Kids on the Kenai

There is never a shortage of questions when it comes to booking a guide on an Alaskan adventure. Clothing, gear, available species, what to bring to eat or drink, just to name a few. One question that always surfaces when a parent wants to bring one or two of their children is if their child is welcome on a guided fishing trip on the Kenai River. The answer to that question at Jason’s Guide Service is always going to be, “Absolutely.”  The question you will get back from us is, “Will your child be able to handle the rigors of an Alaskan fishing excursion?” The answer to that one will always revolve around the child’s age and whether they can spend a number of hours restricted to a small space in a fishing boat.

There are some considerations when bringing your child on a guided fishing trip. How long is the trip? What kind of fishing will we be doing? What species will we fish for?  What will the start time be?  These are just some of the factors that need to be considered.

The Kenai River offers many opportunities for different species and techniques and it is very important to pick the right species and technique that best suits your child’s needs.  The species that Jason’s Guide Service fishes for are the sockeye salmon, silver salmon, rainbow trout, and Dolly Varden char, the most targeted species by anglers on this river.

The sockeye fishery is the hardest for your kids to participate in because we wade in the river and fish with eight-weight fly rods doing what we call “The Sockeye Swing.” The youngest I recommend for sockeye fishing is 10 years old if your child is well developed and has good coordination. At 12 years of age they are definitely developed enough if they have the desire to attempt this rigorous style of fishing.

The silver salmon get bigger than the sockeye but are mostly fished from the boat and can be fished by children of any age that can cast and retrieve an open-faced spinning reel or can take a rod out of a rod holder.

The rainbow trout and Dolly Varden char are the best bet for kids younger than 10 because they can spin fish for the trout and char and all the young kiddos need to do is hold on to a rod and reel the fish in.  I always recommend back trolling or plug fishing – as we call it on the Kenai – for the younger kids because it’s an easy way to put up numbers and keep the kids into the fish and happy.

There is a huge misconception that kids can’t fly fish for trout or salmon until they are older. I find the exact opposite to be true.  Kids are amazing when captivated or interested in something, and when a kid wants to learn something new the learning curve is real quick, much quicker than teaching an older person.  Don’t let the hype or stereotype of what a fly angler is supposed to look like dissuade you from taking a fly fishing trip with your kids, because I can almost guarantee you that they will learn the sport quickly and be hooked for life when taught in a low pressure, fun environment like we have at Jason’s Guide Service.

The moral of this story – I mean Blog – is that, yes, you can and should take your kids on a guided fishing trip on the Kenai River when you visit Alaska. There is nothing better than quality family time on the water.

When the Shutter Snaps

There’s nothing more beautiful than a well-composed photo of a big fish held properly with it’s skin glistening as it reflects the sunlight. Sadly those images are rare, because anglers don’t know the simple rules about holding a fish for a photo that will make it the ultimate image and get it back into the water for a successful release.

Sure, the best way to learn how to properly handle a fish for a photo – and then releasing it unharmed – is to catch lots of fish and get experience handling them. But for some that just isn’t going to happen. With that in mind let’s look at a few of my simple suggestions to make the best possible fish picture.

As a Kenai River fishing guide who targets rainbow trout, Dolly Varden char, sockeye salmon, and silver salmon I have 30 years experience guiding fishermen in Alaska and the Kenai River.  Thirty years ago I didn’t have that experience handling fish like I do now, but I had a good mentor my whole life who taught me the ways of properly handling a fish you want to release and the importance of releasing fish so you have fish to catch in the future. That would have been my Dad. I can’t go into detail in one blog on every fish handling technique, but I can give you a few that will help considerably lower the mortality rate of the fish you catch and release and create a good image.

If you take a fish out of the water for a photo or have them in a rubber net out of the water, hold your breath AND when you need breath, so does the fish.

I see anglers on the river, and in the magazines, who pick fish up by their tails and hold them vertically until they put a hand under the fishes belly for support.  This isn’t good  for the fish. You should have a hand under the fishes belly for support before you lift them out of the water or net and then their vertebrae won’t pop.

I also see people get a fish in the net and then leave it hovering above the water for minutes before they take photos. Keep the fish in the water, gills submerged, facing up stream until you are ready of that quick picture.

Fish breath by taking water into their mouth and through their gills, not by having water come from the back of their gills, so when you try and rejuvenate a fish don’t pull the fish back and forth in the water. Face the fish up stream and let the water flow through their mouth.  You can push the fish forward but never backwards, pulling the fish backwards actually suffocates the fish.

Once a fish has had a hard battle the amino acids in their muscles builds and fish need some extra time in the net or in the shallows before they should be let go.  A fish will often try and give you one big thrust of the tail only to go right to the bottom of the river, only to die.  When I let a fish go after a big battle I put them in my big rubber net and make sure that they are able to maintain buoyancy and good swimming motion before I let them go free.

I always recommend a rubber net for any species you release, and that includes all the salmon species. The slime on a fish is its immune system and a rubber net will help keep that layer of slime intact.

These are just a few things you need to know and can do so you can help do your part in conserving a species and keep your home waters full of fish for now and into the future. As far as getting the perfectly composed image. Look at angler/fish pictures done by the pros and see which you like the best. Emulate that style and you will get some great shots.

It’s About Getting the Best Image and Preserving the Resource

I am often asked, “Why do you and your guides hold the fish in all your pictures?”  The short answer is that proper handling of fish means the difference between mortality and catching the same trophy fish year after year. We are also holding the fish so that you see the fish, not your hands, when we take the photos.

The term trophy means different things to different people. In our boats they are all trophies, or future trophies depending on the fish and the angler.  The Kenai River is a glacial river that has cold water and has a very low mortality rate due the cold water most of the year.

Every guide at Jason’s Guide Service is a highly trained professional and is trained and educated in handling fish and knowing when a fish is healthy enough to take pictures of.  Our goal is to get a photo of your trophy fish for that image that lasts a lifetime, as well as getting the fish back into the Kenai River quickly to live and hopefully bite another day. We are always happy to teach and educate our anglers in the proper handling of trophy rainbow trout, Dolly Varden char, silver salmon, and sockeye salmon.

Holiday Season

The holiday season is the time of year when family and friends gather, and it’s a great time to plan and book your Kenai River fishing trip.  If you want ensure that you get the prime dates you are looking for, now is the time to book your guided fishing trip on the Kenai River. It doesn’t matter whether you are looking to book a guided salmon fishing trip or guided rainbow trout/Dolly Varden trip or a combo trip; BOOK NOW!

 

I suggest you talk things over as a collective group to decide what time frame you want to fish and what species interests you most.  Once you have made some decisions on what guided fishing trip you want,  book online – or call or email me personally – and we will dial you in on an unforgettable experience.

Prime Time to be on the Kenai

Late October on the Kenai River is prime time for big silver salmon. It’s also a great place to be right now because the rainbow trout bite well on flesh flies.

If you can handle the colder temperatures and still want to get out and fish, the last two weeks of October can be pretty dang good.  The Kenai has less people fishing on it when the weather gets colder and the fish receive less pressure, which creates more opportunity for the adventurous angler willing to brave the cooler weather.

When you fish with  Jason’s Guide Service you will have one or two MR Buddy heaters in the boat to warm your hands so you can fish all day.  Time on the water is important because the bite turns on and off throughout the day for both the trout and the silver salmon.

Fall fishing on the Kenai River is legendary for a reason. As long as you have a line in the water you have a chance to catch and release that trophy rainbow trout-of-a-lifetime, or land that huge silver salmon which is going to provide a great dinner.

Full Day or Half Day Which One Should I Book?

When you book a guided fishing trip on the Kenai River with Jason’s Guide Service you have a choice between a half-day guided trip or a full-day guided trip.  The difference between the two is time on the water and where you can fish.

Booking a half-day fishing trip, whether it be for sockeye salmon, silver salmon, rainbow trout, or Dolly Varden char, allows you to get enough time on the water to target a species of fish, either the salmon, or the trout and char. The half-day trip doesn’t allow for enough time to do a combo-trip and target multiple species and it doesn’t allow enough time to use multiple techniques like fly fishing and spin fishing.

When you book the half-day trip you are booking a four-hour trip from boat ramp to boat ramp and need to book a species and technique and stick to it.  We offer the half-day trip for family’s with younger kids, or people with friends or family that don’t really fish much but they want a guided fishing trip.  The half-day trip is a great way to expose youth to fishing and make sure you get a little time on the water even if the rest of your party aren’t avid anglers.  The other bonuses are the fact you get to float eight miles of the Kenai River and enjoy all of its beauty and maybe see some wildlife like bears, moose or eagles.

The full-day trip is a six to eight hour trip (your choice) down the Kenai  River.  The full-day trips are longer so we have more options on whatever stretch of the Kenai we fish.  The full-day guided trips give you an opportunity, time-wise, to do combo trips for the salmon, rainbow trout, and char, and we will use fly fishing and or spin fishing gear on that outing.

We always recommend the full-day trips for people who want a better shot at limits for sockeye and silver salmon because sometimes it takes time on the water to make things happen or to give the migrating salmon time to get to the gravel bars you are fishing.  The rainbow trout and Dolly Varden char don’t eat vigorously all day everyday. They have different feeding habits and times from day to day and more time on the water means better odds of fishing when the bite is on.

Both trips are great trips to book depending on your group, time schedule, and desires.  Both trips give you an opportunity to see the Kenai River in all her glory and experience a taste of the good life in Alaska.  The difference in the guided trips is time on the water to allow things to happen, where you fish, and the ability to try multiple techniques and fish for other species.  You should book what ever guided fishing trip meets your needs and enjoy your ride down the Kenai River.

Cast Out a Fly and Enjoy the Ride

Every year the Kenai Peninsula has millions of visitors from all over America and the world. Fishing for trophy rainbow trout or one of the many species of salmon on Alaska’s Kenai River is on many of these people’s wish list.  So, every year I get hundreds of calls from people coming to the Kenai River to fish for salmon, rainbow trout, and Dolly Varden char and a question I get a lot is, “Should I fly fish?”  Then they tell me how little if anything they know about fly fishing, and want to give me their beginner resume if they have one.

My answer is always the same. You should try and fly fish if you want to, and we don’t care how much experience you have because it’s our job to teach you in a low-pressure fun environment.

When an angler comes to us with zero experience it means they don’t have any bad habits and that’a a good thing.  Sometimes the journey of learning and flowing with the river as you run a dead drift from the boat is as exhilarating as hooking into a trophy rainbow trout or Dolly Varden char.  The learning curve can be as rewarding as catching a huge silver salmon or sockeye salmon.  Fishing isn’t always about catching the most, the biggest, the fastest. It’s also about the camaraderie and the pure enjoyment of being out in nature. Alaska’s Kenai River is one of the most beautiful places on the planet to learn how to fly fish so no matter what your skill level is, so don’t hesitate to book a fly fishing trip on the Kenai and enjoy the ride.

It’s Time For Some Smoke on that Salmon

We have given you a couple recipes for cooking salmon, and have many more to share, but now it’s time for some smoked salmon brine formulas.  I have a basic brine that is my foundation for every batch of fish that goes on the smoker.

When I was a child I grew up idolizing my Grandpa who grew up dirt poor on a farm in Iowa with 10 brothers. He ate anything he could catch or kill.  Luckily for Gramps, Grandma was a phenomenal cook and could make anything taste good. I learned a lot from both of them. My gramps taught me the fine art of harvesting fish, fowl and game and grandma taught me how to prepare it so it was delectable.

I also had a lot of uncles who would take me fishing on the Cedar and Mississippi Rivers where we would catch carp and catfish and bring them home to Gramps. He would take those huge carp and fillet them with a Sawzawl and then brine them in salt and sugar, occasionally adding a touch of liquid smoke.

The carp were phenomenal smoked.  If you can make Iowa carp taste good with your brine you can make anything taste outstanding. I use his brine recipe with less salt than he liked, and I only occasionally add any liquid smoke.

I will be giving up two recipes to use when smoking fresh-caught Kenai River sockeye or silver salmon.  With king salmon I only smoke the tail and belly, but I don’t fish for Kenai River king salmon or suggest you do. There are many other locations that offer quality king salmon fishing.

The first formula will be what I call my “simple smoke” recipe (grandpa’s modified a touch) and the second is my Lesmeister’s “Bomb Diggidy” recipe, which is legend in the Cooper Landing Alaska region.

 

Simple Smoke Recipe (Gramps Modified)

1 part salt

3 parts sugar.

 

I use white or brown sugar, what ever I have on hand.

 

Lesmeisters “Bomb Diggidy” recipe

1 part salt

3 parts sugar

Yoshidas sauce

Honey

 

I lightly coat both sides of the salmon fillet with my dry rub mixture of salt and sugar.  When I make my Bomb Diggity recipe I add the Yoshidas sauce to the top of the fish in a bowl and mix well. Then add honey. (more is better)

Once my fish is brined with either recipe I then cover with Seran wrap and put in fridge, I like to stir fish every eight hours or so.  I leave fish in the brine for at least 24 hours and sometimes as long as 36 or 48 hours.

With either brine I put the fish on the smoker racks and let the fillets dry to a tacky texture. This is usually over night, or it can be longer, before I fire up the smoker.

Some people like to put the fish fillets in front of fans to dry. I do not like doing this. I let it dry up and get tacky feeling naturally.  When the fish has the right texture, smoke it to your taste.  Some people like it more dry and some more moist.

These are my two go-to formulas when I smoke salmon.  I suggest you start simple and add anything you may want in your brine mixture you think you may like until you create your own masterpiece.

 

Salmon Piccata Recipe

Last week I shared a world class salmon burger recipe that I know was enjoyed by many of you. This week you are being treated to one of my favorites of all time; a salmon piccata recipe.  I love this one and usually add more capers then the recipe calls for.  My wife added some of her freestyle touches to this recipe when we had guests over who were pescatarians, and we have been eating it ever since.

 

Ingredients:  For one serving, we usually do this recipe with an entire fresh caught Kenai River sockeye salmon.

 

6 oz Kenai River sockeye salmon fillet (remove skin and cut or pick pin bones out of fillet)

1/2 cup or so of flour

2 Tbs sea salt

1 Tbs course black pepper

Half a stick of butter

2 Tbs chopped shallots

1 Tbs capers( I like a lot more)

1/4 cup wine (Chardonnay)

1 Lemon

2 Tbs cold butte

Pasta (I prefer Angel Hair)

Mix the flour and salt and pepper on a plate or bowl coat the salmon on both sides and shake off excess flour.  Heat up a good frying pan on med-hi heat and add salmon when pan is hot, cook until; both sides have started to brown.  Add the capers and shallots and cook until shallots are translucent.  Add fresh squeezed lemon juice from half the lemon and the white wine.  Cook for approximately 2-3 minutes.  The sauce will thicken slightly.

Reduce heat, remove salmon and put it on your plate with warm pasta (My wife likes to squeeze more lemon on her pasta). Add your cold butter to pan and let it melt while you stir the sauce until it looks smooth and creamy.  Pour sauce over salmon and pasta and enjoy.

 

 

 

 

Best Way To Cook Salmon

On one of my initial interviews to get a position as an Alaskan fishing guide, an early question was, “Do you know how to cook?” My answer was, “I can cook”.  Fortunately for me, my mother noticed my interest in cooking at an early age, bought me cook books and encouraged me to try new recipes. My grandma who is a master of cooking wild game and baking incredible bread also inspired me.

There was a reason for the question about my cooking skills. A guide may not need the abilities of a five-star chef, but fishing guides are often asked about how to prepare their catch of the day. As a Kenai River fishing guide, a frequent question I get is; “What is the best way to cook my sockeye (red) or coho (silver) salmon”?  I have a few favorites though sometimes my favorite recipe depends on the time of year and how much salmon I’ve eaten to date. I will painfully admit that my wife Stephanie Lesmeister is a far superior chef than I am when it comes to cooking the fresh caught or frozen salmon from the Kenai River.  I will make my next few blogs about our family’s favorite recipes and our two favorite brines which we use in preparation for smoking the  salmon.

Before I give you a recipe I will say the first couple fish of the year are grilled over charcoal – and occasionally alder – from the yard and cooked medium rare with a light sprinkle of sea salt.  That is it!  After our initial craving for the rich and simple taste of salmon is satisfied and salmon becomes a regular part of our diet, we start piling on the spices and sauces depending on our mood.

Salmon Burgers

2 pounds of Kenai River sockeye

3/4 cup panko crumbs

1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions

1tsp grated fresh ginger

1 clove of garlic minced

2 egg whites

3 Tbs soy sauce

Juice of half a lime

1/2 tsp salt

 

Mayo Wasabi

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1 Tbs wasabi paste

1 tsp soy sauce

Mix all the ingredients for your salmon burgers in a bowl then make round patties to size.  We use Hawaiian rolls for the smaller sized sliders, and brioche buns for magnum burgers. Heat the skillet and add avocado oil to the pan and fry for 2-3 minutes per side.

As a bonus, we  pre-make and freeze burgers for me to cook for lunch.  When I make them for lunch I like to make wraps and add red onions and greens with the wasabi sauce and sometimes unagi sauce.

Stephanie found this recipe in the cookbook, The Alaska From Scratch Cookbook, and we have been eating these delicious burgers ever since.

Bon Apetit!