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RUSSIAN RIVER FALLS

If you don't know, the US purchased Alaska from Russia for 7.2 million dollars many decades ago, so many rivers and things are still names after something in Russia. The Russian river is bar-none the prettiest river in the southern part of Alaska. It's waters come from Glaciers and in the main part of the river the water is a torquoise-blue color. It's beautiful! The Russian river is about a 45 minute drive from our place and for most of the year is a fly-fishing only river. There are many tributaries to it and that's where we are in this photo. There's a place called the Russian River Falls and it's a 2.3 mile hike from this sign. It is a gorgeous hike and at the end are the falls (waterfalls). They have built look-out platforms where you can stand and watch the salmon as they struggle to jump from one level to the next, trying to make their way up the river where they spawn. You want to help them, but you can't. Not all make it - only the strongest. Once salmon have spawned they die and wash back out to sea where the halibut feast on their carcasses.

We went on the hike for 2 reasons: first, we had heard it was a beautiful place to hike and second, the red salmon were in the river, making their way up to the spawning grounds. We have several people in the photo you won't recognize. Two of the boys are Irene's sister Berta's boys, who are working for me for the summer. The other two young men are the boys of a good friend (Monica Beus) with whom we attended ASU with. They are working in Anchorage this year as bus tour guides and they stopped by to stay with us for 3 days. They are really good boys!

Hey hey. . . . looks like he has one! The first run of red salmon came into the river about 3 weeks prior to us getting here. By the time we arrived they were almost gone. Snagging is much more difficult than you would think when the fish numbers are low. They say it's much easier when the river is packed with fish.

This baby isn't getting away!! The young man helping me is Zack Beus. Zack was so excited to get in and help me net this fish he forgot he had his cell phone in his pant pocket! He has hip waders on, but as you can see, the current is moving right over the top of them. He needed an outfit like mine!

This red salmon is not red!!!! ha. That's because it has not been in the river very long. As they make their way up the river, their scales are washed away, revealing red scales underneath. This guy weighs about 5 -6 pounds. We're headed back here for a 3 day camping trip in mid-July, when 6,000 fish per day enter this river. They say there's so many in the river, you can walk across their backs to get to the other side! Should be a BLAST!!

BEARS! BEARS!! BEARS!!!

We arrived at the Russian River Falls about 11 am and had not been fishing for more than 20 minutes when a mother bear and her 2 cubs came sliding down the hill behind us. I was in the middle of the river fishing when I heard Dallas holler, " Gordon, BEAR! " As soon as I saw her I scrambled for the bank to retrieve a weapon (45 caliber pistol). There were about 4 other guys fishing this same hole with us so between 13 of us we had her outnumbered. She first came towards a guy that had 2 fish lying in the river on a stringer. He hollered at her and she backed up a little. By this time, I was out of the river and heading towards her. Everyone had their cameras out and you could hear the "clicking". With 4-5 men in front of her, she started backing up the trail alongside the river. Her 2 cubs got scared and scampered up a tree along the edge of the river. She stayed in front of them along the trail, moving towards us once in awhile to try and keep us back at a safe distance.

Cameras continued to flash and I took a moment to grab my video camera for some live footage. We all got our chance to pose with her, but one of the "native" fishermen there thought we were all crazy. He told Kimberly, "I can tell none of you are from here. You have never seen a black bear go after someone." He continued to tell her how the black bear is relentless in their pursuit and attack on a person. Unlike the grizzly, who will maul you and then walk away without finishing the job, a black bear continues to maul you until you're dead. They don't leave behind live victims. We did not know this, so we'll probably be a bit more careful next time.

You wouldn't believe all the people that hike the trails through this country with no weapon to defend themselves. We always have a weapon with us.

Seeing this black bear and her cubs was the highlight of our day. The fish we caught were just a bonus - the real prize was this mama and her cubs!!

Mama and Cubs

We all had a good time posing for shots with the mama. We are lucky she did not get upset at all of us with our cameras - standing too close to her cubs which were up in the tree just behind me in this photo.

This guy looks a bit too close! Actually, what
you don't see is a 45 pistol in my right hand.

Dallas and I both took our 45's with us on this

hike. We had heard reports that there were
bears near the river - some looking to "raid"

a poor, pistol-less fisherman's "fish catch".

In the end, we were able to chase her back with

just loud talking, telling her to "back off".

Here's a shot of the 2 cubs that scurried up the tree next to us. Their mother had left for a moment to chase back a group of about 10 fishermen that were coming up the trail along the river from the other direction. When she left to chase them back, we snuck in for some close up shots of the treed cubs. Check out his paws and feet and the branch he's got his rump plopped on! What a hoot. This was like the ultimate treat to our fishing trip to the Russian Falls. We can't wait to go again and hopefully see another bear or two.

KENAI RIVER FISHING !!

This is Jacob's "minnow" he caught in early May. He weighed in at only 10 pounds, so Jacob will be trying for a much heavier one next time.
Jacob is Berta's second oldest son, 19 and he and his older brother Michael are both here helping me with the cabins.
I think they would both rather fish the summer away, but they're planning on attending college in Seattle later this summer, so . . . bills, bills, bills!

Here's Bryson with his first King of the season. . . another "minnow"! ha. His weighed in at about 14 pounds.

Jacob caught his fish in the morning and Bryson in the afternoon. Bryson was about ready to give up and call it a day just before landing this beauty.
I think he's glad he stuck it out for a few more minutes before calling it a day!

Now this AIN'T no minnow!! Here's Michael, Berta's oldest son, with his first King ever. Michael was in the boat with Bryson and they both caught within less than 30 minutes of each other. Michael said his arm was sore after landing this brute! His King weighed in at 20 pounds, 8 pounds lighter than the king Celeste caught last year. These are the smaller Kings - all caught in late May and early June. The big Kings (averaging 35-80 pounds) return in July. Yes, this is the month. The Kings are running about a week late this year, so we haven't been out gunning for any of them yet, but we will this next week! I have 4 helpers, Dallas (Kimberly's hubby), Michael & Jacob, and Bryson. We fish from 3:30am to 7am and then get working on the cabins about 7:30 to 8:00am (it's a BRUTAL schedule. . . . but somebody has to do it!! haha) This lets us put in a 10 hour day and still have some fun catching these Salmon.

Now, none of these guys would have ever landed those big King's were it not for their exceptional fish guide. . . . . yeah, that would be ME!! ha! We have 2 boats, one is a stick outboard like this one and the other has a console with a steering wheel. Both have their pros and cons. I have Irene, Shelise, Michael and Bryson on-board with me here. We had been out about 2 hours when everyone started saying we should call it a day (this is the afternoon group). I told them there was a place in the river we had passed where I knew there were large boulders below the surface (the water swirled in that area) and I told them it would be a lucky spot if we stopped. They reluctantly agreed to give it another 30 minute shot. This is when Michael and Bryson landed their Kings. Getting your boat loaded onto a trailer, backed into a large river that is flowing fast, is a real trick! Nothing like a lake, where the water is stationary. The professional guides make it look so easy, but trust me, it is much more difficult than they make it look! After several times out on the river, I'm getting better, but I'm a long way from looking like the other guides!

I think I mentioned last time that Georgia, our most frequent visiting moose, has lost both her calves. We do have two other mothers though that still have their calves and they pass through our yard often.

Their calves are really cute and fun to watch when they walk. They look like they're walking on "stilts"!Georgia's first calf was lost to a bear and I think she lost her milk when the bear took a chunk out of her shoulder. The other calf most likely died of malnutrition. Too bad - hopefully she'll have better luck next year.

Well, I hope everyone has enjoyed the update. Cabin building progress is moving along well. I'll send more photos of the cabins next update. Hope everyone is well. Love. . . the Alaskans.