Yep... gonna be a good boy and get it out of the way EARLY this year... complete with pics of every king we touched.

Cliff Notes version....

It sucked...
Bad....
REALLY bad.

So bad I can post the entire report BEFORE the trip even happens.

On the heels of the best wide open bite I've experienced since 2005 as we bounced our way to the closing bell of the 2011 season. 2012 would have been my 39th king season on the river. Who'da'thunk it would ever come to this?

My annual Kenai king report has been a staple on this board since I joined. End of an era.

Time to pour another Anejo.

Oh yeah, here are the pics....
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GDITMMM!

The pictures seem to be rather dark.

OK, let me brighten it up a bit.

Unfortunately this is the only water these veteran Kenai plugs and divers will see this year.

well hell, show us a picture of one of the mosquito bites you caught while up there.

plain old sucks. I was feelin bad about not going up this year so I can't even fathom what this means to you. You might actually get some rest at the end of July this year. Get a 10 lb bow pic for me. If it gets too depressing call me and I'll come up and drink some wood and burn a few beers with ya.
Whats the deal on coho in the river ?

Well, that was depressing......

Sad,very sad,Good luck,
SZ

Welcome to my world (Kenai instead of Sauk).

Sucks.

Fish on...

Todd

Opportunities lost, never to be recouped.

I was think'n about ya T'Rip losing that late season on your fave rivers.

Same smell.

Kenai and kings have been synonymous since I was a wee little lad. I guess not anymore.

Kind of like how Skagit casting was born on its namesake river. They just go hand in hand. How ironic that in just a few years, there ain't no spring season to do no Skagit casting no more.

Sucks for sure.

Many of us know that pain from a favorite fishery lost but yours resonates not just due to your time logged up there but the fact it is(was) a world-class fishery that affects many people.

I hope your trip is a good one anyway. Look to find the positives in some of the other fisheries going on up there now and most importantly....have some fun!!

Hard to say what makes me more sad... Is it the fact that even the last frontier has succumbed to the human affliction, or is it the fact that the lone image in the 2012 edition of the Kronikles features the Doc's plugs swimming in soap instead of the Kenai?

Well, this has been a rude awakening, but there is hope in that history suggests that the tides will turn and the fishing will once again be better in Alaska. The bad news is that when that happens, the relatively good fishing we have enjoyed here recently will take a turn for the worse. Ugh.

Yup. Salmo G. pointed that out in a recent post/thread.

Just sucks now...(or the next few years until the cycle changes).

Won't be long until we are bitching/moaning down here.....more so than usual.

I floated a local creek after work last night. I usually start fishing this creek for rainbows about this time of year as the kings start to get into their spawning cycle. In typical years the 6 mile stretch I floated will have several hundred kings spawning in it. Last night I counted nine.

It is the same on most of the creeks around here right now. The kings are just not there.

The far reaching affect that we, humans, harvesters, have left on this huge place is only recently becoming apparent to me. Between the plane, the boat, and ATV's, there are very few corners of this state that haven't been touched, if not accelerated down the road to depletion. This concept of unlimited natural resources, fish, and wildlife is really a myth or at least a thing of the distant past. It sure seems like Alaska is on the same path that most of the lower 48 has taken, but headed that way much more quickly. The kings are but one example in many. Sad.

On a more positive note, f4b landed his first sockeye on the flyrod within 15 minutes of his first cast after dinner tonight.

With a little bit of luck, I managed to scratch up a 3 fish limit on the first night.

Limit goes to six a day, 12 in possession tomorrow. Oh crap, it IS tomorrow.

Loving my iPhone

Just so no one feels the need to reinvent the wheel, sockeye do not hit twitched jigs.

Can you display the jig that they aren't hitting?

BTW, I noticed the second fish in from the right has a peculiar look to it.....almost humpy-like....is that unusual?

Obviously you are missing something.

Here's some info on Doing It Right

Don't let it get out, OK?



Nice pic, BTW....especially for a phone.

Socks on the op don't hit twitched jigs either. Nice job