KENAI PENINSULA SUMMER TOUR AND SALMON FISHING TRIP
July 21-29, 2000
By Trent K. Fry
Planning for fry2k began almost as soon as the
Fry's
Alaskan
Recreational
Tour
Service (F.A.R.T.S.) '99 Kenai Peninsula tour
ended. After preliminary details
were drawn up (group size, air transportation, lodging and vehicle needs,
sightseeing, etc), the next order of business was selecting the dates for
fry2k. Since our purpose was
primarily salmon fishing, we planned around the various annual runs.
King salmon run from late
May through the end of July; the second run of red salmon occurs between
early-mid July to the end of the month; silver salmon begin their annual trek
around the third week of July, and pinks (who only run every two years)
usually run throughout July and August. Keeping
his information in mind, fry2k was planned for July 21 – 29, 2000.
The first and last days were scheduled for arrival/outfitting and
packing/departure. A considerable
amount of extremely useful information was also available via the
State of Alaska's Department of Fish & Game
website
Using Microsoft's
Expedia internet site, I was able to input his travel itinerary and receive weekly ‘farewatcher’
notifications. I live in
Vacaville, CA, a reasonable drive to San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose,
Sacramento and Reno airports. Flights
were priced from each of these airports, and he soon found that Reno
departures were considerably less than from any of the other airports.
In February 2000, I locked in a $415 round trip fare between Reno
and Anchorage for Matthew, Sara and myself.
With our dates selected and airline tickets
confirmed, we next needed to make lodging reservations for our trip.
It only made sense to spend the first and last nights in Anchorage, so
we needed to secure accommodations for the six intervening days.
Lodging was provided by the Anchorage - Best Western Barratt Inn on Spenard Road. Rooms ran about $130/night. Although there were cheaper hotel/motels, the Barratt Inn provides free airport or rental car pick-up shuttle service, and free freezer space for your catch. Eateries are in abundance in Anchorage, but we’d already preselected dinner at
Humpy' Great Alaskan Alehouse is a lively downtown tavern honoring after
the none-too well-respected male humpback pink salmon and cook up a mean Cajun Halibut meal.
During the summer months, the Air Force maintains a
recreation camp at
Seward AF
Recreational Fish Camp about
120 scenic miles south of Anchorage. This satellite facility to Elmendorf Air Force Base is available to
military, both active and retired and their dependents.
We reserved two half-cabins for two nights at a rate of $99 per
half-cabin per night. The cabins
sleep 6, have a refrigerator, microwave, and stove/oven.
Dishes, utensils and linens were provided.
The rec camp has a Base Exchange and cafeteria.
The exchange, although small, carries a wide variety of fishing tackle,
beer/soda/snacks and souvenirs. The
cafeteria serves the traditional breakfast and lunch meals consisting of
sandwiches and burgers. Box
lunches are available for the ‘outdoorsman on the go.’
The rec camp also has a fish cleaning/freezing facility, laundry, RV
hook-ups, camp sites and offers day or half-day deep sea fishing charters
($89/per person).
A wide variety of fish are available in the Seward
area including salmon, sea bass, halibut, flounder, red snapper, and
trout/steelhead. Fishing is only
allowed in the salt water of Resurrection Bay.
Anglers can cast into the surf or in/around the mouths of the several
rivers (Resurrection Creek, Fourth of July Creek, un-named waterfall on the
west shore).
Nearby sights of interest include Exit Glacier, about
ten miles northwest of town, where gold miners of the past found a safe way to
‘exit’ the Harding Ice Fields onto terra firma. Kenai Fjords National Park is available by charter and the
town of Seward boasts a museum that features the devastating tidal wave from
the Good Friday earthquake of 1964 that nearly wiped out the entire town.
After two exhausting days in Seward, we trekked north
to the Sterling Highway, then west to Cooper Landing and the world-renowned
Russian River. Upon entering
Cooper Landing, we stopped for lunch Kenai
Lake Cabins
operated by Cameron and Sandy Hawthorne and their family.
This place is right on Kenai Lake.
Meals are reasonably priced and quite delicious.
Although Sandy is your hostess/waitress, their kids are quit
professional as servers! In
addition to their small cafe and cabins, Cameron is a fishing guide.
He’ll arrange a fishing trip for either grayling or trout and supply
all the gear and equipment. You’re
responsible for your own rain gear (always a good idea).
Guided fishing runs around $230/person.
Another two or three miles westward, we arrived at Gwin's
Lodge, about 1 mile from the entrance to the Chugach
National Forest's Russian River campground.
Gwin’s chalets consist of one bedroom with loft, which can easily
sleep 5 or 6. Each has a kitchen,
shower, microwave, refrigerator small living room and front porch.
During high season (all summer) the chalets rent for $145/night.
In the compound, Gwin’s has a busy 24-hour restaurant/bar,
gift/tackle/beer/snack/soda shop and fish freezer.
Fish storage runs $3/day for 20 pounds, and they provide
boxes/containers for the fish. Although
Gwin’s has everything an angler (or tourist) could possibly need, all their
goods are expensive. We’d
recommend bringing as much with you as possible.
As I said earlier, Gwin’s is on/above the Kenai River and about a mile from
the Russian River campground. Red
salmon enter the Kenai River from the Cook Inlet, west of Soldotna and swim upstream to the Russian
River where they begin the arduous final leg of their spawning journey to the lower and
upper Russian Lakes. During red
season, anglers flock to the mouth of the Russian River, at the confluence to
the Kenai. Access to this area is
either by parking at the campground, or further west on the Sterling Highway to
the ferry crossing parking lot. The
ferry charges $1/person each way and will drop you off about 1/5 mile from the
confluence. If entering via the
campground, parking-only is available at Greyling and
Pink Salmon areas. The
other areas are camping only, and do not allow for day-use.
Parking fees are $6 for a 12-hour period. Because of the sheer numbers of anglers in the area during
the red salmon run, parking is at a premium.
Once the lots are full, lines form at the entrance to the campground.
As one car exits, another is allowed in.
Its best to arrive early in the morning (before 6:00 am) to insure
immediate access to the parking lot. Remember,
in the summer, the sun sets around midnight and dawn reappears around 3:00 am.
If parking at Pink Salmon, its about a half hour walk along the Russian
River to the confluence. If the reds are in the Russian, you can fish all the way to
the confluence. Actually, you can
fish a mile or so upstream to where its posted ‘no fishing—fish sanctuary.’
This is where the lucky ones (salmon) that don’t get caught, get a
free ride up to their spawning grounds. Although
you can’t fish here, it’s a unique experience to view the thousands of
salmon pooling in the calm areas before making the final sprint upstream.
About 60 miles further down the Sterling Highway is
the small town of Anchor Point, the western-most highway point in the
Americas. The
Anchor River Inn is on the right side of the highway and offers comfortable lodging for about
$95/night for a double. They have
a restaurant, lounge, gift shop, and grocery store. Further down the side-road, towards the mouth of the Anchor
River is the Anchor Angler, a tackle shop that meets all your needs for
fishing gear, tackle and apparel. A
variety of fish reside or visit the Anchor River including king salmon, silver
salmon, rainbow trout and Dolly Varden. Occasionally,
a stray pink or chum salmon enters the river.
The river is easily accessible, shallow and comfortably crossed with hip
waders.
Fifteen miles further down the Sterling Highway is the
booming metropolis of Homer, home of world-class halibut fishing charters.
Day-long charters cost about $150/person, but you’re almost
guaranteed to catch a couple 40 pound or larger delicacies.
Its not uncommon for each charter boat to return to port with at least
one hundred pounder or larger. The
Homer Spit, a couple mile long jetty, protruding into Katchemak Bay houses the
many charter boat piers, restaurants, gift shops and a motel.
An inexpensive, but very good place to eat on the Spit is
Boardwalk Fish &
Chips. Their ‘halibut on
a stick’ is a must! For under
$10, you get a skewer of deep fried halibut and a basket of fries.
This place is always packed, but the wait for a table is usually short.
Returning north, along the Sterling Highway to
Soldotna, it’s a good idea to stop at Fred Meyers (similar to WalMart,
K-Mart or any multi-purpose department/hardware store) to re-outfit, load up on
food and drinks, and, if you are bringing fish home, buy a fish box.
This cardboard box contains a Styrofoam insert that can hold up to 80
pounds of fish and ice. Frozen fish, without ice will last at least 48 hours from
freezer to freezer. The boxes run
about $20, but are usually on sale for a few dollars less (a bargain at any
price).
A ‘must stop’ fishing base is
Eagle
Island Lodge.
This authentic Alaskan cabin/bunkhouse property is on the Kenai River,
about 18 miles east of Soldotna along the paved portion of Funny River Road, then another 4 miles
of unpaved surface. The drive is
well worth it. Ken and Patti
operate the Lodge during the summer. Ken is a professional chef, fishing guide, commercial
fisherman, amateur (ham) radio operator (call sign: WL7IA) and all around good
guy! The lodge has a variety of
accommodations from private cabin to a bunkhouse that sleeps 8. A barbeque area is provided and Ken operates an authentic
Alaskan smokehouse for curing your fresh caught salmon. They have 7 small motor boats for hire ($100/day) that you
can take out on the Kenai to the fishing spot of your choice.
Or, you might want to troll for king salmon, rainbow trout or
steelhead. We rented a boat for
half day ($55). While half our
party fished for reds from the shore upstream, the others were trolling for
rainbows and Dolly Varden from the boat.
Back at Eagle Island Lodge, after our evening
barbeque, while shore fishing in the dark, we were treated to a spectacular
display of aurora borealis overhead.
Normally, one wouldn’t expect to see the ‘northern lights’ during
the summer because of the extended daylight, but on this particular night,
geomagnetic storm activity was so strong that wispy-white aurora images danced
overhead until the dawn arrived! Unfortunately,
we only had time for one night at Eagle Island Lodge.
In order to fully appreciate and enjoy your stay with Ken and Patti, a
minimum of two, preferably three or four nights is needed.
Back on the Sterling Highway, at mile 76, on the
south side is a small shop housing Campbell
Homemade Knives.
Also known as “Walt and Connie’s,” this small third-generation roadside shop has
every kind and type of knife you could ever want from ‘Bowie’ type knives
to the authentic Alaskan Ulu with caribou horn handle and stand.
Walt only offers the best quality cutlery from such renown places as Solingen,
Germany to
personally crafted 'one-of-a-kind' orders.
And, if you happen to have your personal knife with you, Walt’ll
sharpen it for free (you’ll wonder how you ever got along before with such a
‘dull’ knife!). Don’t expect to get out of there in less than half an hour
because Walt and Connie will enthrall you with their tales and conversation.
Walt’s brother operates a similar shop on the east side of the Seward
Highway about halfway between the Sterling Highway split and Seward.
Another two hours drive east and north and you’ll
arrive back in Anchorage. On the
way, along Turnagain Arm, north of Portage, pay close attention to the
surroundings, as you’ll probably see Dall sheep, moose, and American Bald Eagles in
abundance. After passing Potter’s
Marsh, you’ll re-enter Anchorage. Again,
the recommended lodging at the
Anchorage - Best Western Barratt Inn on Spenard Road.
They are reasonably priced, offer free airport/rental car shuttle
service AND they provide free freezer space for any fish you have in your Fred
Meyer freezer box!
WEBSITES ADDRESSES AND PHONE NUMBERS”
For a list of Web Sites and Links mentioned in my story click here:
Links