Planning Alaska (Kenai) Trip - Need Info

[Sporting_Man]

Guys, thank you for all the info.
I wouldn't mind renting boats or even going for paid guided boat trips daily. I only want to avoid guided packet-arrangements -being on a boat only and not sightseeing and having some freedom. I can easily stay for 6-7 days (plenty of vacation time and money). I just like to do it "my way"... besides, I like fishing from banks if possible.
However, I am receiving mixed messages - some people almost religiously recommend late June/early July, and some would think that nothing is lost even in late July. I definitely want to try my luck on Kenai kings, for sure. Keep coming with your comments, this is interesting.
Thanks again.

[Sporting_Man]

halflife65, those are dandy kings! 

[Viszla]

The early king run(late june) has a catch and release bracket.  Which pretty much means you can only keep small ones or a really big one.  Also, it is usually no bait.  Go late July as the late run of kings and reds are bigger and there are no size limits on the kings.  Go to AK fish and game website and look up the past few years of fish counts for the Kenai.  You can get a good idea of what kind of fish numbers to expect.  We do the trip every year in mid-late July, it's a blast.

[Sporting_Man]

Viszla, do you think that boat is a must there, at that time?

[Viszla]

Yes and no.  It definatley gives you an advantage, especially for kings.  We have never fished for kings from shore but a lot of people do so I can't really discredit it.   Expect shore fishing to be combat style, especially at the Russian river.  We drive a motorhome with our boat in tow.  You can access a lot more shore fishing places with a boat, although it's getting tough to find a legal shore to fish from.  A couple years ago ADFG closed a lot of the shore down to bank fishing because they claimed the bank fisherman were causing too much erosion.  In reality, it's the boat wake from the thousand boats going up and down the river everyday.

[Sporting_Man]

Seems like late July, then... What kind of rods do you guys use for sockeye there? Those rivers are wide and banks seem to be clean, so 9', or 9.5' rods would be ok? Medium heavy actions, or just your standard steelhead, medium action rod?

[Viszla]

Medium heavy is what we use with 20-30lb line.  You gotta horse 'em in so you're not tangling everyone up downstream.

[halflife65]

Medium heavy is what we use with 20-30lb line.  You gotta horse 'em in so you're not tangling everyone up downstream.

Combat fishing for reds on the Kenai.  It actually wasn't as bad on the Russian.  However, there are so many fish that if you get tangled you'll get a pass and not in a fistfight like on the Cowlitz.

I thought it was hard to fish for kings without a boat, though.

[Sporting_Man]

How big their sockeye are? 10lbs on average - or smaller? I have never had one caught.

[Sportfury]

When I used to work for Alaska Airlines I would go up every summer with a group of guys that I worked with. We always went the third week of July. By then the quota on the nets had been filled and the reds were free to run up the river (and the bugs were not bad). Not sure if that is the same now or not, but maybe somebody would know on here. We used to go to Soldotna and fish the Kenai there. If you take the Sterling Hwy and cross the river there is a campground on the right. I think it is first come first serve, but if you get there midweek you should be able to get a spot. They have a nice boardwalk down to the river where you can wade in and you could easily spread out from the other fisherman. Also come dinner time or later in the night there was hardly anyone there. There are a lot of nice lodges up and down the river where you could stay also. All with access to the river. The ADFG also has other boardwalks that you can use. You may want to contact them. The one I can think of is off Lingenberry Lane or Griffen Ave. There is also a boat launch there where you could wade down in the river and fish.

As for firearms I never found a need to have one. There are bears around, but with all the people we never saw one. In Soldotna there was a no shooting law within the town limits, so if you did hear a shot you always assumed it was over a bears head. When we started camping further out of town on my buddies uncle's property he started bringing his .338 Win Mag. Of course we had our fish cleaning station in the back of the camp, but made sure it was cleaned up daily with no morsels for anyone to find.

One other thing you should do when you are their is go watch the Alaskans dip net for Salmon at the mouth of Kenai. When the tide comes in is the best time to go watch because that is when the fish will start up the river. You will see some crazy contraptions and see a lot of people get wet. Some scary moments out there.

Never did fish the Russian River. My buddy who was from there said it was not worth fishing due to all the people plus he said the reds were a lot fresher down river. If my memory is correct from high tide it only took the fish 8 to 12 hours to get up Soldotna area's where we fished.

As for rods I have a Lamiglass 9.5' in medium/heavy with a Shimano Symetre reel spooling 25# line. Worked great for reds, but the one time I think I hooked into a King the fish screamed my line off the reel and right to the middle of the river. I lifted my rod tip in excitement and popped the line right there with the fish still heading toward midriver. My buddy always took his big fly rods with monofilament on. Talk about an exciting fight when he hooked a fish.

Best of luck to you and have fun. 

[Sporting_Man]

Nice overview, Sportfury - many thanks.
I will plan for the third week of July, seems like. I have a freedom to go mid-week. Tickets seem to be steady @ $450. Ouch... But, I will be fine.
As far as my rods and reels go - I will have a heavy actioned St. Croix Avid 9-footer casting rod (10-25 lb line, 1/2 - 2 Oz lure weight) with ABU Ambassadeur 61, spooled with 20-25 lb mono for kings, and medium-heavy spinning St. Croix Avid 9.5-footer (8-17 lb line, 3/8 - 1 Oz lure weight) with Shimano Sustain 5000. I can go with 15-20 line on this one. I hope that this will cover my needs there. These are very sensitive rods, especially the MH 9.5 footer. I hope it is not going to be overkill for Sockeye. 

[Huntbear]

I have lots of  insider info for the area up there.  My best friend has family that lives on the Moose River.  However, you have to take me with you to get the info!!!! 

 

Give me a day or so, will get you some info.

[upwind]

I just moved down here from Alaska if i was you late June early July is the best time for kings in the valley pm me for some spots.Also caught allot of kings off the homer spit on a fly rod .