The World Famous Kenai
The Kenai River is the most famous river on the Kenai Peninsula of south central
Alaska. It runs 82 miles westward from Kenai Lake in the Kenai Mountains to the
mouth of the Cook Inlet of the Pacific Ocean near Soldotna and Kenai, Alaska.
The Kenai River is by fare the most popular sport fishing destination in Alaska.
Every year there are two runs each of king salmon, silver salmon and red salmon,
plus a run of pink salmon or humpy every even year. The world record king
salmon, which weighed 97.4 pounds, was caught in the Kenai River May of 1985.
The Kenai also produces trophy size Rainbow Trout and Dolly Varden. Fall fishing
is the peak time for fishing of Rainbow Trout and Dolly Varden. There is also a
healthy run of "Steelhead"(Sea-run Trout).
The King Salmon fishery is not as high in numbers as in other Alaskan rivers, but
the Kenai is known for its record size King Salmon. An average King in the second
run, in mid-July, weighs around 45 pounds, with records in the high eighties every
summer. The "Lower Kenai" is known for its great acrobatic fresh King’s and great
girth and size due to freshness.
The Silver Salmon runs start in early August and following a bigger run in
September. The September run is favored by most all anglers due to the larger
size of the salmon
The Red Salmon runs start in mid-June (blue-back’s) and a bigger run in mid-July.
Reds are known for the premier salmon for eating, canning, and smoking and
beautiful red meat color.
The Pink Salmon run is every even numbered years only. Pink Salmon are known
to be pests by many anglers because they interfere with catching Silvers and Red
Salmon. Moreover, by the time they reach inland freshwater, their meat may be
soft and oily compared to other species of salmon. Nevertheless, using super-light
tackle can make catching Pinks a real treat. On a heavy day, even a casual fisher
might catch 30 to 40 Pinks. Most young kids love going for Pink Salmon, because
of the amount of action on their line, most adults can deal with it and weed through
until they get a nice Silver.
Along with Kenai’s great Salmon fishery, the Kenai River area is home to other
wildlife, which would include moose, bears, caribou and multiple species of birds.
April, May, Beluga whales will travel as far as a mile from the mouth of the river to
feed on schools of spawning Hooligan fish it’s a real treat!
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