As the early run of kings continues, the fishing remains good on both the Kenai and Kasilof rivers. The sockeyes have been coming in too, in nice numbers, which makes the fishing even better.

Halibut fishing also continues to be dependable and anglers are bringing in their fair share of the flat fish. Fly-outs are producing as well, including photo opportunities for bear pictures and gorgeous shots of mountains.

The weather dipped a bit as we hit some badly-needed rain, but the forecast indicates clearing soon so all is good!

Melanie

The fishing report, courtesy of Mark this time, is that the past week was very good on the Kenai with lots of fish caught. The regulations require release of kings between 44" and 55", but the fun is in the catching! The opening of the river to bait fishing has helped with the catch record this week, too, and should continue on throughout the month.

Halibut has been very good too, with the biggest fish of the week weighing in at a whopping 205#! Now THAT'S going to be a great beer-batter halibut party!

The Konoske group reported in and said they had a wonderful time. In Pat's words: "My dad thoroughly enjoyed himself, calling this a “trip of a life time” even before he hooked into a 50-inch, 60-lb. king during the last 90 minutes of our last day on the Kenai River. Even though we had to release, it ranks up there with the biggest fish he’s caught, ever. I was lucky enough to also hook into and land a Kenai king measuring 44 inches and 38 lbs."

Pat shared some photos of a king and a couple of halibut they caught, too! What a fun week.

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Melanie

The fishing continues to pick up but remains a bit light on the rivers at this point. The weather has kept cool at night which delays the melting of mountain snow, which in turn keeps the rivers from rising very quickkly. Some kings are coming in and the saltwater fishing has been good.

Here's a photo from the Parks group of Todd Smith with his king salmon. The smile says it all! (Click on thumbnail for larger view).

Melanie

The lodge is up and running, new guests are arriving and the fish are starting into the river in greater numbers now. We have boats in the water and a new boat to kick off the season - how great is that!

Jessica reports that they fished in the saltwater yesterday. They caught a couple Chinook, one about 30 lbs. and another about 15 lbs. along with other bites. They also limited out on Halibut with a nice 60, a 40 and plenty of 20 pounders. Fishing on the Kenai yesterday was fair and catching more there than they have been on the Kasilof.

The Alaska Department of Fish & Game has opened the king fishing to bait as of June 1. This is an early opening and will hopefully bring even more kings to the lines.

The weather has been really good this spring with lots of sunny days and not much rain. Moose calves are being spotted frequently these days and the mountains across the inlet have been clear and gorgeous with their snow-covered peaks making a stark contrast to the blue inlet water. Trees are green and even the flowers are starting to bloom. Springtime in Alaska is a picture postcard everywhere you look!

Melanie

With eyes and eyelets focused on the trout fishing our interpid guides and guests headed for the "refuge" and middle river. We used #8 weight rods and floating lines, and #12 lb. fluorocarbon tippets ... ready for the big "toads". The upper fished great just after an area called Rock Face on the Kenai, located about halfway down the refuge. Mark reported the best bite occurred using a 6 mm tangerine bead. A total of about 30 trout were caught and an unusually high percentage of Dollies.

Thursday Mark went to fish the middle Kenai. He was a bit perplexed but still able to find the right size and color, 6 mm shrimp-color bead landed several big 'bows in the 8 to 10 lb. category. Dollies and rainbows were also found in the same feeding lanes. Although the fishing was a bit slow the weather and colors were outstanding. This coming Sunday will be a "canyon day" - we expect the walls to be echoing "fish on" and the lower end, where the Kenai dumps into the lake, plugged with big trout.

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Mike & Mark

Sunshine, steelhead and trout - "it doesn't get any better" one guest remarked. The daytime temperature is 65 while temperatures drop to the low 40's in the evening. This week our tides proved to be just perfect for halibut, fly-outs and river fishing. All of our scheduled fishing events and weather cooperated: the halibut boats out of Homer got outside the jaws, silvers were snappy on the fly-outs, and the trout were eager to be caught and photoed and releashed (kind of like Paris and the paparazzi). With our annual repeat group of 15+ fishermen, old stories were brought up and new ones created around the campifre. It was a fun week! This time of year the northern lights are often seen and the chill in the air lets everyone know that fall is here. The Anchor River and Deep Creek are shaping up for steelhead and silvers, too!

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Mike & Mark

The water in the middle river is dropping, pushing the trout into the feeding lanes. The gravel bars are also showing, making for 100 fish days per boat. Great laughs and stories of big fish and even bigger ones that got away seems to be the nightly table talk in the evenings, enjoying a glass of wine and beautiful full fall colors. As some might say ... priceless ... howeer we do offer great Fall Fly Fishing packages at a very reasonable price!

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Mike & Mark

The sockeye are still in the Kenai River system spawning eggs. Our trout are triggered on 6 mm dull finish pink bead with a red spot (made with a sharpie pen) and going berserk (postal if they could). The red spot we mark on the egg imitates the developing egg and the fish go crazy. Huge brightly colored spotted Dolly Varden and Rainbows are being caught and released, with lots of fish in the 26" plus categry. Our largest to date is 36 inches (weight approximately 25 pounds). On TV it might qualify as "The Biggest Loser" - here it's a "winner"!

Mike & Mark

The fall season has created a water-coloring like effect of the vistas. The second run of silver salmon has slowed down, but the big rainbow trout and dollies are definitely on the major bite. Fly rods are cretainly the tool of choice. Five to eight pound trout are common. We are targeting Crescent Lake on the fly-out with loads of silvers the norm ... the brown bears have been providing some great Kodak moments!

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Mike & Mark

Our guests from Salt Lake City , with the auspicious last name of Fisher, did well in all departments. The stay was a bit short but the catches were just fine for a fish cook-off in the great state of Utah . We had fun, the silvers were tough on one day, but the halibut cooperated and the fly-out was spectacular and loads of fish were sighted and hooked. When they pulled out in the huge SUV it was loaded with fish boxes and ear to ear grins.

Mike

“Perfect ... delicious ... are you sure that is moose?” were a few of the remarks heard around the fire pit. After a long day of fishing, Frenchy, our resident gold miner, stopped by with some moose meat for the guests. The Chef prepared a shitake-brandy-peppercorn reduction sauce and paired it with a fine Oregon Merlot. It brought the house down! The second run of Silvers are in full swing and no shortage of fish tales shared by all.

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Mike

“Guide Day Off” is like a buss-man's holiday and decided by a slightly biased committee. All hands on board for a day of fun fishing. The Wolf, Right-On Rob, Kooler and The Reverend were all in attendance and it was quite shocking! It was a beautiful fall evening catching heavy rainbows and we saw a couple of Brown bears. Lots of fish, laughs and plenty of “corking” while trying to wet a line… still waiting for a restraining order… is it legal to have that much fun?

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The Guides

Hi-Ho Silver and away! The silvers are in all of the systems in good numbers and bordering on obese. With a ten to fourteen pound average the Coho makes for great barbeque fare. We are catching them easily on bait and able to fly fish them in the smaller rivers. Weather is great and a Jackalope appeared on the wall for the Royal Beverage Company… what a coincidence! Much laughter and some very good wines were enjoyed be all!

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MT x 2

Smore Action! Rocky the orphaned moose showed up at the lodge and hung with the guests for three weeks. It was one of our longer stays by any of our prior guests. He plans to book next year with his friends Boris and Natasha.

“Unbelievable” was the work for the day. After limits of Silvers, some of the guests opted for an Upper Kenai drift boat trip with Rich “The Wolf” North adding “it was on fire!” The big king bead with a molted nail polish (courtesy of Revlon “007-White") did the trick.

Halibut fishing stories are the best when shared around the campfire, and well worth the arms with a limit of two per day. The weight of the delicate white meat adds up quickly and can adapt to many recipes.

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Chef Mark

“Not sure if it was a Great White or a huge King” was the comment by Mike when a large monster bit thru the 60lb leader of Bill McCormick, just a few feet from the transom of the boat. Definitely a “Depends” moment. Now that was a large predator…perhaps a sequel will ensue.

Team Swiss Miss and baby man got into a bunch of reds. These fish will show up smoked at Christmas time for gifts under the tree….Yaw Yaw!

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Herr Walter

Guide "Big Fish" Rich reports an epic battle between king and the Feichtner party last week, with the Feichtners coming out the winner when they landed this 50 pounder! It was a great day on the Kenai.

Late run reds have really hit the river and are arriving in high numbers. They were slow this year but are making up for lost time! Halibut remain good, fly-outs are spectacular and the weather has been warm but not hot.

Here's the photo of the week, sent in by Phil and Beth Hunter, of a pair of beautiful Kasilof Kings they caught during their visit to Tower Rock.

Melanie

 

…..Also some good photos of a pair of Kings that the Andersen team drew. In Texas hold'em it's a winner… all in!

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Mike

“Da Bears” are hitting the rivers in search of Reds (Sockeye) big time. On the fly-outs the guests are seeing loads of brown and black bears. We are glad they are not flying them back to the Lodge with them. The guide boats are able to get up close and personal with these huge carnivores. While the bears are actively feeding our guests are doing the paparazzi bit while catching limits of salmon in no time.

Our second run Kings are showing up in the Kenai and the Halibut skippers in the salt are reporting seeing huge schools of Reds moving towards us. This is a good thing! (Note to self… order more fly-rods and load up on gear… get ready cause here they come!).

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Mike

Sockeye are still coming in the Kenai in fair numbers but we usually are doing some re-con missions to locate the pod. The days are long (like still light at midnight). It will make it tough to see the fireworks in Seaward but the run at Marathon Mountain is always a blast. Our second run Kings should be showing-up towards the end of the week. Let's hope their biological clocks are set on the Kenai Time Zone (KTZ).

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Mike

We hosted some folks from “Kenai's Sister City” in Japan. The first run of “Reds” (Sockeye) are in the river and thick as thieves. Great sashimi and the chop sticks were flying….even Bruce Lee would have been shocked. AH-SO GOOD! Kings are going stronger on the Kenai and the fly-outs are peaking on the other side of the Inlet. Our helicopter trip on the Chuitt is going big…life is good on Peninsula!

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Mike

Big Rainbows are hungry and the fishing is dine-o-bite on the bead and sculpen patterns. Most of our fish were caught from the bank and some on the drift. Weight Watchers unite, many of the brutes are in the eight to ten pound class… exercised and gently released. Guide Mark summed up the trip as simply a “Great day!” then quietly slipped off to tie up some more rigs from all of the break-offs! You gotta' love it!

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Mike

A few Kings are finally rolling in on the Kenai and we are getting bit, especially on the incoming tides. The water levels are still on the low side as indicated by my nicked prop (an expensive depth sounder). The Kasilof is red-hot and guide Captain Right-On Rob is at the top of his game. Halibut remains consistent but still to early to fly… the Kings are.. so far… a no-show on the other side of the Inlet…we are doing a “test fly-out today.” Film at eleven!

Mike

The Flat Ones are still feeding in Cook Inlet and the salt boats are doing well. We had low tides this last week so it was some heavy lifting with four pound lead weights and a few decent 80 pounders on the business side of the rod… that's a lot of fish and chips! The morning bite on the Kasilof remains strong and the Dollies provide tons of action on the fly rods.

Mike

Kenai is still on the slow side for Kings but the Kasilof River is producing good numbers of salmon. It is still to early in the season for fly-outs but the weather is awesome. Halibut are going strong and the Dolly Varden in the Middle River is off the hook! (…as well as it should be in this catch and release fishing). Our guests had a 50 fish-to-the-boat yesterday…. Sweet!

Mike

The big halibut are showing up in the shallow water… even the drift boats are getting them with salmon rods in 30 feet of water. Combine that with a combo salmon trip, intercepting the Kenai Kings before they hit the River and that is the best way to fill a freezer with freezer pets. Kenai is slow for kings as we are having a slow glacial melt off, making for low water conditions.

In fact, we can wade across the River from the dock to the other bank. The Kasilof River is rocking for Kings and plenty of photogenic moose are around the lodge that don't insist on “What is my good side?” or a demanding a call for make-up. Everything is getting greener and hope the Kenai River fish will appear soon… don't they know that they have a barbeque to attend?

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Mike

It's finally spring here on the Kenai and the snow has melted quickly. The Kenai River is flowing freely again with just a few straggling icebergs left on the banks. Alaska Department of Fish and Game is requiring that all icehouses be off the lakes by April 30th (and as warm as it's been, if they're not off by now they may very well be under water!).

The early season for the lodge starts around May 15. Early season (May 15 - June 15) is a peaceful time to fish. It's the first run of kings and while the river fishing may be a bit calm at times, the saltwater kings are often excellent fishing. Add in a bit of halibut fishing and a fly-out and you've got the trip of a lifetime - and you don't have to fight the crowds!

Mike and Mark will soon be back and gearing up for another great season - and soon the fishing reports will be full of summer fishing action. Check back through the summer and see how our season goes!

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Melanie

We're getting closer to the end of winter and spring can't come too quickly for me! It has been DARN cold this February and into the first week of March. Wind chill yesterday was down to -22F. But, as my Mom mentioned today (she's been in Alaska more than 50 years), cold winters are often followed by very warm summers. It's a good thing too. We NEED to thaw!

Even with the cold weather there are some diehard fisherpeople out there. Soldotna Trustworthy Hardware started their 10th annual Ice Fishing Derby in mid-February and there have been some nice fish brought in. Largest so far is a 13.84 lb. Northern Pike, and the biggest trout tops eight pounds. You can check out the current winners HERE. Be sure to scroll down and see the photos of the kids! Alaskan kids are tough.

I took off this past weekend and headed up to Anchorage. Two of my dogs were entered in obedience trials and I'm proud to report that they both earned new titles. On the way back I stopped to take some photos along Turnagain Arm. This is such a gorgeous drive and definitely recommended for anyone coming to Alaska. The day was cloud-free, the sky was a brilliant blue and the mountains were white with snow. As a friend used to say, "It was a picture postcard everywhere I looked!". Here are a few of the photos. The first is of the frozen waterfalls, looking a bit like melted candle wax, and the other two are of the mountains and upper Cook Inlet full of icebergs.

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Keep thinking summer - it's nearly here!

Melanie

Happy new year to all! We've slid into a new year with lots of snow and some mighty cold temperatures! We were down to nearly 30° below zero here (that's Fahrenheit) but I'm glad to say that it's warmed up and is reasonable again. Today we had a high of about 18°. Nice and toasty.

I hear a few reports of fishing lately but the fish seem to be pretty scarce. A few are bringing in pike and rainbows by ice fishing on lakes, but I haven't heard of anything very big coming in. The sub-zero weather kept most people indoors! Maybe now that it's warmed up more will be stepping out for some winter fishing.

I was down by the inlet a few days ago and the ice bergs are thick in areas - even well up the Kenai River near the bridge between K-Beach Road and Kenai. It's amazing how big some of those chunks of ice are!

I put out a newsletter last week - if you want to have your email address added to the newsletter email list, just pop a request to me at info@towerrocklodge.com and I'll add you. The newsletters will probably come out about once a month. Expect photos of FISH and some tales (tall or not) from Mike and Mark.

Hopefully I will have more actual fishing news soon! I'm surviving the winter in good style and the dogs all have nice thick coats, so they're managing well too (not that they spend much time outdoors, the spoiled mutts). Khana will be learning to fetch a beer from the fridge soon, so she and Trick can take turns. You can never have too many beer-fetching dogs.

Keep warm and check back for updated reports!

Melanie

Well, we're into the quiet of winter here. The river is resting and recuperating in preparation for another Alaskan summer.

People often ask me what it's like in the winter. It's such a vast contrast to our summers! We're already down under seven hours of daylight and that will drop to about five and a half hours by winter solstice. By this time of year, we typically have a good snow cover but this year we barely have any at all. Temperatures have run colder than normal, with several nights over the past few weeks dipping into the sub-zero range. The wind has been terrible lately, which is quite unusual. Windchill the other night was 40 below zero!

So to remind myself of those long warm summer days, I pulled out some of the fall fishing photos to share here. There's a nice mix of guests from kids to adult - and please note, one guest is fishing without a shirt on! See, it DOES get warm here (as hard as it is to believe this time of year!). Click on photos for larger views.

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Fall and winter also provide some beautiful photo opportunities. Here are two of my recent favorites: sunset over the Kenai River, and Mt. Iliamna last week on a drive back from Homer.

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Looking forward to 2007!

Melanie

The season continues on with some spectacular silver fishing. In the words of one guest, "Silvers were ROCKIN'!".

Rainbows have also been good, with some real beauties caught on the Kenai River.

Despite the continued rain (this summer has been wetter than normal), guests have enjoyed halibut fishing with limits caught, and have also had some great times on the fall fly-outs. The bears are sometimes scarce on the late season fly-outs, but both last year and this year they have been in view even into September.

We're wrapping up the season soon, but I'll get some more photos up soon so you can see the excitement of fall fishing at the Rock!

Melanie

We had a quiet last week of August. The guests who were here fished hard and caught LOTS of silvers and pinks. Second run silvers are starting to show up and pinks are slowing now.

I read a report on a charter that went out of Seward for a halibut trip this week. September fishing for halibut can be "iffy" especially with the weather. But this group (about a dozen anglers) came back with over 2600 pounds of fish! Included were two halibut over 200 and seven over 100#. That's a HUGE amount and just goes to show that halibut fishing can be good any time.

Weather has had its good days and not-so-good days, with most being partly cloudy. Days are getting shorter as we get farther away from the summer solstice. We're now losing about 5 minutes of daylight a day!

I've been busy moving after living on the lodge property for nearly eight years. What a change! But I'll still be around and keeping in contact.

Keep a tight line!

Melanie

Silver fishing is HOT! Pinks continue to flood into the Kenai River too, offering some great fishing opportunities for the guests. Guide "Big Fish" Rich went out with a group and they hooked over 100 pinks in one session of fishing! Whew, that's a lot of reeling.

It's been rainy on and off, but everyone seems to be enjoying themselves anyway. Guests are having great luck fishing for halibut as well as trout - and the fly-outs continue to be great, with bears still in attendance.

The Grant party came up for a return visit and left with 286 pounds of fileted fish. That's a freezer full!

Melanie

Silver fishing continues to get better and better! August and September are usually great months for fishing for these hard-fighting fish. Pinks are coming into the river too and are fun to catch.

Halibut fishing is good, as is fishing for trout. The weather has been a bit rainy, but that goes along with the overall coolness of this summer (unlike the last two years!).

We had a large group (over 20) of guys from Red Bull with us this week. They sure were a lot of fun!

Melanie

Silvers are coming into the river now and guests are starting to catch some of those feisty fish. Trout fishing is reasonably good, while halibut continues to produce nicely.

Fly-outs are spectacular, with guests getting some great photo opportunities with both black and brown bears.

Weather has been relatively good, with a bit of rain at times.

Tight lines!

Melanie

King season is over, but it didn't go out without a few good fights! King fishing was great this past week with some really nice fish brought in. The last day of guided king fishing was Saturday - and at 5:15 p.m. Nate (Coonce group) hooked into a biggie! It was a hard fight, but the monster was brought into the boat at 6:20. It weighed out at about 80#! What a wonderful way to end the season.

Red fishing certainly had its ups and downs this year. With a weak return, they closed the Kenai to red fishing. But then a large escapement came through and they re-opened it for this last gasp of reds to be caught. Good news is that the silvers are already in the river and the pinks are starting to show too, so there are all sorts of fish to catch.

I've pulled some of the king photos from the last week or two and will share them here. Click on the thumbnails to see the larger versions!

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Melanie

Whew, it was a busy week! We fished 29 guys this past week. It was fun, though. Some nice kings were brought in - one over 60#, and several around 45#. The weather was good overall - overcast but not particularly rainy. Nice and cool compared to the heat wave that has taken over the lower 48 states!

The reds just didn't produce this year. We were able to fish for reds all last week but they are shutting them down now - the dipnetting at the mouth of the Kenai River was closed Friday night, and F&G has decided to stop all red fishing on the Kenai at this point. Occasionally there is a year where the fish are just scarce and this happens to be that year.

Fly-outs continue to be spectacular, with the bear-viewing at a peak. I always enjoy hearing the guests talk about their fly-out trips - to be fishing with a bear just a few yards away is just an amazing experience!

Melanie

The king fishing continues to be spotty but it's definitely picked up. "Big Fish" Rich went out on a Kenai drift boat trip yesterday with his four friends and all five brought in kings - with two over 50#. Mondays are closed to motorized and guided trips, so it makes for a nice quiet time for buddies to go out for a leisurely adventure.

Halibut fishing continues to be good, especially south of us. Seward has not been as productive this year as it has in the past, but that could change at any time.

Red fishing, as predicted, has been slow so far this year. There have been some days of really good trout fishing, though, to help take up the slack. It's always a good day when you're on the river!

Melanie

It's been a good week for halibut fishing! The Pikila group brought in a total of 350 pounds of FILETS. That's a lot of fish! One of their fish was 150 pounds. I didn't hear any complaints of sore muscles though!

King fishing has had its ups and downs this past week. The Kasilof River produced a nice one though - a 51 pound king was brought in. It's good to see such a nice king come out of that river. Kings continue to move into the Kenai River in decent numbers.

Red fishing is a bit slow overall. Fly-outs have been good though, both in fishing and in bear viewing. The fly-out to Wolverine Creek is a huge favorite.

The weather got a bit gray for awhile, but the sun came out yesterday and today was very nice. It should be a good week!

Keep those lines wet-

Melanie

Another busy week here at Tower Rock Lodge!

Kings are still coming into the river with good numbers. Fishing has been good some days, spotty on others. Reds are running and guests are catching limits especially on the fly-outs.

Halibut is good as usual, both out of the southern peninsula (Ninilchik and down) and Seward too.

Here are some photos - click on the thumbnails for larger views!

Melanie

I'm back and finally getting a report up! Sorry it took so long. The dog show was fun but it's good to be home too.

Mike reports that the fishing conditions are excellent and that a LOT of kings are in the river. The number of kings has been spiking but the water has been cold (47.5°) and kings bite best between 52° and 56°. It just hasn't been a very warm summer and we have been spoiled the past two years with all the sun.

BUT Guide "Big Fish" Rich had guest Greg Tierney bring in a 70+ pound king today! Unfortunately the fish was not quite the right size (regulations limit the taking of kings between 44 and 55 inches long) and it had to be released. Greg also brought in a 36" rainbow trout on a catch and release this week, so he's certainly seen his share of big fish.

Another very nice rainbow was caught by Tommy Binion of the Atlanta Orvis Store. His measured 27" - not bad at all!

Guests are limiting on sockeyes on the fly-outs, and there have been lots of bears to view too. Halibut continues to be good, with at least one 100 pounder brought in this week.

Forecast is for nicer weather, so we expect to see the kings being caught in higher numbers. Keep those lines tight!

Melanie

The kings have been moving into the Kenai River. As the escapement has been good, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game opened the lower river to bait fishing. This is always good news!

"BIG FISH" Rich (one of the TRL guides) brought in three nice kings with a group of guests on Saturday.

Kasilof kings are good too, and promise to get even better.

Halibut continues to be great out of Ninilchik/Deep Creek. Andrew Davis, a guest who is visiting from the United Kingdom with his father Keith, brought in a 90# beauty this past week.

We've been getting rain the last few days, wtih a good downpour last night. While it's not great news for the guests who are currently here, it IS good for those coming later as it has been a very dry spring and fire danger has been high.

I'm off tomorrow to go to a dog show in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory and will be back next week in time to put up a new report! Be sure to check back -

Melanie

Kings are in the Kasilof River! Guide Nate Corr brought in three for three a few days ago and fishing continues to get better. The Kenai River finally has more water. The recent warm spell helped melt off snow in the upper regions which is feeding the river and bringing water levels up.

A very nice 60# king was caught off of Deep Creek (saltwater). Saltwater king fishing is generally good in late May and early June. Halibut continues to be good and guests caught their limits out in the ocean this past week.

There have been a number of recent bear attacks in the news. About 50 miles south of us a man was jogging with his two dogs and a brownie attacked him. He came through with some major injuries and many stitches, but he survived! Another guy in Anchorage woke up to some noise in his house and came downstairs to meet up with a black bear who had somehow come through the outside door. That would be quite a shock!

Here at Tower Rock Lodge we have a clean record with the bears. With proper handling of garbage and fish waste, it's unlikely that bears will mingle with us humans. Early season always runs a higher risk of bear problems as they're hungry, but I have yet to hear of any bears in our area this spring. So no worries!

Our two groups of guests from last week - the Orrs and the Duncans - both left with quite a bit of fish and some good fishing stories to tell! Now we're getting the boats ready for fishing on the Kenai for the upcoming week. We will be busy very soon!

Melanie

We're off and running here at Tower Rock Lodge!

The Kenai and Kasilof Rivers are still quite low and fishing is "iffy", so our guests are taking advantage of the great saltwater king fishing. Boats heading out of Ninilchik are often taking their limits, and the fishing is HOT.

Halibut is going well too, with limits taken by our guests. One of the Duncan group told me that he brought in a 75 pounder - now THAT'S a fish!

Fishing for dolly varden on the Kenai has been good on the days when there's a cloud cover. We've had some clouds, but overall the weather has been pretty incredible the last couple of days. We've finally gotten past the cool spring and temps have been in the 70's.

Keep a tight line and check back for more regular fishing reports!

Melanie

It's time for a special hello to the Atlanta anglers attending the
Orvis Days 2006 event in Atlanta, Georgia!

Mike is currently down in Georgia at this event and is celebrating the upcoming season "Orvis style". And from the lodge here in Alaska, I'd like to send a special greeting to others attending this event!

For those interested in fly-fishing Alaska, I've pulled together some photos to show some of the great fish, spectacular scenery and amazing wildlife that we have to offer here. These photos are representative of Tower Rock Lodge and the fishing adventures our guests experience!

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Each photo can be clicked on to view a larger version - or if you'd rather view the photos on a page, I've uploaded them to HERE and you can see them all on a single page!

I hope everyone enjoys this look back at the visions of fly fishing here at Tower Rock Lodge!

Mark is currently preparing the lodge for our first 2006 guests. The workers have been down at the river getting the new dock in. Soon I'll be reporting about the first kings taken!

Melanie

Sorry it's been so long since the last report! Things are pretty quiet here in Alaska during the middle of winter.

As far as fishing goes - Homer is having its Winter King Derby on March 18th. Feeder kings are being caught in Kachemak Bay now, with pretty good consistency. Trout fishing continues to be good in lakes across the peninsula for those hardy souls who don't mind braving a little winter weather.

Mt. Augustine is still venting at times but we haven't seen a bit of ash here. It's becoming less and less likely it will have a really big eruption. The ash has at times created some beautiful sunsets, like this one (taken on the drive into Kenai - Spur Highway - early February).

It's been a good winter overall. Temperatures in January and February got a bit chilly, but this IS Alaska! Snowfall has been reasonable and easy to deal with. A good snowfall in the winter helps us avoid a dry summer, so the snow is important.

I haven't shown dog photos this winter, but I do have one to share. We headed out to play and went down towards the lodge. This photo is of three of the girls (Trick, Tori and Khana) playing in the snow on the Tower Rock Lodge drive. It's sure pretty in the snow! Looks quite a bit different than it does in the summer months.

Bookings for the 2006 season are strong and steady - it looks like it's going to be a great year! Mike is heading off this month for some time in France and Africa (something about mingling with the chimps .. I don't ask too many questions!). Mark is still in Thailand enjoying the warm weather. And I'm staying right here in Alaska, playing with the pooches and keeping an eye on the volcano!

Melanie

It's been a pretty uneventful and mild winter so far, but Mother Nature has a few tricks up her sleeve yet!

Mt. Augustine, one of the volcanic mountains in the Alaska Range (across the inlet from the Kenai Peninsula and down near Homer) has erupted this week. Click on the map for a larger view. The first few eruptions were on Wednesday, with five more today. None of the eruptions have been really large but the scientists who are monitoring the mountain say that they do expect a very large explosion soon.

The Kenai Peninsula is not under any danger unless a large earthquake were to happen, and then the communities on the southern peninsula that are at sea level would have to watch for a tsunami. The only thing that may hit us here is ash. So far the wind has kept the ash away from the majority of the peninsula.

Here's a photo of Mt. Augustine on Jan 12, with the ash plume. Click on the photo for a larger view.

I've lived up here pretty much all my life, and this is the fifth time I can remember volcanoes erupting across the inlet. Augustine has erupted twice before (1976 and 1986) and Mt. Redoubt erupted around 1989. Mt. Spurr followed a few years later. All four of those times, we were covered in ash here. It's not a huge threat. just one of those things you deal with! If we end up with ash this time, maybe I'll collect it up and sell it on eBay ....

Hope you are staying warm and ash-free this winter - summer's coming fast now!

Melanie

Happy 2006 to all!

It's a cold crisp night here in Alaska, with the stars showing brightly in the very dark sky. That's one of the great things about being out here in the boonies - there are no lights around to obscure my view of the night sky. This is the time of year when the northern lights can be so spectacular! None tonight so far, but I'll keep watching.

Pike have recently been discovered in Scout Lake, a bit north of Soldotna, and ADF&G has opened the public access area to allow for fishing in that lake as of January 1. They're asking for anglers to report on the fish they catch during this time. During the ADF&G netting last fall, they picked up a 14# pike so there may be some nice ones in there yet. Anyone up for a little ice fishing??

I'd love to show you some photos of winter life in Alaska so far, but in all honesty this hasn't been a "real" winter. We got about 8" of snow a few days before Christmas and that's packed down or melted to about 4" deep. The dogs are disappointed as they really enjoy the snow! I did get a photo today as the sun was dipping down - here is the crescent moon in a sky dotted with pink clouds.

(Click for larger view)

Summer's coming - do YOU know where your fishing rod is??

Melanie

I'd like to tell you we're fishing, but this IS December in Alaska! Sometimes I sit here and dream of those long warm summer days. With winter solstice just around the corner, we are down to about six hours of daylight. The good news is that soon we will be gaining instead of losing daylight!

We had some cold weather (sub-zero) around Thanksgiving and into December, and then it warmed up and rained for days. Driving in from Kenai the other day, I noted that the Kenai River has very little ice now. During the cold spell, there were patches of floating ice throughout the river. Sometimes we get huge icebergs all over the beach down near the mouth of the river, but so far this winter that hasn't happened.

Mike and I have been busy working on bookings and 2006 is looking like an excellent season. It's just a mere six months away now!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all - keep warm and hope to see you soon!

Melanie

It's nearly Thanksgiving, and definitely winter here on the Kenai Peninsula. As is usual, the weather varies from cold and snow to the occasional rainfall. It's never fully predictable!

Mark fished throughout most of October and fishing remained excellent on the Kenai. The first snow didn't fall until October 22, and the weather was pretty good and made for some nice crisp days on the river.

We here at Tower Rock Lodge were saddened by the news of the passing of Curt Trout of Troutfitters. Curt was highly thought of and was an excellent fisherman, truly devoted to the art of trout fishing. He had been ill for some time. His last day he went with a friend to the canyon area of the Kenai River, fished for trout all day. His last trout was one of a triple header near the end of the day. He passed away while resting as the boat headed back to the boat ramp.

We will miss our friend.

Well, with winter here things are slowing down considerably and it's very quiet back here in the boonies. We had a bit of rain on top of the packed snow this week, and someone in a little car with out-of-state plates slid off the hill coming in. It's not much of a hill in the summer, but in the winter it can be slick! I didn't think it was that bad - I had driven out a few hours earlier with my summer tires on (had gone into town to get my tires switched over). But evidently someone else wasn't quite so used to driving on the ice! The troopers had the road blocked when I came back and I had to wait about half an hour while they sanded it. Such is life in the winter back here. If you can't handle the ice, this sure isn't the place to be right now.

Stay tuned for more Tower Rock winter news and photos of winter life here in Alaska. I may even harness up the dogs .. time for the mutts to earn their biscuits!

Melanie

Despite the cooler weather, the Tuhys refuse to stop fishing!

Here's Mark with a fish on. Note the "who me??? smile! (Click on the thumbnail for a larger version).

The silvers are still in the river, and the rainbow fishing has been very good. Mark's last rainbow trip had three over 10 pounds - all catch and release. On one of the last trips out, they took a photo of a silver framed by the net.

The second photo is of my puppy, Khana, "tasting" the hail that fell on October 1. I stood at the back door and watched the hail come down, while the dogs ran out to play in it. We don't have any snow yet and it hasn't felt like snow so far - but it won't be long!

Another sign of fall is the wildlife coming around more. Two nights ago, moose came and ate every single one of the begonias that I had planted in front of my house. I guess they wanted dessert! I'm glad they waited until nearly winter to eat them instead of munching them up in the middle of summer.

Be sure to check out the main page of the website for our 2006 updates!

Melanie

We've eased into autumn here, and our last guests of the season are packing up their catches and are heading home. Silver fishing is more sporadic now, although trout fishing continues to get better. Fly-fishing in the fall here is extraordinary, with trout hitting well and often. Add to that the beautiful fall scenery and the peacefulness of the quiet river, and fall fishing can be considered the best by many!

Halibut fishing is more "iffy" this time of year due to the greater chance of storms blowing in, so most of our guests concentrate on trout and silvers. We just had a storm, last night, that produced quite a bit of rain and wind - and yet I was out on the back deck a few minutes ago admiring the clear star-sprinkled sky (it's night, stars are VERY bright here). Alaska's weather can sometimes be unpredictable! I expect tomorrow will be a great day to fish, making up for yesterday's storm.

As we head into winter, fishing reports will fade into "winter life" reports! I remain here year-around and will share what it's like to be in Alaska in the winter. We're already losing daylight - about an hour every 11 days at this point - and by mid-December will be down to less than six hours of daylight a day. Sounds strange to most, but I'm used to it!

Stay tuned for photos of dogs playing in the snow ..

Melanie

The trout fishing continues to get better and better! Fishing on the middle Kenai generally results in several catches of good-sized rainbows, along with some dolly varden. September is known for the great trout fishing and this year is no exception!

Silver fishing continues to go well too. Here is a photo of a nice silver, taken by one of our guests. Silvers hit hard, fight well and are delicious too! Bringing them in is always easier with help - here one of the guides nets a feisty fish.

With fall comes more "fall-like" weather, with cooler days and a bit more rain. This is a gorgeous scene, with the rainbow curving over the boat on the Kenai River. You can see the trees in the background showing traces of yellow, just starting to turn to fall colors.

Still keeping lines tight!

Melanie

I apologize for the lapse in fishing reports! Things have been pretty quiet and relaxing lately, which we are enjoying quite a bit.

The Kenai River has been spotty at times on the salmon - silvers were a bit slow to come into the river but it's picked up considerably and anglers are getting their limits. Here's guide Mike Tuhy netting a nice silver that one of our anglers brought to the boat. Silver fishing has also been fantastic on the fly-outs - and the bears continue to show well, with guests bringing back reports of a brownie sow with two cubs that seems to frequent the fishing area. I've seen the videos they bring back. Watching that huge bear leap into the water after a fish is pretty amazing.

A late group of reds hit the Kenai River a week or so ago. Here's a photo of a classic male red salmon, with the hooked face and the dark coloring.

Halibut continues to be good, although the weather is always a bit more likely to be rough this time of year. We work around that, however, and our guests have gotten in their halibut charters with no difficulty.

Our thoughts go out to those affected by Hurricane Katrina.

Melanie