Alaska Sport Fishing

May 16th is a special day on the Kenai Peninsula's Kasilof River! It is the opening day of bait for this South Central Alaskan waterway. For a king salmon, laying the right bait in front of their very sensitive nose can entice wicked strikes. This can cause an angler feelings of raw pleasure, excitement, and incurable urges to lie about the size of their fish! In late May and June the Kasilof River king salmon are entering the tidal sections on every high tide. These first run fish come early to the Kasilof with one thing on their mind, reproduction! As May progresses, the number of king salmon in the Kasilof grows each day. Limits are liberal with two kings per day and the fishing can be fantastic! May and early June king salmon fishing on the Kasilof is the best game in town for putting a fresh chrome bright king in the net. The fish are plentiful and the river is low and slow, allowing anglers to target these fish in the deep holes where they stack up and rest before traversing the narrow slots between holes. These holding areas are where we fish globs of cured salmon roe hoping to trigger the king's natural instinct to grab and crush the eggs of other salmon. If we can't trigger a bite with eggs, we send out the plugs and use our oars to hold our drift boats in the current.

We slowly let the current slip us down through the hole forcing these aggressive brutes to make a choice bite and fight or turn and leave the hole. We love the ones that bite and fight!!!! This early summer fishery should not be missed while visiting the Kenai Peninsula, "Alaska's playground".

Late June is the start of the Kasilof River sockeye run. This run of fish begins as a trickle of chrome bright and full of fight sockeye and by mid July this run has exploded into a full on flood of fish flesh fighting their way up the Kasilof to their native spawning grounds. These fish range from 5 to 10 pounds but fight harder than many species twice their size. Sockeye are also known as "reds" due to the bright red flesh that is prized worldwide. They arrive in the Kasilof River by the hundreds of thousands and provide anglers with abundant action, coolers full of rich crimson flesh, and memories that last a lifetime! Early July is the start of the 2nd run of king salmon on the Kasilof River. These fish are brutal on anglers and equipment. The Kasilof is a snowmelt and glacial fed river and by mid July this river is raging! We are fishing kings in this torrent from our drift boats and holding in this heavy current requires strength, technique and a determined oarsman. When one of these Kasilof kings is hooked, the angler is at the mercy of the river, the fish and the equipment. These fish average 35 to 40 pounds with 50 pound and even 60 pound hawgs caught every year. Fighting these bullies in the raging current is like trying to rope a Brahma bull with a kite string you better hold on with both hands! This fishery is not for the faint of heart, battling these hawgs is sure to leave even the most experienced anglers with burning fore arms, quivers and twitches, and sweaty brows! The Kasilof 2nd run fishery is an exciting adventure on a beautiful stretch of river. July 31st is the end of king salmon season on the Kasilof River. As August rolls around, we trade our king rods for lighter gear and go searching for the first silvers of the year. Coho salmon, also known as silvers, are to salmon what pit bulls are to canines! Silvers are compact, streamlined, and aggressive. They are known for their incredible athleticism and famous for multiple jumps and drag scorching runs. Silvers come into the river by the thousands and by mid August are holding in nearly every pool between the headwaters and the mouth. We target silvers with spinners, salmon roe, plugs and flies depending on conditions and angler preferences. This is an action fishery with simultaneous hook ups not unusual. This is an excellent fishery for families with young or inexperienced anglers. Silvers average 8 to 12 pounds and are excellent table fare with a mild delicate flavor and orange flakey flesh. The Kasilof River silver salmon run will continue through September with excellent fishing throughout the system. We often see bears, moose, eagles and lots of waterfowl on these silver salmon fishing adventures. This is one of the Kenai Peninsula's best kept fall secrets and a must do for visitors to the area.