Timing is everything

I've always been good at that, mostly by accident. Seems like I got into guiding on the world famous at just the right time and now it looks like I quit at just the right time. After waiting through a month and a half of Catch and Release fishing with no / few customers tomorrow is the day it all changes and they can retain King salmon again...but nobody will because it will be nearly impossible due to this rising river and ultra chalky glacier melt water due to this record string of 70 and 80 degree days we're suffering through. Man am I glad  I only need to explain it to you guys and not customers who would have little chance....that is if they got here on time and the road is open through the Swan Lake fire area of 70,000 acres only 27 miles from salmon central here at Mile 14. And of course they would also have to have no respiratory problems to sit tin the boat waiting for a bite in the smoke out we've got going on......jeez....this place can make ya crazy. Only lucky thing for us is that the wind generally blows on shore and to the north so our smoke is no where near as bad as Anchorage, Cooper Landing etc....here's pic I took at 5:30 a.m. of the orange sun, kind of an apocalyptic feeling we're learning to live with.

But, if your'e good at flossing and you have en entire day and the stamina to flip for that entire day Mile 14 here is still semi-salmon-central. The red run is so huge they are still getting them here and although there are fewer fish and not the emergency new 9 fish limit like at the Russian River at least here you can breath. KTUU channel 2 news had a fire report in which they showed footage of fisherman at the Russian that looked like ghosts in the fog from just a few feet away....

It's been this weirdest feeling of freedom getting rid of the ' stuff ' of guiding. The other day I gave a 13 year old a Lamiglass Kenai Special and reel to go with....made me smile. So then I decided to take my fish hanging station to the dump. Through the years I've piled all the stuff I've recovered out of the river around it to make it fun and interesting for the people, well, now no people and no fish so no rack....this was it.

It was a trip down memory lane as I worked...here's a sample of old stuff and the best and most exciting find ever.

About ten years ago Keith and I were walking the gravel bars around what we call ' secret hole ' when we both spotted that huge packed wallet at the same time. Now I don't remember if I got to it first or if Keith just gave it to me out of consideration for my seniority and the fact that I invented the sport of marine salvage on the world famous. In any case I ended up with the wallet and it has every airline and credit card known to man in it and....no money....not a cent.

So I do a google search and find the e-mail for the medical clinic of Dr. Joe Idicula in Florida and I send him an e-mail with the 42 dollar question....what kind of Doctor runs around Alaska without any money ????  Well he really didn't answer that part but he did let me know that he had replaced everything and thanks for my kinda-semi-almost help. The dollar signs that me and Keith planely seen turned into just a story at Mile 14.

I also came across the answer to another mystery...In about 1985 a Ford Escort went into the river about 8 miles upstream from Slowdotna and was never seen again. But inspector Closeau and full time fish pro Jeff King found the dashboard at Mile 10 of the river.....mmmm..... I wonder is they had any money in the jock box ???? I gotta keep lookin.

Wish I'd been around to see it but apparently a Moose and her calves got onto the elevated boardwalk at the visitors center and created quite a stir....I do believe a human could get killed by a panicked moose ...I just love the way the second sign was stated....only in Alaska eh ?

And speaking of signs... This one tells the story. Just recently we had to amend our dog policy here at Mile 14 for a few reasons and one of them was the reason for this.

And on my short list of achievement's I'm adding radishes. I had to taker control of them myself, we have the wriggly botanical garden out there and never, never did MP's radishes turn out. So enter #003 retired....You have to space them out, they need room. You have to fertilize and you have to rotate which means plant them at different times and walla....nice crunchy icicle radishes and along with quite a bit of stomach gas....

I now I've been a little lazy with my blog...sorry...😎🎸🎤🐟🐟