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Kenai Report-Preseason 06-10-11 |
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The count down has begun. All of you anxious fly anglers that have been counting the days, hours, minutes and for some of you fish nuts, even the seconds, the wait is almost over. Race on down and as they say at the beginning of the cage match.” It’s Time!” Put on the gloves, the waders and sunglasses and get your swing on!
Our friends at Troutfitters send reports of sockeye at the mouth and up in the Russian. A good run is predicted which only leads to good trout fishing. For the rainbow opener, try swinging leeches and sculpins off of the bars. This technique can be a deadly way to pick up some hot early season trout. When floating from bar to bar and in the back channels, try dead drifting small flesh patterns. And yes for you “bead heads” out there, beads can be a good way to start. Even though there’s no spawning salmon, trout tend to have the egg thing engrained into their heads.
For all you guys and gals looking to rip lip and fill the cooler with bright, fresh, red sockeye fillets, its time to hit the “A” run. Check the usual spots and bars as the fish continue to show up in hoards. For patterns to try check out Montana Brassies and the Sockeye Fly in orange or green.
The Kenai has some pretty strict regulations. To see the ADF&G regs, click here.
Have a great weekend and catch lots! We’ll have an updated report for you early next week.
Tight Lines,
Brad and Mike |
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 Fall has arrived on the Kenai and the fishing is still going strong. The river had been ultra-low in late September but rain in the headwaters brought the water levels way up. Even with this increased flow the clarity was quite good. This higher water ended up washing thousands of carcasses off the bank and into the river. It is a virtual flesh-fest right now. This in turn woke up Mr. Dolly in his full spawning colors. In some areas washed out flesh on the swing was the ticket. MOAL Rhoids, Barely Legals in Flesh Washed and S&B's in Flesh were all producers.
In other spots there was so much flesh rolling down the river that it was hard to get a grab on a flesh fly. If this is the case, switch over to 8mm or 10mm beads in Mottled Orange, Mottled Tangerine or Guide Model Beads #2 in Tangerine or Orange Clear.
The Middle River had been fishing hot but a ton of silt from Skilak Lake got flushed into the river and clarity dropped way down. Grabs decreased proportionally. Until it clears fishing will be tough on the middle. The Killey River is pumping mud so anything below this trib is pretty much unfishable.
Silver are still pushing in and can be found in the slower back eddies and pools. Try a Pink Hareball Leech or Black Starlite Leech with Green Head.
It's not over yet! Get out and give it a last shot. |
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The Upper Kenai River and Canyon are in full Fall swing. Reds in every state of the spawn are in this section of the river and more are moving up from Skilak Lake on a daily basis. As you might guess, it is a bead show. With some reds already dying off, others dropping fresh eggs, and still more getting ready to spawn, a wide variety of bead colors in 6mm and 8mm are working. Dead egg imitations such as Washed Pink as well as fresh egg colors are all producing. There are carcass piles here and there and a swung flesh fly can work around these heaps of dead protein.
The Middle Kenai is improving for trout fishing. The last of the crimson king salmon torpedos are barely hanging on and a 10mm bead fished behind them can work. The sockeye are finally putting eggs down and this will really kick the fishery into gear.
Silver fishing is sporadic. They are mixed in with the sockeye and foul-hooking goat roap is a distinct possibility. Choose your targets with care or be prepared to lose some flies.
Quartz Creek has slowed way down and the Russian River is on and off. Those willing to hike up the Russian quite a ways are having some good days on beads and flesh.
Finally, keep your eyes peeled for the brown fuzzies. Now that the reds are paired up and in shallow water the brown bears are on the river in force.
See you out there!
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Kenai Peninsula | Page 1
The Upper Kenai is starting to ramp up
for the fall trout madness. Plenty of sockeye are in the river but
the egg drop has not started in earnest, yet. Hopefully in a week or
so the spawn will be going in full force and the best fishing of the
year will be upon us. If you put a gun to our head, August 25 would
be a best guess for when the sockeye spawn should really take off.
Currently anglers are fishing large
(10mm) beads behind spawning kings. These big bruiser are out in the
middle of the river so a boat is a must for effectively reaching
them. Use plenty of lead to get your offering down deep.
Swinging leeches, flesh, and sculpins
in the area of holding sockeye is also a good tactic. There are trout
milling around waiting for the egg drop and they will often grab a
streamer if it is in the neighborhood.
Silver fishing is still fairly slow.
There are a slew of pink salmon in the river this year and they are
inhaling any pink colored fly that goes by. These eager grabbers
make it hard to get your fly in front of a silver. More coho should
be on the way and in the river soon.
Finally, good trout and Dolly fishing
can be had in Quartz Creek and the Russian River. Try beads in Quartz
and nymphs or small streamers in the Russian. These are both good
options if you don't have a boat or are looking for a change of pace.
See you out there!
A big thanks to Keith at Worldwide in
Anchorage for this week's Kenai report.
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The Upper Kenai River opened this
week with prime water conditions, and big Rainbows were in battle
formations
ready to pull anglers' chains after a long winter. The first run of
Sockeye have arrived on the Upper Kenai heading for the Legendary
Russian
River, a main tributary of the Upper Kenai River. Magnum Trout and Char
are
using these five to seven pound chromers as meat shields to navigate up
the river
into the Combat Zone where hundreds of pounds of Sockeye carcass, guts,
and egg
sacs are being thrown back into the river by mobs of blood thirsty,
frenzied
salmon anglers below the confluence of the Russian and Kenai Rivers.
Trout
anglers dead drifting micro flesh flies and 8mm beads in the deeper runs
and
drops below the Salmon Apocalypse are getting their rotator cuffs
stretched to
the max.
The Kenai River Canyon is also producing some mega
results in the Boils and deep cliff runs for some big native red
stripers and
transitional Chrome out of Skilak Lake. Again, flesh and egg patterns
are
standard connectors, however do not hesitate to swing some big leeches
in the
mix. The River delta into Skilak is especially kicking down on the
swing, but
be prepared to get embarrassed when that ultra rainbow pulls a figure-
eight
360 swirl maneuver and wraps your neckpiece with fly line.
The middle Kenai River is throwing down some epic
leech
fishing for Rainbows from the outlet down to the Killey River Tributary.
Trout
anglers swinging deep with big 4-6 inch Loop Leeches in Black, Brown,
and Olive
are getting crushed on the swing. Massive schools of smolt are boiling
out of
Skilak Lake and the setting is straight out of Alfred Hitchcock’s “The
Birds” with Arctic terns and Loons swarming on the feed. Below the
Killey
River, articulated flesh flies in white, grey, and cream are lighting it
up in
the “dirty water” below this trib. I would highly recommend upgrading
your tippets to the 12lb class in this stretch of water as the Rainbows
here
are completely on another level and hand out free lessons like you have
never
seen.
More Reports to follow
Billy
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