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Typically I like to leave the house around 3:00 am to go fishing. I like to be there, standing beside the river before the sun comes up. The weather this morning was awesome on this August morning in Alaska. The temperature was 41 degrees.. clear skies and OMG, what a beautiful day we had in store for us.

I had to get my two teenagers up and get them ready for school which I typically do at 5 am each day so I could not leave for the creek till around 5:30 am, which meant 1. The sun would already be up when I got there and, 2. My favorite spot would already be taken.

As I drove the 30 miles to my favorite fishing hole my car kept wanting to race past the speed limit... it was a real job to keep it reigned in. To solve that problem, I set the cruise control to 55.

As I topped a hill, I was able to see one of the most beautiful sites..Denali! On clear days, you can see Mt. MKinley which is about 200 miles away.

I can never get tired of seeing this great mountain. This mountain is around 20 Thousand Feet Tall.

Anyways, as I drove to the creek... my stomach said to me I need some little thing to eat so I stopped by and got a sausage biscuit. I never eat breakfast but I was hungry and I had planned on fishing as long as I could.. atleast until noon.

When I got to the creek, sure enough, their was about 20 people there already and these 2 guys had my spot. I quickly got setup and started fishing. I had to take off my jacket and just fish in my tee-shirt as I was hot and energized.. that 2 cups of coffee mixed with adrenaline had me warm indeed.

The sound of the water flowing was beautiful and the sight of that mist hovering upn the river was breathtaking. The weather had warmed up to about 43 degrees and the sky was totally clear and blue allowing me to see for many miles. I was hoping to see our friendly beavers. We have a group of beavers that gather limbs and sticks for their den. They sometimes can be seen just accross the river from my spot.

I fished for about 2 hours and caught absotively NADA! Nobody had caught a single silver thus far this day. So, I guess I was NOT late!!!.

It was about that time when I said, Lord... I sure would love to catch a silver so I can come home with some food! It was not long when I casted out and BAM, my pole bent over and I began to fight this really nice sized silver to the shore. I was successfl in landing him and once he was safely on my stringer.. I began fishing again.

After fishing about anohter hour, unsuccessfully, I again turned to God for help. I said, Lord, I sure would like to have one more silver to take home with me for food. It was about another 3 minutes and BAM!!! I hooked another large silver!!!. After about a 2 minute fight.. I landed this one as well and put her on the stringer.

Now, I have not been fishing in Alaska but for a few months. I was standing right next to a bunch of people who have lived here for like 30 years.. we all were using practically the same bait.

Why do you think I was catching silvers while they were not???

The plot thickens.

One can only keep 2 silver salmon where I was fishing per day. So, I had my 2. I could however keep one more salmon as long as it was NOT a silver.

I decided to keep fishing... I asked the lady next to me, What on earth should I do if I catch another silver.. she said, you got to let it go.

So, I cast out and on my very first cast.. guess what, I caught a HUGE silver about 12 pounds.. the lady who has lived here 30 years and fishes just about every day, let him go for me.

Then I cast out again... guess what... My pole bent over and I caught another 7 pound silver salmon...

I then quit.. the pain of letting these huge, beautiful fish go was too much to bear for not only me, but all the 20 or so people fishing next to me who had not caught a single one!!!

Why, I ask you was I, a novice fisherman, with no particular bait, catching all these silvers while nobody else was doing so?

I can only attribute it to saying, Lord... I sue would like to catch a silver...Twice!

Below, you will see a photo of the lady who has lived here 30 years...

 
I went over to her and began talking to here. Do you know, at the exact time I was talking to her, she hooked a silver... and she had not caught one all day!!!

Some ladies from Palmer asked If I would come down and talk to them for a while... so I did.