Winterize your boat? Put your rods and gear away for the year? Not quite yet! For many local anglers, we're just getting started on what some consider "prime time" here on the Kenai Peninsula. Silver Salmon continue to pour into every nook and cranny of nearly every flowing water within range, and they can be taken through various means and methods. However, the highlight species of late fall on the Kenai Peninsula is undoubtedly the Rainbow Trout. As the masses of salmon continue to spawn and die, Rainbows are there to pick up the pieces, literally! Water conditions can greatly affect the trout bite, but if you have a bead or a flesh fly on the end of your line, and get it down to the bottom, you are giving yourself the opportunity to land a wild trophy trout, the likes of which are only available on the Kenai and a few other places on Earth. Luckily, Kenai trout aren't leader shy, so make sure your tippet is heavy enough to land the potential giant that may wind up at the end of your line... You'll be happy you did. Focus your efforts behind places where salmon are spawning, and do your best to "match the hatch" by picking colors and sizes of beads and flesh that mimic the food presently available. Most veteran trout anglers have their own favorite fingernail polish color used to coat their beads, making them more realistic and/or attractive to the fish, so don't be afraid to experiment with your own. The pink salmon are largely spawning out and dying off, so you will catch less and less of them going forward.
Reminder- be extra cautious boating and wading in the high fast water. There are a lot more logs, branches and other debris floating down, so be careful.
Middle & Lower Kenai
The Middle River (Skilak Lake to Bings Landing) and Lower River (Bings to Cook Inlet) sockeye fishing is long over, the pinks have made their way up stream, and silvers are getting thick. The number one rule when Silver Salmon fishing is to BRING EVERYTHING! Silvers can be moody, and are often extremely selective towards color, presentation, etc. In one moment they want to bite eggs, the next they want jigs, the next they prefer slowly stripped flies in slow water, etc, etc, etc. If you're not having a lot of luck while fishing for Silvers, it's probably not because they're not there, it's probably because they're being picky. Some days they'll seemingly bite anything your put out there, but others there is only one presentation that gets their attention. So don't give up, and try everything in your box until you figure them out!
Trout fishing has been good- but the higher water conditions are making it more of a challenge lately. Fish are moving closer to the banks grabbing up salmon carcasses. Try flesh flies near areas where salmon are being caught and cleaned, and also below where salmon are spawning and dying off. Beads are probably your best bet right now though, in the 8-10mm size range. Dont be afraid to add a weight or two in the high fast water. The trout are gorging on salmon eggs and carcasses, and that next grab could be the trophy rainbow you have dreamed of.
Upper Kenai
Moving up to the Upper Kenai (Kenai Lake to Skilak Lake), trout fishing has remained good to great despite rising waters from the abundance of fall rain we have experienced. The salmon spawn is on- so beads are the primary go to option. 6 or 8mm, start with natural or dark roe colors and experiment with more washed out colors from there. With the rising water levels, we can expect a lot of carcasses and food to be in the water system, so a good flesh bite may be coming on again in the very near future. Silvers are being picked up regularly, but many are pretty blushed out. Try stripping in brighter chartreuse, pink and purple flies- dolly llamas and other large streamers.
Steelhead
The Kenai Peninsula is lucky enough to contain one of the most northerly steelhead runs in the world. The season is relatively short, but when conditions are right, fishing can be great! The Kasilof River, the Ninilchik River, Deep Creek, and the Anchor River are all beginning to see steelhead enter their respective systems. A few steelhead are accidentally caught on gear by anglers targeting silver salmon, but most steelhead seekers are fly fishermen. The southern Kenai Peninsula streams are all textbook fly fishing locations, and Steelhead can be targeted effectively using several different fly fishing strategies. Perhaps the most common method is to utilize an indicator and a bead in the 10-14mm range. But Steelhead are also vulnerable to striking at a variety of flies being swung by a spey or switch rod, various streamers and wet flies, and even large nymph patterns being dead-drifted. In my experience, Steelhead on the Kenai Peninsula act more like trout than steelhead I have encountered in other areas, so implement your strategy accordingly. If you are lucky enough to bring a Steelhead to hand, please take great care of these special fish, and do not remove them from the water if at all possible.
The chill is in the air, so bundle up. Winter is coming, but there is plenty of great fishing still!
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