7/16 – 7/17
Reached Soldotna around noontime and set up camp at the Klondike RV Park, then I drove down the road to the Kenai river to catch salmon – Ha. The fast flowing river ( about a 15 knot current) was jam packed with other fishermen, about 1 every 6 ft, but no one was catching anything – except for a seagull which swooped down and caught a small trout. In addition to the current, the wind was furiously blowing down the river which made casting difficult and standing on the very slippery shore a challenge.
The next day we walked through the village of Kenai, which is adjacent to Soldotna, not much to see although there was a small Russian Orthodox church built in 1841 when there was a large Russian presence in the area. The church is now a National Historic Landmark. The town basically caters to the sport fishermen whose numbers could be seen wading in the surf at the mouth of the Kenai river. Drove the Kenai Spur Hwy to Captain Cook State Recreation Area and camped at Discovery campground. Fished for trout in the Swanson River and I caught, and released 3 small ones which, in spite of their size, were fun to work. I have come to appreciate using barbless hooks; it’s much easier to release the fish without injury and, in addition, it’s more fun because it requires greater finesse to keep the fish from throwing the hook.
