After several years of falling short of minimum escapement objectives, the 2025 late run of Kenai River king salmon narrowly met the recovery threshold of 14,250 large kings (greater than 34 inches). By the final day of counting, the cumulative sonar estimate stood at 15,015 fish. This benchmark was established under the Kenai River Late …
Summary of actions at the 2024 Upper Cook Inlet Board of Fisheries Meeting as it pertains to the sportfishing angler visiting the Kenai Peninsula for the next three seasons. The most significant action taken at the Upper Cook Inlet Finfish Meeting held from February 23 to March 5, 2024, was in response to the “stock …
Governor Dunleavy Appointees Help Local Sockeye Sport Fishing The triannual Board of Fisheries meeting for upper Cook Inlet took place in early February in Anchorage and the seven member board, many selected by newly elected governor Mike Dunleavy, voted in favor of several proposals that shifted fish away from commercial fisheries and into the rivers. …
Kenai River King Salmon Fishing: A Guide’s Perspective Running a fishing business on the world famous Kenai River may seem like a dream job to some, but those that have “lived this dream” know it’s not always about bent rods and screaming drags. Fact is, even though we love to fish, during the peak of …
Two Rivers, Twenty Minutes Apart Why Fish the Kasilof River? That’s a great question! While there is certainly no doubt the Kenai is the world’s most famous salmon river—home to the largest kings on earth and the place of piscatorial dreams—just 20 minutes down the Sterling Highway is the Kasilof. It is a river slightly …
Prior to this past season, it had been several summers since I guided for kings on the Kenai. With low returns and restrictions, we largely refocused our efforts on the more abundant and predictable sockeye salmon. 2016 seemed to be a pivotal moment for the Kenai with improved king salmon returns not only here, but …
2016 was definitely an encouraging year for Kenai River Kings. Both the early and late runs saw improved numbers as well as a good number of larger kings. We proudly released the vast majority of the kings we caught this year. As your hire a Kenai River fishing guide specialists, we remain dedicated to the …
For those keeping up with the latest discussions regarding our king salmon returns, it is important to remember that this all comes down to preserving what is arguably the most genetically unique king salmon run in the world. As your Kenai River expert guide service team, we firmly believe the Board of Fisheries must prioritize …
Are you interested in a guided drift boat fishing trip on the Kasilof River? CALL 907-398-6405 In the Shadow of Giants (This article was written by Kenai/Kasilof River guide Mark Glassmaker and was originally published in Fish Alaska magazine in July 2006.) The Kenai’s lesser known neighbor has a king-sized reputation all its own. When …
Why Kenai Kings Grow So Large The strain of salmonid on steroids that returns to the Kenai’s glacial flows is unmatched in size anywhere on earth. Indeed, a handful of rivers from Washington to Alaska are likely to produce a few fifty-pounders—maybe a sixty, maybe. The Kenai has historically yielded 50+ pound salmon throughout the …
