we chatted a bit about boating safety as Carol had fallen out of the boat. It scared them into wearing a life jackets. I know the boats look real close together and they are but with the right attitude its really part of the fun. Its like choreography, we hook a fish and fall out of line as the other boats give way and then fill in our spot. 20 minutes later we do the same for the next boats turn to catch...its the Kenai.