If you have never visited Soldotna, Alaska in the summer, you cannot go far without seeing some sign of the fabled salmon fishery that permeates the town annually. In nearby waters from May through September, one of the most refined and professional guide fleets plies the glacial Kenai for abundant sockeye salmon and trophy rainbows. Success is not afforded via fate or luck alone, but by virtue of the equipment it takes to tackle the Kenai and her many unique challenges.
Rods
G.Loomis is hands down the gold standard when it comes to quality salmon, steelhead and trout rods. These American made handcrafted conventional and fly fishing rods are your direct connection to some of the best fishing on the planet. Since 1982, G.Loomis has been constantly innovating, designing and perfecting the best equipment for what we do and we are proud to hand our clients their rods day in and day out.
Hooks
Gamakatsu continues to dominate the hook world and nowhere is that more true than here on the Kenai. From their small, but deadly trout hooks to the big stuff for Kenai kings, they are always on the cutting edge of hook technology. Their hooks have shown year in and year out that they can handle all the Kenai can deliver. As a guide, time-tested reliability is priceless and Gamakatsu is my hook of choice.
Lines
I think it is safe to say that a good number of the anglers I fish annually have never actually fished with braided line. When you tell them they are using 80-100# test line, they look at the line and are often surprised by how small the diameter is. But the small diameter is merely one reason to utilize a quality braided line like Tuf Lines’ XP Plus when targeting big Kenai Kings. One other nice feature is strength. This tightly woven synthetic line is built to withstand abrasion and with a river strewn with obstacles including jagged rocks, trees, and countless other boats durability is very important. Braided line also has no stretch so it not only does a more effective job of working with the rod to run a plug to perfection but once the fish strikes, there is no delay in getting the hooks buried.
Reels
You might be wondering what we load all that Tuff Line onto and the answer is always Shimano. Yet another industry leading product, Shimano reels are the only option in our camp. For kings we especially like the Tekota 500 Line Counters as the counter proves invaluable for back-trolling and the drags on these reels are built to perform with precision all season long. The oversized handle is especially helpful when getting line back on a huge salmon and the spool on the 500 is just right for the line capacity we require.
Lures
None of this advanced gear really matters unless you have something the fish want to bite. Trying to fool big game fish like Kenai kings is not an easy task to accomplish day in and day out and no other lure consistently catches more Kenai Kings than Luhr Jensen’s Kwikfish. These diving plugs, especially with a belly wrapped with fresh sardine, seem to have a certain action that salmon simply cannot resist.
