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.

August 15 - 31

Non Stop Silvers

The best run of early Kenai River Silver Salmon in years showed no sign of slowing down until the last few days of August, even then we still found them, but it just took  a little longer.  Backtrolling sardine wrapped plugs seemed to be the most effective way to bring Silvers in,  casting spinners, and fly fishing also produced results. 

When is the best time for Silvers?

Great question.  August 10thish seems to be when the party gets started and lasts typically through  the end of August (Remember that Salmon runs are very similar to a bell curve).   September is the same typically by the 10th the success level is pretty good.

 

Rainbow Trout

The second half of August started to warm up as the King Salmon began spawning.  Above average water levels, and a small King return kept the guides of Drift Away constantly moving to stay on the Rainbow Trout, however, some great fish were caught.  Between the big fish a steady supply of 20”– 24” Trout kept guest smiling.  It seems that the mid range Rainbow Trout fight sooooo hard, often we think that a 10lb rainbow is on until it jumps.  These are some of our favorite fish due to their tenacity!

Kenai River Rainbow Trout and Silver Salmon:  August 1 – 15 

In the beginning of the month we were still basking in the 80-degree untraditional Alaskan summer.  Then….. the temps dropped and the rain started.  The Kenai River in Alaska went through some dramatic changes during the first two weeks.  For us it meant tracking down and staying on those Kenai River Rainbow Trout was a touch tricky, but we prevailed.    Our hats off to the hard core fly fishing and float fishing clients that stayed focused and persistent!

What Happened?  The Rainbow Trout Saga:

Here is a quick breakdown of the curve ball Mother Nature threw at us.  With all the warm sunny temps we received during May, June, and July the Kenai River began to rise due to the glacier melt, by early August we saw big water that showed no sign of cresting.  Once the heat subsided the clouds came in and brought rain with it, the Kenai kept rising.

 

Soooo with the increase of water levels the Kenai began changing structurally, eddies appeared or disappeared, seam lines moved, holding water became fast runs, etc.   This caused the Rainbow Trout to move and keep moving.  Also, the Red Salmon carcasses and deposition areas for these carcasses (aka trout food) washed down river, and washed out of dead holding water.  Once again causing the Trout to move around to find food.

Now lets throw water temp into the mix.  During the warm sunny time we were seeing surface temps on the Kenai River to hit 60, which is roughly 8-10 degrees warmer than normal.  2 degrees is kind of a big deal to our Kenai River Rainbow Trout.  Enter the clouds and rain, and the river dropped back to it normal temps of 49 – 52 degrees.

Adding all of these factors together, you have a really exciting playing field!  Good thing that Kenai Rainbows are smart because they stayed fat and awesome, just a little tougher to stay on.

Kenai River Silver Salmon

While the Rainbows were having an interesting time dealing with Mother Nature, the Silvers seemed to not mind.   Actually, this was on of the best 1st Runs of Silvers in years! Epic Disney Land Unicorn fishing is the best way to describe it. 

From the end of the first week through mid-month limits of Silvers came quick and easy.  Back Trolling sardine wrapped Kwik Fish seemed to work best for us, we would see Kenai Silvers hit the plug as we were letting them out!  Doubles were commonplace as well as landing 5 fish in the first pass!  What a season!

July 14 – July 31 Kenai and Kasilof Rivers, Alaska

Alaska King Salmon

King Salmon fishing on the Kasilof River during the 3rd week was nothing short of awesome.  Happy clients and nice native Alaska Kings was commonplace.  Nigel found two big fish that were measured, photographed, and RELEASED!  Drift Away Fishing is always very excited when we can release big fish so they can spawn and spread their genetics for future generations of Alaska King Salmon fishing

 

There were a couple days of extremely high tides, which made for some tougher fishing, but the guides of Drift Away Fishing persevered and made rods bend.  As the week unfolded tides dropped, and the fish came charging in.  We ended the season with each guide getting several opportunities at fish and some legends were hooked, but did the big fish thing and kept heading up river to spawn.  It is very humbling to get spanked by a big powerful fish!  As always it is sad to see King season come to an end, but exciting to think about the next year to hurry up and get here.

Kenai River Rainbow Trout

Well the theme of great Rainbow Trout fishing on the Kenai River since its opening on June 11 has not slowed!  We are ecstatic about the quality of fish and numbers of fish hooked.  Most think that Rainbow Trout fishing in July is not that good…check out our photos, the proof is in the pudding.  Fact:  we can find big Trout and good numbers all through July.  Week 3 and week 4 displayed mid September quality!  We highly encourage you to fish with us during this time to see for yourself.  Our guests did not complain about catching world class Rainbow Trout when it was 70 and sunny!  The best part?  August and September are right around the corner, we still have openings in the end of August and early September.  Book now before it is too late!

 

Kenai River Red Salmon

As always the Reds are show pleaser and freezer filler.  Week 3 and 4 delivered great Sockeye Salmon fishing on the Kenai as usual.  If fast action and delicious Salmon are what you are thinking about then get on board for a great trip on the Kenai!  Better yet?  Why not book a Trout/Red Salmon combo trip on the Kenai River for the full mind melter experience.

July 1 – July 13   Early July on the Kenai and Kasilof Rivers

Kenai River Rainbow Trout Fishing

What a season so far! Early July has shown no signs of slow Trout fishing on the Kenai River.  When most think that this is a horrible time to fish Trout, we at Alaska Drift Away get creative, and are continuing to find nice Rainbow Trout and 20+ fish days!  One of the many perks is the lack of others fishing Trout during this time, so we have the river mostly to ourselves.  Fly fishing and float fishing has been equally productive methods to the madness.  If you like hard fighting fish on an amazing river, then get in on the action!  Here is some eye candy from the past 13 days; this should make a believer out of you…..

 

Kasilof River King Salmon

So far the Kasilof 2nd run of King Salmon seems to be right on par.  We are seeing some nice chrome fish entering the river despite the insanely high tides (23ft highs).

1-4 fish getting hooked a day has been the average.  Typically this time of year can be scratchy as we are still in the early part of the run, however this is also the time that some of the biggest Kings get hooked.  As we draw into the 3rd week, the mega tides are subsiding and we anticipate some good fishing.

June in Retrospect

From the Beginning

The 1st run Kasilof King Salmon fishing came out swinging in early June.  Most days several Kings were boated, and always a few got away.  The guides of Drift Away Fishing all thought that this was one of the better starts in the past few years, despite low predictions.

As we slid into the second week of June King Salmon were still making a steady push into the Kasilof.  Guides and clients were happy with the results.  One of the highlights of the first run was the lack of boats on the river.  With the Kenai River only allowing catch and release for Kings many folks were wondering how that would affect the Kasilof in terms of additional pressure. 

Mid June Rainbow Trout Opener

June 11 marks the opening of Rainbow Trout fishing on the Kenai River.  Out the gates the Trout fishing was great, probably one of the best Junes in years.  Drift Away Fishing was consistently catching well over 20 Rainbows a day and some days seeing 40+ fish!  On top of that the Kenai Rainbows were exceptionally fat, resembling fall size on many occasions.  Why more people are not taking advantage of an awesome experience and great fishery is a mystery to us.  It seems like the Rainbow Trout fight harder during this time, offering a thrill to the beginner to expert angler.

This is the End

It is typical that as June moves into the 3rd and 4th week the King Salmon fishing becomes spotty, however Drift Away Fishing was still seeing plenty of action.

Fish and Game shut the Kenai down to King Salmon fishing due to one of the lowest returns in years, as a result the Kasilof was limited to single hook artificial lure only. 

Even with a curve ball thrown at us, we were still able to entice the elusive King Salmon into biting.

Kenai River Rainbow Trout

The end of June showed no signs of the Kenai River Trout fishing slowing down.  The Rainbows remained active and fat.  As mentioned above, this was one of the best Junes in years.  As July approaches we are still enjoying great weather, hard charging Rainbows, and sharing experiences that last a lifetime!

Stay posted as Drift Away Fishing will be doing weekly reports for the rest of the 2013 fishing season!

September Trout! Big Game Hunting Time

The Quest

September is the time for fly fishing Trophy Rainbow Trout on the Kenai River.  Ask anyone that knows the Kenai and other famed Alaska rivers, and you will get an unanimous answer “Kenai in September is it for big Bows.”

With winter slowly creeping up water levels are dropping, daylight begins to noticeably fade, and Kenai Trout go on a feeding rampage.   Several species of Salmon are now spawning creating an enormous amount of easily accessible food.  This equation creates high populations of Bows in site-specific areas.   Among the general populous live the fish that we all dream about.

 

Extracting the Fatty

The standard egg pattern set up is the means for most of September.  However, with an abundance of food, and fishing pressure, Trout can afford to be picky.  Having the right size and pattern per zone is crucial for success, and this may change by the day or hour.  With proper selection also comes timing.  We know the big ones are down there, but may not be feeding, or a flurry of anglers may have just gone through that zone causing the Trout to take a break.  The key is being patient and watchful. 

Paying attention to areas that hold big fish and hitting them when no one is there or after a while of that hole being untouched is one of the best ways to hook up with a beast.

We have been in plenty of situations where the big fish bite was on, and then 3 boats enter the drift, game over for big fish bite.  We have even been in an area where the bite turns on, we hit a big fish, next pass we don’t touch anything.  September is the best time for Trophy fish, but with the above mentioned it can be tricky.

All in All

The Kenai River in September is absolutelygorgeous; fall is decorating the landscape in an array of color making a gorgeous backdrop for some truly exceptional fishing.  There is no wonder why our September peak dates fill up months in advance.  If you are an experienced angler or novice and want to take part in something special, stop thinking about it and book a trip now!  We can guarantee it is well worth the price of admission.