Alaska Fishing Trips

Planning Your Alaska Fishing Trip

Since 1990, we have provided high quality Alaska Fishing Trips on both the Kenai and the Kasilof Rivers as well as in remote waters on the west side of Cook Inlet and salt water destinations across the Kenai Peninsula.  There are a number of important factors to consider when planning an Alaska Fishing trip including run timing for specific species, weather, and fishing regulations.  The Kenai Peninsula offers 4 out of the 5 pacific salmon species including king salmon (chinook), sockeye salmon (reds), silver salmon (coho), and pink salmon (humpies) as well as prolific populations of wild rainbow trout and dolly varden and several returns of wild steelhead trout.  Nearby ocean waters also offer excellent fishing for halibut, lingcod and rockfish as well as saltwater opportunities for both king salmon and silver salmon.  Our central Kenai Peninsula location in Soldotna offers the perfect place to base your Alaska Fishing trip. Even though more than 90% of the Kenai Peninsula is within the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, the Kenai/Soldotna area offers a nice mix of modern lodging options as well as essential services such a grocery stores, a variety of restaurants and a hospital.  This unique community is your gateway to the Alaska Fishing trip of a lifetime and we are here to help you make it a reality!

The Alaska fishing season is May through October and each month has its own unique fishing options.  We understand that selecting the best dates to visit can be confusing so let us help you understand all the options and choose the best time for your overall Alaska fishing trip goals.

Not sure where to start?  How about here:

• Consider the different species available and pick the fishing trips that meet your goals.  Are you looking for quantity over quality or both?
• Consider the different months you are able to travel and select the best Alaska fishing trips for the times you are available.
• Consider the different fishing methods for catching the various salmon species as well as trout and halibut.  Are you open to fishing with different tackle such as spinning rods and baitcasters or are you strictly wanting to fly fish?
• Are you looking to visit when crowds are at a minimum or are you ok with the busy conditions that often accompany peak fishing times?
• Consider the weather. Are you ok with colder temperatures and potentially wet and rainy conditions or do you prefer more stable sunny days and warmer temperatures?

• May: May is the beginning of our Alaska Fishing season and can be a great time to visit.  May sees the first good returns of king salmon to the Kenai and the Kasilof Rivers as well as very good halibut fishing in nearby Cook Inlet.  May is typically very consistent weather with lots of daylight hours to explore the Greatland.  May also tends to be less crowded overall.
• June: June is a great month to fish Alaska as the first peak numbers of salmon are arriving to the different rivers.  The first ten days of June marks the peak of the Kasilof king salmon return and by mid June we will be seeing paek numbers of sockeye salmon on both the Kasilof and the Kenai (Russian River bound). June is also an excellent time for fly out fishing to Big River Lake for sockeye and bear viewing. Trout fishing opens on the Kenai on June 11 and Cook Inlet halibut fishing in June is always very good.  June holds the longest days of the year with generally mild weather and the summer solstice on June 20.
• July: July is considered the true peak of the Alaska Fishing season.  July marks the historical peak of the late run king salmon returns to the Kenai and the Kasilof as well as the peak run timing for late run sockeye.  The late run sockeye fishery on the Kenai represents the best time for those wanting to take fish home as the limit is six fish and upwards of one million sockeye salmon are swimming upriver in just a few short weeks. July is also a great time for fly out sockeye and also halibut, lingcod and rockfish from Cook Inlet, Homer and Seward.
• August: August is a very popular time for several reasons.  We still have very good numbers of late run Kenai sockeye salmon available and beginning in mid August we will see catchable numbers of early run silver salmon in the Kenai and the Kasilof as well as surrounding rivers on the Kenai Peninsula.  August is also peak timing for Kenai pink salmon on even numbered years and offers excellent fishing for trophy rainbow and dolly varden.  We have excellent fly out fishing for silvers in August as well as very good halibut fishing.
• September: September is very appealing for those not afraid of falling temperatures and precipitation.  September is peak timing for late run silver salmon on the Kenai and also one of the best time to catch trophy rainbows.  Steelhead also arrive in September to all the southern Kenai Peninsula rivers and also the Kasilof and the Kenai.  Fly out fishing to Crescent Lake for silvers, dolly varden and lake trout is excellent in September.  The weather in September is definitely cooler with cloudy, rainy conditions being common. With fewer people here and the leaves changing colors, many consider September the best time to visit.
• October: October weather can be very unpredictable with anything from mild conditions to snow.  We still have excellent fishing for silvers, trophy trout and steelhead for those able to tolerate inclimate weather conditions and colder temperatures.

• King Salmon: May, June, July
• Sockeye Salmon: June, July, August
• Silver Salmon: August, September, October
• Pink Salmon: August, September (even years )
• Steelhead Trout: September, October
• Rainbow Trout: June, July, August, September, October
• Dolly Varden: June, July, August, September, October
• Halibut: May, June, July, August, September