June 1 2014
Getting into the Swing of Things
An inspirational essay on the joys of catching Kenai River Rainbow Trout on Streamers


Feeling a Kenai Rainbow Trout crush a streamer mid swing is arguably one of the most exciting ways to hook one of these mythical fish.  There are a couple times during the summer and fall when streamers out perform bead and flesh patterns.  This is a nice switch from the standard dead-drift presentation most commonly used.

Mid June – July

From the Trout opener on June 11 thru July smolt, leech, and sculpin patterns can add a nice change from the standard dead drift. Swinging through deep holding pockets will put your streamer in the zone for battle with super charged chrome Trout. 

A variety of size and color patterns should live in your fly box.  Over the years more and more anglers have been fishing the early season Rainbow bite.  This increased pressure has educated the Trout population.  Olive, brown, and black patterns ranging in size from 2” – 5” are a must to keep up with the constantly changing minds of big Rainbow Trout.

More food for thought……a small quiver of various sink tip lines help get that perfect swing at the desired depth, but,  sometimes “swinging” a streamer under an indicator will out fish a traditional sink tip set up.

A quick note for those that will be fishing  the opener (June 11) into early July.  Don’t target the fish sitting in the shallows!  These guys are working hard to make more Rainbow Trout so we have awesome fishing for years to come.  Not only does it disrupt them from spawing, Trout during this time are  under tremendous stress and are not eating.  There is a great chance that a spawning fish will not live after it is released due to exhaustion.  So please try to fish in deep holing water and main channel.  If you do hook a dark (spawning fish)  bring it in immediately and don’t take it out of the water for a photo try to get it released without consuming too much of its energy.

Late Fall

Once the Kenai drops and the fish start to pocket up to eat as much as possible before winter is another great time to swing streamers.  Do to the low water, there are many great gravel bars and wading spots.  Swing during this time of year can lead to an encounter with a giant Keani Bow.

Photogenic Rainbow Trout

We have written many articles about fishing the Kenai River, how to catch Rainbow Trout, and the why’s and where’s. The one thing we haven’t covered, and equally as important as catching fish, is how to properly photo and release the fish.

Getting a great photo of that beautiful Kenai River Rainbow starts with a good net. Most serious Trout anglers use a rubber net, the thick rubber holds it’s shape while the fish is in it, doesn’t rip the slime off the fish, and allows for easy working with the fish. The mesh, or rubber coated mesh nets do a great job of scaring the Trout, and rip the slime off, this is bad, the slime on a fish protects the fish from infections.

Now that you have successfully put a beautiful Rainbow Trout in rubber net, what next? A round of high fives is in order, then its decision making time. Do you want to go to shore with the fish? Do you want to measure the fish? How is the fish doing?

The easiest place to work with a photo fish is from the shore in slow to stagnant water. If you are on the Middle Kenai odds are you caught the fish from a boat in some form of moving water. Getting the fish safely to shore for that photo can be tricky.

1. Once the fish is in the net see how the fish is doing. If it was a long fight the fish is probably tired, let the fish hangout in the net for a bit before you handle it or head for the shore.

2. Figure out a good shore spot to work on the fish. Slower the water the better. If at any time you see the fish is pinned to a side of the net due to water current or moving the fish from main river to shore, stop! This is causing harm to the fish. Find slower water and or move to shore at a slower speed.

3. Plan where you want to go to shore, and take your time getting there. We have seen people net fish, then lift the net out of the water and quickly run to a shore spot – not cool. If the fish is not in the water it cannot breathe if the fish is pinned to the side of the net, it cannot breathe.

Here are a few tips for those that photo from the boat:

1. Always be aware of your surroundings and where your boat is floating. Photoing a fish from a moving boat can be dangerous if someone is not watching where the boat is drifting at all times.

2. Never bring a fish into the boat for photos or measuring ever. We have a rule for our boats that no Rainbow Trout or any fish that is going to be released cannot come across the gunnel.

Ok, now you have the fish in a safe, controlled environment the next move is to get an awesome photo and some measurements for accurate bragging rights. The school of hard knocks taught us that it is better to get a photo than a measurement first. Sometimes fish find their way back into the water sooner than we would like.

When preparing to get a photo orientate yourself so the sun or best light source is on you, not behind you. Now grab a hold of the fish, with the fish still in the water communicate with the cameraperson to make sure they are ready. If all parties are ready do a three count, 1,2,3 lift the fish get a quick photo then put the fish back in the net in the water. While the fish is resting check to see how good the photo is. Repeat this process for every photo.



Remember that you put a lot of time and effort into catching a great fish; make sure you put the same effort into keeping the fish safe and healthy while you get your photos and measurements.

Once you get your photos its time to get a length and a girth. The girth can be done with a soft tape with the fish in the net, in the water. For the length we recommend getting a dun rite fish measuring board or something equivalent. Put the dun rite in the water and carefully slide the fish on the board for the measurement.



Now that the fish is in the water on the board releasing is easy. Hold the fish by the tail and help it to get reoriented. Soon as the fish is ready it should take off.

Catching a “photo” fish is an addictive thrill, there is nothing better than getting a great photo to capture the moment and share the memory. But it is our responsibly to take as much time and care to release the fish and preserve the resource as necessary. Be a role model on the water.

 It’s a Pink Year!

Happy 2014! Weeeeeeeeeeee! Why are we sooooo excited? Well, even number years on the Kenai River = Pink Salmon show up and spawn! You may find yourself thinking that Salmon show up and spawn every year, what’s so special about Pink Salmon?

                        
We love them!

It’s true! When the Pinks return to the Kenai River they come with an army, 1million is not a huge return! How this relates to Rainbow Trout is a ton of food for them to get fat and happy. With the King Salmon returns being bleak, an additional food source is quite welcomed by Kenai River Trout.

Usually our biggest Rainbows come on Pink years, it seems the big Bo’s are willing to hang out longer in the river due to the extra easy food source. By early fall most Trout are already showing some signs of obesity. This fattening trend contiues through the fall making for exceptional fishing.

If you have been thinking about fishing the Kenai River for Rainbow Trout, this year would be a good one. The window of awesome will start mid/late August and run into October. Plenty of time for greatness! Hope to see you out there!

September Fly Fishing Kenai River, Alaska

The first week of September started off with a bang, our biggest fish of the season came during this time. This can be attributed to the beginning of the Red Salmon spawn and the end of the King Salmon spawn. Water levels were still way above average keeping Rainbows in small pockets, but those pockets were awesome.

           

At this point we were fishing 20 miles of river! Trout were keying in on egg patterns, fresh, old, and sizes 7mm – 12mm were all fair game. Talk about an information overload!

Typically with a “Sockeye year” the majority of productive water consists in the first five miles below Skilak Lake. One advantage of high water during this time was spreading out the food source, resulting in spreading out the fish. Consolidated food equals consolidated fish, naturally making catching Rainbow Trout easier. This is good right? In some cases yes, but on the World Famous Kenai River this means consolidated angling pressure. So long story short the high water made it possible for the creative angler to avoid congested angling pressure to some degree.

For the second half of September our efforts became concentrated in the top few miles below Skilak Lake. Knowing the bite timing and staying on top of which bead at which minute gave us some great fishing. Many mid to high 20” fish were caught. Same as always, being creative and running a little different program than most gave us an edge on netting some Kenai River beauties.

Luckily for us when the afternoon bite turned on most people were not around for it! Spotty bite fluxes kept many anglers moving around to find fish, the fact is the fish were always there, but became ultra sensitive to boat pressure. Once the bite really died it was time to stay persistent and keeping moving around the productive lines because it was bound to turn on. Typically 20 minutes after boats left the Trout mysteriously began to party.