Fishing Forum

Got back yesterday from our seven day trip to Alaska only to find the weather in SLC was 99 degrees. Very big difference from the 50-60 degree weather we were having in Alaska. Yep, sucks to be back. I was a little nervous that the fishing for kings was going to be slow as I had read some very poor reports right before going. Glad that wasn’t the case for us. Sorry for the long report but I thought I would try to briefly mention some of the highlights of our trip.

We arrived at our Cabin which was located in Soldotna Alaska right on the Kenai River. We had river front access to some of the best salmon fishing in the world.
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As soon as we got to camp we soon found out the buzz word of the day which was red salmon. The red salmon arrived in the Kenai 3 days before we got there. As soon as I stepped out of the car the guide we were staying with asked if I wanted to go down to the river and catch red salmon. I couldn’t run to the store fast enough to get a license. Got down to the river and within a half hour had my first red salmon on!!! Throughout the trip we caught tons of these fish every day. I usually started fishing them around 5:30 am and with a few breaks on some days didn't stop until 12pm (it was still light outside[cool]). The picture of me in the river is a red salmon almost spooling me and I was using a 65 pound leader. Have to use heavy gear because if these fish get into the fast moving current, there’s no way to turn them.
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We took a float plane trip to a remote lake and fished for red salmon with the bears. We got as close as four feet away from the bears. I will try to attach a movie of the bears.
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We spent two days fishing for King salmon on the Kenai River. We fished a stretch of the river right out in front of our cabin. Our guide was unbelievable and new every single hole within a 20 mile stretch of river. We talked to a lot of people that fished for a few days on the Kenai and didn’t catch anything. Alaska statistics say it takes on average of 35 hours of fishing to catch one king salmon if you are not a guide and 30 hours if you are a guide. We rarely saw other boats hooked up with fish, but our guide put us on so many fish, it was almost unbelievable. My wife hooked up with the first big king of the trip (40 pounder).
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I hooked up with the next one which was 51 inches long, 31.5 inch girth and weighed at least 64 pounds (fish was weighed after we bled it and was sitting in the box all day). I caught and released three other fish in the 60s and one that was right next to the boat that was close to 70 if not more. We were trying to handle it gently because of the long fight and it ended up getting off. That was better for the fish because I was releasing it anyways. Also caught a number of other kings in the 15-40 pound range. In one day I caught and released close to 300 pounds of king salmon. Can’t beat that kind of fishing.
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We also caught silver salmon and halibut but I don’t have the pictures yet for these. Here are a few other pics in case you are interested.
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SPECTACULAR!!!

Thanks for sharing your pics of a great trip. Good on ya !
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Man those are some big fish. Thanks for sharing. I had the opportunity of going up last year but fir work. I was able to fish one day, I can only imagine how spectacular it was to do it for a full week that would be off the hook.
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My wife and I discovered that a week only allowed us to try a couple of different things. There were so many other things that we didn't have time to do that on the last day we spent some time looking at some land around the area and are now seriously considering buying a vacation home. A month in Alaska each year is now something we are shooting for in the future. There are lakes everywhere out there that no one really fishes because of all the salmon in the rivers. I could spend a lifetime there.

We took home 130 pounds of fillets so that should last us until next year.
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Talk about livin' the dream! Those are some nice fish. What guide did you use?
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Wow Kory what a trip![]
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I stayed at Alaska Legacy Fish Camp http://www.alaskalegacy.com/ . They have two separate cabins so only four people at the most are there at any one time. The guide who owns the place is Alan Tappan. He has been guiding on the Kenai for the past 17 years and his experience showed. I think his prices are comparable to others, but even though comparable it is not a cheap trip. Plus almost everywhere else you might stay is more like a fishing factory with lots of other people. A big part of the cost of a trip like this is the travel expenses, especially at the most sought after time of the year (last two weeks of July). Guess you gotta spend the big bucks to get into the big fish.
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Nice! Thanks for sharing. What lures and/or flies worked well for each species if you don't mind sharing? I head up in 9 days (not that I'm counting or anything). Any idea if any Kings might still be around by then?
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Riverdog,

I caught all of my kings except one bottom bouncing king roe. The other one I caught which was a bright chrome 40 pounder was caught on a kwikfish style lure. The kings will likely still be there but I don't think you can fish for them in the Kenai in August (not sure but I think the season closes on August 1).

The reds will still be in the river and really the only way to catch them is by using a technique called flossing. You use a hook with some bright attracting string on them and try to hook them in their mouth. They really don't feed once in the river and usually don't even bite out of aggression like the kings and other salmon do. A lot of Alaskans use dip nets but that isn't an option for non-residents.

The silvers should be there in another 10 days but you will have to weed through tons of chum salmon to get to the silvers. I don't know much about fishing for silvers in the Kenai but I think roe is the way to go (you can use roe from the reds for this). Kings won't go after roe unless it is king roe, which to them is much different. The silvers are not as picky. The chum are trash fish for Alaskans and I don't know how to fish for them but I don't think anyone really targets them. You will almost assuredly get them with whatever silver technique you use. Also spinners work for chums but I think the Kenai has a single hook requirement.

Where will you be staying and what are you planning on targeting?

Post pictures when you get back.
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What a trip great fishing and great scenery as well, What was the land prices ...
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Don't worry about it Cliff, there's no Bass up there. Just Trash fish, kida like a carp to you guys.
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I don't care who you are or what you fish for (I just watched the bear video) that is an anglers paradise. I always wanted to go to Alaska, now it is a goal. Thanks for posting.
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I leave for AK on the 9th. Your report has me all psyched up (as if I needed any help)[]
Great report.
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We're planning to fish Kenai peninsula and then move over to tributaries of the Copper River. Targeting mainly sockeye, silvers and rainbows but I'll have to check the regulations to see if there is anywhere we can target kings still. Thanks for the info.
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AWESOME![]
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Riverdog,

I take it you are flying into Anchorage and renting a car to get to the Peninsula? If that is the case and you have time, the drive to where you are going is one of the best scenic drives I have been on. It's the Seward highway and there are lots of places to stop off. Turnagain Arm/Beluga point is just outside of anchorage and can be a quick stop to see if any beluga whales are jumping or have beached themselves (they are white so you can't miss them if they are there).

Another place is Girdwood which is a ski resort with a tram to the top of a mountain. They have other stuff like zip lines. We passed by too early in the morning and it was closed.

Portage is a town about 5 miles off of the Seward highway and it is known for the glaciers. If you don't have any trips planned to see a glacier this might be a quick fix.

Russian river falls is about a 1.5 mile easy hike with great scenery. When we hiked it the salmon where not there, but they may be by now. You would have a great view of salmon ascending the falls if they were there.

I can tell you approximately how to get these if you want to see any. All but one is right off the Seward highway.

Have fun!
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I have guided on the Talachulitna . Caught Reds on a #4 Copper Vibrax quite regularly. I also fished with an Outfitter up there and they use a homemade low profile bug eyed copper fly, # 10 I believe, he swore by'em. We found atleast in that paticular area color and lure are as important if not more so than presentation. I don't mean to sound critical because flossing is a technique widely used but it is basically legal snagging. They will aggressively hit lures if one puts the work in to find out what they want and an area that isn't overly crowded which seemed to shut the bite down pretty fast. Silvers tend to hang on the bottom versus Pinks and Chums will often suspend. We found using heavier lures and/or just busting your lures quickly through the unwanted fish than backing off when you came into the target fish helped. Slow roll presentation, rod tip high, worked wonderfully also, touch the bottom. Gami Siwash hooks are a great replacement hook and had few problems hooking fish.By the way, thanks for the pics, sure do miss that place, magic happens on those waters. Those are some awesome Blackmouths, great fish.
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Yeah I know you can catch reds on lures and even roe, as our guide pointed out. But he has been guiding the Kenai for 17 years and said that if I wanted to actually catch a red while I was there, the flossing method was the way to go. Even with private river access the Kenai is still too overcrowded with people. Truthfully I didn't want to spend the week searching for a technique that is less effective.

There are even signs along the Kenai showing you how to do the flossing technique. I did see a few people (out of hundreds), fishing lures and not one of them had a legal hookup that I saw. Maybe different than the Talachulitna. I have very limited experience as you can probably tell so couldn't say much about it other than what I witnessed or was told.
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No worries, like I said, it is quite common. I have flossed myself when I first started. In Washington during the Dog run the Russians use steel cable while combat flossing. Its quite commical to see them hook up and slice through a few mono rigs. They also do it because the seals swim up river and steal the salmon off your line when you hook up. Quite the tug of war let me tell yuh. Glad you had a great trip. Those Reds are top notch table fair too, my personal favorite.
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I cant get the movie to play.[mad][mad][mad]
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