Now what ?

Every year when I do my last trip I ask myself that...just like I did after graduating High School in 1971. And just like that although it feels a bit different this year because, well you know, I got a bright future ahead and I'd bet ya dollars to donuts the last part of my life is going to go as well as the first...I'm gonna make it happen. On my last trip down the world famous I took this pic to commemorate the day...I don't think I even need to say a thing...everything's better than O.K.

Speaking of MP, did I tell you about her melons ? Instead of waiting to be where she can grow fruit she decided to take a chance this year with her valuable green house real estate. Well, they ain't as large as we'd both like but they're about the cutest little melons you've ever seen. The look, taste and smell just like the Mexico variant, just a bit smaller....I guess not everything is big on the Kenai.

If you want to see big check out this Silver salmon that Ty caught on my last day of separating people from their money for fishing...somehow that still seems somehow strange....But around here 18 pound silvers are a rare breed. I think I've only seen a few and I do believe I've most likely seen more of them than anybody to date. On my registered scale this baby was 17 3/4 . Usually it goes like this, that silver that you just caught that looks like 16 is 14. The 14 is twelve and on it goes. So for me it was a bit of kismet that one of the largest Silvers of my guiding was also one of my last.

That last day for me was bit serendipitous. It was fun and sad all at the same time and I want to thank my 3 friends who came along, I'll never forget this day...and we did pretty darn good for the waning days of an average silver run. Between the 4 of us we definitely had the experience advantage at work.  I grew up with Tom Beneventi and he was on his 4th Kenai trip but his first visit to Mile 14 in the 20 some odd years we've been here. Ty Tobias first fished with me in the early 90's when I was in Cahots with Thompson's Halibut Charters and he's a veteran of many campaigns. Keith Holtan and his dad were a couple of my first good customers when Keith was playing Hockey at U.A.F. What can I say about Keith, he's as crazy to fish now as the day I met him. We've shared a lot and I wish him the best for another 10 years or so of guiding here on the world famous. Check out the sign in the background, I built it as part of my tuition for Loren Stewart in 1984.

I've learned a lot of different things from guiding and I'll save all those life lessons for another blog. But ol guide # 003 can flat take a fish pic....Here's Keith with our first fish of the morning, not bad eh ?

If anything that goes with me everyday and has for 30 years tells the story of a hard guy hard guiding it's this. I have different ones for egg flavor and sardine marinade...oh baby the secrets to success. If any of you out there want it just send me a message and we'll work a deal....really now....it could be yours...