30 Sep Alaska Fishing Report: September 30, 2013
The Kenai River is finally dropping (once again) as yet another high water event moves through the middle river. After very high water for almost all of September, the river was finally beginning to show signs of setting into more normal September shape when the Skilak Glacier Ice dam began to release and the river once again spiked to just under flood stage.
Through it all, late run silver salmon fishing has been very good at times. Fresh fish continue to enter the lower river so once the water comes back down to reasonable levels, we can expect things to remain well worth the time on the water. These late run fish are some of the nicest salmon of the season and with the fall colors in full bloom, this is a great time of the year to be on the river.
Trout fishing has been just okay so far this fall but again the high water has the bulk of the trout population scattered and hard to target. The most consistent action seems to be directly below Skilak Lake with beads fished through and below spawning sockeye. When the river finally drops back to normal levels, trout fishing should improve greatly.
Steelhead are entering and present throughout both Deep Creek and the Anchor Rivers. Water conditions have been up and down and this will definitely have an effect on fish movement and also angler success. These steelhead are a great challenge and very fun to catch and release. Beads and flies as well as small spinners are all great ways to fish for these sea going rainbows.
