As I feared, due to low returning king salmon numbers, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game closed the season on 7/23. The 2020 Kenai king salmon season is now officially in the books. It was not pretty. Hopefully, ADFG’s actions will ensure strong future returns. On to the fishing report. The only king salmon …
Fishing Report Week Ending 7/19/2020
If you like to catch and release king salmon, this was the week to be on the Kenai River. You really didn’t have a choice. On 7/13, ADFG issued an emergency order changing the Kenai River king salmon fishery to catch and release only. Even though the king numbers have been tracking below the preseason forecast, the fishing …
Fishing Report Week Ending 7/12/2020
Between outboard engine repair work, and the Killey River dumping muddy water into the normal teal green Kenai River, I did not fish as much I would have liked to. For those of you who are new to the river, when the Kenai is muddy, it’s extremely difficult to get a king salmon to bite. It’s often better to find other fishing …
Fishing Report Week Ending 6/7/2020
When I was a kid, my Uncle Dean gave me a sticker that said, “Fishing Fools Club...Persistent Counts” and said I was now an official member. I was too young to understand what that meant, but I liked the sticker because the illustration is of a man fishing. He had been fishing so long, by the time his bobber went under, he had …
Fish For The Future
One of the strongest advocates I know for releasing Kenai king salmon, especially females, is Francis Estalilla. Whether it’s a personal plea, writing articles, or introducing regulatory changes to the Board of Fisheries, his passion for future salmon runs is matched by very few. In the March publication of Fish Alaska magazine, …
Early Kenai King Run Update
Good news on the fishing front. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced today that the early Kenai King run will begin without additional restrictions. You can read the ADFG press release here. As a reminder, the regulations for the early Kenai king run are as follows: Bait is prohibited, and only one single-hook, …