Late run Kenai river sockeye salmon are probably the most popular and certainly the most democratic, all-inclusive fishery in Alaska, if not in America. Call it combat fishing or Alaska at it’s best (or worst) or just your annual freezer filler, it’s also the promise of big sockeyes that... Read more
Seward silver action getting hot
Fishing July 7, 2017
by Lee Leschper After pulling a vanishing act in 2016, silver salmon are back in force and hungry in Resurrection Bay and the surrounding waters this week. What began as a trickle of first silvers a week ago has turned into a full blown flood of silvers since the... Read more
Strong Russian sockeye run provides great fishing
Fishing June 26, 2017
By Lee Leschper Defining recent trends, this year’s early Russian River run of sockeye salmon continues strong and steady, blessing eager anglers with limits now up to six fish a day. ADF&G raised the daily bag limit on the Russian and the Upper Kenai to six per day and... Read more
Sanctuary opens, sockeye limit to six
Fishing June 23, 2017
ADF&G had announced The Russian River Sanctuary area will be open to sockeye salmon sport fishing beginning at 8:00 a.m. Saturday, June 24. Please review the Upper Kenai River and Russian River Confluence area map on page 58 of the 2017 Southcentral Sport Fishing Regulations Summary booklet. Also, beginning... Read more
Fishing with the bears and how to survive it
Fishing June 23, 2017
By Lee Leschper I was daydreaming, in the rhythm of flipping a fly into the clear Russian river, lulled by warm sun and no fish. So it took a second to recognize the great furry brown head that poked out of the brush and ferns 30 yards in front... Read more
Is bait right or needed for early Kenai kings?
Fishing June 21, 2017
By Lee Leschper The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has legalized the use of bait for early run king salmon on the lower Kenai River as of today. That means serious king fishermen can now start plunking big balls of salmon eggs and sweetening plugs with herring fillets... Read more
As the 2017 Slam’n Salm’n Derby wraps at noon Sunday, Michael Tinker’s 36.2-pound king salmon was holding onto first place. It’s been a Derby with both lots of fish–more than 300 weighed in through Saturday–and big fish, with the top ten salmon all more than 31 pounds. This year’s... Read more
Max size limit increases for lower Kenai kings
Fishing June 13, 2017
Thanks to a stronger than expected run of early run king salmon to the Kenai River, ADF&G has liberalized size limits, allowing for larger kings to be kept, in the lower part of the river immediately. In a release Monday, the department increased the maximum size limit to less than... Read more
Tips for making most of Russian opener
Fishing June 9, 2017
June 11 isn’t a state holiday in Alaska, but it might as well be. For the majority of Alaska sport fishermen, that opening day on the Upper Kenai and the Russian River is the opening bell to Sunday’s opener is shaping up to be a good one. Although the... Read more
ADF&G announced today that the Cooper River will now be open for sport anglers, after a preseason closure. Effective June 3, in the Glennallen Subdistrict subsistence fishery the annual limit for king salmon taken by fish wheel is rescinded and the annual limit for king salmon taken by dip... Read more
When is a halibut too big to keep? Hot
Fishing Jun 3, 2017
No bait or multiple hooks on Kenai until Aug. 15
Fishing Jul 29, 2020
