Brown Bears at Russian River Falls

Well, yesterday was another eventful day at Great Alaska.  A couple of our safari groups split up and enjoyed two of our most popular hikes..the first one an 8 mile challenge to a view of the Harding Ice-field, and the second a more moderate forest walk ending at the Russian River falls to (hopefully) spot some of the large early run of Sockeye Salmon that have been passing the lodge for the past few weeks.  The falls is steep and challenging, and I believe that for milennia oru fish have had to cross this obstacle, and that challenge, generation after generation, is one of the reasons the Kenai and Russian river fish are such a genetically superior species. 

5 minutes after they got to the viewing platform, a group of fish began leaping up the falls, an eagle flew right over the Blaydes party's shoulders, and the next moment, 2 adult brown bear emerged from the forest and waded into the river to fish.  They caught some of these beautiful wild sockeye salmon almost immediately (these bears are good fishermen!) and Mr. Blayes was able to capture the moment on video.  Thanks to David for sharing this with us.

Not everyone sees an event like this, but in Alaska you never know what is around the next corner, so have that camera ready!

Offshore Report:

We've finished our retro fit on the three offshore boats- The Raptor is ready for it's sea trial today, with new seats, larger gas tank and lots of new hardware.  The Stellar has already completed it's retro fit with a complete re-work of all electronics systems, windshield wipers, improved seating on board plus new Okuma reels.    The Fair Chase got a 2 inch lift on the twin 225 Yamaha 4 stroke motors, (which should help with improved speed, handling and fuel economy) plus a new diesel heater for improved cabin comfort on those chilly or wet mornings, and all three boats received some new emergency equipment to make your trip safer.  We'll be putting the Fair Chase in Seward within the next 48 hours and we'll be fishing in resurrection Bay/Prince William Sound not long after that!

Freshwater Fishing Report:

The Kenai river All-river Rainbow Trout opener is today,and we've got 4 boats targeting our beautiful Rainbow Trout on one of the most beautiful stretches of the Kenai- below Skilak lake to the Moose river at the lodge.  We've been fishing this area for over 3 decades, and it's become our signature stretch of water over the years. 

Our amazing Kenai River Rainbows are a transient species of fish, ever searching, with an innate desire to seek new feeding areas and new stretches of water in which to hunt their prey, On the Kenai, that consists of salmon eggs, underwater nymph - stage insects, fresh and or deteriorating salmon flesh and small leeches, sculpins and other small baitfish.  In Alaska, when it comes to Rainbow trout it's all about "match the hatch"...except rather than impersonating various winged or underwater insects, your guides will match the size and color of spawned salmon eggs.  Different salmon species' eggs  all vary in size, and color, and the longer they are under water, the more faded they become.  The art of matching these different "shades of gray" is part of the art of  being a Kenai River rainbow Trout guide.   Our guides are among the very best!

That's it for today's report.  Caprice is back from BearCamp, so we'll have some more posts from her before she heads back "into the wild".  We'll also have some pictures of the trout caught on today's opener for the next post.  In the meantime......

Tight lines,

Kent