The Kenai River is a special place, it’s home to the world record king salmon and some of the greatest trout and salmon fishing found on the Alaska road system. Every year millions of salmon return to the Kenai to spawn and the abundance of life supports just about everything that touches it’s banks. The river itself is a beautiful turqouise green due to the high mineral content, this coloration affects visibility and makes the fishery unique. The river is fed by glaciers so the water runs high on warm summer days and low during cooler seasons. I’ve been fishing the Kenia for over twenty years and had the privilege of spending some time this past summer guiding on the river. The river can be divided into three main sections. The upper section spans from Kenai lake down to the canyon and into Skilak lake, this section is scenic and is non motorized so you’ll need a drift boat or a raft to float it.
The middle section goes from Skilak lake down the Naptown rapids and can be done with a powerboat or drift boat or raft. The middle section is set back from the roads and is fairly remote until you get down to the Kenai keys where houses and cabins begin to appear. The lower section meanders down through Soldatna and down to Kenai where it drains into Cook inlet and the ocean. The lower section is closest to town and is run primarily by powerboats and receives the most traffic by sport fisherman and dip netters in July. Here’s a rundown of what lurks beneath the aqua waters and how and when you can enjoy it’s splendor.
Kings or Chinook salmon are the first to return to the Kenai usually in may to early June and then a second run shows up in July through mid august. Kenai kings can range anywhere from 20-60 lbs with some monsters topping the scales all the way up to the 97lb world record. Most methods of catching kenai kings are usually done backtrolling from the boat while pulling; crankbaits like kwikfish and magworts, spin and glows and spinners. Hooking a king is like fighting a freight train and can take it’s toll on both fish and fisherman, so we chase the fish up or downstream with the boat until we can scoop it up in the net. Kenai kings are catch and release only these days so once the fish is safely in the net we keep it’s head in the water and snap a few few quick pictures and release it as quickly as possible. The kings have a high mortality rate and numbers have declined due a number of factors so please be gentle with these giants and let them go to safely spawn for generations to come.
Red or sockeye salmon are the next to come into the river and usually show up around the end of June and will run into early august. Sockeye are plankton feeders that swim along the banks so the are fished from shore by flossing or lining, a technique used to place a hook or fly in their open mouths while swim upstream. Over a million Kenai Reds will show up by the end of summer and days when 30,000 fish come into the river the fishing can be fast and furious. Sonars placed on the river give daily fish counts and once the escapement goals are met daily limits are doubled and tripled. The Russian river is a small tributary that dumps into the upper Kenai stretch and has it’s own strain of sockeyes, the fishing can be fantastic and there are usually good numbers of bears in the area so fisherman need to use narrow gapped hooks and keep their stringers close at hand in case they need to make a hasty retreat. There’s several shore fishing spots including the Russian river campground and Russian river ferry, Bings Landing and centeniial park in town, some of these offer boardwalks for easy access. The Kenia is fast and cold so don’t wade out past your knees and always make sure of your footing while wading. Clean your catch at the river and dispose of the carcasses back into the water to avoid stinky messes and return the nutrients to river where it came from. I like to vaccuum seal and freeze my red salmon and enjoy smoking the bellies.
August marks the return of the Coho or silver salmon. Silvers are hard fighting salmon that can really test your gear. They are caught backtrolling many of the same lures Kings are except slightly smaller. They can also be caught casting spinners and spoons both from a boat and from shore and late in the year can be caught using eggs under and bobber or on an spin and glow rig. Even numbered years will have pink or humpy salmon, they are eager biters and can be caught on most salmon presentations like spoons, spinners and crankbaits.
The Kenai is also home to some fantastic dolly varden and rainbow trout fishing. Due to the amazing amount of nutrients provided by the spawning salmon Kenai trout can grow to trophy sizes. So if fishing Alaska is on your bucket list and you are looking for adventure that’s accessible consider a trip on the Kenai river.
