Labor Day

That's when we celebrate the hard working people of America by taking a day off, makes perfect sense to me. And I had a great month of August. I worked every day except one I scheduled off so I could attend the Blinn group chow down and not have to leave early like we always do. We caught a lot of fish in August and had a great time, coming on the heels of our closed River for the months of May and June it was just what we needed. I know one thing about life....you can't get back what's been lost but you CAN focus on what you got and that's what we're doing here at Mile 14. mmmmmm....I suppose ya want some pictures now.....how's about the  first frost of the year which happened on the last day of August. For all my warmer climate friends frost is kinda like snow but it comes up from the ground instead of falling out of the sky...how's that for describing a meteorological event ?

I didn't get as many fish pics this week as usual because it flat out rained. I half expected the ol Kenai to get it's panties in a wad and flood again but we got through it with just some...well a lot....of discomfort and chaulky water. And we did catch some of the knarliest salmon I've seen in a few years. This one ran and jumped several times and as soon we got off anchor to pursue him he decided to lock the hubs in and jump up on the ground. He was good and wrapped around that log and I had the right group to control the situation, Miles there just broke the whole log off and we landed him stick and all....well done guys. And a pic of our Idaho hunting guide friends with the haul, that one fish was a legit 16 pounder.

This is how it goes in Jeff's world. I get up and check weather underground and it tells me we have a 50% chance of rain. But it's not raining at 4:30 am as I start my prep work and share coffee and silence with MP....she don't like talking in the morning. So by 5:45  I have the Minnow launched ( I have a new system, I'm launching and retrieving every day ) and I meet the guys from Gary Blinns group and it's still not raining. We run down river in the semi-dark and get the anchor set. I take my time and fill out my logbook and pour coffee for the guys as it finally gets light enough to fish well and.....It starts to rain, and then the rain turns into a  down pour followed shortly by a torrential down pour and then followed by a toad strangler. So, we were all anxious there as we waited for Benton to catch his silvers and we finally threw the towel in one salmon short of  perfect game. This is one of the best overall catches for size I've seen in a while, the problem is they're all boys and no girls and my salmon egg situation is verging on critical mass....oh well...we can always pull Kwikfish lures if we have to.

MP and I had a great time at Joe Rays barbecue that night. I actually played a few songs but we didn't get any pictures, it was just to darn wet. So all I can say is thanks to all you guys that I've known for so many years...Chuck, Steve, Gar, Will, Joe, Ran....you're all the best.

Here's a pic of Pete , Jen and Robin Kim. California folks that I really enjoyed. It was the only sunny day of the week and they were into the trip entero as we say in Mexico. They loved the birds, the seals, we saw the otters (that I sure hope don't get trapped out this winter)...it was a great trip. I hope you guys feel about me like I feel about you Pete , Jen and Robin, I hope we see you again and best of luck with all your endeavors....Oh a shout out about Robin. She's a fellow Blogger and being a San Francisco person here Blog on the city and culture of the city is pretty cool.  dressedinorange.com

When we fish with the bobbers I always tell people to be patient and let the fish get the bait. So my cousin Ronnie Rannals there was perfect for the job. He's a really smart guy so it's no wonder his mind wanders a bit.  He says to me " hey...what happened to my bobber " like maybe it broke or just sunk on it's own. But ya can't argue with results, good job Ron.

Ron and his brother Billy are my cousin Larry Rannals kids...I was so tickled that they came down to fish. Here they are living just 150 miles away and I'd only met Billy once. So we had a great time fishing and getting to know each other and promised we'd stay in touch better, like family should.
Here's a pic of Billy's girl  friend Mary and her sister Chris....pretty gals with pretty fish.

And at the end of the day Billy and the girls posed for this pic next to the welcome sign that I built for MP a few years ago. I actually built it twice as I finished it on a Monday and the road grader ran over it on a Tuesday....Thanks for coming down to the Rannals. These are great young people, great Alaskans....