Where the last report summary was, “wow”; this week’s is “ow”!  While the early run king salmon continue to trickle into the Kenai, the catching tanked!  The water level is still on the rise, this has resulted in an abundance of flotsam that offers some difficulty in presenting the perfect offering.  Likewise, the expected, annual, “Killey River Dump” occurred on Monday afternoon taking the visibility from over 4 feet to mere inches.  I am still hopeful that the run is simply late.  Nevertheless, while other rivers around Alaska are experiencing extremely low returns and restrictions or closures, the Kenai and Kasilof Rivers are still experiencing an average return of King salmon.

Kenai River

As mentioned above, fishing was particularly tough this week; catching was even tougher.  While we did see some clearing of the water on Friday with some great action on some parts of the river, things were still slow.  The sonar counts ran between 200 and 300 chinook per day entering the river. 

Throughout the week, the majority of boats on the river went home empty and limits were exceedingly rare.  We did hook and release 5 kings on Friday despite the conditions.  It seemed that back-trolled eggs behind a bright colored spin-n-glow or cheater was the tackle of choice.  We did hook one on a kwikfish however.

I observed some attempt to side-drift, but in poor visibility, this is very ineffective because you are banking on an impulse strike, rather than a fish responding to scent.  Of course, because of the conditions, the drifters probably did about as good as most anyone else.  The water visibility did improve toward the end of the week, but due to the heavy rain over the weekend, the temperatures dropped.

There was  some success fishing the banks of the middle Kenai River, particularly around Swiftwater Park in Soldotna.  The fishing was not hot, but guys were catching an occasional sockeye.  On the other hand, the rainbow fishing in the middle river has been exceptional, with catches approaching 30”!  The 24-28” fish is not unexpected while fishing this stretch of river.

I am receiving favorable reports from the Russian River.  One associate announced an unbelievable 15’ of separation between fishers!  Limits are being caught with a short effort along the banks of the Kenai as the sockeye stage for entrance into the Russian and many are already making it past the weir.  Indeed, on Thursday, June 19, there were 912 sockeye that swam past the weir.  Other days are in the 400-600 fish range.  Later reports however indicated normal early run Russian River crowding over the weekend.

Kasilof River

The Kasilof River fished a bit better this week than last.  While folks still have to work a bit for their fish, kings are being caught.  Again, the best success has been out of drift boats. An associate, Don Drury, declared a fantastic week of fishing, right up to Friday when things seemed to slow down a bit.  He indicated that he was catching a large percentage of natives, ranging up to 35 pounds.  He did report some minor crowding on the native days however.

Cook Inlet

Cook Inlet continues to produce halibut as expected.  The size is still on the smaller end of things, but this is expected to increase as the summer progresses.  At this point in time, the Cook Inlet remains at 2 fish per person per day with no changes in sight on the horizon.  The Deep Creek/Ninilchik fishery is likely the most economical with trips offered for less than $200 per person and good chances for catching larger fish.

Area Lakes

The lake fishing continues to produce great entertainment and exceptional success.  The Swanson River Canoe trails are often an excellent option for getting away from the crowds while having great opportunity for bending the rod.  This is a frequently overlooked fishing opportunity because most are so focused on harvesting salmon to fill the freezer.

Another option for some local lakes is Pike.  Here is information posted on the Alaska Department of Fish and Game Site (http://www.sf.adfg.state.ak.us/Region2/weekly/update.cfm?area_key=5):

Northern Pike

• Stormy Lake has good numbers of northern pike and the lake has good public access. Anglers who are interested in fishing for northern pike on the Kenai Peninsula should try Stormy Lake for spring northern pike fishing.

• Many other area lakes have northern pike, but public access is limited. Private property owners may allow access, but get permission first.

• Pike can be taken using spears, bow and arrow (with arrow attached by a line), bait, spin, and fly-fishing gear. Try fish-shaped and fish-colored lures and flies.

• There is no closed season for pike and the bag limit is unlimited. Wanton waste laws apply so be sure to use, or donate to charity, all the pike you harvest.