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The Kenai River, Alaska

Of all the great rivers in Alaska, none is better known or attracts more visitors than the Kenai River, on the Kenai Peninsula. It is one of those rare "world class" fisheries. In this webpage we hope to tell you why. We will also give you information on how to fish it for the several different species of salmon and trout.

THE MAJESTIC KENAI RIVER -- A BRIEF OVERVIEW

The Kenai-River Watershed is located on the Kenai Peninsula in South-Central Alaska (see map below).

The Kenai-River Watershed occupies about 2,200 square miles of diverse landscapes, including the Harding Icefield, glaciers, large lakes, high mountains, and extensive lowlands. Although it has extensive tributary contribution from upstream, the name "Kenai River" begins at the outlet of Kenai Lake. The unique character of this most special river derives from two main factors: First, a great part of the summertime streamflow comes from the Harding Icefield and its several glaciers. This massive "reservoir of ice" produces vast quantities of meltwater during the summer, giving the Kenai River greater summertime flow than during any other season. This would be great for fisheries, except that the glacial meltwater is very dirty--absolutely loaded with ground-up glacial sediment. All this sediment would be very bad for in-river spawning, were it not for the huge Kenai Lake. This brings us to the second factor. Kenai Lake is so large it settles out all of the coarse glacial sediment. It is unable to settle out the colloidal-size sediment, however, which gives the River is beautiful aquamarine coloration. The Lake cleans up the river nicely, and has capacity to spare. The Lake itself is a great rearing area for Sockeye Salmon (which Alaskans call "Reds").

Map Credits: U.S. Geological Survey, Water Resources Division.

Upper and Lower Kenai River Map Credits: From "Kenai River," part of the "River Journal" series (Vol 2, No 1, 1994), published by Frank Amato Publications, PO Box 82112, Portland, OR 97282. We greatly appreciate use permission.

From Kenai Lake the River flows freely for 17 miles, at which point it passes through 15-mile long Skilak Lake, another great nursery area for Sockeye Salmon.

From Skilak lake the river flows another 50 miles until it reaches Cook Inlet at the city of Kenai. The total length of the Kenai River is about 82 miles.

The section of the river located between Kenai Lake and Skilak Lake is referred to as the "upper" Kenai River. The section located between Skilak Lake and the Sterling Highway Bridge in Soldotna is locally referred to as the "middle" Kenai River; and the section from the Soldotna bridge to Cook Inlet, is the "lower" Kenai River. Alaska Department of Fish and Game, in their fishing regulations, however, refers to all of the River below Skilak Lake--the lower 50 miles--as the Lower Kenai River. Because the fishing regulations are so important, we'll use their convention.

The average river gradient for various sections of the Kenai River is provided in the following table:

River Section	Length (mi.)	Gradient (ft./mi.)
Kenai Lake to Skilak Lake	17.3	13.9
Upstream Skilak Lake to Naptowne Rapids	10.5	3.3
Midstream Naptowne Rapids to Soldotna Bridge	19.4	5.4
Downstream Soldotna Bridge to Cook Inlet	21.0	2.6
Total Miles	68.2	--

Almost the entire Kenai River above tidewater is incredible spawning and rearing habitat for salmonids and trout. The glacial meltwaters provide exceptional summer water supply, and the lakes clean up the glacial meltwaters and make them very suitable for spawning and rearing. The River has some of the most accessible and productive fisheries in the state of Alaska.

The Kenai River is truly exceptional. It is now the only river in the world to consistently produce King Salmon in such large sizes. An average Kenai King Salmon will weigh about 40 pounds, and great numbers of 50 to 60 pounders are caught every year. Many 70 pounders are landed every year, and usually a few 80 pounders are landed. Once every few years someone catches one in the 90 pound size range. The current World's Record King Salmon (97.25 pounds!) came from this River.

I'm not boasting that every King Salmon we catch in the Kenai River is over 40 pounds. That is not the meaning of average. Half the fish caught weigh less than 40 pounds. Which means that the other half--the top half of the average--weigh 40 pounds or more! Where else in the world do you get such high odds on giant King Salmon like this?

But that is far from the end of the Kenai River story. This great river has huge runs of supersized Sockeye Salmon ("Reds") as well. It also has good runs of Silver Salmon, which are also inordinately large, as compared to Silvers from other rivers. Every even numbered year the River has so many Humpback Salmon ("Pinks") in it that they become a nuisance--hammering every lure or bait you put in the water-- making it more difficult to catch the Kings, Reds, and Silvers. (Throw me back into that briar patch!)

Besides these fine anadromous fish, the Kenai River has some of the biggest, fattest Rainbow Trout you'll ever hope to catch. (You'll believe me when you see my pictures of Kenai Rainbows.) They get so big feeding on the super abundant salmon eggs, salmon fry and smolt, and on the flesh of dead salmon. Dolly Varden also feed voraciously on these salmon morsels, and are absolutely easy to catch, if you learn to present your "salmon morsel" imitating flies to them properly.

What else can I say to make you understand how special this river is? How about, "All these fisheries are wild stocks!" It is true. These are not hatchery fish with weak genetics and weak fighting characteristics. The Kenai River fish are all wild fish, and they are also mostly bigger than their cousins in lesser rivers. These are tough, hard fighting fish. I desperately hope that the State's biologists never, ever begin a hatchery program on this great river! I'm all for proper management of the wild stocks we have now, but not for suplementing them with any weakling hatchery stock.

For these reasons I think the Kenai River is one of the finest fisheries Alaska has to offer. After exploring the rest of the information we have provided on this website about this great river, I think you will agree that one river can provide it all. Come share our love of this great river.

THE LOWER KENAI RIVER

The Lower Kenai-River, as defined for this webpage, is the lower 50 miles of river--from the outlet of Skilak Lake to the mouth of the Kenai River at the city of Kenai, Alaska, where the River empties into Cook Inlet.

It is this lower 50 miles of the Kenai River that I fish exclusively. I have nothing against the Upper River. It is gorgeous, and fun to fish. But, all of the fish species I target--Kings, Silvers, Sockeye, Rainbows, Dollys, or Pinks--are also in the Lower River in greater numbers and larger sizes. The Upper River has Lake Trout that I can't find in the Lower River, but I don't target this species.

Following is another map that shows campgrounds, boat launches, and day-use areas along the Lower Kenai River. These are just the City, State, and Federal facilities. There are scores of private RV parks and campgrounds, lodges, bed and breakfasts, and cabins available along this reach of river; far too many for me to list them here. I provide this listing because many of these facilities provide river access, which will be discussed shortly.

On the Lower Kenai River I have heard of people occassionally catching a King Salmon from shore and landing it. Usually it happens when they are fishing for Sockeye or Silvers, because knowledgeable fishermen simply don't target the big Kings from shore.

My guess is that for every King successfully landed from shore, another 99 free themselves after breaking the angler's line, and often his/her rod too. Imagine for a minute that you snagged into an 80-pound log floating down the middle of this big, fast river. It would be very hard to pull this inanimate log back up against the current to land it. Now, add the power of a mighty King Salmon to that log, and you can see that the fight is extremely one sided, in the salmon's favor, especially because it is nearly impossible to chase a hooked fish downstream any distance due to the dense vegetation on the shoreline, right to the water's edge. For this reason, about 99 percent of all Kings caught in the Kenai River are caught from boats.

There are great boat launch ramps distributed throughout the Lower Kenai, most of them shown on the map above. Once you know the River, you can fish it with your own driftboat, cataraft, or even a cartopper aluminum boat. I don't advise anyone to launch their boat and explore this big, fast river without first having accompanied an experienced riverboat guide to learn the ropes. It is not like fishing your local pond or small lake. Currents in the river can be very fast, huge, barely submerged rocks lie in wait for the unwary, and sweepers line the banks in many areas. The water is cold, coming from glacial meltwater lakes. Fun and excitement can turn to tragedy in an instant. I'm not trying to scare you too much, but I do want to adequately impress you that you need to learn something about the river before you venture onto it in your own boat.

Sockeye, Silver salmon, Rainbows, and Dolly Varden can all be successfully angled from shore. But to do that, you must know where you can get shoreline access. Much of the riverbank is privately owned, and much of the publically owned shoreline is far from any roads. For this reason, you need to seek out the public access sites listed on the map above, or else stay at a lodge, cabin, hotel, or RV park that offers shoreline access as part of their package.

Most of the public access sites have installed steel grated fishing "boardwalks" along the riverbanks. This was done to stop shoreline trampling by the thousands of bank fishermen who visit the Kenai each year. The shoreline protection has been wildly successful (see my writeup about it; last button under the "Kenai River" tab). You will usually have a choice: fish from the boardwalk, or wear chest waders and enter the river from the boardwalk and fish there. The latter is by far the better method during the Sockeye Salmon runs. Most of these public boardwalks were installed from three to four feet above the river's water level during the height of the salmon runs. They were installed this high to protect them from the ravages of the current during flooding. Unfortunately, they are hard to fish from for Sockeye Salmon. For this reason, during the Sockeye Salmon runs a good set of chest waders will give you a big advantage over the fishermen who are boardwalk-bound.

THE UPPER KENAI RIVER

The Upper Kenai-River, as defined for this webpage, is the upper 32 miles of river--from the outlet of Kenai Lake to the outlet of Skilak Lake. (see map below).

Following is a map that shows campgrounds, boat launches, and day-use areas along the Upper Kenai River. These are just the City, State, and Federal facilities. There are scores of private RV parks and campgrounds, lodges, bed and breakfasts, and cabins available along this reach of river; far too many for me to list them here. I provide this listing because many of these facilities provide river access, which will be discussed shortly.

The Upper Kenai River is "Fly-Fishing Only" waters, and is permanently closed to fishing for King Salmon. Even though you cannot fish for Kings in the Upper River, there is plenty of fishing here--for Sockeye, Silvers, Rainbow trout, and Dolly Varden. Because it is fly-fishing only, it attracts lots of fishermen who prefer to catch their fish by this means. The waters are highly productive, and when the salmon runs are on, even beginner fly fishermen have a great chance of catching some very fine fish.

The most famous fishery of the Upper Kenai River takes place at the mouth of the Russian River, which enters the Kenai River at about river mile 72. Each year tens of thousands of Sockeye salmon--called "Reds" by Alaskans--return to the clear waters of the Russian River to spawn. As many as one thousand fishermen per day come here with their fly rods to catch these feisty salmon.

To fish for the Reds, you will need fly rod and reel, leader no lighter than 20 pound test, and 30 is better, chest waders, and a good pair of glasses for eye protection. Fishermen will be lined up side by side in so-called "combat fishing" formation, casting in unison, trying to catch their Reds. When a Red hits a fly, about two out of three manage to free themselves, throwing hooks and lines wildly; thus the need for good eye protection. This is no joking matter. Many fishermen lose the sight of one eye each year because they ignore this advice.

Why the very heavy leaders? Because this is combat fishing. If you let your fish run 100 yards downstream and then the same distance upstream, you will possibly tangle the lines of about 20 other fishermen. You must, therefore, control your fish, which requires very heavy leaders. Besides, exhausting a fish on too light a leader is decidedly unsportsmanlike if you intend to catch and release. Hook 'em, land 'em, and quickly release 'em if you want them to go on living.

SHORELINE PROTECTION

The Lower Kenai River's two biggest sport fisheries are King salmon and Sockeye salmon. Each of these fisheries creates its own impacts on the river, as explained below.

The King salmon of the Kenai River are huge. Boats are usually used to fish for King Salmon here because the Kings generally hold and travel in the deeper waters nearer to the center of the river. But there is also a second very good reason for using a boat. Even if you manage to hook a trophy King from shore, it is extremely unlikely that you will successfully land it; perhaps 1 in 100 are successfully landed from shore.

Because it takes a boat to land a King, on a busy July day, there can be several hundred boats on the Lower River pursuing these trophy fish. All these boats create a problem along the shorelines. The wakes from all these big riverboats constantly wash over the shoreline, and seriously erode any areas unprotected by vegetative cover.

Since 1986 boat motor restrictions have been in effect. One restriction limits the boat motors to 35 horsepower to help reduce boat wake damage to the river banks. A second restriction is that there are some sections of the river where motors are not allowed. (These sections were not necessarily closed to motors in order to protect the shoreline, but that has been one of the beneficial affects.)

Sockeye salmon fishing creates and even greater impact on the riverbanks. Thousands of fishermen line the Kenai River's banks to catch these wonderful fish. The Sockeye migrate very close to the banks as they head upriver for the spawning beds, making bank fishing for them much more effective than fishing for them from a boat. All these people trampling the streamside vegetation and clambering into and out of the water soon denude the shoreline vegetation. In some areas the banks turn to mud. Erosion increases. Powerboat wakes that hit a denuded shoreline cause even more severe erosion. Amazingly, where riverbank vegetation is thick and healthy, the powerboat wakes create very little erosion. Thus, the Sockeye fishermen damage the protective vegetative cover, and the King salmon fishermen's boats wash the soil away. All this sediment entering the river can ruin prime salmon rearing habitat. Also loss of shoreline vegetation removes hiding places for salmon fry and outmigrating smolt.

In order to protect riverbanks from trampling, the ADF&G (Alaska Department of Fish and Game) has done two things: First, they required campgrounds, RV parks, and resorts that offer public river access to install elevated walkways--usually made from open-faced steel grating (see photos this page)--for fishermen to fish from, thus avoiding the trampling of shoreline vegetation. Secondly, they have closed certain shorelines to bank fishing, or fishing within 10 feet of the river bank, from July 1 to August 15 of each year. To learn more about what shorelines are closed, and what areas remain open to bank fishing during this time period, read the special ADFG publication <here>.

Ask any person who has fished the Kenai River for a couple of decades, and they will tell you that these shoreline protection measures have been wildly successful. Areas that were once totally denuded now support luxuriant shoreline vegetation. Sure the protection measures create some inconvenience for fishermen, but they are well worth the inconvenience if they help us preserve this most special river and its incredible fish productivity. Kudos to ADFG for this excellent program. Please do your part by respecting and abiding by the shoreline protection measures.

CHINOOK SALMON (KINGS, TYEES, BLACKMOUTHS, SPRINGERS)

Okay, so you understand that the Kenai River consistently produces the largest King Salmon of any river in the world. But just how big are these fish?

Average Kings from the Kenai River weigh about 40 pounds. The 50 pounders are merely considered good solid fish. Scores of 60 pounders are landed every year. Lots of folks have caught 70 pounders. A few 80 pounders are caught each year. Every few years someone catches one weighing over 90 pounds.

We are not talking about just a few fish each year. From May 15 to July 31 each year, the average number of King Salmon migrating up the Kenai River is over 50,000 fish. In 2005, the early run was over 12,000 Kings, and the late run was over 35,000 (by July 31 when the season closes). In 2003, the late run alone was over 52,000 Kings! That is a huge number of giant fish passing the fish counters at river mile 8.6. Sports fishermen harvest thousands of them from the River each year; in fact, the harvest is about one-third of the total.

Following is a table showing the largest sports caught King Salmon on record. Notice just how many of them come from the Kenai River:

THE NINE LARGEST SPORTS CAUGHT KING SALMON ON RECORD:

Weight (lbs.)	Year	Water body	Angler	Angler's home
97.25	1985	Kenai River	Anderson	Soldotna, AK
95.63	1990	Kenai River	Plautz	Aloha, OR
93.00	1977	Kelp Bay	Rider	Southeast AK
92.50	1959	Skeena River	Wickman	Terrace, BC
92.25	1985	Kenai River	Cato	Eagle River, AK
91.63	1988	Kenai River	Moeglein	Soldotna, AK
91.25	1987	Kenai River	Luton	Soldotna, AK
91.00	1995	Kenai River	Kaping	Auburn, CA
90.31	1993	Kenai River	Thompson	Anchorage, AK

If the fishing is so good in the River, doesn't it stand to reason that the fishing is even better in Cook Inlet, before the fish enter the river? It is an extremely good question. And I know the answer, but I don't know why the answer is true. The answer is no. Scarcely 500 of these giant kings are harvested from Cook Inlet by sports fishermen each year, in contrast to 12,000 to 15,000 per year harvested in the River. I do not, however, know why the sports catch is so low in the saltchuck. I just know that it is.

Somewhat related but not causative is the statistic that commercial fishermen harvest more of these giant King Salmon annually--as supposedly untargeted, incidental "bi-catch"--during the commercial Sockeye Salmon season than all the King Salmon harvested in the River by sports fishermen. The commercial fishing is exclusively in Cook Inlet, as commercial fishermen are not allowed to fish in the River. Clearly, the gill netters are better at catching these prize fish in the saltchuck than are us hook-and-line guys. But I don't know just why. Perhaps someone who does know will drop me a line?

Why are the King Salmon of the Kenai River so big? The simple answer is because they stay "out-to-sea" longer than most other King Salmon from other rivers. Typically, the King Salmon fry will spend 1 year in fresh water. Then they migrate out to sea.

Some Kings will spend only 1 year in salt water, returning as sexually mature but very small adults, called "Jack Salmon." The Jack's are almost all males. They can successfully spawn and reproduce, so they are "undesirables" in the Kenai River, as they promote a population of runts. Hence, Alaska Department of Fish and Game allows sports fishermen to keep up to 10 of these "Jacks" per day, in addition to the regular King Salmon harvest. I personally recommend that you keep any Jacks you catch. We don't want them reproducing in the Kenai River. Why would anyone want to encourage a "runt" population by catching them and releasing them to spawn?

Still other adult salmon spend 2 years in the saltchuck, and return as 3-year old fish. These Kings range in weight from about 10 to 15 pounds, and are as big as the average Kings in many rivers in the lower 48 states. So far as we are concerned, these are still undesirable fish in the Kenai River. But, if you keep one of these, you are done fishing for King Salmon for the day, because they count against your daily and annual legal harvest. Hence, most of these fish are released unharmed to spawn and raise more of their kind. This seems a mistake to me, which could be corrected by proper slot limits in the allowable sports harvest. Next time you talk with your Alaska Department of Fish and Game representative, ask them why they don't change the rules on these fish?

Many of the adult salmon returning to the Kenai River spend 3 years in the saltchuck, and return as 4-year old fish. These Kings will weigh from 30-45 pounds, and comprise much of the lower half of the annual return, in terms of size class.

Many other adult salmon return to the Kenai River after spending 4 years in the sea, and return as trophy class adults. These Kings will weigh from 45-65 pounds, and constitute most of the upper half of the annual return, in terms of size class.

Finally, there are the giants, the few King Salmon that spend 5, 6, and possibly even 7 years in the sea, and return as monsters, the "Kings of the Kings," weighing in at 70 to nearly 100 pounds. These giants are not numerous, but there are enough that lots of 70 pounders are caught every year, and usually a few 80 pounders. Every few years, a 90-pound class fish is landed.

Some day some lucky sports fisherman will land one weighing over 100 pounds. Not only will he/she be the happiest fisherman in the world, the money he/she will make from commercial endorsements should easily top half a million dollars. Ahh, the stuff dreams are made of! (My personal biggest is 71 pounds, and I still dream of--and will catch--a bigger monster.)

How do you catch one of these trophy Kings?--I could write a whole book on this topic, but I think I can distill my knowledge into a few paragraphs. It may surprise you that I don't start off talking about proper rods, reels, lines, and terminal gear. Believe me, that is not where a successful trip starts. These are essentials, but not the primary essentials. Another Alaskan professional guide on the Kenai River,Greg Brush, has distilled the essentials so well I will give you his advice. (You can find his full article in the May, 2005 issue of Fish Alaska Magazine.) Here is a distillation of what Greg Brush had to say about the essentials (with a few expansions of my own):

If you truly want a trophy King, you must fish where trophy Kings are caught with some high degree of frequency. You cannot find a better trophy King fishery than the Kenai River. Period.

Trophy Kings don't exactly jump onto your hook. There are scores of places in Alaska where you can catch 10 to 30 pound Kings until your arms are sore. Most of these are fly-out fisheries, but they exist. If you want a trophy King, however, you need to think about giving yourself a fair chance. Leave yourself enough fishing time that you can release the 30 and 40 pound Kings and continue fishing for a bigger one. Too many Alaskan tourists book half-day fishing trips and are dissappointed that they don't catch that trophy of a lifetime. Every year some of these half-day clients do land trophies, but the odds are against it.

Timing is everything. Many different sources publish statistics on the average number of hours it takes sports fishermen to catch a King Salmon from the Kenai River. Some say 20 hours on a guided boat. Others say 11. Both could be good numbers, but they certainly are not the best numbers. It all depends on the time period in which you collect your data. The season is open from May 15 through July 31, but not every day of this time period has equal probability of success. The Kings come into the River in greatest numbers right about Neap Tide (the opposite of Spring Tide) for both the early run and the late run. That's right, they swarm into the river when the tidal range in Cook Inlet is lowest. If you use this simple fact to time your trip, you can hugely increase your odds of success. Your odds will be far better than the season-long averages. Of course, every other fisherman who has done his homework knows this, so if you want to book a trip with a guide during these times of maximum probable success, you will need to do it in early January before other fishermen get around to it.

To continue on the topic of timing, take note of the fact that none of the salmon in the Kenai River are resident species as adults. They are ocean denizens until it comes time to spawn, and then they enter the River at very specific times. If you visit the river at times other than when they are migrating, you can fish until your toes grow roots, and not ever get a salmon. If you want to catch salmon, use the run times provided in this website to plan your trip. If you have to plan your vacation at times when the salmon are not running, then don't waste your time trying to catch them in the rivers. You won't succeed. Seek them out in saltwater instead. You will find them there.

Go with a guide who consistently catches fish. In Alaska, you can become a guide without knowing much about catching fish. There is a huge difference between success rates of the best guides and the worst guides. If you find a guide who has openings during the height of the King Salmon run (right about Neap Tide), you should ask yourself why he/she has not been fully booked for months? It could be that he/she is just starting out, and knows little more than you about the River. Or, it could be that a very good guide had last minute cancellations, and you were just fortunate to call at the time the cancellation occurred. If you get a chance, peek at their booking log. Or ask how many years they have been guiding. You should get a good idea.

Last, use top notch equipment. These are wild salmon, and they are much bigger than the fish most of us are used to catching. It is almost a certainty that your old walleye rig is not up to the task. Buy the very best big-salmon outfit you can afford. Your rod should be an 8- to 9-foot heavy weight (20-50 pound line class). Your reel should be a casting reel--no spinning reels for these big brutes--filled with 30 to 40 pound test line. Your leader should be 40 pound test minimum, and many guides are more comfortable with 50-pound test leaders. You'll understand the need for such heavy leaders when you look inside the mouth of one of these toothy monsters. A 30-pound-test line will land them, but if you use a 30-pound-test leader you are dangerously close to losing a trophy fish. If you fish with a guide, use his/her equipment, and leave your outfit at home. The guide's equipment has stood the testing of many trips, and will perform properly for you. Can you be sure yours will do the same?

Now that we have learned the basic pre-trip essentials that Greg Brush recommends, we can discuss terminal gear and fishing techniques. Lets start out with the terminal gear. We'll start out with how to rig the "fishing" end of your main line first.

Rigging Your Main Line--Once you have attached your fishing reel to the rod, and threaded the main line through all the rod guides, you are ready to rig the "fishing" end of your main line. First, slide a 1/4-inch plastic bead onto the main line. Follow it with a 3/8-inch nylon "slider"--to which you will later attach you fishing wieght or diver. Next, add another 1/4-inch plastic bead. Finally, tie on a size 3 swivel, using either the Trilene knot or the Palomar knot. Your rigged main line should now look like the picture to the right (click the photo to see a bigger view). The bead at the top prevents the nylon slider from jamming into the top eye of the fishing rod if/when you excitedly reel up too far. The bead at the bottom protects the knot from being frayed by the nylon slider. The swivel is the end of the main line rigging. The duolock quick snap shown at the bottom is tied to the leader, and is not considered part of the main line rigging. With the quick snaps pretied onto the leaders, the leaders can be changed quickly without having to retie any knots.

Rigging the Jet Diver or Lead Ball--The current in the Kenai River is quite swift. So you need a reliable way of keeping your bait or lure right down on the bottom as you fish these swift waters. Two ways work quite well: Luhr Jensen Jet Divers and lead-ball weights. You can attach either to the nylon slider on your main line. Here are pictures of both weight setups. (Click on the photos to see expanded views.) I like to use about a five inch leader for lead balls, and about a three inch snap and bead swivel connector for the Jet Divers. You can experiment with these lengths, but don't get them too long, because the Kings travel right near the bottom of the river. Note that I use duolock quick snaps or similar snaps on both ends, so I can change the weight arrangement without retying the dropper leader. Also note that the Jet Diver is rigged on a slider instead of hard fastening it into the line. This is far superior for playing a big King, as the Jet Diver is free to slide up and down the line instead of staying fixed near the fighting fish. This way you fight the fish directly, not through the Jet Diver.

Rigging the Lures and Baits--I've heard stories of huge Largemouth Bass being caught on hot dogs, of Brook Trout being caught on gummy worms, and Steelhead Trout caught on pink plastic worms. I have no doubt--given enough time--that I could catch a big King Salmon on each of these unusual lures as well. But it would take more time than I'm interested in investing in the venture. My advice is that you first start out with the "tried and true" methods that have proven to reliably catch Kings. When you finally become so good at it that you are bored, then try the hotdog.

Probably 95 percent of all Kings harvested from the Kenai River by sports fishermen are caught on an unbaited Spin-n-Glo, a Spin-n-Glo and salmon roe combination or on a Kwikfish lure--either unbaited or with a Sardine wrap. These are the four terminal setups I will explain, starting first with the plain Kwikfish and plain Spin-n-Glo, since only unbaited lures or flies are allowed during the early season for Kings.

Unbaited Kwikfish--Start with a K-16 or K-15 Kwikfish. Remove both treble hooks, because treble hooks are illegal in the Kenai River for King Salmon. Fasten a size 3/0 Siwash hook to a size 5 swivel. Then fasten the swivel and hook to the tail end of the Kwikfish. Leave the center screw eye empty, because only one single hook is allowed for King Salmon fishing in the Kenai River. That's it.

Unbaited Spin-n-Glo--Start with a very high quality 6/0, 7/0, or even 8/0 salmon hook, such as the Gamakatsu or Owner brand. (Current fishing regulations specify that the hook must be single pointed, and only one hook is allowed.) Snell it to a high grade 40- or 50-pound test monofilament leader of about six foot length. If you don't know how to snell a hook with an egg loop in the leader, see how it is done <here>. I use Maxima clear line for my leaders, but other high grade brands are suitable. Now, add three 1/4-inch beads to the line. Then add a size 0 or larger Spin-n-Glo, with the tapered end threaded onto the line first--so the tapered end is closest to the hook. Then add one more 1/4-inch bead. This is the basic Spin-n-Glo setup for the big Kings. You can wind the six feet of mono leader around your hand, and secure the mono with a bag tie until it is ready to use.

When you are ready to use the Spin-n-Glo rig, you will need to look at the river's clarity. If you can only see into the river about one or two feet, use a short leader, say 36 inches overall, cutting off the excess three feet and storing it for later safe disposal. If the river is quite clear, with visibility on the order of three or four feet, use the full 6-foot long leader. There is no absolute rule here. You'll just have to experiment with leader lengths. Shorter is always better if you can avoid spooking the fish. You need longer leaders in clearer water because the fish are more easily spooked (by the Jet Diver or lead ball coming downriver towards them) when they can see further.

Spin-n-Glo with Salmon Roe--Start with the basic Spin-n-Glo rig described above. Cut off part of a skein of cured salmon roe, about the size of a half dollar. Push the hook point through the center of this glob of eggs, making sure it goes through the skin portion of the cured skein. Now, expand the egg loop and loop it around the glob of eggs, and retighten the loop. That's it. You're ready to fish. Change the bait every 20-30 minutes so you are presenting the freshest enticement possible.

Sardine Wrapped Kwikfish--Start with a K-16 or K-15 Kwikfish, modified as described above. Cut a small filet of Sardine, about one inch wide and two inches long. Split it halfway lengthwise. Lay the filet--skin side to the lure--over the center screw eye. Now wrap the filet with stretch thread to keep it firmly in place. That's it. You're ready to fish. Change the bait every 30-40 minutes so you are presenting the freshest enticement possible.

Now that your gear is ready, and you are fully rigged, we are ready to go fishing, and talk about four specific fishing techniques--Back trolling, back bouncing, dragging, and anchoring up.

Back Trolling--To back troll, the boat captain positions the power boat facing upstream, and applies just enough engine power to keep the boat stationary in the river's current. Lines are let out, and positioned 50 to 60 feet downstream of the boat. Then the skipper slacks off on engine power just enough to allow the boat to slip downstream at about 1 mile per hour or perhaps slightly more. The River's current is running at perhaps three to five miles per hour, and the boat is going downstream too, but not nearly as fast as the river current. Because the boat is trolling downstream, and backwards, it is called back trolling.

The terminal gear is most often a sardine wrapped Kwikfish or a Spin-N-Glo with eggs. A Jet Diver is used to get the terminal gear down to the bottom, and keep it there. Most guides love this method of fishing, because rods are placed in their rod holders, and if the terminal rig hits a big rock, the line will slack, and the Jet Diver will pop to the surface, freeing the rigging.

Back Bouncing--This method is exactly like back trolling, so far as the boat's positioning and control is concerned. The only difference is the terminal gear. For back bouncing, the Jet Diver is replaced with a round lead ball weight, usually of between 3 to 6 ounces. The fishermen hold their rods, and pump the rod tip up every few seconds sufficient to lift the lead ball weight off the bottom and then dropping the rod tip to let it hit bottom again. This pumping assures that the lead ball works downriver at the same speed as the boat, but also imparts a fish attracting action to the bait. Back bouncing is a lot of work, and it takes some skill to do it effectively. Once mastered, however, it is highly effective, and can out produce back trolling in the hands of a skilled practitioner.

Dragging (also called Drifting)--In certain reaches of the River, where flows are uniform and slow, dragging can be the best way to fish. To drag, you need a dropper weight, on about a 6-inch leader. The weight can be a round ball, but even better is a banana weight, like the ones used for ocean salmon trolling, only in this application one end remains free--it is just a dangle weight off a 6-inch dropper leader. Position your boat sideways in the current, and cast your line upstream. Allow your boat to drift downstream at current speed. Use your boat motor only to move across the current one way or the other, and to keep your boat sideways to the current. The current, being faster on the top of the River than on the bottom, will push the boat downstream slightly faster than your bait is drifting. Soon the boat will be dragging the bait downstream.

You can cover much water very rapidly with this method of fishing, and it is extremely effective in areas where the current is not too fast; i.e.--mostly in slower sections of the lower 12 miles of the River. If you "drag" in current that is too fast, the bait zips by the fish before they get a chance to inspect it and inhale it.

Anchoring Up--In many other rivers, finding a nice King Salmon holding spot and anchoring just above it is a favorite way of fishing. From the anchored boat, the bait or lure is lobbed downstream into the holding spot, and the anglers sit back and wait for a "take down"--that exciting moment when their fishing rod bends down, and a big King is hooked. It works well on the Kenai River too. But it is highly unsportsmanlike to "anchor up" in many places and situations on the Kenai River. Why? Because it has so much boat traffic, and so many fishermen anxious to fish the good waters too. By general agreement, boaters do not "anchor up" in the River below the Soldotna Bridge, particularly during July. Back bouncing, back trolling, or dragging gives everyone equal opportunity, and is the best behavior in a crowded river. So don't anchor up and be a "hole hawg" below the Soldotna Bridge during King Salmon season.

Above Soldotna Bridge on light fishing days, it should be okay to set your anchor and fish a hole. But if you start seeing fishing boats go by and its occupants are giving you a disgusted look, take it as a strong clue that you should change your fishing tactics. Sure, you can hold anchor and ignore them. But, all excuses aside, you (and they) have to know that this is most unsportsmanlike behavior.

Later, during the Silver Salmon run, most boaters anchor up. Boat traffic is down to five percent or less of what it is during the peak of the King Salmon runs, and anchoring up is a reasonable way to fish under these conditions. Sometimes you will see a floating buoy just above a favorite fishing hole. It means one of two things:

• The lucky angler has caught a fish, and has "thrown anchor" and is downstream fighting the fish. He/she will soon be back to anchor up again. In this case it is highly unsportsmanlike to take over the fishing hole while the other boat is gone. In fact it could well lead to a fight. So, be a good sport, and find another fishing hole.
• Some "hole hawgs" leave their anchor and a floating buoy in favorite fishing holes, hoping to discourage others from using "their fishing hole" when they are away--for lunch, to pick up a new set of clients, or even overnight. Ignore their buoy and anchor there anyway. These "hole hawgs" need to know that even polite sportsmen will not stand for this kind of behavior.

Tying your boat off to the shoreline and getting out to fish the shoreline for Sockeye is always acceptable--provided you are not in one of the Shoreline Protection Zones.

River Etiquette--Because the River has so many boats on it during the height of the King Salmon season, certain conventions have evolved so that everyone gets equal opportunity, and so that a person who has a fish on can land it without interference from other boats. The first convention is that if someone in your boat hooks a King, all the rest of the same boat's fishermen immediately reel in their outfits and stow them out of the way, leaving an entirely clear deck for the happy angler to use as needed. Second, someone grabs the landing net, and holds it upright--a universal signal to other boats that your boat has a fish on.

The skippers of other boats, upon seeing the raised net, immediately give you wide berth, and those within the potential reach of your fighting King immediately get their fishing rigs out of the water so as not to entangle your fish.

If entanglement occurs so fast that it cannot be avoided, then the person whose line got entangled with the one the fish is on should immediately cut their own line. That is right--the happy angler has on a fish of a lifetime, and no terminal gear is worth potentially causing him/her to lose it. Good sportsmen will cut their line immediately, and consider it a gift. This is not idle talk. I watch it happen every day, and good sportsmen do it cheerfully.

Finally, once the initial surge of the fighting King is over, the skipper of your boat should move your boat out of the deep water being fished by other boats, and lead the King into shallow water along the sides of the River. Of course, the fighting King may decide not to be led into the side waters, and little can be done to force it there if it refuses. But it is always sportsmanlike to move out of the way of other fishermen if you can.

As for other good behavior, keep a sharp eye out at all times so you don't let your boat interfere with the fishing of other boats. This means, get into "synch" (synchronization) with the speed and movements of the other boats instead of trying to set a different pace. If you really want to fish differently, do so on the outskirts of the boats that are all fishing in synch. It may be great to listen to syncopated music, but it is definitely unsportsmanlike to be syncopated while fishing for Kenai Kings.

Okay, you hooked, fought, and netted a fish you think you want to keep, but have not really made up your mind yet. Leave it in the water, in the net until you decide. Once you lift the fish out of the water, the law says you may not return it to the water. (This is the ADF&G regulation regarding Kenai Kings, but it makes good sports sense for other species as well.)

If you decide to release the fish, remove the hook quickly, if it is easily reached, and release the fish from the net without lifting the fish out of the water. Some folks think that any part of the fish still in the water means it has not been lifted out of the water. Legally this might (or might not) be true. But reality demands that the fish's head remain underwater except for a very brief time. Remember that all the time you have a fish's head out of water, the fish is suffocating. You can hold your breath for about 3 minutes without passing out. But if you had been strenuously exercising--literally fighting for your life--just prior to holding your breath, you'd possibly die within 3 minutes instead of just passing out. Your fish is already very seriously stressed; don't exacerbate the stress by suffocating the fish too. Keep the fish's head below water, except for the few seconds it takes to grab the hook with pliers and get it out, then get the fish's head back under water.

Sometimes it is better to leave your hook in place and cut the leader. If the hook is deep in the fishes gullet, or it looks like it will tear vital tissue by being removed, simply cut the leader near the hook and let the fish go with the hook still imbedded.

If the hook has torn the gills or other vital organ, and the fish is bleeding profusely, harvest it--it is the right thing to do. Sure, the fish is smaller than you'd hoped for, and it means you are finished fishing for the day--you cannot take more than one King per day. But will a true sportsman release a doomed fish just so he/she can seek a larger one? I think not.

Processing Your Fish--So, you have netted, examined, and landed a fish you want to keep. If it is a trophy you intend to send to a taxidermist, take photos immediately, if the real appearance of your fish matters to you. Good photos will help the taxidermist match the true colors of your trophy. If you don't intend to send your fish to a taxidermist, all the more reason to take pictures--so you preserve on film what will fade in your mind. Do it while the fish is in its best color. Once it lays in a cooler or fish box for several hours, it will not look the same, or as nice.

If your fish is going to be food for you (instead of being food for your taxidermist after he skins it), there are several steps you can take to assure it is the highest quality food. The first is kill the fish immediately--either by bonking it on the head with a fish whacker, or by inserting a knife blade into its brain. The first method is far more sure, and less dangerous for you. The less the fish flops, struggles, and gasps, the more of its ATP (adenosine tri-phosphate) is preserved, and the fresher it will taste.

The second step is to cut the fishes gills, to drain all the blood out of the meat. You would never think of killing a cow, deer, elk, moose, or pig for food without bleeding it; yet many people never realize it is equally important to bleed a large fish. The difference in the quality of the fish is astounding if you immediately bleed it. Quicker is definitely better. If you wait long enough for the blood to start to congeal in the blood vessels and flesh, you need not bother.

The third step is to gut, gill, and chill the fish as soon as possible. Do it right away if you can. If not, do it as soon as possible. Where length slot limits are in effect, the law does not allow you to cut up a King Salmon while still on the river, "in such a manner as to prevent measurement of its length." This regulation means you must leave its head and tail intact but it does not prevent you from gutting the fish and removing its gills.

Most Kenai King Salmon are too big to fit into coolers, so do the next best thing available to you: Put the fish on ice in the fish box of your boat if it has one. If not, at the very least, wet a burlap bag and cover the fish with it. Evaporative cooling from the wet bag will preserve your fish much better than leaving it uncovered.

I don't see anyone hanging big Kings over the side of their boat on a stringer. But I do see many Sockeye and Silver Salmon hanging in the water on stringers. The popular myth is that the Kenai River is so cold it keeps the fish preserved almost as well as a refrigerator. This is, however, untrue. Check the U.S. Geological Survey's records of summertime water temperatures in the lower Kenai River. The usual temperature range of the river water in July is from lows in the 50s to highs in the 60s. These are hardly refrigerator temperatures! The sooner you can cool your fish down to 32 degrees, the better it will taste later. So, given the option of storing your Sockeye or Silvers on a stringer in the River, or dropping them into a cooler on a bed of ice cubes, chose the cooler. Your palette will thank you.

(What follows is mostly for out-of-state visitors who need a fish processor to take care of their fish, although it may apply to some Alaskans as well.) Once you have caught, bled, and cooled your fish, you still need to process them for long-term storage. If you chose to use one of the several commercial fish processors in the area, here are a few hints to help you get the most for your money and a satisfactory product as well:

• Before you use a fish processor find someone that endorses them. Unfortunately it is a business where quality of work varies widely. I happily endorse Tim Berg's Peninsula Processing on Kalifonsky Road, and Custom Fish Processing on Kenai Spur Road. (I get no kickbacks of any sort.) I am familiar with one in Soldotna and withhold endorsement. There are some others in the area, but I have no knowledge of them personally.
• If you take a whole King Salmon to any processor, they'll happily charge you by the pound (whole weight) to reduce that fish to meal-size packages. If you gut the fish, cut off its tail, and cut off its head, you will get exactly the same number and weight of meal-size packages, but your cost will be 40-percent less because you will have removed 40-percent of the weight of the fish--all waste anyway--before you took it to the processor. Their per pound charge remains the same. If it is not worth the hassle to gut, head and tail your fish, then go ahead and pay the processor the extra $15-$30 to process the whole fish.
• Obviously, the further you process your own fish, the less it costs when you ask the commercial processor to vacuum pack and freeze it. You can, however, make the mistake of going too far. If you vacuum pack your own fish, and then take it to the processor just for freezing, the per day freezer charge will quickly be more than if you took filets to the processor and let them cut them into sections, vacuum pack and freeze them--and you just don't pick them up for a few days.
• Make sure your processor allows you to keep your own fish, instead of an equal amount of "exchange" fish. It is easier for them to process many fish, and then divvy up the pieces in proportion to the starting weights, so they'll strongly encourage you to take exchange fish. But, before you do this carefully consider the situation. Your fish has been well cared for; bled and gutted, and kept cool. Most others are not. Besides, perhaps yours was a bright, fresh, beauty, so fresh from saltwater the sea lice were still hanging on. Some of the others coming to the processor are old, red, soft, and held for hours and hours without cooling. Get the picture? If yours is one of the old, red, and soft ones, and you didn't bleed it, gut it, or keep it cool, then go for the exchange fish. If, however, yours was bright and fresh, insist on getting back your own fish. Insist that your receipt clearly says "Wants own fish; no exchanges," otherwise you may be surprised and have no recourse. It has happened to me; despite asking for my own fish when I took them in. I took in gutted and headed fish, and got back fair weight--but almost every piece I got back was thin tail sections. That was certainly not a reasonable exchange--at least not from my side of the exchange. Someone else got the choice, thick pieces.
• If you paid for vacuum packaging, make sure all of your packages retain a vacuum seal when you pick them up. If not, ask the processor to reseal them on the spot. I don't mind the occasional seal failing, but when 30 to 50 percent of the packages have air in them, I won't pay for it until it is made right.
• I hate to have to say this, but know your "yields." Following is a yields table for various species of fish: --Yield Table goes here-- If you take in a whole 70 pound King for processing, and the processor removes the guts, head, tail, and backbone, you should get right at 35 pounds of filets (skin on) or 31 pounds of filets (skin off). The tables are not exact for individual fish, because they are the averages from many fish. The normal variation, from fish to fish, however, is just plus or minus a couple of pounds from these averages. If your fish looked skinny, then you should expect a bit less. If it was a very fat fish, perhaps a bit more--unless it was a female loaded with 6 pounds of ripe eggs. So, you get the point: it isn't exact, but it is fairly close. If the processor does not give you a weight of your fully processed fish, ask to have it weighed, just to make sure what you are getting back is near the poundage you expected. If it isn't ask them to make it right with you. It is really easy for one of the workers in the processing plant to throw one or two packages into the wrong customer's box, bin, or sack. It is bound to happen, considering the huge numbers of fish they process each day. So an honest processor will give you fair value if you complain. Curiously, however, a few processors seem to produce lower yields most of the time. Perhaps they hire sloppy workers who leave pounds of meat on the backbone, instead of shaving it down close like a professional would? Or perhaps they sell product "skimmed" from customer's fish? Regardless, you are paying for a professional job, and you have a right to expect it. So it is wise to know your yields.
• If your processor did a great job, be sure and let your friends know. If your processor did a bad job, be sure and let your friends know. Most of the fishermen they serve are from out of town, so word doesn't get around unless we go out of our way to make it happen. How else can we reward the worthy and punish the unworthy? Do your part to reward the good performers in this business.

COHO SALMON (SILVERS)

After the July 31 closure of King Salmon fishing, the hordes of fishermen quickly dissipate. Not too long thereafter most of the RVing tourists start thinking about heading back South. The long and the short of it is that just when the Silver Salmon fishery in the Kenai River starts cooking, there are very few folks left to fish it. This is bad for those who leave, but great for those who stay. It is like fishing an entirely different river. So few boats, so few fishermen. This is one of my favorite times on the Lower Kenai River.

So lets talk about why you should stay and fish for Silvers on the Kenai River? The fact that the hordes of King Salmon fishermen have departed is one big reason. The solitude on the River is truly enchanting. But an even better reason is that the Silver Salmon of the Kenai River are big and brawny, and easy to catch. And when you catch one, watch out! They are jumping acrobats of the finest order. When you have a 12-pound buck Silver jump five times in the first few seconds of feeling your hook, now that is excitement.

But another great reason for fishing when the Silvers are running is that the Rainbow trout are absolutely gorging themselves on salmon eggs at this time of year. You can double up, and catch both Silvers and big Rainbows.

A boat is helpful for catching Silvers, but it is by no means essential. Scores of Silvers are caught each year by bank fishermen. Silvers can be found all across the River, but they tend to be in shallower water than the giant Kings. The Kings seek out the deepest holes. The Silvers tend to frequent shallow to medium depth water. I have noticed that the Silvers right next to the riverbank tend to be smaller ones than the ones that are in medium depth water. But this is just a tendancy, not a rule. Every year some really big Silvers are landed by bank fishermen.

Use a medium-wieght salmon rod, one with a 12-20 pound weight rating. Twenty-pound test line is plenty heavy. You won't be "combat" fishing like during the Red Salmon season, so you can let your fish run more. It is much more enjoyable to let the fish run.

The Gear To Use--Terminal rigs are identical in setup to those used for Kings, only using smaller hooks and smaller rigging. Where the King Salmon bait would be a big Spin-n-Glo and a silver-dollar size dollop of eggs, a rig for Silvers would be a small Spin-n-Glo and a quarter-size dollop of eggs. Just size everything down.

Every year scores of Silvers are caught on Pixie spoons cast from shore, and on eggs plunked from shore. It has always seemed to me that the bait is less important that the time of day one fishes. Silvers are very light sensitive. Very early morning--like right at dawn--or very late evening are the best times to fish for Silvers--usually. Overcast and rainy days are better than bright, sunny days. A rising barometer is better than a falling one.

If you fish for Silvers by casting spoons, you will know without a doubt when you get a strike. It will be savage and strong. If you fish bait, however, watch for slack line. Silvers often pick up an egg bait and swim upstream with it. Your line goes slack, slightly. If you are not watching your line, the current soon puts a bow in the line, and the slackness disappears. Then the Silver swims a bit further upstream, and your line slacks momentarily again. An inattentive fisherman may never see this slackening and tightening, and when he decides to check his bait, suddenly a Silver jumps out of the river upstream of him. These jumpers are often lost, as the line has a huge bow in it, and the fisherman simply cannot set the hook properly. Keep a sharp eye on your line, and if it momentarily slackens, tighten it gently and feel for the pulse of a fish. If you feel any pulse at all, bury the hook and hang on.

In the sections on King Salmon and Red Salmon I talked about promptly killing and gilling your catch, so I won't repeat it all again. Just go to those sections and read it if you have not read it already.

Although you can very successfully fish for Silvers from the riverbank, you really owe it to yourself to get out on the River with a guide at least one time during the Silver Salmon season. The River is uncrowded and the fall colors are starting to set in. It is an experience everyone should have at least once, to be on this great river when few others are. Your guide will stop at a favorite fishing area, set anchor, and shut off the boat motor. Silence sets in. You stay quiet and just let the wilderness soak into you. It is good for the soul.

Hopefully we can keep some of this great river the way it is for future generations. We think we are so important. Then we get out on the River, alone, and in the silence. We feel the timelessness of the river's flow. We get in tune with the moods of nature. We sense the awe of being witness to the marvel of salmon runs that have repeated themselves for tens of thousands of years. By this experience one is either humbled, and senses the importance of keeping this great marvel alive in some of our rivers--or one is simply a hopeless boor. I am a realist, and I know that development must come to many areas of our country, and it will come to many areas whether we want it to or not. But if we let development overtake all of nature's marvels that are not already locked into National Parks, then we will be the poorer for it.

SOCKEYE SALMON (REDS)

What Salmon species gets the greatest fishing attention on the Kenai River? The giant King Salmon, right? Wrong!

The Red Salmon, as Alaskans call the Sockeye, is the winner by a huge margin. And with good reason too. An average King Salmon will weigh 40-50 pounds, whereas an average Red Salmon will weigh 4-7 pounds, but this small species is turbocharged and nitro injected. Pound for pound, if giant King Salmon fought like Reds, you couldn't land one with the tackle we use today. Kings fight a very strong fight; but Reds, pound-for-pound, are in a different league.

Many fishermen think a big Rainbow Trout is just about the best fighting machine they've encountered. They are grand fighters, but they are not the best fighters. I've said it elsewhere, and I'll say it again, a Red Salmon of equal weight, fresh from the saltchuck, will fight circles around a Rainbow Trout.

I remember my first experience fishing for Reds in the Kenai River. I had come to Alaska for business, and heard that the Reds were in Cook Inlet and about to enter the River. Locals told me it was an excellent fishery for beginners, and if I could get on the river when the run started coming in strong, I would expericence fishing like nothing I'd ever experienced before. How right they were.

I finished my business appointments on Friday, and hit the Kenai River early on Saturday. I was fishing at Centennial Park, right in Soldotna. Locals told me the fish had just arrived in the River the day before, and they were hot, hot, hot. So I rigged up like the folks at the Trustworthy Hardware store told me, and confidently waded into the River, shoulder to shoulder with locals. People right beside me were catching fish, one after another. I caught nothing. How frustrating!

I thought I was fishing just like them, but obviously they were doing something I was not. So I just quit fishing and watched. Pretty soon I saw it; they were not just drifting their fly downriver with the current, like I had been. No, they were drawing the fly back across the current at a fairly steady pace. And, they were waiting just a bit after casting, so their fly could sink right down to the river bed.

I started fishing again, and whammo, I had on my first Red. It was like no fish I had ever caught before! It was a big buck (male), and he jumped about 4 feet into the air right in front of me. I was so shocked at how high he jumped, I was totally unprepared for his next move. He jumped right at me, and splashed water all over me. Then he swam around the back side of me, and I was all in a dither trying to get turned around so the line was not wrapped around me! Too late. He hit the tight line and snapped my 20-pound leader like it was mere sewing thread. I stood there shocked and trembling, but more excited about fishing than I had ever before been.

I lost my next two Reds. They each jumped three times in less than three seconds, and managed to throw the fly out of their mouths. But I landed my fourth Red, and not long after another. I lost several more, and finally landed my third and last Red for that day. Fishing Reds has been a love affair ever since for me.

Red Salmon migrate into the Kenai River every year in great numbers. The migration starts in mid-May, but doesn't reach good (reliably fishable) numbers until late June to early July. The run of Reds into the Kenai River usually swells to between 20,000 and 80,000 fish per day by late July. The ADF&G (Alaska Department of Fish and Game) usually starts the Red season with a daily bag limit of three fish per day, but by mid season they usually increase the bag limit to six fish per day. Can the Kenai River bear such large sport harvests? Absolutely. ADF&G makes sure that several hundred thousand Reds escape upriver to spawn before the bag limit is relaxed, thus assuring that each year the spawning beds produce all the Red fry as they can bear.

Despite the great numbers of Reds harvested by sports fishermen each year, the sports harvest amounts to about one percent of their total harvest. Subsistence fishing accounts for about twice as many Reds, but commercial fishing accounts for a whopping 97 to 98 percent of the total harvest. You can release the fish you catch if you have no use for them, or if it makes you feel better, but the facts prove that it is a misguided feeling. Even if ADF&G were to double the late-season bag limits to an astounding 12 fish per person per day, the sports harvest would still be less than two percent of the total harvest. I don't advocate such a raise in bag limits, as it would surely promote wastage, but I use the example to illustrate the point that if the runs of these magnificent fish ever wanes, the real solution lies in curtailing the commercial catch. Fortunately, the runs are very healthy, and even this latter discussion is academic. What is not academic is that you can feel good about keeping your daily catch. You are not harming the future viability of the Reds in the Kenai River.

If you doubt my facts or are interesting in total Alaska salmon harvest data for all years of record, or you are interested in Alaska's "salmon politics" more information is available. Click here it see more on this topic.

Well enough of just talk. Lets get down to how you can catch these magnificent fish.

How to Catch Kenai River Reds--First and most obvious, you can't catch Reds unless they are in the River. Mature Reds spend most of their life in saltwater, and only a brief period in freshwater. You must fish for them when they are in the River if you hope to catch them. I'll discuss "Salmon Timing" later on this webpage.

Proper Sockeye Gear--Once you settle on fishing dates, start gathering the proper gear. You'll need a stout salmon rod. I recommend one of the new graphite salmon rods, of 8 1/2 ft. or 9 ft. length, and designed to handle line weights between 12 and 30 pounds. Yes, the fish are only 5-8 pounds on average, but you are not "overgunned" with a rod of this stout measure. Trust me on this one. These are turbocharged fish, with nitro burning carburators, and they know how to use the swift, deep currents of the Kenai River to maximum advantage. And you will be fishing close to many other fishermen--making it essential that you control your fish.

Equip your rod with a casting reel if you have one. For such strong fish the level wind casting reel is a distinct advantage. Big spinning reels will work, but expect to lose more fish, and spend more time straightening twisted line after one of the big buck Reds strips out 100 feet of line off your spinning reel. Whether you use a casting reel or a spinning reel, fill the spool with no less than 30 pound line. Ridiculous? No. If you fish with 15 pound line, you'll snap your line about every second fish, and more than that if you are not an expert fisherman. Trust the voice of experience on this, even if it runs contrary to your better judgment.

Next, lets turn our attention to your terminal rigging. Start by tying a #8 three-way swivel to the end of your 30-pound line. To the far end of this swivel you will tie your leader, to which is attached your fly--bot don't do that just yet. Instead, tie a 15 pound test dropper leader of 12-inch length to the swivel end that strikes out perpendicular to the line and leader. To this dropper leader, attach a lead weight of about 1 ounce. Some fishermen use round lead balls on the dropper. Others use teardrop sinkers. Others use hollow-core pencil lead of about 1/4 inch diameter and about 4 inch length. I favor the latter, but scores of others are just as successful as me using the other weight designs.

Now, we turn to the fly and leader. If you are fishing in one of the "fly-fishing only" areas, your fly cannot have a shank to hook-point gap greater than 3/8 inch. Check the fishing regulations carefully, and don't forget this important point. The game wardens are unsympathetic if you forget. If you are fishing areas not having this restriction, use hooks with larger gaps. They offer phenomenal advantage against these turbocharged fish. I personally use regular 3/0 salmon hooks and turn them into "flys" by adding a bit of yarn to the snell. Not only are they far cheaper--and you'll lose a lot of them--but they are markedly superior.

Snell your 3/0 hook onto a 20 to 30 pound leader of about 48 inch length, using an egg-loop snell. If you don't know how to snell a hook with an egg loop in the leader, see how it is done <here>. Once you have snelled the hook onto the leader, your leader will be about 40-43 inches in length. Attach this leader to the swivel on the main line, using a Trilene knot, making sure the final length of your leader is right at 36 inches. Leader length is very important. If it is shorter than 30 inches you will seriously reduce your success rate. The same goes for leaders longer than 40 inches.

Now attach a bit of yarn to your hook, using the egg loop to hold the yarn. Less is better than more. I use a 1 1/2 inch bit of yarn, set half way into the egg loop, thereby leaving two 3/4 inch tails of yarn. My favorite color yarn is bright pink, but other fishermen swear by chertruse, or bright orange, or red. The truth is that color may matter when fish are scarce, but when there are 20,000 fish migrating upriver per day, the fish will strike any color. As always, presentation is far more important than yarn color.

Where to Fish for Reds--Your rod, reel and terminal tackle are now ready to fish. Now you need to prepare yourself to fish. If you will be fishing off of one of the public "boardwalks," just go fishing. If you are lucky enough to have a place where you can wade into the river, then you need to put on your chest waders before you get into the water.

Wading is far better than most boardwalks. If you must fish from a boardwalk, try and find one that is very close to water level, or even slightly submerged. The City of Soldotna has installed several boardwalks, all 3 to 4 feet above the water, which makes it very hard to fish the proper technique for catching Reds. Let's assume you have chest waders, and have a place where you can legally wade into the River.

Reds run right next to the riverbanks. They will stay in water about 2 1/2 foot deep or deeper, so you don't want to wade out very far at all. Many novices wade out right past the migrating Reds, and fish the deeper water, while the Reds migrate upstream behind them! This is no joke. I see it all the time. So wade out no deeper than rivers edge unless you are in very shallow water, and then no deeper than about 30 inches.

Now we come to the hard part. Presentation technique is everything. Get it wrong, and go fishless. Get it right, and you will limit out.

Presentation--As I said before, presentation is everything. Subtle differences make the difference between an expert and a novice. Here is the list of things you must pay attention to:

• Where you are fishing, relative to shoreline (near or far).
  
• Depth of your weight and fly (leader length, weight of sinker, tightness of your line).
  
• Speed of your retrieve (slack line drift, tight line drift, cross current drag).
  
• Speed at which you respond to a take (instinctive, immediate twitch or "Oh, that might be a fish!")

We'll discuss these four essentials one at a time.

First, you must understand that even though the Kenai River is between 150-300 feet across, the Reds don't seem to know it or care. They are like cows on a path. They all migrate upriver in definite paths. Those paths are very, very close to shore, along each bank of the River. I don't know exact numbers, but I'd bet that 95 percent of all Reds are in these two paths, and the other five percent are scattered across the River. Obviously, if you fish right in their pathway your chances of success are about 20 times better of catching Reds. Of course, if "just fishing" is your goal, and you really don't care if you catch any Reds, fish anywhere you want. But if you want to catch Reds, you must fish where they are. I wish I had a photo of some of Alaska's clearwater streams when the Reds are migrating. You can see them lined up in "paths" along each side of the river. It is truly amazing to see.

So, either fish from shore, or wade out just a tiny bit. Wade out too far, and the Reds will actually pass behind you! Keep your casts very short. It may sound crazy, but my rule of thumb is that if you have out more than 15 feet of line--from your rod tip to the fly--you are fishing too far out! If you need to reel in to cast, you have too much line out. You should be able to pull in a little line with your free hand, and re-cast the line without ever touching the reel. If you have out 15 feet of line, this is not very easy to do, even for an expert. So shorten your line.

Okay, so you know to fish very near the riverbank. Here is a bit more to put into your thinking cap about where the Reds will be. If you're fishing in water deeper than 24 inches, you're fishing deep enough--except perhaps on very bright days. The Reds will move their pathway out a bit to stay in protective water if they see a human, or a bear, or just if they feel too exposed on a bright day. But for the most part they like to stay as shallow as they can while still feeling like the have adequate protective cover from overhead dangers--most notably from being seen by bears or eagles.

Now that you are positioned just right, and are casting in the right place, you must fish the right depth. By this I don't mean how deep the water is, but how deep your fly is relative to the total depth of the water. Your fly must be within six inches of the bottom, or you won't catch many Reds.

So when you cast your fly and sinker, stand perpendicular to the current flow. For this illustration we will assume the river current is flowing from your left to your right. You want to cast slightly upstream of perpendicular, so cast to the 10 o'clock position. Keep your line moderately slack, but not loose, and let your sinker take the fly right to the river bottom. You must be using a heavy enough sinker that this happens in about 1 second if you let your line stay slack just after you cast. If you do it right, your line will be slack, but just tight enough that you will feel the sinker tap bottom. Immediately tighten your line just enough to make it slip downstream, tapping bottom every foot or so. You can definitely feel the taps if you keep your line at the right tension. If you feel no taps, you are pulling the sinker up too high in the current, and you will seriously limit your catch.

In order to keep the sinker from stopping on the bottom, you need to be retrieving across the river current at a moderate pace. It takes a bit of practice to choreograph what you want to happen: You want your fly to move downstream, with the sinker tapping bottom all the while, and for each cast you want to fish from about 6-8 feet out back to the river's edge (at the 3 o'clock position)--so you're drawing the fly across the current the whole time.

The River current is fast, so from the time you cast--to the 10 o'clock position--until you finish your retrieve near the 3 o'clock position is mere seconds. Where I fish, I figure I can pull my line up and flip my fly back out--all without using the reel--about 10 times per minute. Yes, that is a cast every 6 seconds--or 10 casts per minute! Mind you this only happens if you keep your line as short as I told you to. And all this casting is work. You will get tired until you tone your muscles to it.

What is happening beneath the water is this: Your fly goes right to the bottom, and then is dragged right in front of the noses of a migrating fish. The fish get seriously irritated by that insolent little creature (your fly) that has the temerity to pass so close to its nose. So the fish snaps at the fly. But in less than a second it spits it out again.

Why? Reds are not like Kings or Silvers--which feed on herring and sand lances in the saltchuck. Reds feed mostly on tiny zooplankton. They won't grab your fly and shake the hell out of it like Kings or Silvers will. No, they just snap and spit. They're used to eating many tiny creatures every minute, and they are used to snapping, tasteing, and spitting out anything that doesn't seem to their liking in less than a second. A King or Silver will grab, shake, bite, and mouth a fly for several seconds. Not so the Reds.

If you don't strike within three-tenths of a second--which is a fast as the average human is capable of--the Red will already have spit out your fly. So now you are choreographing a very precise cast and retrieve, and you feel your fly stop. If you think about it, you're too late. You must reflexively strike any time your fly stops. Don't rear back on the rod so hard that your line, sinker and fly come flying out of the river right back at you. Just sharply twitch your rod tip about one foot. If you feel big resistance, then rear back and really bury the hook. If you have already missed the fish, or if you just misread the tug, and it was just a larger-than-normal rock your sinker was bouncing over, you can still fish out the rest of the cast, because you line is still in the water.

Sound complex? It is. But it is just like driving a car or playing a piano. Practice makes it so easy you can do it without thinking. But it may take you the first 2-hours of your new fishing experience to get comfortable with it. Don't get lazy and relax. Demand perfection of yourself. It will pay of in huge dividends.

As I said before, leader length is critical. If it is too short, the Reds will see the sinker at the same time they see the fly. Anger will turn to fear, and they won't snap at the fly. If the leader is too long, there is too much slack between the sinker and the fly, and the Red can taste you fly and spit it our before the slack comes out of the leader so you can feel the bite. So, keep the leader as short as you can without scaring the Reds. A 36 inch leader is just about optimum for the Kenai River. If you fish the clear waters of the Russian River you will probably have no choice but to lengthen your leader, with the consequences that you will miss many more takes. But everything in life is a tradeoff.

Once you have felt a fish take your fly, and you have reflexively twitched your rod, felt a resistance, and then slammed the hook home, hang on for dear life! A big 10-pound buck Red will launch himself skyward in great leaps that will take your breath away. He may jump four times in as many seconds. Once he knows he cannot throw the hook by jumping, he'll turn downriver and bore for the center of the river. He turns broadside to the strong river current, and pulls with all his might. Between the fish and the current, you'll be glad you have 30-pound test line and a good heavy leader. You'll need all its strength to turn him. Once you have stopped that glorious downriver run he will usually turn upriver and bore right past you that way, so you'll have to reel line back in furiously. At this point in the battle, if you slack off on your pull the fish will usually calm down and fight itself out right in front of you. Having caught hundreds of Reds, this is the most common fight, but you never know. I've had them run right between my legs and jump behind me. I've seen them jump so high they land on the river bank. Some never jump at all, and just run downriver until exhausted, and then you have to pull them 100 yards back upriver against the current. Whatever the fight, you'll have a new respect for this turbocharged little powerhouse.

Net the fish, and kill it quickly with a sharp blow on its head with a "fish bonker." The fishing regulations state clearly that you must immediately kill any fish you keep. It is unsportsmanlike to put a live fish on a stringer to slowly suffocate. Thanks to ADF&G, it is a crime to do so in Alaska. You will get a ticket if a game warden sees you keep a fish without promptly killing it. And rightly so.

If you don't intend to keep the Reds you catch, make your flies barbless by pinching down the barb. Leave the fish, head especially, in the water while you take the hook out of its mouth. Then gently release the fish.

Bleed Your Fish Out--As soon as you have killed your fish, cut out the gills on one side, so the fish bleeds out well before its heart stops pumping. When you bonk a fish on the head, you kill the brain, and the fish is technically dead, but its heart doesn't know it for about 3 minutes. If you gill the fish immediately, the heart will pump all of the fish's blood out before it stops beating. Wait 3 minutes, and you can forget about gilling the fish. Only a little blood will drain out without a heartbeat to push it out. If you don't like the taste of Salmon, perhaps all you have had is fish that were not bled out properly. The commercial fishermen can't be bothered with it, so everyone thinks it makes no difference. Wrong! The gourmet cooks in the finest restaurants know the difference. Japanese fish buyers know the difference. So will you once you try it.

Well, I could go on and on about my favorite fish in the Kenai River. But you need to discover the nuances yourself. I've given you the basics that will essentially guarantee you will catch fish--if they are in the River, and if you are a strict disciplinarian with yourself and don't get sloppy in your technique. But there is much more to learn. If there were not, it would not be fun anymore. I hope to see you on the River. If my advice has helped you catch fish, just say thanks. That is reward enough for me.

RAINBOW TROUT

In Washington I used to think a 14-inch trout was a nice catch. It was there. Up here in Alaska everything seems to come in supersize, and that includes the Kenai River Rainbow Trout. Just look at the pictures on this webpage to get an idea of what I mean when I say the Kenai Rainbows are big trout!

These are resident Rainbows. No Steelhead (sea-run Rainbows) runs occur in the Kenai River.

How do these resident Rainbows get so big in such a short growing season? The answer lies in the abundance of trout feed that comes from the huge runs of Kings, Sockeye, and Silver Salmon. All winter long the Rainbows feed on decaying salmon flesh, dislodged salmon eggs, and overwintering salmon fry. Come spring, they gorge on outmigrating salmon smolt. During the summer they gorge on newly deposited salmon eggs. Salmon are the key to such big Rainbows.

Unlike the million fish per year Sockeye Salmon runs up the Kenai River, the resident Rainbow Trout number a few hundred per river mile, and they could very easily be overfished. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has wisely made the trout fishery mostly catch and release. You are allowed to keep one Rainbow per day, but it must be smaller than 18 inches in overall length. Most of the trout fishermen here are after much larger fish that this, and have little interest in keeping such a small fish. Thus the fishery is mostly catch and release. I hope you will concur with this wise choice, so that one of the greatest Rainbow Trout fisheries in the world will remain so for your children and grandchildren.

Lets keep the Kenai River Rainbows a "photos only" trophy fishery. If you are really hankering for a great Rainbow Trout meal, go to one of the nearby Kenai Peninsula lakes, catch your limit, and have a great fish fry. (Just remember to invite me; I like fried trout too.)

These big Rainbows are quite easy to catch if you know a few secrets. The biggest one is that a boat greatly enhances your chances. If you start fishing for Rainbows early in the Spring, you can readily catch them from every boardwalk. But, these fish get smart really quickly. Remember it is a catch and release fishery, and every caught and released fish is an educated one. They don't usually make the same mistake twice. So, by mid-June, you will have a much harder time catching Rainbows from the shoreline. But, there are miles and miles and miles of river accessable only by boat. And the Rainbows of these areas are mostly uneducated, and remain quite easy to catch all season.

If you are fishing from a boat, a 5 wt. fly rod or light spinning gear is sufficient. A 10-pound leader is enough for the biggest Rainbow--provided you can follow a big one in your boat. In the springtime, fly patterns that resemble salmon fry work very well, as do small, heavy spoons, such as the Little Cleo. Once the salmon runs get well underway, salmon-egg imitations are the best flies to use. Later in the runs, when you start to see occassional dead salmon floating downstream, you can switch to fly patterns that imitate decaying salmon-flesh. Use a single hook (as required by law) and pinch the barb down to make it barbless, so release of these trophies is easy and least damaging.

Of course, all Rainbows here are absolute suckers for salmon roe. Each year many Rainbow inhale the big gobs of salmon roe and the huge hooks used to catch King Salmon. It is a real tragedy that many of the Rainbows so caught die from the wounds they receive. Most of these fish would survive if the person catching them would quickly determine that they are hooked deeply, and snip the leader off near the hook, releasing the Rainbow without taking it out of the water. But no, they want to save the Gamagatsu hook, worth all of $0.35, and they kill the Rainbow retrieving their hook. How sad that a 35 cent hook is more valuable to them than a wild Rainbow. I certainly hope you will snip off your hook to save a Rainbow's life. The hook will soon dissolve, and the Rainbow will have a much greater chance of living. May the fish gods smile upon you if you follow this practice. Oh, by the way, it may be an easy way to catch Rainbows here, but it is no more sportsmanlike than dynamiting fish to intentionally fish here for Rainbows with salmon roe. They swallow the roe too deeply, and big hooks enter internal organs. They are not hard to catch with flies and lures, so give these gorgeous fish a break.

As for the actual fishing, keep your presentation right on the bottom. If you are not fishing the lowest six inches of water, you are wasting your time. Currents are swift, and these big trout are lazy. They hug the bottom, and won't move up into the stronger currents for a tiny morsel. Get it down where they live, and they will readily take it.

With flies, try to achieve a dead drift with no drag. In the swift current of the Lower Kenai, it is easy from a moving boat, and very tough from the shoreline. A foam strike indicator is very helpful for all but the most accomplished fly fishermen.

The turquoise coloration of the Kenai River limits visibility to between one and three feet throughout most of the summertime, so polaroid eyeglasses won't help you spot fish. They will help prevent eyestrain from the glare of bright sunlight off the water. Don't forget to take a hat and sunscreen on sunny days. You can get horribly burned even this far North. Raingear is always advisable, because even on sunny days an afternoon shower is common.

DOLLY VARDEN

Most nonresident fishermen who come to the Kenai River are intent on catching salmon or big Rainbow Trout. Consequently, Dolly Varden have not received the attention they deserve here. To be sure, sportsmen target the Dollys in other watersheds, but the salmon and trout are so abundant in the mighty Kenai that the Dolly is sort of an afterthought here.

This relative lack of attention has been good for the Dollys of the Kenai. Most of those that are caught are released to grow bigger and fatter, and ever more beautiful. Really big Dollys, running six to seven pounds, are not uncommon here.

Be sure to mouse click on the picture to the right which will make it expand to its full size. I want you to get a better look at this gorgeous buck Dolly. This is a trophy in my book, even if it is just a medium-size one. Note his irridescent orange-pink spots, orange belly, and white stripes on the fins. In the spawning season, there is no prettier trout anywhere than a buck Dolly in all his spawning colors, in my opinion.

This great fish has been treated with contempt in the Lower 48, and has been pushed to the brink of extirpation there. Commonly referred to as the Bull Trout in the Lower 48, there used to be no bag limits, and fishermen would throw them up on the streambank to rot. They were regarded as trash fish competing with the Rainbow Trout for food and habitat. We now understand how wrongheaded this thinking was.

Fortunately, many Alaskans are more enlightened as to the true quality of the Dolly Varden, and adequate protections have been set up here in Alaska to ensure the long-term viability of this gorgeous fish.

Dollys are voracous feeders, and strong fighters. Small Dollies are outstanding table fare. Many people prefer their very firm, pale pink flesh to that of salmon. I personally only keep one or two per season, and those are ones that have been deeply hooked and most likely would die anyway. But they are always welcomed for dinner in our house.

But the true value of Dollys is their beauty. To catch one and be in awe of their exquisite form and color, and then to let it slip back into the water to go on and live its life cycle out in this primal river is a true joy. Like the Rainbow, Dolly's need to be protected from overharvest. They grow slowly, and can easily be overharvested. Thankfully, they are plentiful in the Kenai River. I hope they always will be. And I hope you catch a gorgeous buck Dolly, so you too can marvel at them, and marvel at the pleasure of releasing such a fine creature to live another day.

You can fish for Dollys exactly as you do for Rainbows, only focus your attention closer to shore. They follow the Sockeye upriver, and will be found right where these salmon run.

RUN TIMING

Don't plan a trip to Alaska without consulting the run-timing charts. It is the single biggest mistake hopeful anglers make. These are mostly not resident fish. If you are there when they're still out in the Pacific Ocean, you'll be greatly disappointed. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has published a one page fact sheet on run timing for most sport fish of the Kenai Peninsula. You can read it by linking <here>:.

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Well, that is about all I can tell you about the Kenai River. If you ever get to Alaska and fail to fish this wonderful River, may you never get to it or do it again! Seriously, it is World Class in every respect. Make it a point to visit. I hope I see you there.

-- Marvin Fretwell