THE GUIDE BOAT AND FISHING GEAR

I fish with a 20 foot by 8 foot "center console" North River boat. It is designed for safely fishing big rivers, and is one of the most heavily constructed riverboats used on the Kenai River. You can stand up and fight your fish with the knowledge that the boat will not even begin to tip if all four passengers and your guide are all on one side of the boat at once.

By law, boat motors are limited to 35 horsepower or less, so I am running a 50 Hp Mercury four-stroke outboard that has been de-tuned to 35 Hp. It is the cleanest running, most reliable outboard I have ever owned. It will push my heavy riverboat, with a full load--me and four passengers--at between 21 and 25 miles per hour. In my opinion, no one really needs more than that.

There is a large waterproof storage compartment under each of the four cushioned client seats. You can store your lunch, beverages, rain gear, coat, and camera there for the duration of your guided trip.

The seats are on adjustable tracks so they can be repositioned to accomodate large, small, or handicapped clients. The Tempress rod holders are also on adjustable tracks, so if you reposition your seat you can also reposition the rod holder to keep your rod within ready reach.

I pride myself in keeping up-to-date on where the fish are in the system, so I don't have to chase after them very often. But, no one can always guess correctly, so having a boat that can quickly get me and my clients back onto fish is very important to me. Plus, I enjoy the stability and roomy comfort afforded by this large riverboat. I still enjoy driftboats, but the big riverboat gives me greater all-around capability and a lot more comfort.

This year (2005), I bought all new rods and reels. It is always a tough decision as to what is the best rod and reel combination, but each year it gets easier for me, as I have tried them all.

My several years of experience with the Diawa Sealine/Depthmaster reels has made me a strong advocate of these great reels. They have a butter-smooth drag that never chatters, seizes, or fades. Their line counter helps my clients fish just where they should. I spool these reels with a high grade 30# monofiliment line. I run 40# to 50# leaders, so as not to lose a trophy King Salmon from tooth abrasion.

My new Shimano graphite rods are 9-foot long, in extra-heavy rating (20-50 pound line rating). I usually shatter three or four rods each year on the big King Salmon, but this year we have not had a single rod failure, although there have been many huge kings landed, and many rods bent over so far I grimmaced in anticipation of the rifle-shot crack as a rod shatters. But these rods have taken a beating and kept on working.

That Kwikfish lure you see with the rod and reel is one of the best lures for the giant King Salmon. We "wrap" the lure with a small filet of Sardine to give it more scent, and to slow the lure's action down. It is a killer combination for the Kings. I would guess that 60 percent of my trophy Kings succomb to this combination.

To the left is a picture of another very effective King Salmon bait. It is a Spin-N-Glo and cured eggs combination. The Kings in the Kenai absolutely inhale this combination. It takes about 40 percent of all the Kings my clients catch. This bait is fished behind a Luhr-Jensen "diver" or a round lead weight, to keep it right near the river bottom. I usually backtroll this bait. (Backtrolling is using the boat motor to hold the boat's bow in the upstream direction, but feathering the throttle down so it just lets the boat slip downstream very slowly--much slower than the river current--so the bait passes right in front of the big Kings.)

Equipment for Silver Salmon is lighter rods, smaller reels, lighter line. We often anchor up and fish pocket water for Silvers, but if that is not the most productive method, we often backtroll for the Silvers, just like we do for the Kings, only with lighter gear.

Equipment for Rainbow Trout is lighter still. Often clients bring their own trout gear, whether spinning rods and reels or expensive light-weight fly rods and reels. If you don't have your own equipment, we are prepared to provide excellent gear for you.