Fishing Report for the Central Kenai Peninsula for Salmon, Halibut and Trout

The fishing action on the Kenai Peninsula is ramping up to full speed ahead as we look forward to the abundant days of July.  Presently, however there area excellent fishing opportunities in salt water, rivers and lakes.  This early season is a time of peace and tranquility and beauty that is unheard of in July.  The weather is generally more stable and predictable in the early season as well.  Competition for that favorite fishing spot is also unheard of during the early season.  This is a great time to be on the water.

Remember however that most of the area streams are closed to fishing until June 11.  So be sure to check the regulations for the areas that you intend to fish.

Kenai River

The majestic Kenai River early run of King salmon continues to build with 845 chinook past the sonar since May 16, putting the run well above the last two years at the same time.  Fish are being caught out of some of the more popular holes up and down the river.  There have been reports of some very nice fish both above and below the slot limit.  Currently, bait is not allowed on the Kenai, so the most productive methods at this time seem to be back trolling either plugs or spin-N-glows. 

This relatively high number of fish past the sonar also indicates a likely earlier change to allow for bait on the Kenai.  At the last Board of Fish regulatory cycle, it was decided to change the way to manage the use of bait on the Kenai based on projected/expected returns. 

Another change this year that will allow for greater harvest (and I believe a very good decision) is to allow for the retention of jack king salmon less than 28" without counting toward the annual limit of 2 Kenai kings.  Over the past few years the number of 1 and 2 ocean kings has been greatly increasing.  This new regulation is intended to reduce the number of spawning jacks and help to preserve the gene pool of the massive world class Kenai kings.

The water levels also continue to rise with the measurement at the Soldotna Bridge being 6.7 feet and the flow being almost 3700 cfs.  While this is about a week behind the 42 year average, there is plenty of water to safely navigate most areas in the lower river with a powered boat, however it does take some vigilence to keep the prop round. 

The water conitions are also changing daily.   Yesterday (May 26) the water temperature went from 43 degrees at 6:00 am to 46 degrees by 3:00 pm.  These drastic changes will often adversly effect the bite.  The visibility is also down from last week.  I am estimating 18" of visibilty with a fair bit of debris being produced.  This is not unexpected as the water levels continue to raise.

Kasilof River

The Kasilof River is also on par with the early run of king salmon.  Guides are reporting great success, however the number of native fish are exceeding the hatchery fish.  Regulations this year allow for the retention of native fish on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.  The daily bag limit was also increased to 2 hatchery fish per day, or 1 hatchery and 1 native when allowed. The peak of the Kasilof early run is expected sometime around June 10.

Cook Inlet

Halibut fishing on Cook Inlet has been down over the last week due to high wind and seas.  Halibut fishing in the area of Ninilchik and Deep Creek is normally really good this time of year, and as an added bonus, the saltwater trolling for king salmon has been very good lately.  Of course, because boats are launched from the beach in these areas, they are particularly prone to bad weather days (rare in the early season).

Area Lakes

The area lakes have been ice free for a couple of weeks now and the resident fish are hungry and aggressive.  Most any lake with water flowing in and out will have a great supply of trout and char.  Some lakes are stocked with trout and landlocked salmon.  The fishing on the area lakes has been excellent over the last week using bait, spinners, spoons and flies.  Again, this is an excellent time to be in the float tube and enjoy the serenity and solitude of the area lakes.