My first salmon I caught on the Kenai River, on my own and without a guide.

We were fishing on our own for the first time and I was the only one on board that knew how to handle the boat in the current.

A nice 50LB King hit my rod and I turned the tiller over to my less experienced buddy. As the boat went down river he was having a difficult time handling the boat in the current. It was a real mess, with me trying to give boat driving lessons while fighting the fish. Good thing we were fishing after all Guides were off the river.

After a long drift I got the fish to the boat and my other buddy netted it. High fives all around. When I went to high five my buddy who took over the boat he immediately passed out and I had to grab him to keep him from going over board. My buddy has a history of heart problems. We layed him in the bottom of the boat and ran back to Riverbend as fast as we could. He regained consciousness on the way back and once on the beach off to the hospital in Soldotna where my buddy spent most of the rest of the trip. Turned out his heart beat became irregular and required adjustments to medication.

So hours later I finally was able to clean and filet that fish.

My buddy who went to the hospital is a vintage Korean War fighter pilot, tougher then nails. Since that trip he has had two cardiac arrests and a defribulator implanted in his chest. He still goes on living and is going up with me to Sooke this weekend to fish.