By Nick Varney

Special to the Homer Independent Press

Finally, some upbeat news as we start feeling the tinglings and subtle smells of fall in the air as we step outside in the morning.

Yep, fishing has significantly picked up on the Peninsula and poles are poppin’.

Not only that, the set nets have been producing some fine-looking silvers, although they do get a bit touchy to anchor when the tides get freaky and strong.

For a friend of ours, things got even freakier when he brought back his net and laid it out to dry in his backyard after a successful set.

So far, pretty mundane stuff, right? Well, maybe not if, out of nowhere, a curious cow moose along with her mischievous juvenile delinquent calf enter the tranquil scene.

What started out as an inquisitive sniff turned into full scale tooth flossing as mamma chewed away on the net, going postal on the residual kelp and leaving some impressive holes that an orca could swim through.

This, of course, caught the attention of the brat who joyfully joined in on the masticating massacre rather than finish gnawing on a flag hanging from the balcony. It really didn’t care, the standard was already flatter than a porcupine trying to cross the Seward Highway during dip net season on the peninsula.

It wasn’t over yet; after the two vandals ambled off, rudely burping salt, a 2-year-old strolled right in and proceeded to work on the remaining residue, but was cool and cultured about it. The cultivated beast gently sucked on the kelp wrapped on the net like it was a smoothie then quietly disappeared.

The set net sagas continue…

Time now for the fishing report for the week of Aug. 24.

Freshwater fishing

Expect some pretty good luck fishing for coho in lower sections of the lower Kenai Peninsula roadside streams if you have a clue what you’re doing.

Cured salmon roe clusters floating beneath something akin to a steelhead float work great but flashy spinners, spoons, plugs and red enhanced flies will do the work also. Hit them in the early morning hours or at the mouth during the incoming tides.

Looking for dollies? Both the lower and upstream sections of the lower Kenai Peninsula roadside streams produced some bragging action last week. Beads and small spinners got their drool on.

Steelhead have been arriving to these streams in small numbers and have been slammed by anglers targeting silvers and dollies. Expect slow fishing for another week.

Saltwater fishing

Kachemak Bay/Cook Inlet

Halibut

Halibut fishing will likely continue to be honkin’ good next week.

Anglers are reporting whacking them throughout Kachemak Bay and Cook Inlet. Always try drifting to explore new areas and find concentrations of the fish instead of just sitting there growing moss on your keister.

If fishing is slow, try moving to a new location, duh.

King and coho salmon

King and silver fishing was fair to good last week. Both king and coho are now scattered throughout Kachemak Bay and anglers are hitting them within Kachemak Bay, along Bluff Point, and offshore.

Small troll herring or spoons behind a flasher is the hot setup, but hootchies and tube flies will also bring on slammed poles.

Surf fishing

Whiskey Gulch and Deep Creek are still the “go to” options for hauling in halibut from shore.

Oh yeah, don’t forget about fishing off the tip of the Homer Spit. It’s a fun place to catch all kinds of edible creatures and nail a few things that may attempt to chase you back to your car.

Emergency Orders

King Salmon Restrictions in Cook Inlet Salt Waters

Rockfish Restrictions in North Gulf Coast and Cook Inlet

Cook Inlet and North Gulf Coast Sport and Personal Use Razor Clam Permit Now Required

Until next week…

Nick can be reached at ncvareny@gmail.com if you have any tips, tales or a saga not generated by a malfunctioning AI site or a bottle of highly-distilled schnapps.