Site Logo
Nick Varney

Sports

Reeling ‘Em In: Target silvers at first light — wait: What light?

Well now, August has just about jetted through its allotment of solar days and should be deeply embarrassed…

Kids playing soccer on a sunny summer day. (Photo by Charlie Menke/ Homer News)

Sports

Out of the Office: Coaching

Sport has been a well of vitality that has nourished me since I was a young child. Growing…

Nick Varney

Sports

Reeling ‘Em In: Nick offers tips on how to fillet a silver

Its always great to receive emails from our out-of-state visitors, especially when it’s their first trip to Homer…

Sockeye salmon return to Steep Creek to spawn. Alaska’s overall commercial salmon harvest across all species is currently up 15% from 2021 (2020 for pinks) with Bristol Bay and the Prince William Sound largely carrying the weight while other regions lag, according to data from the most recent Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute weekly salmon harvest update. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

News

Statewide salmon harvest on the upswing compared to last year

Bristol Bay and Prince William Sound are mainly pulling the weight

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski speaks at the Kenai Classic Roundtable at Kenai Peninsula College on Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2022 near Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

News

Bycatch stirs debate at fisheries roundtable

Bycatch was the issue du jour at Wednesday’s annual Kenai Classic Roundtable on Fisheries.

Pilot and biologist Dom Watts collects bees at Twin Lakes as part of the refuge's pollinator survey. (Photo by Matt Bowser/USFWS)

Sports

Refuge Notebook: A summer on the refuge — Valuing a wildflower to the value of a system

I’ve never been one to be partial to favorites. But, on an overcast and rain bath morning in…

Raymond Bradbury preserves his salmon while dipnetting in the mouth of the Kenai River on Saturday, July 10, 2021. (Camille Botello / Peninsula Clarion)

News

Sockeye fishing still good in upper Kenai, slowing in lower

Northern Kenai fishing report

Nick Varney

Sports

Reeling ‘Em In: More tips from Nick on catching silvers

Now, here are a few more suggestions on how to pop those coho tumbling around the lagoon.

Raymond Bradbury preserves his salmon while dipnetting in the mouth of the Kenai River on Saturday, July 10, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion file)

News

Personal use harvest reports due Monday

Northern Kenai fishing report

Bradley Walters leads the pack up Angle Hill on Wednesday, July 18, 2018, at the Salmon Run Series at Tsalteshi Trails. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Sports

Out of the office: Race thyself

During the pandemic, I questioned the value of regular community racing and the numbers show I wasn’t the…

Some great examples of genetic diversity with Kenai River king salmon populations. (Photo by Ken Gates)

Sports

Refuge Notebook: Where have the big Kenai River kings gone?

Over the years, fishing for king salmon has provided many anglers with great memories and stories to tell…

Children ride a fishing boat onto the Kenai River during the Kenai River Junior Classic in Soldotna, Alaska, on Aug. 10, 2022. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

News

Kids take to the river

Approximately 100 kids participated in the Kenai River Junior Classic to learn about water safety and fishing

Nick Varney

Sports

Reeling ‘Em In: Hints from Nick on catchin’ cohos

Silvers loathe direct sunlight and are spooked by shadows

Raymond Bradbury preserves his salmon while dipnetting in the mouth of the Kenai River on Saturday, July 10, 2021. (Camille Botello / Peninsula Clarion)

News

Kenai River dipnetting closed; Kasilof to close Sunday

The Kasilof River dipnet fishery is reportedly slow, but fish are being caught

Mt. Redoubt rises above Cook Inlet and the Anchor River drainage as fireweed is in bloom, as seen from Diamond Ridge Road on Friday, July 22, 2022, near Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

Sports

Out of the Office: Take the long way around

“Slow Down. What’s the hurry?” reads an inscription on the Reuben Call bench at the end of the…

Take a number. The "patients" wait briefly in the trap box before being seen and released upstream to continue their migration. (Photo by Ryan Hagerty/USFWS)

Sports

Refuge Notebook: Anatomy of a fish weir — Keeping a finger on the pulse of Alaska’s salmon runs

During a routine physical exam, your doctor checks your vitals: Weight, heart rate, blood pressure and so on.…

Alaska Department of Fish and Game Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang, right, listens to east side setnet fisherman at the Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association building on Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022, near Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

News

ADFG commissioner to setnetters: Take up closures with fisheries board

The closure was triggered when the state closed the Kenai River drainage to king salmon fishing

A fisherman walks along the Kenai River near Sportsman’s Landing in Cooper Landing, Alaska, on Sept. 8, 2018. (Clarion file)

News

Sockeye limits increased on Upper Kenai, Russian rivers

The change in regulations will be effective from 12:01 a.m. on Aug. 2 until 11:59 p.m. on Aug.…

Nick Varney

Sports

Reeling ‘Em In: Fishing hole on the uprise

Mother Nature’s fiendish and sudden moves are vexing to the fishing enthusiast

Raymond Bradbury preserves his salmon while dipnetting in the mouth of the Kenai River on Saturday, July 10, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

News

Dipnetting wraps up; Kenai late-run kings still off limits

Northern Kenai fishing report