Into the Wild with Mike

Alaska

2010-06-15T04:36:00.002-05:00

Yes it has been awhile since I have updated my blog. So far everything has been great up here in Alaska! I have been very fortunate to be working with a great group of people this year. I have worked alot as of late, but now a burden has been lifted since my sous chef Travis arrived. He is very capable and talented. I couldn't ask for more which is great. We are having alot of fun in the kitchen so far!
I will be working to publish more food recipes on my food blog as well. I have had many requests for recipes from guests for many things I dont carry recipes for. When I write these out I will post them on my blog such as the halibut ceviche and salmon dishes I have made. More to come I promise:) I am off to bed to wake up to my second day off tomorrow....maybe some new pics of a new adventure!

Tags are Filled!

2010-05-05T21:43:00.003-05:00

Jim and I filled our Wisconsin turkey tags by 11 this morning, our first day of our season. Jim was first on the board with his 21 pound turkey at 8:30am. I shot my bird, a 24 pound Tom, about two hours later.

Gobble...Gobble

2010-04-30T10:12:00.005-05:00

I was driving home from work when I looked over and all of these Toms where strutting around some hens. Lucky for me I had my camera with me. Hopefully this is what I see in a few days when I am in the woods with my 870!

Spring Fishin

2010-04-29T08:50:00.003-05:00

Went out fishing for crappies and sunfish on Monday and Tuesday. Fishing was pretty slow on Monday, but I was able to get into a few fish on Tuesday. I did better on Tuesday by scanning the calm shallows in about 4 or 5 feet of water. I would spot the fish and then cast to them. Some would bite and others wouldn't. They were pre-spawn fish that were making their way into the shallows. Both days were very nice days to be out, I paid for it as I didn't have any sunscreen with me. John and Cassie were able to catch a few with me Monday Evening too.

New Camera

2010-04-19T22:24:00.004-05:00

So I haven't posted anything on here in quite a long time. That should change shortly. I have been without a "decent" camera for some time. Thanks to the help of my sister Emily, I am now properly equiped to take great pictures. I now have very capable camera in a cannon rebel xsi. Packing a 50 mm lens for good closeups and a 75-300mm lens, I think I am loaded. I had some great pictures last time I was in Alaska, and I cant imagine the possibilities this time.

What to do with those Thanksgiving leftovers

2009-11-24T12:52:00.001-06:00

Here are a few things you can do with those turkey day leftovers.

Monte Cristo Sandwich

2009-11-24T12:43:00.002-06:00

Ingredients:
Sliced roasted turkey meat or chunks
sliced ham (opt)
Swiss or provolone cheese slices
Bread
French toast batter

Directions:
Build sandwiches with the turkey, ham and cheese. Heat skillet to med heat. Quickly dip sandwiches one at a time in batter and place on skillet. You dont want the batter to soak all the way through the bread. Cook on skillet until golden brown on each side like you are making a grilled cheese sandwich. Serve with leftover cranberry sauce or jam.

Pear Harvest Salad

2009-11-24T12:36:00.002-06:00

Ingredients:
2 packages spring mix salad greens
4 cups cubed turkey meat
2 med pears sliced
1 avocado peeled and cubed
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds(opt)
1/2 small red onion sliced

Dressing:
6 Tbsp. cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
3 Tbsp honey
1 tsp dijon mustard

Mix together Ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk dressing ingredients and toss with mixed greens and other ingredients. serve right away.

Turkey Shepard's Pie

2009-11-24T12:28:00.005-06:00

Cut up leftover turkey meat. In large casserole mix turkey meat, leftover stuffing, leftover vegetables, and gravy. If it looks dry add some chicken or turkey broth. Spread leftover mashed potatoes over the top. Bake at 350 until golden brown.

School of Outdoor Sports

2009-11-17T21:04:00.002-06:00

Over the last few months I have been helping with some of the filming for the School of Outdoor Sports. I am proud to be of any help to this organization and I will also be using my knowledge of foods to help with a segment called "Cooking it Up" where recipes, techniques, etc are demonstrated to allow participants to create their own quality meals with the game/fish they decide to take home. Below is some information about the non-profit group. Also more information can be found at learnoutdoorsports.org

Founded in February, 2007 and set for launch on Jan. 1, 2010, the School of Outdoor Sports is dedicated to its mission of teaching the basics of fishing, hunting, and shooting to beginners of all ages. The School, initially, will be housed exclusively on the Internet at www.learnoutdoorsports.org.

All lessons are free. If you don’t have high-speed Internet access, you can request DVDs of lessons, and only charge is to reimburse shipping costs.
At the School of Outdoor Sports, we believe the... (read more)Mission:We teach the basics of Fishing, Hunting and Shooting.

Products:At the School of Outdoor Sports, information and help are our products.

We produce high quality, easily-understood lessons on the basics of fishing, hunting, and shooting. All lessons are free of charge.

Students begin by studying the Overall Basics of Fishing, Hunting, or Shooting.

Students then choose to study specific aspects–anything that sounds fun.

No student is ever “left to struggle.” Experts answer follow-up questions, to help all students fully understand the lessons.

Students who request help finding a mentor are linked to established mentoring organizations that provide opportunities for ongoing outings.

Gun Hunting Minnesota

2009-11-08T21:36:00.002-06:00

On opening day I decided to get down from my stand and go for a walk at about 9:30am. I was almost back to where I parked the fourwheeler when I noticed a deer or two scurry into the woods. I snuck up to that point, looked over, and noticed a deer standing in the woods about 30 yards. I raised my gun and at first glance I thought it was a doe until it turned its head. I saw antlers and pulled the trigger dropping the deer in its tracks with a neck shot.

Fred Bear Does its Job once Again!

2009-10-23T11:10:00.002-05:00

This buck came in minutes after using one of those doe/fawn cans. I dont know if that brought him in our not, but I am glad I gave it a try! I was dealing with swirling winds and he was about to bust me when I shot. My camera failed in the field, so these garage are what I have to show for this buck right now. I am now in the hunt for a camera...any ideas?

Fall Update

2009-10-15T13:04:00.003-05:00

Bowhunting has been pretty slow lately, but I did manage to arrow a mature doe a little over a week ago. It was a quick, clean kill at 25yds with a two bladed Rage broadhead. I have been sold on these after seeing the results the last two years.

A trip up north to Nashwauk about a week ago resulted in an abundance of grouse in front of my 870 12 gauge.

Also I will be posting a bunch of venison/upland game recipes on my food blog in weeks to come. I have been writing up and testing recipes this fall.

Pecan pheasant/grouse Salad

Pheasant/Grouse Parmesian

Deer Camera Pictures

2009-08-26T13:53:00.003-05:00

Coyote taking a dump right in front of the camera

Doe with some sort of abnormal growth

Rainy Day Off

2009-08-19T14:39:00.003-05:00

Granpa Walsh gave Jim and I almost twenty antler plaques. I sanded them, stained and sealed them the last few days. Thanks Grandpa...Hopefully we can put them to good use soon!

Visit to Last July

2009-07-16T21:29:00.005-05:00

During July last summer in Alaska was when the fishing really heated up. Here are some re posts of some of my catch. The salmon and Halibut tasted so much better fresh than after I shipped them home. They were still good, but eating them the day I caught them couldn't be any better! This summer the lodge I was at has had to deal with forest fires near by and record heat. From what I have heard their summer has been just as warm or warmer than our summer here in MN.

Fishing from the past two weeks

2009-07-07T21:59:00.005-05:00

The last few weeks I have been back up to Buck Lake a few times and have fished the lakes in the area. Over a week ago Andy and I hit up Owen lake with winds over 30 mph. We went to catch northerns and changed our plans because of the very strong winds. We hit the secluded bays that were protected from the wind. In these shallows we were able to catch some very nice largemouth bass on topwater plastic worms. We were also checked by the sherriff even though we were the only boat on the lake. In the afternoon we went over to Stingy Lake where we caught a few eater size walleyes and a few large bluegills while slip-bobbering in cabbage in seven feet of water.

This past Sunday Andy and I took Stef and Cory out on Buck for northerns. The fish were biting well on spinnerbaits and Andy even had hits on his huge muskie bucktail spinnerbait he was using. Pulling the pike through the weeds was quite the workout for Stef with the spinning rod. She liked the pulling power of the med-heavy baitcaster rod much better after.

Knight Lake

2009-06-23T22:20:00.003-05:00

With my work schedule this past week I have had odd days off. I got done with work at three on Sunday and took off to Knight Lake in Wisconsin to Brianne's parent's cabins knightlakecabins.com. They have cabins available if anyone is interested. They are located Between Merrill and Tomohawk. My stay there was short, but I had a good time with Brianne and her family. The weather was very nice and the water was warm. The only thing we could have dealt with less was the mosquitos, but they are bad anywhere you go in the country in WI or MN.

Brianne and I gave fishing a try for a short time before sunset on Monday night. I set Brianne up with a sluggo for bass, while I threw a buzzbait. Brianne had a few bites and was bit off by a northern. We could see sunfish swimming around, so I threw out a fly that I had. I ended up with my catch of the day...a golden shiner

It was too nice to not be in the water! The lake was nice to float around in since it isnt that big.

Up North for a Day

2009-06-21T09:16:00.003-05:00

I went up to Buck Lake on Thursday night leaving work in Stillwater at about 10pm. A few storms and about 1:30 in the morning I was at mom and dad's place. Friday morning I went fishing with dad and caught big sunfish, crappies, bass, and I kept about a 4 pound northern. I caught the panfish on my flyrod. I used a small fly that was black and green. I outfished dad and his live bait with the fly. I used my gloomis ventura 7 reel(My 8 weight st. croix rod is too heavy for panfish, so I put my reel on mom's new flyrod that she won. It was a softer rod that is probably about a 5 or 6 weight rod. It was fun and and it was nice not having to rebait.

Mom and I went to Stingy on Friday night and forced off of the lake for a while while thunderstorms past over us. It happened right after I caught the first walleye. The fish bit ok after the storm and we ended up keeping 7 nice eating walleyes.

I dont know what I would call it, but I caught five species of fish in one day. Maybe it is called a slam? I have done this a few time before, but it has been awhile. Friday was a great day of fishing. It was hard to make the drive back Saturday morning to go to work after the nice weather and fishing from Friday!

Nice Weekend of Fishing

2009-05-28T10:48:00.003-05:00

I took Emily and Jamie out to some of my favorite spots that I haven't fished in a couple of years. Turned out to be a good thing. This was the average size of the sunnies we caught! The next day I took Stef and Cory out and we did well in some other areas as well. The fish were prespawn and were feeding hard before they move onto the beds. I dont have any pictures, but Andy and I went Fishing with Rich and we were able to get a few walleyes that were on the small side. My thoughts and prayers are with the Patras family.

My largest Sunfish to date. A large pumkinseed that weighed well over a pound and measured about 10 in a 1/2 inches long. It was larger than my hands.

I was also able to catch some nice crappies as well. Most of the crappies were large males that were full of their

Smokie Mts in Tennessee

2009-04-23T12:58:00.002-05:00

Easter

2009-04-20T16:31:00.002-05:00

I spent the Easter weekend with Brie and her family near Milwaukee in Menomonee Falls at her grandparent's house. I was able to meet alot of her family. I had a great time with her family and they are alot like ours with grandchildren of all ages.

We had Halibut and Salmon one night for dinner

Brianne blowing out her candle on her birthday cheesecake cupcake

New Recipe Blog

2009-03-04T15:01:00.002-06:00

I have started a new recipe blog...I know some of you have been wanting me to do this. It is mikesfoods.blogspot.com

Big Gills

2009-02-27T20:34:00.003-06:00

Kept a few for dinner...maybe some coconut fried sunfish with plum sauce

Largest Bluegill I have ever pulled through the ice! Bigger than my hand, paper plate even!

10 Foods Once Hated or Feared!

2009-02-24T12:08:00.005-06:00

1. Asparagus - I used to hate it, but now is one of my favorite veggies...really good on the grill.
2. Oysters - I remember trying oyster soup that was made with canned oysters. I remember being forced to try it and you can guess the rest. I have since had fresh oysters on the half shell and smoked oysters that I liked.
3. Brussel sprouts - I remember mom and dad making them once when we were younger and I thought they were disgusting. I know many people still dont like them. Try quartering them and sautee'ing them with onions and bacon. Top them with a little honey and they are delicious!
4. Frog legs - I never imagined that I would eat something involving frogs. When I worked at the country club I made fried frog legs that were used as a garnish to a lobster salad. They were very tender and tasted great!
5. Salmon - I was never a big fan of salmon until I went to culinary school. I love in now and have had it in many different ways...beet cured salmon, baked salmon, grilled, manhattan chowder, blacked, smoked, etc.
6. Venison Heart - Never thought I would or could eat this. The last couple of years my roomate had been telling me how good they are. I finally made it this year and it was pretty good.
7. Squid - The name itself may have kept the appeal away from me. It is still disgusting to clean, but it is very good if it is cooked right and not overcooked (calmari)
8. Spinach - Mom used to make canned or frozen spinach as a side to a meal. It was mushy and I thought it was disgusting. I enjoy spinach now. I like it in stuffing, salads, or it is also good as a side to a meal if it is quickly sauteed with olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and a dash of lemon juice..mmm
9. Guacamole - I hated the mushy, blended avacodos that were often served as a side at taco joints. I like it now if it is not the blended version, a version that is more like a salsa with much flavor.
10. For those foods not tried. There are a lot of different foods that exists that I haven't tried that may be delicious or maybe I will regret tasting. Never know unless you try it.

What foods did you once hate or fear?

fishin at Red Lake

2009-01-06T21:47:00.005-06:00

18 inch walleye mom had to throw back because of the slot...

Very large Red Lake crappie I caught. I have caught many large crappies from Red Lake, but with the walleye comeback this may be my last gigantic Red laker. Because of this I decided to wrap and vacuum seal the crappie for the taxidermist. Now I will have a crappie for the wall!

For the most part the bite was really slow with a bite here and there. Between 3 of us we caught about 10 walleyes and brought home 5 eaters under the 17 inch slot. I had on the big fish of the day up to the hole, but it came off while I tried to pull it up the hole. I think it was a good walleye between 5 and 7 pounds.

Watching the Game

2009-01-04T22:49:00.002-06:00

Meat, cheese, and cracker tray I made for the game. Too bad the Vikes couldn't get er' done.

Avocado Salsa I made before the game. Brianne and Heidi really enjoyed this salsa. I don't think they have had it before.

Ingredients:

-2 seeded diced tomatoes
-2 diced avocados
-1 small onion diced
-1 tablespoon olive oil
-2 to 3 tablespoons vinegar
-1 tablespoon chopped cilantro (parsley can be substituted)
-1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
-salt and pepper to taste
-1 teaspoon lemon juice
-dash of hotsauce if you like it spicy

Mix all ingredients together and add extra garlic if preferred and/or add a little more vinegar if you prefer a more acidic taste.

Fishing Blue on the 2nd

2009-01-04T22:18:00.003-06:00

Tree I caught...don't know how I got it through the hole. I don't know how many breakoffs I have had over the years on blue while ice fishing.

Brianne and I catching bluegills in the fishhouse. She had the hot hand catching many nice bluegills. Somehow we didn't get any pictures with her fish.

One of the nice eating northerns that we caught.

Northern dad caught that was hung up on a branch under the ice. My hands were cold after reaching in to unhook it!

New years Eve

2009-01-04T22:10:00.001-06:00

FiNal DaYs At StOuT!

2008-12-18T20:19:00.006-06:00

Brianne and Me

Andy and I having a good time at my Christmas/Graduation party

Fishing Lake Menomin with Andy after my graduation.

Big Bluegill I caught while trying to stay warm.

Tis the season...

2008-12-07T16:58:00.000-06:00

It was very cold today and I was planning on going out ice fishing, but without a fishhouse with me here at school I decided I would stay warm inside today. I decided to make some cookies today. I made chocolate mint cookies with andes mints, peanut butter cup cookies, chocolate chip and reeses pieces cookies, and some chocolate crinkle cookies. I will post some pics later. They all came out great and I will try to save some for later, but I am guessing most will be gone thursday night at our christmas party. Now I am going to finish a take home acccounting exam and prepare for a mock trial I have this week. Less than two weeks to go!!

MN Gun Hunting From the Past

2008-11-05T12:44:00.001-06:00

Buck on Deer Cam

2008-10-27T12:17:00.000-05:00

Jim put out a deer cam in the area where I shot the buck last night. The camera was by one of the deer stands we hunt. We havent gotten much for good pics other than alot of does and small bucks. After I shot the buck we went and checked the camera for pics and we got these pics. The one in the dark is from 13 hours before I shot, and the one in the daylight is about an hour before I shot. It is cool to get a live shot of the deer.

Reason Why Fall is My Favorite Season!

2008-10-26T22:05:00.000-05:00

I arrowed this big buck tonight! Jim and I spotted him and we took different routes to try to stalk him. I went around one way and saw a nice buck and a doe run away from me. I thought it was him but kept working toward where I thought he would be anyway. I spotted a big bodied deer and had to crawl to get close enough and to get to cover. I peaked over and saw the buck lift his head. I saw that he was big! He was at about 40 yards, but I didn't have a good shot. I waited and a doe past him and started running in my direction. He started to follow her as she came within 8 yards of me. I pulled back and he came passed me. I folllowed through and shot him on the move at about 8 yards. We gave him a while and found him within 100 yds of where I shot. He is a very heavy deer and is already rutted up.

Pope and Young Buck I Shot Last Year with a Bow

2008-10-23T09:05:00.000-05:00

Good Times

2008-10-22T11:02:00.000-05:00

This past weekend was a great weekend that I celebrated with good friends! My buddy Mike and his girlfriend Christina came over from the cities for the festivities at Stout. It was good to see them since I hadnt seen them since last spring. It was Homecoming at Stout and is the busiest weekend all year at Stout. We had a good time and I participated in my first(and last) keg race with friends and we came in second winning a bar tab for our team. Im getting to have to many friends with the name mike. In the second to last pic it is me, Mike P, My roomate Mike A, and Money Mike a college friend of ours.

I was also tagged by Em

2008-10-21T20:38:00.000-05:00

Random Things About Me

1. I have been to the hospital more than most... stitches 4 different times(head twice,finger, foot), severed finger, knee surgery, broken thumb, heavy gauge wire impailed in ankle, lymes disease, black mold scare, etc.

2. I want to travel the world. Places I want to go are New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, Tahiti, Argentina, and many other places.

3. I was chased by a mother black bear on my bike when I was seven, and just a few years ago I was attacked by a moose while snowshoeing because of Gunny.

4. I could never give up hunting and fishing.

5. My plan is to own my own Restaurant/Resort.

6. I once had a tree fall on me.

7. I have shot 10 bucks and about that many does in the last 10 years.

Heading Home

2008-08-24T13:05:00.000-05:00

Well, my trip-adventure to alaska has come to an end. It has been a great summer, a summer I will never forget. In the last three months I have gotten to experience alot of the kenai peninsula. I have met many great people with many lasting memories. The fishing has been awesome and I have added a few more species to list of fish I have caught. The scenery and the wildlife here are something that everyone should see for themselves. As I left for Ankorage last night I was greeted with a bbq apron that my coworkers had signed for me. Many were sad to see me go and were worried about the food they would have to eat after I left. I now have many invites to different parts of the country and I know I will be accepting some offers. Back to Mn for a fews days and then back to school for one last semester.

Road trip to Homer

2008-08-08T17:23:00.000-05:00

Things worked out for the best as Joe, Jon, Brady, and myself happened to get the same day off. We had yet to have it happen this summer and we didnt think it would happen. Well it did, so we took a road trip to Homer on Wednesday night after we were done working. We left at the right time as we were able to see the sun setting over the volcanoes (Readout,Illiama). We had a great time in Homer and 4 of us managed to sleep in one tent. Just like many of my trips this summer there will be stories to tell later...

Everything is bigger in Alaska

2008-07-22T15:37:00.001-05:00

Here are some older pictures of a King Salmon I caught a few weeks ago it is a 43 inch fish that weighed close to 50 pounds. The bear behind me is about 25 yds away and I am at ground level with the bear. A few days back I slaughtered sockeye salmon on our beach here on the kenai river with my fly rod. One fish managed to spool me, so I just put on some new floating fly line. 2day is my day off, so I might have to give it a try again later.

What would Alaska be without some brown bears?

2008-07-17T01:35:00.001-05:00

Yesturday I went to our remote bear camp that is across the cook inlet from the kenai peninsula. I went with some clients and because of weather and fog our flight didnt go out for 3 hours. We were finally in the air a little after 3pm. The flight in the bush plane was interesting especially when we were over the ocean and we hit fog that was from the ocean up. I was in the front and I couldnt see past the plane or anywhere for that matter. The pilot relied on his instruments and his gps, but no radar on these little planes..kinda freaky going through the fog! Well we crossed the huge bay and hugged the coastline until we landed at the camp about an hour after taking off. While flying along the coastline the scenery was great and I could see grizzlies along the coast.

After the clients were orientated we walked behind camp to the meadow to view the bears. We climbed a platform and there were big brown bears everywhere feeding on the grasses. There were 31 bears that included 2 sows with triplets, sows with yearlings, adolescent bears, boars of all sizes, and even a grizz that was as white as a polar bear. The bears ranged from 15 yards to 400 yds away also. The largest boars probably weighed over a thousand pounds. They would chase each other through the stream and the mothers would feed near us or away from the boars, because boars will try to kill the cubs. After dinner we went out again and viewed the bears from a state park trail about 500 yds from camp. Here we had a Mother and here very small triplets feed about 20 yds away, and there were many more at about a 100 or more yards. The bears acted like we were never there and just went about their business. The cubs would make begging noises when they were hungry and mom wouldnt let them nurse. The yearlings were playing around and one of them got hurt and limbed for the rest of the time. I will have better pics later when I get some from a guest. They had multi-thousand $ cameras that were able to zoom in and take great pics of the bears.

After we got back and the clients went about their business hanging out with each other behind the electric fences, I went to the kitchen cabin and hung out with my fellow staffers were I heard some pretty good stories and encounters they have had with the bears in the past. Through the live of this camp(15 years or so) no one has been attacked. There has been encounters where they have had to yell at the bears, but only once has a warning shot had to be fired by the guide I was with.

After viewing the bears many times last night and today we were to fly back to kenai and then back to the lodge. Weather was very bad with fog and winds. We almost got stuck out at bear camp for an extra day. I wouldnt have minded for I would have had another day off, but new clients were scheduled and it would have created a mess later for them. Well the planes finally came and picked us up and we flew even more blind on the way back. I was glad to be back on the ground, other than I had to work tonight. I worked my ass off as we had the most clients we have had this year and because the head chef hadnt prepped barely anything for dinner...go figure. Well I wont go there, but i was very annoyed!

Catching some "butts"

2008-07-15T01:12:00.000-05:00

A few days ago I got to go out on the cook inlet in search of halibut. We hit a set back a few miles down the road from fishcamp...flat tire on the boat trailer! We had a spare, but the jack wouldnt fit under the trailer and the lugnuts holding the spare to the trailer were different from the lugs on tires. We only had a lug wrench that fit the actual tires. We had to wait for Kent to bring us a jack and lug wrench that would actually fit. Once me and John finally got the tired changed we headed for deep creek about an hour behind and now we no longer had a spare tire. We did well and I even managed to land a 40 pounder! I caught 4 or 5 fish and my arms were burned out. It is a real workout reeling in these fish out of a hundred feet of water with the tidal currents and the three pound weight used to get the bait down to the bottom. The seas were flat and Jeff a client from Georgia still managed to get seasick. It was a nice day, but clouds were covering the volcanoes..so no pics of them. My roomate John was the deckhand and jim was the skipper. For those of you that dont know ceviche is a type of salsa that contains fish. The fish is cured in lime juice for a few hours then is mixed with pablano peppers, onions, olive oil, vinegar, cilantro, salt, pepper. It was tasty and was a good late night snack for a few of us at camp. The next day I made some fresh ceviche' with some of the halibut I caught. Now 2morrow I am heading for bear camp to see some brown bears. They average 20 bears a day, so seeing a brown bear up close shouldnt be a problem. The flight on the bush plane should be interesting and should be able to see alot.

The fish are Biting!

2008-06-24T23:48:00.000-05:00

The last couple days here have tested me, and today was a great day to have off. I now live in a wall tent and might have to for the rest of the summer...time will tell I guess. I went fishing today with Cullen and Tom and we had a great day of fishing for kings. We each landed and kept a king salmon and also lost many more. I had the bonus fish of a much smaller sockeye which will taste very good over a fire! The king I caught today was the toughest battle I have ever had with a fish! It was about a 30 pounder and was fresh out of the ocean in the river with lots of power. It gave me a great battle and now I am going to butterfly the fillets. Even for there size,king salmon taste great and look great on a plate. Fishing will only get better and I cant wait! Ive been told about the crazy runs of sockeye and silver runs that will begin in the upcoming month. If it is what it should be it should be a great time of fishin. I have to pull some crazy hours this week, and then I get my first two days off in a row. I hope to get out to bear camp to see the bears, or maybe a little halibut fishing. It depends on open seats and what our clients are doing.

More photos from Homer trip

2008-06-18T00:41:00.001-05:00

Road trip to Homer

2008-06-17T21:43:00.000-05:00

My plan for today was to go fishing, but all of the guide boats were filled up with a huge group of Russians. My plans changed and I spent my day off going with guide Johny to Homer for guided sightseeing trip. Only one lady client was going, so the more staff on the trip the better to make her experience better. It will be a trip I will never forget and makes my journey to Alaska more fullfilling and will make it harder for me to leave at the end of August. I took many photos, many of which everyone will have to wait to see, since there are so many.

Our first stop was near deep creek off of the Sterling Highway at a Russian Orthodox Church. It had a great view overlooking the Cook Inlet. Here we saw 3 moose, which I was unable to get a photo of. Moose are like deer here and I have seen and had many close encounters. Here we could also see people down on the beach digging for clams at low tide.

Next we drove for a little while and stopped at an art gallery. I never saw myself enjoying an art gallery, but I was surprised and would say that everyone should stop here. The artist was Norman Lowell and all of his paintings were outdoor related. It is a place to see because he moved to the kenai peninsula in the late 50's from Iowa and raised a family in AK. His original homestead is still on the property and by all means is rustic. There seemed to be thousands of paintings by him in sizes from a 1 foot by 1 foot to as large as 20 feet by 20 feet. They were all originals and prices were only listed on some of the small paintings and I saw prices over $40,ooo. The cheapest prices were in the hundreds for prints of the originals that were from all different types of mediums. He is still alive and was told that he does not like to sell his stuff online. He and his wife have a large log home that they didnt stain, so it would retain a natural rustic look.

After that it was on to Homer, which in total was about 70 miles from fish camp. Here we first stopped at an overlook where we could see many mt ranges, which included active volcanic mts. that form the ring of fire.

Then it was on to a museum which showed alot about alaska. It had info and mounts of the different animal, fish, and bird species of the area. Much more also that is too much to write about. From here we took a hike down a scenic trail. To my surprise we looked to our side and a 2 year old bullwinkle was bedded along the trail. John took the our client (Adriane) ahead, while I stayed back and took some great pics. I wont tell how close I got, but the pics might give you an idea.

From there we headed to the homer "Spit", which is a penninsula that sticks out into the bay infront of Homer. It is a major boat harbor for fishermen, and is lined with shops, restaurants and camping. I had prawns and calmari rings for lunch here. They were good and were served like fish and chips, so prices weren't too bad.

After the tour of the Spit, we headed for the Homer brewery. They had 7 different brews and allowed for 3 samples each. I had a hard time choosing between an Irish ale and and a scottish brew, so I convinced the hippie behind the counter to give me another round of sampling. I would have liked to have bought a half gallon of the Irish ale...but the scottish brew was too good! Sorry walsh's.....tasted too good!

The beer was for later, so we still had to stop at a local winery on the hillside of Homer. Here we got to sample 6 of their alaskan wines. Most were sweet wines from the berrries of alaska. John was driving and Brian(another employee) was underage, so Myself and our guest (Adriane) did the sampling. The wines were good and I had a good time with Adriane. Her husband and son went fishing, while she went with us. My favorite wine was an alaskan port and a gooseberry wine. They werent too bad in price either. I think they were about $20 a bottle.

Our trip ended with a stop at the visitor center in Homer. They was some detailed exibits on the history of alaska and our country for that matter also. There were displays on the attack on dutch harbor by the japanese and other war related facts as well. We finished off at the visitor center with a 30 min video on the alluetan islands and on the war in alaska.

It was a great trip and now my Get'er'done list includes the Adventure camp with the kenai fjords, fly in bear camp, and halibut fishing in seward. Hopefully I can see them all, but I think I will at least see 2 of these before I leave. Long post, but well worth it! My suggestion is that everyone should see alaska!

Fron the Kitchen

2008-06-06T15:46:00.000-05:00

Last night was the busiest night so far. Still not busy enough for me though. We had 2o guests for dinner. I pretty much did everything for guest lunch and dinners. For dinner I made fruit and veggie platters for appetizers for happy hour at 7pm. Happy hour here is a time for guests to meet their fishing guides or adventure guides for the following day. This goes on for an hour and then we serve dinner at 8pm. I prepared blackened salmon with a white wine hollandaise, wild rice pilaf, and cheesy cauliflower. The only thing I didnt make for dinner last night was the dessert. Lisa, the head chef, was gone most of the night, but came back and made blueberry breadpudding with rum sauce. I also whipped up some last minute fettucinne alfredo for a lady that was a vegetarian.

After getting done with work at about 10 I headed back to room when fishing guides Tom(from Iowa) and Jessie(from Georgia) called me over to their cabin. Sushi was on the menu. Jessie had all the fixing for sushi and had caught a couple of sackeye salmon. Jessie made some Philie rolls and I made some sushimi with wasabi and soy. It was delicious and everyone that was around had a good late night snack. It doesnt feel so late though, because the sun doesnt set till after midnight and it comes up at about 4. It never gets pitch black though.

Fishin the Kasilof

2008-06-04T17:13:00.000-05:00

Yesturday I went fishing again for king salmon this time on the kasilof river. It is about a 45 minute drive from the lodge. Im just starting to figure out some of the many regulations that there is here. On the kasilof river some days you can keep any fish native or hatchery, while some days you cannot keep native fish. We think the regs are strict in MN, they are much more strict here. While drifting the kenai there are certain sections that you cannot fish, so we would pulls up our lines and row past certain sections that are posted as closed to fishing. I guess these are areas were they are trying to protect some spawning fish from being harvested. Well anyway back to the trip down the kasilof. We had a slow day for kings and we didnt catch any. We had a few bites and saw a few landed in other boats. We were only a few miles from the cook inlet (ocean), so the area we were fishing was affected by tides. We would use plugs during the inflow and outflow of water, and we would bottom bounce eggs during times of slack water. Ive learned alot already when it comes to salmon fishing, and I can see how it will make me better at catching other types of fish. The big runs of other types of salmon are to come, and I might even get a chance to go claming for razor clams. They are big and and you can keep 60 of them. I hear they are pretty tasty too!

Lymes disease

2008-05-27T22:57:00.000-05:00

As many of you know from family or Em's blog that I have or hopefully now "had" lymes disease. I have done some research online and my prognoses looks very well. Luckily for me it was caught early and in that case is very treatable and curable. A lot of people dont know all the facts around lymes disease and should consider checking it out. Here is some info I found....

In the early phase of the illness, within days to weeks of the tick bite, the local skin around the bite develops an expanding ring of unraised redness. There may be an outer ring of brighter redness and a central area of clearing, leading to a "bull's-eye" appearance. This classic initial rash is called "erythema migrans" (formerly called erythema chronicum migrans). Patients often can't recall the tick bite (the ticks can be as small as the periods in this paragraph). Also, they may not have the identifying rash to signal the doctor. More than one in four patients never get a rash. The redness of the skin is often accompanied by generalized fatigue, muscle and joint stiffness, swollen glands, and headache resembling symptoms of a virus infection.

What is the treatment for Lyme disease?
Most Lyme disease is curable with antibiotics. This is so true that some authors of Lyme disease research have stated that the most common cause of lack of response of Lyme disease to antibiotics is a lack of Lyme disease to begin with! The type of antibiotic depends on the stage of the disease (early or late) and what areas of the body are affected. Early illness is usually treated with oral medicines, for example, doxycycline (Vibramycin), amoxicillin, or cefuroxime axetil. Therefore, if a person finds a typical "bull's-eye" skin rash (described above) developing in an area of a tick bite, they should seek medical attention as soon as possible. Generally, antibiotic treatment resolves the rash within one or two weeks. Later illness such as nervous-system disease might require intravenous drugs, for example, ceftriaxone (Rocephin).
For the relief of symptoms, pain-relieving medicines might be added. Swollen joints can be reduced by the doctor removing fluid from them (arthrocentesis). An arthrocentesis is a procedure whereby fluid is removed from a joint using a needle and syringe under sterile conditions. It is usually performed in a doctor's office. Rarely, even with appropriate antibiotics arthritis continues. It has been suggested by researchers that sometimes joint inflammation can persist even after eradication of the Lyme bacterium. This has been explained as an ongoing autoimmune response causing inflammation of the joint that was initially stimulated by the original bacterial infection. The doctor also can inject cortisone into swollen joints or use oral medications, such as ibuprofen (Motrin, Nuprin), to reduce inflammation and improve function....

I was treated with a 14 day treatment of doxycyline, plus I was given a faster acting antibiotic via an IV that was specifically given to me in to combat the bacteria from lymes disease. Good call by the Dr., since my illness did indeed result from lymes.

Floating the Kenai

2008-05-27T21:49:00.000-05:00

After finding out last night at about 10pm that the guides had an open spot on a boat for me, I was in a mad dash to get a king salmon stamp. Today was my day off and with few clients in house I wanted to get out on the water. The only problem was that I had a heck of a time getting a stamp last night. The plan was to start fishing by 6 am, so I had to have the king stamp last night. Luck would have it that someone offered to drive me into the nearest town where I was able to purchase a stamp before midnight. The Fishing today wasn't the most fast and furious, but will be a fishing excursion I won't forget especially after landing a 46 1/2 inch king salmon that weighed about 5o pounds. My largest fish to date! We were on the water for over 9 hours and between two drift boats we landed one king salmon and a few rainbow trout, including my first rainbow. The king salmon I caught would have made a great meal (probably many meals), but all kings between 46 and 52 Inches have to be released. Great day On the Kenai!

2008-05-26T16:39:00.001-05:00

Here is my first picture from the deck overlooking the river in front of my room.

First few days

2008-05-26T16:30:00.000-05:00

Now that I have gotten settled in here in Alaska at Great Alaska on the Kenai, I thought I would show a few pics. So far, it has been a little chilly here, but everthing else has been great; scenery, people, and whatever else.