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 tempts some anglers to try to get to the river without consideration to private property owners.
That access part is where fishermen need to do some homework this summer. Much of the Kenai River shoreline including popular fishing spots, is accessed through private property. CIRI, in particular, which ownes eight percent of all the river’s shoreline, is posting and limiting access through much of their property.
This is in response to frankly bad behavior in the past, from fishermen who trampled and in general made a mess of the shoreline. In this same vein, both the state and Feds now put much of their shorelines off limits, to cut down on the habitat destruction that is one of the key issues tied to Kenai salmon declines
Here’s more on this from the Peninsula Clarion: http://peninsulaclarion.com/news/local/2017-07-05/ciri-steps-enforcement-kenai-river-lands.
For more information, call CIRI at (907) 274-8638.
