This past January 2 friends and I booked a trip to fish for King salmon on the Kenai. I have since found some information at http://alaskaoutdoorjournal.com/References/lkingstats.html that has caused some concern. According to the sight above we are only allowed to fish on the river with a guide Tuesday through Saturday... We are booked to fish for 4 consecutive days beginning Saturday the 8th of July. If this information is correct(I have verified it through the dept. of fish and game) then as I understand it we will only be able to salmon fish for 2 of the 4 days,also, if the weather is not suitable for halibut fishing we may not be able to fish at all on Sunday or Monday, unless there is another river besides the Kenai that will be open. Is it normal for a guide to book salmon trips on the Kenai on days he knows the Kenai river is closed for guides with clients? Is he possibly counting on the weather to be good enough to take us out for halibut instead? Unfortunately I did not book the guide, that part of the trip is being handled by another member of our group, so my information is scarce and second hand at best. Are there other rivers in the area he could be planning on fishing on Sunday and Monday? If so do they produce Salmon as well as the Kenai River? Should I be concerned about loosing fishing days due to bad weather? Can anyone verify the regulations about Tuesday through Saturday fishing on the river or shed any light on what other options are available if the weather turns bad? What is the standard operating procedure in this situation? Is itpossible that our guide would allow us to take a boat out on the river without him on those days?

If not then specifically what tackle should I have in order to fish from the bank? Spinning or baitcasting? how big a rod and how much line should the reel hold? spoons,spinners or livebait, if bait what kind, and where is it found?

Am I just getting nervous about things as time to go is getting near or do I have a reason for concern? Sorry for asking so many questions in one post. Thanks in advance for your help. -John


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John G. Brown

Odd, odd, very odd for the guide to book as such. Many guides do flip-flop up here between the saltwater and the river and perhaps that is his plan. The Kasilof River, the river on which I guide, is open for guided fishing on Monday (the regs you're discussing are correct), but we lost our Sundays beginning this year.

Typically, our success rates on the Kasilof are considerably better than those on the Kenai (the site you mentioned has good stats on harvest rates) ... but with a smaller fish typically the result. Keep in mind that the Kenai is NOT an action fishery ... it is limited action usually with very nice fish in the 35-40 pound bracket and the outside chance of hooking a true monster. July kings in the Kasilof average 25-30 lbs. with our big fish in the 55-60 pound bracket. Perhaps your guide plans on bringing you here one day ... although most of the guides on the river in July are regular guides that only fish the Kasilof. July 8-12 is a tad early for the best fishing on either river, but there will some fish available.

You won't be able to take your guide's boat ... the regulations read that fishing is prohibited from any craft registered with Parks (the boat should have a round sticker and a three digit number assigned to it) ... so even if the guide is not present, you still can't fish from the boat on the Sunday. Monday on the other hand, is closed to all fishing from motorized boats, and all guide boats (drift or power).

King fishing from the bank is basically hopeless unless you have some very privilaged info ... and you're going to be early for the sockeye. Which leaves you with just a couple of bank options: Homer Spit Lagoon for some late first-run/ early second-run kings, and the smaller streams (Anchor, Ninilchik, Deep Creek) for dollies and perhaps some humpies (there may be some of these in the Kenai as well, but again, likely a little early). You can find a little info on these areas in our "fishing on your own" area located in the Alaska portion of our site.

If what you are telling us is correct, that someone booked you for four days on the Kenai including a Sunday and Monday, then I'd be very leery ... if your friend didn't pass all the info along, then perhaps everything is just fine and you're getting too worried

Here's the URL for the Alaska State Department of Fish and Game. They have all the regs and seasons with updates to spot closures etc. I don't think it likely that you'll loose fishing time due to Kenai restrictions. Always another river to fish depending on time of year you're going. Not often you'll be blown off the inlet for halibut fishing. We've had decent weather all four outings. Here's the ADFG URL. http://www.state.ak.us/adfg/ What dates are you going? Then you can target alternatives.