The Upper Kenai is starting to ramp up
for the fall trout madness. Plenty of sockeye are in the river but
the egg drop has not started in earnest, yet. Hopefully in a week or
so the spawn will be going in full force and the best fishing of the
year will be upon us. If you put a gun to our head, August 25 would
be a best guess for when the sockeye spawn should really take off.
Currently anglers are fishing large
(10mm) beads behind spawning kings. These big bruiser are out in the
middle of the river so a boat is a must for effectively reaching
them. Use plenty of lead to get your offering down deep.
Swinging leeches, flesh, and sculpins
in the area of holding sockeye is also a good tactic. There are trout
milling around waiting for the egg drop and they will often grab a
streamer if it is in the neighborhood.
Silver fishing is still fairly slow.
There are a slew of pink salmon in the river this year and they are
inhaling any pink colored fly that goes by. These eager grabbers
make it hard to get your fly in front of a silver. More coho should
be on the way and in the river soon.
Finally, good trout and Dolly fishing
can be had in Quartz Creek and the Russian River. Try beads in Quartz
and nymphs or small streamers in the Russian. These are both good
options if you don't have a boat or are looking for a change of pace.
See you out there!
A big thanks to Keith at Worldwide in
Anchorage for this week's Kenai report.
