Life

This photo shows a Kenai River king salmon returning to the water after being released. (Photo courtesy Scott Miller)

Fishing report: King fishing returns on lower Kenai, sockeye salmon hot at the Russian

With a holiday smack dab in the middle of the week, warm temperatures and sun predicted through Saturday and fish in the rivers, anglers will… Continue reading

This photo shows a Kenai River king salmon returning to the water after being released. (Photo courtesy Scott Miller)
This photo shows a Kenai River king salmon returning to the water after being released. (Photo courtesy Scott Miller)

Fishing report: King fishing returns on lower Kenai, sockeye salmon hot at the Russian

With a holiday smack dab in the middle of the week, warm temperatures and sun predicted through Saturday and fish in the rivers, anglers will… Continue reading

This photo shows a Kenai River king salmon returning to the water after being released. (Photo courtesy Scott Miller)
The author’s catch is seen here on the bow of a boat in the Kenai River. (Photo provided by Kat Sorensen)

A banana boat

Bananas spoil quickly. One day you’ll have a bright, yellow bunch and the next, each banana will be plagued with its own brown patterns -… Continue reading

The author’s catch is seen here on the bow of a boat in the Kenai River. (Photo provided by Kat Sorensen)
The red stalks and whitish-yellow caps of yellow moosedung moss grow by Headquarters Lake on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge on July 28, 2014. (Photo by Matt Bowser/USFWS)

This moss grows in what?

When you think about where moss grows, where do you think of? Perhaps on a tree or a stump or just directly on the ground.… Continue reading

The red stalks and whitish-yellow caps of yellow moosedung moss grow by Headquarters Lake on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge on July 28, 2014. (Photo by Matt Bowser/USFWS)
The author’s catch is seen here on the bow of a boat in the Kenai River. (Photo provided by Kat Sorensen)

A banana boat

Bananas spoil quickly. One day you’ll have a bright, yellow bunch and the next, each banana will be plagued with its own brown patterns -… Continue reading

The author’s catch is seen here on the bow of a boat in the Kenai River. (Photo provided by Kat Sorensen)
The red stalks and whitish-yellow caps of yellow moosedung moss grow by Headquarters Lake on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge on July 28, 2014. (Photo by Matt Bowser/USFWS)

This moss grows in what?

When you think about where moss grows, where do you think of? Perhaps on a tree or a stump or just directly on the ground.… Continue reading

The red stalks and whitish-yellow caps of yellow moosedung moss grow by Headquarters Lake on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge on July 28, 2014. (Photo by Matt Bowser/USFWS)
A group of anglers dipnet for sockeye salmon near the mouth of the Kasilof River on Wednesday, June 28, 2018 in Kasilof, Alaska. The personal-use dipnet fishery on the Kasilof River opened Monday, with fish counts significantly behind last year and behind the 10-year average for the same date. Some fishermen were successful Wednesday, though, both from shore and from boats. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Kasilof dipnet opens, fish counts still low

The Kasilof River personal-use dipnet is open, and fishermen are trying out their nets for sockeye with some mixed luck. A few dipnetters dotted the… Continue reading

A group of anglers dipnet for sockeye salmon near the mouth of the Kasilof River on Wednesday, June 28, 2018 in Kasilof, Alaska. The personal-use dipnet fishery on the Kasilof River opened Monday, with fish counts significantly behind last year and behind the 10-year average for the same date. Some fishermen were successful Wednesday, though, both from shore and from boats. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
Coho salmon and Arctic char aggregate while feeding on sockeye salmon eggs. While coho derive much of their summer growth from invertebrates, char may rely entirely on sockeye salmon eggs, fry, and smolt. (Photo by Jonny Armstrong)

Where the coho go: Study shows river systems behave like financial investments—diverse portfolios get better returns

Turns out finance and salmon survival have something in common: the importance of diversification. As a PhD student with the University of Washington’s Alaska Salmon… Continue reading

Coho salmon and Arctic char aggregate while feeding on sockeye salmon eggs. While coho derive much of their summer growth from invertebrates, char may rely entirely on sockeye salmon eggs, fry, and smolt. (Photo by Jonny Armstrong)
A group of anglers dipnet for sockeye salmon near the mouth of the Kasilof River on Wednesday, June 28, 2018 in Kasilof, Alaska. The personal-use dipnet fishery on the Kasilof River opened Monday, with fish counts significantly behind last year and behind the 10-year average for the same date. Some fishermen were successful Wednesday, though, both from shore and from boats. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Kasilof dipnet opens, fish counts still low

The Kasilof River personal-use dipnet is open, and fishermen are trying out their nets for sockeye with some mixed luck. A few dipnetters dotted the… Continue reading

A group of anglers dipnet for sockeye salmon near the mouth of the Kasilof River on Wednesday, June 28, 2018 in Kasilof, Alaska. The personal-use dipnet fishery on the Kasilof River opened Monday, with fish counts significantly behind last year and behind the 10-year average for the same date. Some fishermen were successful Wednesday, though, both from shore and from boats. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
Coho salmon and Arctic char aggregate while feeding on sockeye salmon eggs. While coho derive much of their summer growth from invertebrates, char may rely entirely on sockeye salmon eggs, fry, and smolt. (Photo by Jonny Armstrong)

Where the coho go: Study shows river systems behave like financial investments—diverse portfolios get better returns

Turns out finance and salmon survival have something in common: the importance of diversification. As a PhD student with the University of Washington’s Alaska Salmon… Continue reading

Coho salmon and Arctic char aggregate while feeding on sockeye salmon eggs. While coho derive much of their summer growth from invertebrates, char may rely entirely on sockeye salmon eggs, fry, and smolt. (Photo by Jonny Armstrong)
Goat yoga comes to the Peninsula

Goat yoga comes to the Peninsula

Amber Harrison had few expectations when she laid down her yoga mat at the Palmer Fairgrounds last year. She came all the way to the… Continue reading

Goat yoga comes to the Peninsula
Beluga Slough, in Homer, is one of several estuaries on the Kenai Peninsula. (Photo provided by Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)

Estuaries on the Kenai Peninsula are special places

Growing up in Homer was an experience that I am incredibly happy to have had. From playing outside in the summers until midnight or helping… Continue reading

Beluga Slough, in Homer, is one of several estuaries on the Kenai Peninsula. (Photo provided by Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)
Beluga Slough, in Homer, is one of several estuaries on the Kenai Peninsula. (Photo provided by Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)

Estuaries on the Kenai Peninsula are special places

Growing up in Homer was an experience that I am incredibly happy to have had. From playing outside in the summers until midnight or helping… Continue reading

Beluga Slough, in Homer, is one of several estuaries on the Kenai Peninsula. (Photo provided by Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)
Tsalteshi Sprockets volunteer coach Morgan Aldridge leads a group of youth riders Thursday, June 14, at the Tsalteshi Trails in Soldotna. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

Tsalteshi Sprockets teach youth cycling

The present day cycling scene on the peninsula is undoubtedly strong, as evidenced by the numbers of bikers that flock to the trails and pathways… Continue reading

Tsalteshi Sprockets volunteer coach Morgan Aldridge leads a group of youth riders Thursday, June 14, at the Tsalteshi Trails in Soldotna. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)
Tsalteshi Sprockets volunteer coach Morgan Aldridge leads a group of youth riders Thursday, June 14, at the Tsalteshi Trails in Soldotna. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

Tsalteshi Sprockets teach youth cycling

The present day cycling scene on the peninsula is undoubtedly strong, as evidenced by the numbers of bikers that flock to the trails and pathways… Continue reading

Tsalteshi Sprockets volunteer coach Morgan Aldridge leads a group of youth riders Thursday, June 14, at the Tsalteshi Trails in Soldotna. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)
A pair of sea kayaks prepare to play the waters of Kenai Fjords National Park earlier this summer. (Photo by Kat Sorensen)

Tangled up in blue: A tourist in your own town

There are four negative reviews for Kenai Fjords National Park on TripAdvisor. The first is a reviewer from New Zealand. The title of the one-star… Continue reading

A pair of sea kayaks prepare to play the waters of Kenai Fjords National Park earlier this summer. (Photo by Kat Sorensen)
Translucent agates of many colors are found along Kenai Peninsula beaches with patience and luck. (Photo by Donna Brewer)

The mystery of agates

Almost everyone I know likes to search for agates along our Cook Inlet beaches. Some folks have a better search image than others, keying in… Continue reading

Translucent agates of many colors are found along Kenai Peninsula beaches with patience and luck. (Photo by Donna Brewer)
Thomas and his son Emil, visiting from Austria, try casting a line into Arc Lake on Wednesday, June 13, 2018 in Soldotna, Alaska. King salmon fishing is restricted on all the streams on the western Kenai Peninsula due to weak returns, but lake fishing and early-run sockeye fishing at the confluence of the Russian and Kenai Rivers is still available to anglers hungry to fish. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

With limited king fishing, try the Russian, lake angling

Fishing is somewhat limited on the western Kenai Peninsula streams right now, but there are opportunities on lakes and upstream. The popular sportfishery at the… Continue reading

Thomas and his son Emil, visiting from Austria, try casting a line into Arc Lake on Wednesday, June 13, 2018 in Soldotna, Alaska. King salmon fishing is restricted on all the streams on the western Kenai Peninsula due to weak returns, but lake fishing and early-run sockeye fishing at the confluence of the Russian and Kenai Rivers is still available to anglers hungry to fish. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
Christa Kennedy, a seasonal trail maintenance crew member at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, pulls in a motor boat to the south shore of Skilak Lake after a volunteer trail cleanup crew disembarked near the Cottonwood Creek Trail on Saturday, June 2, 2018 on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

A hint of wilderness

The trails crew leaders call part of the Cottonwood Creek Trail “the Enchanted Forest.” I could immediately see why. As soon as I climbed the… Continue reading

Christa Kennedy, a seasonal trail maintenance crew member at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, pulls in a motor boat to the south shore of Skilak Lake after a volunteer trail cleanup crew disembarked near the Cottonwood Creek Trail on Saturday, June 2, 2018 on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
Mark Hieronymus poses with a steelhead caught in 2014 on a Southeast Alaska river. (Photo by Tyson Fick)

Hunting for fish in Alaska’s steelhead-bearing rivers and streams

For most people, steelhead — sea-run rainbow trout — are “the fish of 10,000 casts.” To catch them, you stand waist-deep in a spring-melt river,… Continue reading

Mark Hieronymus poses with a steelhead caught in 2014 on a Southeast Alaska river. (Photo by Tyson Fick)