While King fishing is the predominant fishery on the rivers, the Kenai River has one of the largest Alaska Red Salmon runs in the world with around a million to a million and a half run up it every year. The first run of Alaska Red Salmon usually hits the river the last week of May and continues to the end of June. The second run of Alaska Red Salmon hits the river around the first week of July and continues through the middle of August. The red salmon fishery attracts people from around the World to target them and fill their freezers with some of the highest grade salmon around. The red salmon is not known to bite a lure so you have to learn the act of hooking them in the mouth. Some call it flossing, some call it tight lining, I call it food in the freezer.

Fishing for Alaska Red Salmon

Fishing for Reds on the Kenai and Kasilof rivers is one of the family’s favorite fisheries to do together. After taking clients out to fish these feisty salmon, it quickly becomes a favorite of theirs too. Imagine a fish on every cast, it’s common! When these fish enter the river they will sometimes come in thousands at a time making it easy to drift the line through their mouth. Timing is everything, so be sure to ask about when to try some of this awesome fishing that everyone is boasting about.