Hello August

Where did July go? Sure went by fast. As it always does. Looking at August's schedule it looks like July here at the lodge. Which is good! We like busy. Not quite a full house tonight but we will by the end of the week.

The flowers are looking good and this poppy popped out today.

One of the guides "Catdaddy" is sporting a new Willie Boat this year. Even has his name on it. Jimmie Jack Fishing runs nothing but Willie Boats.

Goodbye July and King fishing. Dipnetting is also closed. Next up is Silvers!

The Defense Rests

Patrick Wisdom and the Oilers

All summer long I've been listening to the Kenai Peninsula Oilers baseball games on the radio. I love the boys of summer!

Normally the games start at 7pm which is too late for me to go since I get up at 3:30 to make breakfast and lunch for hungry sport fisherman.

Today was a double header with the first game starting at 4pm. It also happened to be the clincher that gave the Oilers the Alaska Baseball League championship!


A name I kept hearing all summer was Patrick Wisdom. Not surprising he leads the league in Home Runs and Runs Batted In.
Watch for this kid to be in the Major League soon. I'm thinking the Seattle Mariners ought to pick him up before some other team does.

Look for Patrick Wisdom and Oilers in Wichita, Kansas on TV for the NBC World Series August 3rd. Congratulations OILERS!

Salmon Dancers

Went trolling for Kings with no bait on this awesome day on the Kenai. More like a boat ride since nobody caught a king. These fisherman are "flipping" for reds. You step around til you find a spot that snags the fish. They call it the salmon dance. Kind of looks like they are two-stepping, dosen't it?

This funny Japanese tourist is getting his picture taken hanging from the weigh-in hook like he was a halibut or something.

Here is where the serious fishing is going on. The setnetters and the driftnetters taking their piece of the pie. Right out in front of the lodge. It is cool to watch. Especially on a day like today.

King Killer Eggs

For lunches once a week I color hard-boiled eggs and write JimmieJackFishing.com on them. These are for folks from the lodge that are going King fishing on the Kenai or Kasilof rivers only. I don't send them in the lunch with folks going halibut fishing or the fly-in sockeye/bear viewing trips for various reasons.

I wrap them in a napkin and add salt & pepper to the snack bag.

For added fun and luck I also pack Swedish Fish and Werther's Original and Caramel Coffee hard candies. When I caught my King I kissed a Swedish Fish and threw the fat-free candy in the Kenai River saying "to the Fish Gods!" Luck was on my side of the boat when a King hit my pole shortly after.

Try it!

Do Not Wash

Mt. Redoubt showing through the clouds.

This guest was sporting his lucky fishing shirt today. Another nice group of fisherpeople staying at the lodge from Colorado, Washington state, California and St. Louis. Happy to be catching halibut, Kings and Sockeye salmon.

Good time of year to be in Alaska.

North to JJ's

Its not every day at the lodge that a cabover camper pulling a homemade meat trailer pulls up to check in. Drove all the way from Colorado, too.

Took this picture the other day from upstairs in the lodge. Where the campers will be staying this week. Last week of King fishing on the Kenai. It closes the 31st.

Then its Silvers!

Moose Mountain

Thats Mt. Redoubt across Cook Inlet and a moose that made a visit to the lodge today.

Check out the hooves of this cow moose. Kind of elfy looking. I've heard about this happening to urban moose. From walking on pavement they think.

Fat Freezers

The freezers are filling up here at Jimmie Jacks crew's quarters. The freezer up top is halibut proccessed by Snug Harbor Seafoods. The one below holds bait and red salmon fillets vacuumed packed by one of the guides.

Next year I will have my canning equipment here and can Kenai River reds. They're not Copper River but a reds a red. I will find the time!

Gary Superman for Borough Mayor

If I was a registered Kenai voter I would cast my mayoral vote for Mr. Superman!

Alaskans Dipnetting the Kenai

Any Alaskan resident with 2 arms and 2 legs AND that can get off work will be hitting the Kenai this week. With a record run of sockeye salmon this year there will plenty to go around the state's table and the world. A half a million fish are estimated to have stampeded the Kenai River in the last 48 hours. The run could last a week. So throw down your pole and pick up a dipnet. If you are an Alaskan resident that is.

Cook Inlet Boat Launchers

This is how they launch halibut fishing boats in Cook Inlet...with loaders. I am pretty sure that is Mt. Augustine in the background. Took these pictures from the beach near the Anchor River.

Arctic Kitty Cat

My friends' new farm kitty resting on an Arctic Cat snowmachine runner was just too cute to resist!

Back in Action

My Norton anti-virus subscription ran out and prevented me from going on-line. Sounds to me like Norton is the virus. With no bank account and not being able to go on-line I went to Walmart and bought Norton and woolah! Back on-line!

Took this picture the other day, out the window, downstairs at the lodge. Its always an awesome day when you can see what Mt. Redoubt, an active volcano, is doing.

the "Unforgiven"

So far July has been as jammed packed as you can get it. When I am not flipping the lodge, greeting new guests/saying goodbye to old, cooking, making lunches and shopping I am going FISHING every chance I can get. Which happened the day after the 4th of July weekend.

It was the most beautiful day yet. A little foggy near land where they launch the boat near Deep Creek. It is really cool how they do it. A loader backs the stern of the boat while on the trailer into the water til the jet engines are started for take off to the fishing grounds. NO DOCK!

Everybody climbs on board up the ladders. With us this trip with Capatain Frank and his deckhand Charlie were my boss Jimmie Jack and his wife Rosy, 2 guests at the lodge from Brazil who are filming a documentary on Alaska and me.

Here is Jimmie Jack pulling up an 100# halibut all caught on camera.

Jimmie Jack ruled the boat that day with the 2 biggest fish when he added a 70 pounder to the box as the last fish caught. My two were much smaller like the one at their feet.

We couldn't have asked for a better day to be out on the water fishing Cook Inlet.

This is the Brazilian reporter talking to his cameraman while holding the halibut. Quite dramatic but it makes for good tv.

The end result! Also if you check out ktuu-channel 2 in Anchorage Jimmie Jack is featured in this weeks fishing report. GotoAk.com from the home page and look for the fishing report. Pretty cool!