How hard should a guy work for, and how much should he pay for that dream King Salmon on the Kenai River, Alaska. If the once in a lifetime chance to fish arises I guess the opportunity is priceless. The following is the true story of Old Grizz's Kenai River fishing trip in 2002.

During the summer of 2002 Old Grizz was summoned to Anchorage, Alaska to provide his services as a Logistics Manager for the Federal Government response to spring flooding in the interior of Alaska. Old Grizz had his choice of hotels in Anchorage and picked the Millenium Hotel for its many charms including its catering to the many sportsmen coming and going to Alaska in the summer months. Checkout http://www.askmatt.com. In fact it was Matt who arranged the fishing trip on the Kenai for old Grizz. Grizz had arrived in Anchorage in late June and had told Matt to keep his eyes open for a cancellation down on the Kenai, Just about the only way to fish if you don't have reservations made with a guide early in the year. It was mid July by now and Grizz had been working 12 hour days seven days a week and the first day off was coming soon. However Matt found a cancellation in mid-week and left a message on Old Grizz's room phone to call McClure's guide service ASAP. It was 7pm on a Tuesday night when Grizz got this message. He called and was booked for a King Salmon trip the following morning leaving a dock on the Kenai at 5:30 am sharp. Grizz took the directions to the fish camp, scribbling on a small piece of paper and fortunately got a cell phone number. It was now almost 8pm and Grizz had to call his boss and ask for the day off, eat dinner, get an Alaska fishing license and salmon tag, pack his gear and try to figure out where he had to go in the morning. Alaska in July is almost 24hrs of daylight so the sun was still up when Grizz finally finished his pre-trip chores and went to bed at 11:30pm. Grizz figured if he got up at 2:30am and hit the road by 3am he could be at Kenai by 5:30am.

When Grizz walked to his car at 3am dawn was breaking and it was going to be a beautiful clear Alaskan summer day. Grizz headed south out of Anchorage on the Old Sewart Highway, window open, radio blaring, singing" O What a Beautiful Mornin". Grizz was the only person southbound and he settled his speed at 70mph enjoying the beautiful sunrise on the Turnagain Arm on his right. He kept a sharp eye out for any Moose on the highway, could ruin a beautiful morning real fast. Everything went well until he saw flashing construction flags just south of Girwood. The sign said be prepared to stop with 30-60min delays. What Grizz didn't know was that the construction was being performed at night so it wouldn't interfere with the tourist traffic. Someone forgot to tell him about this. An hour delay could make Grizz miss his appointment at the dock on the Kenai. Holy crap. Grizz couldn't even see the construction, it was almost five miles further down the road accept for the huge gravel trucks barreling past Grizz. Grizz 's eyes were riveted to his watch, and it was moving past 4am. Grizz knew he still had 50-60 miles to go and if he wasn't moving by 4:30am he would not make it. The flag car finally arrived a 4:20 am and Grizz pulled in behind it at a top speed of 20 mph. When Grizz finally saw the open road again it was 4:40am and he still had 50 miles to go. He pushed the rental car up to 85 mph and soon drove past the turn off for the Kenai. Five miles past the turnoff Grizz did a U-turn and headed back. At 4:55am Grizz was headed west towards Kenai, still at 85mph on a two lane curvy road, still with no traffic. No fishing trip is worth killing ones self for, but I never gave it a thought.

At 5:20am Grizz was ten miles from Kenai and on the cell phone talking to the McClure's people, only to find out that he had already gone past the turn off for the fishing camp. Two more cell phone calls put Grizz headed south towards the river on a dirt road. He located the fish camp that he was supposed to go to and roared into the parking lot at 5:30 am. There was a boat at the dock, with its outboard warming and a beautiful river guide called "Rondi"!

The first thing I noticed was, it was COLD! It was 32 degrees at the dock, and frost on the boat. I went to the trunk of the car and put on all clothing I could find including my rain gear. The one thing I wished I had an hour later was gloves. Three other fisherman arrived and "Rondi" moved the boat out into the Kenai like a pro, and headed upstream full throttle. The true meaning of "wind chill" became apparent almost instantly. But that was overcome by the beauty of the river, the color of the water and the promise of a glorious day. Rondi's gloves soon came off as she started baiting hooks with "roe" and preping our poles. One tough gal!

This particular day the river fishing was supposed to be HOT! The river had been closed to power boats the past weekend and a new run was in the river. The first four drifts through the holes and down-river were unsuccessful. We had hits but were unable to hookup. Most of the other boats were having problems as well. We saw Rondi's husbands boat several times and the last time we saw it an angler held up a 70 lb King for us to see. Some have all the luck.

The day started to warm and we removed extra clothing and were now fishing in light shirts. We put ashore several times for "pee" breaks, just had to keep one eye on the peeing and the other for Bears. There were many around according to Rondi. About 11am one member of our boat hooked a large King that he chose to release. He also lost a very large one earlier when a hook broke. At noon Rondi took us ashore at her fishing camp for a break, and she announced that we were going to fish all day. The trip had been booked at half a day, she canceled her afternoon appointment and told us we were going to fish until we caught fish.

The break allowed me to see the true beauty of the river and the wildness that still remained even with the cabins and boats on the river. Bears were always a problem.

We were back on the river after a 45min break and continued to make drifts. You could see the Kings and Reds on the bottom as the river was so clear. The conversation was fun and the group was super friendly. The other fishermen had fished with "Rondi" before. Catching fish was not guaranteed, but Rondi was giving it all she had. On the last drift of the afternoon, at 3:30pm I hooked my King. The other fishermen cheered me on as I struggled to keep the big fish on and Rondi moved the boat to keep it from going under it. The group worked as a team and the fish was netted and brought into the boat with a cheer. It was hen full of eggs and a little red, but a good sized King and a keeper.

Back at fish camp the fish was cleaned and packed for my trip back to Anchorage. The stress of the day had vanished and everyone was cheerful and making ready to leave. Accept Rondi's husbands group were there for the week, and were hanging out and fishing for trout from the bank. Rondi got us in the boat and took us back to where she picked us up. I left one happy fisherman.

The drive back to Anchorage was slow, and I even stopped and took a nap. I'll never drive tired again (another story)!

In the very beginning I asked "How much you would pay, for this experience?" This trip was supposed to be fairly inexpensive as I didn't make a special trip to Alaska to do it. I already had a hotel, rental car etc. The fee for McClure's Guide service was reasonable and probably cheap considering we fished all day for a half day fee.

Soooooo what about this story.

When Grizz returned to work the following day a small crowd gathered to hear my story. Successful or unsuccessful? From the grin on my face they could tell I had a super day. I was their HERO, I had taken a day off and done something they all wished they could have done. The above story was told over and over! One face in the group had a scowl and interrupted to say; Paul, you are going to pay good for your day off"! It was the comptroller, and he was a butthead, so I didn't pay much heed to him. Until I got an e-mail saying I would loose my daily per-diem, my hotel and pay for the day. I expected to loose my pay for the day, I didn't work, but the rest came as a shock. To be blunt I had such a good time, I didn't care. The issue grew as other personnel became angry that they would do such a thing to someone who had been working long hours and had permission to be off.

The cost of the fish!.........Guide service +Tip $185.00, Tip for Matt..$20.00, Alaska Fishing tags $15.00, Gas....$30.00, Days pay $300.00....Days Perdiem..$85.00....Hotel $165.00........

You know what I never added it up, cause I didn't care! It was worth it. Thanks Rondi, Mike, Matt, Dennis, and Bill! Once in a lifetime? The experience, Yes!!!