King Salmon for everyone

Some groups come and can not seem to unwind from their daily life. Others seem to slide right into the vacation mode very easily.
A family from Switzerland did just that. They were a lot of fun and very relaxed. Which always makes our jobs easy and not seem like work which suits us just fine. It always sets the tone for the lodge.  Appreciation for the beauty that Kodiak Island has to offer should be high on the list. This is one of the things that sets Kodiak apart from other destinations in Alaska. We like to think we have a little piece of heaven here.
They came with all of the right stuff.  Very little English was spoken but fishing and having fun translates into any language. Seeing Humpback whales and Bald Eagles while catching King Salmon and Coho is something people think is  just in brochures. The first day by 10:30 am everyone had caught a Salmon while trolling. We even missed a few as several of them were new to salmon fishing and it took a little bit of coaching and some hand signals to get all of them up to speed. They all caught on very quickly.
I have traveled to Switzerland many times and the first thing you notice is all the people. Then you look past all of that and start  to see the beauty of the country. That is why I kept going back.  Here in Kiliuda Bay you do not have to look past anything to see the beauty!!! It stares you right in the face every day. You can not ignore it. It is why we love being here. Sharing it with others is easy.
Fishing can be up or down any place you go. Any given day or week can be "off the bite"  That is just part of fishing.  But with this kind of scenery and wildlife added to the fishing, it makes Kodiak Island stand out from all the other places one can go fish.
But today the "bite " was on for everyone!!!!!

The one that did not get away

Once in a while we have a client that stands out from the rest.
Jed came from Montana with friends who had been our clients 3 years ago. He had never been on a plane of any kind. Rare for sure these days when air travel is so common for many. Also he had never been to Alaska or fishing in the ocean.  After fishing for 2 days with us  and catching some nice fish I was secretly wishing for him to catch something truly impressive on his first trip to Alaska. I had given him a lure that works very well but it was just not doing it for him up until now. On their 3rd and final day I gave him a pep talk on our way out to fish about halibut and hanging in there, as I really believed in him and the lure he had been using.
Most people want to change lures a lot and even though I give my advice they want something else as it is not working.  It is not always the lure but how you work it with halibut.  I was taught this by "Peter" a truly remarkable client who had fish every country in the world and even Antarctica . He was very humble and never talked down to people who did not "do it his way" . He fished with us and reaffirmed to me you can catch Halibut on jigs even without bait. Still one of the few that had it figured out. Most people "need" bait.
Arriving in the spot of the morning, I again went over all of the pointers he would need to catch the big one.  In less then 1/2 hour he did set the hook on the big one.!!!! After over an hour battle , several runs back to the bottom and sweating profusely he brought it to the surface from 140 ft deep. He said he had never caught anything bigger then 10lb and certainly had never sweated while reeling in a fish in 55 deg. weather.
We like to see all our clients get big fish but Jed worked hard for 3 days and  deserved a big fish  and we hope to see him again someday in Alaska.

Great July fishing on Kodiak

Well the summer is rolling along and it has been shaping up to be the greatest weather ever. Sunny and warm has been the norm. Catching some kings well into later July and nice size Halibut. This has been the calmest July we remember. Every group seems to be picking up at least one big halibut over 100lbs.


Shelly still seems to wow them at the dinner table every night. With several new meals on the menu this year our guests are getting great meals after a great day of fishing. Shelly has been busy making raspberry jam as our berry crop is a good one this year again. Also she has out done her self on the strawberry rhubarb pie. I think it is my new favorite dessert now.

Bear veiwing with Kodiak Adventures Lodge

Kodiak has a reputation as the place to come see Brown bears. With one of the highest populations of them per Sq mile it lives up to the place to be. This week was no exception!!! When we came around the corner while trolling for King Salmon we saw this bear walking casually along. He was unaware at first but soon realized that we were following him. He did not stop and did not seem to care. Only after a long walk up the beach did he decide to stop and eat some grass and then move up onto the hillside and watch us fish.
What a truly fun morning.

Kings and halibut for spring trips

King Salmon and Halibut fishing trips for the spring season are in full swing. We have been putting clients on some nice size King Salmon this spring.
The largest is 62 lb so far. With several 40s not far behind. Lots of Halibut being caught but no 100lbers yet.  We are still spending most of the time looking for the big King Salmon that we are known for. So as we start to hit it a little harder for the halibut we should be bringing in some larger sizes.
Check out this heavy weight king salmon below. It tipped the scale at 62lb. A white meat king salmon as well.

First King Salmon of the year

White King Salmon !!!!
As I was fileting the first King Salmon of the 2013 season April 27th,  we were placing bets on White or Red meat. I win again.  Always nice to see one of those beautiful fish in the net. The colors are bright and clear. Purple, green, Silver and blue. It tipped the scale at 48lbs
Josh had never caught anything that big and was pretty pumped when it was stripping line out over and over. Each time he hauled it back to the boat and each time it refused to come close to the boat. Back out with 100ft of line and around the boat twice.
A fantastic day on the water.

Sailboat from far away

We were working around the lodge when a sailboat pulled up to the shore. It was a family from France that lives on a 20 meter sailboat they built themselves 20 years ago. Spend most of their time in S. America. Do not live in France any longer.

Invited them in for dinner. They had sailed around Cape Horn then to Hawaii and we were the first bay they came to in Alaska. Loved the sailing stories and company. We shared stories from Alaska and our life also. Very neet to see how other people around the world.