Fishing on the Kenai this week continues to blow minds and tippets. The first run of sockeye salmon continue to flood the Upper Kenai in massive swarms and fly fisherman targeting these chrome rockets are investing heavily in Ben- Gay cream. The bag limit has been increased to six fish per person and carcass piles are stacking up in the upper river and canyon like the battle of Troy. Big meat-eating magnum rainbows and Dollies are taking up residence behind these piles and anglers drifting micro-flesh and egg patterns continue to get heavy action. This coming week should start to produce some of the best trout fishing of the month as the sockeye numbers start to thin out and allow the srout to move back into their normal feeding lanes. Water conditions continue to be low and clear, and long leaders and light tippets should be standard for trout fisherman.
   

The Middle Kenai Trout Fishery is producing legendary results this week. High winds have finally stirred up Skilak Lake and pushed more silt into the middle river providing more camouflage for boat anglers. 4 inch leech patterns are still producing big chrome take downs above the Killey River. Fishing below the Killey River tributary this week has turned on heavy since the Killey has mellowed out and is not pumping straight mud into the Kenai. Big articulated flesh flies in white and dirty gray are hitting huge rainbows all the way to Bing's Landing and anglers should be prepared for some massive chrome action.

More reports to follow. Billy

The 2009 Upper Kenai River opened up full force with one the biggest runs of first run sockeye to hit the river since the glory days of Quiet Riot! Fly fishing Sockeye has been fast and furious and the run seems to just keep building. We have been spotting massive schools throughout the entire river system. These fish are all bound for the Russian River, a major clear water tributary of the Upper Kenai. This Legendary run is producing tons of trout food in the form of filleted carcasses, guts, and egg sacs. Big Skilak Lake rainbows and Dollies are flooding into the upper Kenai to feast and anglers targeting trout are going into the backing. Micro-Flesh patterns and beads are on fire and the trout fishing on the upper Kenai should continue to get even better as the week progresses.

Water conditions are exceptionally clear, and pro trout anglers that are bending rods are running 12 foot leaders and 6-8lb fluorocarbon tippets. The trout fishing in the Middle Kenai River below Skilak Lake has been insane as well. Trout anglers that are concentrating in the deeper runs are hitting super-charged, smolt-eating chrome rainbows in the 6-10 pound range all day. Big 4 inch sculpin patterns in black and olive are producing magnum takedowns. As in the Upper Kenai, the Middle Kenai is extremly clear and long leaders and light tippets rule. There are still a lot of big spawning rainbows in this section of river on the the shallow gravel bars and anglers should show some respect to these legends and leave them be.

More reports to follow as the week progresses on the Kenai.

Billy Couillette

The summer of 2009 is off to a great start. The best weather we have seen in years and the fishing is good, too. 

King salmon have started their annual return to Gastineau Channel and Fish Creek. DIPAC is predicting a strong run again this season. This is a great year to get into king fishing or to give it another go if it has been awhile. These kings are hatchery fish and return either to DIPAC Hatchery or Fish Creek. A ten weight rod is ideal but an eight will suffice if you just want to give it a try. A medium sink tip line is great for getting the fly down into the strike zone. Fish the dropping tide just after the high at Fish Creek. Kings move into the estuary on the high tide and slowly cruise around until they drop back out at the low. The incoming tide is generally less productive. A Fuschia Hareball Leech , Pink Fergus' Rockstar or a Chartreuse Stinger Prawn are three great patterns to entice a vicious strike. Be prepared for hoards of no-see-ums (tiny little biting flies.) We carry no-see-um headnets and lightweight fingerless bug gloves that will save your bacon out on the creek! To fish the DIPAC return, try the beaches around the hatchery or the mouth of Salmon Creek around the low tide. Kings cruise in this area before finally pushing into the hatchery.

From the lasted reports, the sockeye are in at Windfall Creek. It is open Wednesdays and Saturdays for the month of June ONLY. The creek is closed to all fishing on the other days. It is a very "social" fishery so don't go up there for the wilderness experience. However, it is a great chance to catch what is pound for pound probably the hardest fighting of all the salmon. An eight weight rod, a reel with a good drag system, and a floating line is best. A 9-foot 12 lb tapered leader, strike indicator, and split shot round out the terminal tackle. The #6 Sockeye Lantern and #6 Red Hot are two of the best flies. It is also good to have a few Copper Swans , Montana Brassies , and Shad Flies in your fly box. Practice getting a nice deep dead drift with a tight line so you can feel the strikes.

The Dolly and cutt fishing is still going strong off the beaches and in the river mouths. Due to our long and dry spring, DIPAC delayed many of their fry releases until June. With so many fry just hitting the water the Dolly beach fishing should keep going for another few weeks. Larger Clouser Minnows (#2 and #4) are working well. A quick strip retrieve on top of a boil is the best technique. If no fish are actively feeding try a slower retrieve and let the fly sink 10 to 20 seconds before bringing it back in. Also try slowly sweeping your rod to the side to make the fry look like it is escaping. Bracketing the low tide (2-3 hours before the low until 2-3 after the low) is the prime window. Amalga Harbor, Salmon Creek, Echo Cove, Juneau/Douglas Bridge Beach, and Eagle Beach by the Boy Scout Camp have all fished well lately. The lower reaches of some of the rivers have been quite good as well. By late June the fry will migrate into deeper water and the Dollies will relocate to the rivers to await the return of the pink and chum salmon. This usually happens in mid to late June. Now is the time to get the last of the sea runs! 

Good luck!

See you on the water. Brad

Ahhhh, summer is finally here and the fishing is good! Air and water temperatures are warming, lots of fry are swimming off the beaches, and Dollies and cutts are showing up in good numbers. It is hard to tell if the steelhead season has already peaked or there is still another batch of fish coming. Many of the fish that are currently in freshwater are paired up and spawning. I can't over-emphasize how important it is to leave these fish alone. Look for single fish particularly near the mouth of the streams where the freshest fish tend to be. Often the fish farther up the creek are already in spawning mode. Use some discretion and we'll all be able to fish these magnificent runs long into the future.

Probably the best bet right now is sea-run Dolly Varden fishing. DIPAC just released their first batch of 24 million chum fry in Gastineau Channel. This is later than normal but due to the cold spring they are holding the fry longer to allow them to mature. There will be another release of 12 million fry in the first half of June. All told they will release over 35 million fry in Gastineau Channel and over 47 million fry in Amalga Harbor. Amalga Harbor has not had a release yet but DIPAC expects to start some time in early June. The Dolly fishing is already very solid in the channel. Now that the DIPAC fry have hit the water it will go into over drive.

Fishing the lower half of the tide is most productive. Three hours before the low until three hours after the low is best. The higher end of the tide tends to spread out the fish. Expect a lull in the fishing right around the low, too. A few spots to try include Sheep Creek (from the creek mouth all the way around to the Thane Ore House), the beach near the Douglas Bridge, little Kowee Creek on Douglas Island, Salmon Creek, the area where Peterson Creek flows into Amalga Harbor, and Echo Cove. Eagle Beach by the Boy Scout Camp will open on June 1 as well. This is by no means a complete list of spots. Dollies move all over in their search for a meal so try your luck at other spots. Another good technique is to look for birds (Arctic Terns in particular) feeding on fry. Birds can often lead you to the fish!

A five or six weight outfit and floating line with nine foot 3X leader is the best setup. If dollies are splashing around eating fry try to cast a fly right on them and strip it quickly. When they are in a feeding frenzy they tend to be much less selective and will recklessly grab a fly zipping away from them. If you don't see much going on, move around covering the water with casts in all directions. Also try letting the fly sink 10-20 seconds and then strip it in. Keep your strip short and quick. If short strops don't work try a longggggg continuous motion strip. Don't let the Dollies get too good a look at your fly. Some good patterns include the Gray/White Clouser Minnow or the Olive/White Clouser Minnow in sizes 2, 4 and 6, Neil Creek Darts in Olive/White , Gray/White and All White , Salmon Fry in size 6, and Stinger Clousers in Olive/Whit e and Gray/White . For a little added fun, try a topwater pattern. Stripping a surface pattern can elicit a vidious grab from feeding Dollies and cutts. One of our favorites is the Wiggleminnow Rainbow .

See you on the water. Brad