Alaska Fishing Reports: Kenai/Kasiloff/Russian Rivers and Area Lakes

[Yellow Puma]

Rainbow fishing is still going strong. I caught a nice Fat 23 Incher last weekend!

[FisherMOM]

Would LOVE to fish this river.

a 23 inch rainbow!  WOW~  fat to boot!

[Mike Cork]

Yellow Puma, Thanks for the report. If you get the time please add threads for the local fishing up there so hopefully more folks from your area will get involved. I would love to see how the fishing is going up there. If I ever make it up there and could only do one of the many types of fishing I would want to catch one of those giant halibut.

[Yellow Puma]

I have been trying to post pics but all of mine are over 100 KB. I guess I will never be able to show off my fish 

Rich

[MotherNature]

It isnt the 100kb that is having the issue, I think it might be the size of the photo in pixles... check them to make sure that they are no more than 400 X 400 and if you are still having an issue let me know...

Tight Lines,
Mother Nature

[Yellow Puma]

I don't know Laurie, I guess I am still confused. I keep getting an error message saying my pics are to large. I tried to crop them and the pixels are well below 400x400 (i think). I know most of my pics are about 340mb or close to it. the smallest I got it was just above 200 cropping them. Any Ideas?

Rich

[Marty]

Make sure the pics you are trying to send are in jpg fomrat,not in bmp.  If they are shown as 340 mb instead of 340 kb,l that's the problem.  Mb's is a whole lot bigger than kb's!

Marty

[MotherNature]

It is so hard for me to advise when I really don't know what it is that you are trying to upload. Marty is right... Would you send me one of the pictures that you are trying to upload and that might help me to help you upload them. I will look at it and tell you what you need to do... Oh and what are you using to change their size?

email

[silversalmon]

TRIP DATE:  5/04
REGION:  Kenai Peninsula
WATER:  Stormy Lake
SPECIES:  RAINBOW

REPORT: The cat pounced on my face this morning. I looked at the clock it was around 5:15am so I headed out to Stormy to see if I can get one of those Hammerheads before heading back up to slope. I fished around the edges for around a hour BIG FAT ZERO. But at the boat launch there was some nice swirls around 25 feet or so from the launch. I figured they were dollies or rainbows. I had my kids Sponge Bob fishing pole in the back, so I hooked up a bright orange 3/16 oz Krocodile just for kicks. My first cast from the launch was the ticket. A big old yake and the fight was on. It was ripping out line and had that Sponge Bob pole bent to the max. It jumped out of the water around 4 or 5 times. By the time I landed that sucker I must have played it for a good 5 minutes. What a beautiful Rainbow. It went around 4-6 pounds easy. When I get back from the slope I'm trading my fenwick for a 7.5 foot Sponge Bob salmon rod.



Thanks to the folks in Kenai for this report

[silversalmon]

Emergency Orders and In-season Regulation Changes
·        At this time, one Emergency Order is in effect for this area, to remind anglers that filleting or otherwise disfiguring a king salmon in such a manner that would prevent determination of the length of the fish, is prohibited. Boat anglers will be prohibited from filleting a king salmon until the fish is brought to shore and offloaded from the vessel . Shore anglers will be prohibited from filleting a king salmon before removing it from the fishing site . The Emergency Order still allows gilling and/or gutting the king salmon.



·        The following waters are now closed by regulation to all fishing:

      The Upper Kenai River from ¼-mile above the Sterling Highway bridge at Cooper Landing, downstream to the waters of Skilak Lake within a ½ mile radius of the river inlet. Opens 12:01 a.m., June 11.

      The Russian River. Opens 12:01 a.m., June 11.

      The Russian River Sanctuary Area (see page 31 of the 2005 regulation booklet). Opens 12:01 a.m., July 15, unless an Emergency Order is issued to open it earlier.

      There may be other areas closed to all fishing. Check your regulation booklet.



·        The lower Kenai River, from a marker at the outlet near Skilak Lake downstream to the mouth of the Kenai River is closed to sport fishing for rainbow trout. This area will reopen to sport fishing for rainbow trout at 12:01 a.m., June 11.



·        The Board of Fisheries (BOF) recently adopted several regulation changes during the January meetings held in Anchorage. The new regulations that are currently in effect include:

       Kenai River changes:
        Rainbow Trout

·  In Kenai River drainage lakes and ponds: 2 fish per day, only one per day 20 inches or longer; annual limit of 2 fish 20 inches or longer.

·  In most flowing waters above Skilak Lake: 1 fish per day, must be 16" or less; no annual limit; open season June 11 – May 1.

·  In most flowing waters below Skilak Lake and in Skilak Lake: 1 fish per day, must be 18" or less; no annual limit; open season June 11 – May 1.



        Dolly Varden

·  In Kenai River drainage lakes and ponds: 2 fish per day, only one per day 20 inches or longer; no annual limit.

·  In most flowing waters above Skilak Lake: 1 fish per day, must be 16" or less; no annual limit; open season June 11 – May 1.

·  In most flowing waters below Skilak Lake and in  Skilak Lake: 1 fish per day, must be 18" or less; no annual limit; no closed season.

         Salmon

·  Non-resident anglers are allowed to fish from a boat 24 hours a day during May and June. Non-resident anglers are reminded that sport fishing from a registered guide vessel is prohibited from 6 PM – 6 AM Tuesday through Saturday and sport fishing from a registered guide vessel is prohibited on Sundays during May and June.
·  Fishing for jack salmon is prohibited in waters closed to fishing for king salmon 20" or longer and other salmon 16" or longer.

Fresh Waters
Salmon — Kenai River & Kasilof River
·      It's a little early yet for king salmon; however, a few fish may be entering these river systems.

·      In the Kenai and Kasilof rivers, anglers typically start catching king salmon in mid- to late May.

Resident Fish — Kenai River
·      Fishing opportunities on the Kenai River are currently limited by the seasonal closures to protect spawning rainbow trout. All flowing waters in the Kenai River watershed are closed to fishing for rainbow trout until June 11.

·      Fishing for Dolly Varden is open on the mainstem Kenai River from its mouth upstream to the inlet of Skilak Lake. Only one unbaited, single hook, artificial lure may be used. The daily bag limit is one Dolly Varden under 18" in length.

Resident Fish — Kasilof River
·      Rainbow/steelhead fishing is reported as fair. Anglers putting in enough time to work the holes and drifts have had the best success.

·      All rainbow/steelhead trout caught downstream of the Sterling Highway bridge must be immediately released without removing them from the water.

·      Only one unbaited, single-hook, artificial lure may be used in the Kasilof River through May 15.

If you end up fishing the Kenai river area, BE SURE YOU CHECK the regs, they can get REALLY GOOFY Like, fishing is closed on cloudy days without rain, but with rain you can fish, and on Tuesdays only during the hours of 7 and 5 JK of course but, be sure to check, Fish and Game is all over the place there

[silversalmon]

TRIP DATE:  5/5
REGION:  Kenai Peninsula
WATER:  Kasilof River
SPECIES:  Kings

REPORT: Had a chance to speak with the game warden about how the Kasilof River king fishery is shaping up on Thursday. He said there were a few fish beginning to arrive but he has not seen anyone catch a king yet. Things will improve on May 16th when bait will be allowed in the river again. Remember than all rainbow and steelhead must be released immediately and may not be removed from the water.

For the time being, yarn flies are effective on outgoing steelhead and for kings, try downsizing to the smallest wiggle warts in silver and a very slow retrieve upstream using lighter gear. That combo worked great for me when I was going for the 2 pound test line class world record in People's Hole. Was using a silver Tiny Tad (smallest tadpolly, remember those?) and a 13 ft. noodle rod retrieving very slowly. Was getting multiple hookups each day when few others were doing any good on bait and larger lures.

Reminder: Wild and fin-clipped hatchery kings can be harvested on Saturdays and Tuesdays, and all remaining days of the week only hatchery fish with a clipped adipose fin may be retained. Regulations allow all five of your annual king harvest to be taken from the Kasilof River now. Good luck.

Thanks to the Kenai area anglers for this report

[silversalmon]

TRIP DATE:  5/7
REGION:  Kenai Peninsula
WATER:  Kasilof River
SPECIES:  Kings

REPORT: Went down camping with the girlfriend to Crooked Creek Campground friday night. This morning Saturday, watched someone take what looked like a King. Had to of been, cuz they netted it and clubbed it, otherwise, there might have been something illegal going on, but I couldn't tell, it was on the other side of the river. But if it was, it was a good size one. The rest of us trying, not a stinkin bite even. Oh well, still kind of early.

Thanks to the Kenai angelrs for this report

[silversalmon]

Reports of Kings in the Kenai are now showing up . There have been a few jacks caught out of there. These are not of the legal size limit, but the big ones will be sure to follow within the next week or so.  Hidden lake is producing some very nice lake trout catches, but are hit and miss . Trolling with herring and jigging is the most successful method for now.

[CastnBlast]

SilveSalmon,
Been gone for a few weeks, should be back this weekend.  What are my chances heading down to the Kasilof for Kings or steelies....I have heard it has been slow, and am hoping it picked up in the last few days.  What do you think?

[silversalmon]

Check the Alaska State Fishing Information section for this , and welcome to the site If it is not a report we can jabber up in that section about fishing spots

[silversalmon]

Fresh Waters
Salmon — Kenai River & Kasilof River
·      It's a little early yet for king salmon; however, a few fish may be entering these river systems. Anglers have reported the harvest of a handful of king salmon from the Kenai River and a handful of king salmon from the People's Hole in the Kasilof River over the weekend. Still very early and slow for now, long hours put in for one fish

·      In the Kenai and Kasilof rivers, anglers typically start catching king salmon in mid- to late May.



Resident Fish — Kenai River
·      Fishing opportunities on the Kenai River are currently limited by the seasonal closures to protect spawning rainbow trout. All flowing waters in the Kenai River watershed are CLOSED to fishing for rainbow trout until June 11.

·      Fishing for Dolly Varden is open on the mainstem Kenai River from its mouth upstream to the inlet of Skilak Lake. Only one unbaited, single hook, artificial lure may be used. The daily bag limit is one Dolly Varden under 18" in length. Anglers have recently reported fair success.

Resident Fish — Kasilof River
·      Rainbow/steelhead fishing is reported as fair. Anglers putting in enough time to work the holes and drifts have had the best success.

·      All rainbow/steelhead trout caught downstream of the Sterling Highway bridge must be immediately released without removing them from the water.

·      Only one unbaited, single-hook, artificial lure may be used in the Kasilof River through May 15.

Lake Fishing
·      Opportunities are increasing, as most all area lakes are ice free with continued spring breakups.  Local stocked lakes also offer additional fishing opportunities.  See below for links to stocking information, as well as maps to the area lakes.

·      Johnson Lake in the Kasilof area is now ice-free and would be a great place to try for stocked rainbow trout. On May 3, a total of 5,500 catchable sized rainbow trout were stocked into Johnson Lake.

[silversalmon]

SMALL SECTION OF THE KENAI RIVER IS CLOSED TO SPORT FISHING


300 feet above a smolt trap at River Mile 44.75, through June 25, 2005



Through June 25, 2005, the Division of Commercial Fisheries will be operating sockeye salmon smolt counting equipment in the Kenai River immediately upstream of the confluence of the Upper Killey River, at River Mile 44.75. 



Since floating smolt traps and sonar equipment will be anchored to the river bottom, waters within 300 feet upstream of the smolt traps are closed to sport fishing through June 25. 



A mooring anchor with two buoys is located approximately 90 feet offshore of the north bank and 200 feet upstream of the smolt traps. A submerged steel cable runs from the buoys down river to the smolt traps, and two more steel cables run directly from the smolt traps to the north bank. Additionally, a submerged steel cable runs from the north bank to the south bank on the river bottom in the immediate vicinity of the smolt traps.



Anglers and boaters should use extreme caution in this area.  To avoid the equipment and steel cables, boaters are requested to stay on the south side of the river. If going downstream, stay to the left of the center of the river. If going upstream, stay to the right of the center of the river.  Sport fishing gear drifted through this area will likely get snagged and lost on the equipment and cables located under the water.

[CastnBlast]

Fished the Kasilof from shore for a few hours yesterday with the flyrod and egg sucking bunny leech. No luck. Saw only one king roll the entire time I was there.

There was about 20 people at the people hole. The only person I saw take a fish was a drift boater. Didn't see if he was using eggs or a kwikfish.

Also talked to Fish and Game. He had recorded only two fish as being caught on the entire day. Both with bait. One other caught a steelhead, not sure on the method.

Also put the boat in and fished a lake near skiliak. Good to get the boat running but no fish...tried several techniques for both rainbows and lakers, but nothing worked. Marked fish at the bottom of the lake, and some at the top of the water column...switched presentations several times, wanted to take some time to fish with heavy jigs but didn't have time due to getting blown off the lake.  Guess I need to get a downrigger.

[silversalmon]

Hidden Lake is producing GREAT lake trout catches. Use Rapalas and troll with them about 15-30 feet for best success, a 4 and 1/2 pounder was caught out of there, all in all, 10 fish between 5 anglers Keep your hopes up CastnBlast, still a little early, all hit and miss right now

[CastnBlast]

Since you mentioned it...I was on hidden.  Trolled a rapala for a good two hours at depths up to 40 feet.  No fish.  Guess I need to learn the spots a little better.  I was focusing on spots I marked fish and on steep dropoffs and sunken islands that I marked.  It would be nice to figure out how those lakers tick!

Also trolled at surface level with a spoon...and a spinner. 

Good news is that my boat still works.

Going to try Ship creek this weekend, I think.  Method TBD.  Mother is flying in Saturday so I only have limited time.  Will post report once we try...just a few more weeks!

[silversalmon]

Fresh Waters
Salmon — Kenai River & Kasilof River
·      It's still a little early yet for king salmon; however,  reports indicated that a few king salmon were caught each day last week. The ADF&G king salmon sonar station is up and counting and daily counts will be available by Wednesday, May 18. This counter is located 8.6 miles from the mouth of the river. May 18th showed 120 Kings pass through.
Anglers may now use multiple hooks and bait in the Kasilof River. Anglers reported slow to fair success on the first day the river was open to bait.  Most success was reported by anglers fishing from drift boats.
In the Kenai and Kasilof rivers, anglers typically start catching king salmon in mid- to late May.

Resident Fish — Kenai River
·      Fishing opportunities on the Kenai River are currently limited by the seasonal closures to protect spawning rainbow trout. All flowing waters in the Kenai River watershed are CLOSED to fishing for rainbow trout until June 11.
Fishing for Dolly Varden is open on the mainstem Kenai River from its mouth upstream to the inlet of Skilak Lake. Only one unbaited, single hook, artificial lure may be used. The daily bag limit is one Dolly Varden under 18" in length. Anglers have reported fair success.

Resident Fish — Kasilof River
·      Rainbow/steelhead fishing is reported as fair. Anglers putting in enough time to work the holes and drifts have had the best success.
All rainbow/steelhead trout caught downstream of the Sterling Highway bridge must be immediately released without removing them from the water.

Lake Fishing
    Opportunities are increasing, as all area lakes are ice free now.  Local stocked lakes also offer additional fishing opportunities.  See below for links to stocking information, as well as maps to the area lakes.
     Johnson Lake would be a great place to try for stocked rainbow trout.

[silversalmon]

The Anchor river couter is up and running As of May 18th 465 total Kings have moved through in 5 days That is a decent run for that river. This sonar is located 2 miles upstream of the saltwater Memeorial day weekend looks very promising for this one

[silversalmon]

The counts are still a lillte low for the Kenai river. 351 total kings have gone throgh the counter, still looking for that big run to head up the river

[silversalmon]

Still on the lookout for that big run As of today, 544 total throgh the counter

[CastnBlast]

Fished the Kasilof River with my mother from a drift boat and with a guide. Caught four kings on the day, plus had one other hook up that got away.

We got out to an early start--0430 meet up time and we were fishing by about 0500. Saw a lot of action early with two or three hook ups above the people hole and back down by cohoe cove.

we backtrolled kwickfish with herring...first time i ever used that technique. Most of the other guides were backbouncing eggs...and were catching some fish but I don't think the action was as fast for them.

Our guide name was Robert Johnson from Alaska Angler and I would recommend him. Good attitude and hard working, with very reasonable prices.

Weather was brisky, high tide was right at about 7:00 AM, give or take (didn't actually check it). All in all a great day of fishing, and a great way to catch the first kings of the year.