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Picture Of The Month



SD2OR with a trophy fall walleye

Topic: Kenai area lakes ice updates  (Read 2068 times)

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NoobHookz

  • Plankton
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  • Location: Kenai area
  • Date Registered: Apr 2017
  • Posts: 7
Figured I'd start a post on how the lakes are looking since I didn't see one already.

As of Saturday - loon, sport, longmere, sport, and arc Lake are all still frozen. The edges are melting on all but it's gonna take at least a week before they are fishable.


AKFishOn

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  • Location: Kodiak, Alaska
  • Date Registered: Dec 2015
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I hate this time in-between seasons.  Too far to drive to Whiskey Gulch or Homer to hit the salt on a day trip and no lakes are open. 
"If your hands ain't bleeding, you ain't fishing hard enough!"


Klondike Kid

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  • Location: Kenai Peninsula, AK
  • Date Registered: Sep 2016
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I usually hit Arc and Sport every couple of days while running errands around town to get an idea of what is going on at most other flat land lakes around here. Got a farmer friend bringing down 2 tons of fertilizer for his hay fields today that will give me some fresh info on how much the ice is backing off at the outlet of Kenai Lake.
The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

Take a Kid Fishing and Hook'em For Life!  ~KK~


Klondike Kid

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The cloudy weather has definitely put a halt to the meltdown although the ice is showing good signs of candlesticking. Just need a couple days of sunshine then a strong blow to loosen it up. Arc, Loon, and Sport are still where they were last Friday except the thickness appears to be about one foot now.

My friend said there was one guy in a blue kayak out on Kenai Lake and the river outlet today. It looks like the ice edge has receded back to the ADFG Markers on shore that define the 1/4 mile radius where you can use bait for fishing beyond that. Should be some lakers starting to move close to the outlet to gorge on the millions of sockeye smolt that will be heading out of the lake in May.  A 2" silver glitter scampi leadhead jig might be a producer once the migration is on.
The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

Take a Kid Fishing and Hook'em For Life!  ~KK~


NoobHookz

  • Plankton
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  • Location: Kenai area
  • Date Registered: Apr 2017
  • Posts: 7
Arc and Loon lake look like they still need about a week.....Sports lake is open on the edges


Klondike Kid

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Well NoobHookz that's it for me! Thanks for the photo update.  I was there Wednesday and it was still only a couple feet of open water. Now that is definitely fishable as far as I'm concerned. Troll a little scampi jig right next to the ice back and forth. Gotta get the kayak wet Saturday!!  I have a friend that might check out Longmere launch ramp area this weekend to see if the cove is thawing out.  BTW beadhead nymphs work pretty good on those stockers that are going through their spawning urge in the lakes right after ice out.

Sport Lake will be closed to boat trailer launching this Spring and first half of summer due to the invasive species of Elodea aquatic weeds in the lake ADFG will poison in July. They don't want boat trailers hauling plants on their trailers to other lakes to contaminate. But they did say that canoes, kayaks, and hand launched rafts will be OK to put in the lake since they have no structure to collect weeds on when they are taken out.
The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

Take a Kid Fishing and Hook'em For Life!  ~KK~


Klondike Kid

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IT'S OFFICIAL - FRESHWATER SEASON IS UPON US!

I stumbled upon NoobHookz Saturday afternoon dunking his Sea Ghost in still partially "obstructed" Sport Lake on the Peninsula. With the lake ice melting all around the shoreline it allows even the slightest breeze to eventually start moving the ice pan to the opposite side. You can see the shoreline jumble pushed up when the ice starts moving. NH was loaded for bear packing 3 fully rigged rods and an assortment of accessories to complement his ensemble. :) Apparently he has just acquired the 'yak and was itching to be the first documented open water angler on the Peninsula. He gets the HONORS for sure! I gave him a few pointers for hot spots since I frequent this body of water during the summer. Will be waiting to hear how his trip around the edges of the lake turned out since there was some ample spots to fish once you cleared the ice pan (see in the distance).

The Picnic Table & Bench photo is ARC Lake near the land fill. Its getting there! Should be fishable on Sunday even with some pan ice moving about. The open water in the 2nd pic is only 2 feet deep so it doesn't hold fish until the bug hatches begin. (This one is 2 miles from home so I dabble in it often too.) But the dump sea gulls are loving the open water to wash off the garbage gook as you can see. P.S. I release everything I catch in this lake! For good reason!

The boat ramp photo is LONGMERE Lake between Soldotna and Sterling. This one is showing much thicker rotten ice but the shallows to the left of the ramp have opened up some water along the shoreline. I'd give this one another 2-3 days depending on the wind and air temps before any water deep enough to fish is available. Didn't see any "spawners" in the shallows around the ramp yet.

I don't know how MATSU/ANCHORTOWN lakes are fairing but we all seem to be on the same timeline for most years. Others are welcome to chime in with their info for "up North" too.

TIME TO FISH~!















The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

Take a Kid Fishing and Hook'em For Life!  ~KK~


NoobHookz

  • Plankton
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  • Location: Kenai area
  • Date Registered: Apr 2017
  • Posts: 7
Sweet pics Klondike. Your spots were good but I couldn't get all the way back to the right due to ice. Caught about 10. Kept 4 that were over 12" but no fish over 14.  Lure of the day was a pink/white/green spinner. Happy to report the seaghost 130 is rock solid.


Klondike Kid

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Happy to report the seaghost 130 is rock solid.
But you forgot to mention, it makes a good ice breaker too!

Glad the ice didn't drift back and close you out for a drag through the woods to find out how that would go. LOL That back end of the lake has a hump with a lily pad patch in the center so it has always been marginal for producing anything for me.   Try hitting the lake in mid summer on a glassy calm night, get out to the very center of the lake (20') from 7p to 10p and run a dry fly until your arms fall off landing fish. The whole lake goes on a frenzy feeding on emerging chronomids just under the surface film so a #10 mosquito works well for sight casting to dimples. They are sipping. At 10pm it shuts down. They have filled up (or the hatch ends) and go off the bite.  Good memories when you hit it right on a dead calm evening. Same thing happens on Johnson Lake just past the narrows but they feed all night. One time I found myself out there in my raft on the summer Solstice fishing right through sundown and back into sunrise before I realized how late it was. Another good memory.  Some nicer 'bows in Johnson with some really beautiful coloration. Very dark with metallic gold tones. But they can be moody.
The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

Take a Kid Fishing and Hook'em For Life!  ~KK~


AOGOR

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  • Location: Anchorage, Ak
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NoobHookz,

Glad to see you were able to get out and find some open water to test the boat. Congrats on the new boat!!!

Dave
AUTHORIZED DEALER: Vibe Kayaks; Necky Kayaks; Old Town Kayaks ; Malibu Kayaks; Yak Attack; Yak Gear; EGO; Stohlquist

www.alaskaoutdoorgearrental.com
https://www.facebook.com/AlaskaOutdoorGearRental/


Klondike Kid

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I spoke with rangers at Moose Range HQ on Friday, Cinco de Mayo, and they reported that all lakes on the Peninsula, including Hidden Lake, are ice free and wide open for fishing now. Fish On!
The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

Take a Kid Fishing and Hook'em For Life!  ~KK~