Flies for the Kenai River - Part 2

So for part two of flies for the Kenai River let’s talk Kings. The King of the river does nothing short of living up to it’s name. They are tough bastards and will most definitely test your patience and skill level.

King Salmon

Ahhh Kings. I love them but hate them at the same time. Getting one on the swing either on the Kenai or Kasilof is nothing short of epic. Ten pounders, sixty pounders, they all rock. Assuming you aren’t flipping for them, lets talk flies and set-ups.

First off, a switch rod or spey rod is almost a must for the Kenai or Kasilof as you will want to cove as much water as possible. That extra distance with the two handed rods can make or break your success. Accompanied with a lengthy section of T-14, which will vary depending on time of year and flows, you are ready to get started. Onto the flies…

Maybe its because I first started swinging flies in Michigan rivers that I’ve grown partial to weighted flies. First and foremost I want my fly to get down. Even if that means sacrificing a elegantly placed cast. My cast won’t be pretty but I know my fly is where it needs to be, down and in the zone. All while casting down and across. Hitting bottom every once in awhile makes me feel like i’m right where I need to be. Now, when we go out swinging for Kings, I don't even stop to take a piss. Its cast, cast, cast, step, repeat. Non stop. I’m sure guys can relate. If you want it bad enough you know you need that fly in the water. I got soooo tired of chucking heavily weighted flies. To the point of 6 hours of non stop casting I was losing more and more distance on my cast as time went on. Your casting will go from ugly to frustrating real quick doing that all day. So, I started to switch things up. Shorter leader off of my sink tip, and an unweighted fly. Many advantages to this. First off, the ability to cast all day at greater distances and less effort. Second, my flies now have more wiggle and fish appeal without the lead eyes. Lastly, I can compensate less weight by a straight across cast, giving my fly and tip a little more time to get down where it needs to be.

So weighted, unweighted, what type of flies are we talking? If you are fishing the turquoise waters of the Kasilof of Kenai, I wouldn’t leave home without a chartreuse fly. Chartreuse rules the color universe on these two particular rivers. You can definitely pair with a black, silver, or steelhead blue. Every one of my king flies have chartreuse in them. Get creative. Super flashy, not so flashy, silver and chartreuse, blue and chartreuse, try them all. I will mainly tie intruders with big broad shoulders on them to create a large profile. 50mm shanks up to 75mm shanks. Think length with a broad profile and plenty of flash fo dat ass. Marabou, ostrich, synthetics, pick your poison, as long as it has a good profile in the water. Leeches and dirty ho’s work well too but are heavy to cast. It’s hard to beat the action of a big bunny strip in the water but i’ll sacrifice that action for ease of casting. Not to mention a well built intruder will kick off some good swim action in the water too.

So there you have it, a little insight into fly selection for Kings on the Kenai and Kasilof rivers. Just remember, a large and broad profile in the water with some flash and good kicking action will get it done. Think chartreuse. That combined with some serious patience and you’re all set to get after ‘em. Good luck, you will need it with these fish.

Flies for the Kenai River - Part 1

So i’m gonna go ahead and give a breakdown of flies an angler would need for a day on the Kenai River. With the multitude of species and techniques, I’ve decided to break it down into a few different segments. This first segment is going to be dealing with sockeye salmon. Yes I said sockeye.

Sockeye Salmon

So lets get it over with and talk sockeye. Not the sporting man’s fish. Fun to catch? Hell yeah. The only drawback is the techniques do not appeal to your average fly fishermen, more specifically trout and steelhead junkies. To be more straightforward you are “flossing”. Two 3.5 foot sections of 30lb mono, joined by a barrel swivel with various weights of dipseys or split shot. Finish off with a “coho” fly (a hunk of bucktail on a russian river hook) and you are golden. The idea is that the weight will tick off the bottom, while the buoyancy of your fly hangs up in the water column. With your leader stretched out by the weight, this allows the line to enter the open sockeye mouth as they push up near the bank. The angler will feel what I describe as a soft mushy sensation, or an abrupt stop. Once that happens, set the hook hard and you’re on. This method is called the Kenai flip. If you fish the on the Kenai at any time during the months of June-August, you will most definitely see this technique. As long as the fly is in the mouth, it is considered a legal catch.

That being said, your die hard fly fishermen will more than likely opt for a different technique in an attempt to fool the fish. The problem with this is that sockeye salmon stop eating upon entering the river. Unlike their distant cousins, pink salmon, silver salmon, king salmon, and chum salmon, who will take a fly throughout their freshwater journey, the sockeye just aren’t interested. As the weeks go on and they start to get blush, they will have more aggressive tendencies and occasionally grab a fly. They will most definitely grab a plug. But to the guy that wants a fresh sockeye on a fly, it can be challenging.

I’ll give a couple of examples of when it happened for me. Example 1. Get ‘em when they’re fresh. If you can manage to get on a pod of sockeye when they first enter the river, within the first 24 hours, they may take a caddis. I’ve seen them hooked and have personally hooked a few while trout fishing a caddis larvae. I’ve found a real bright chartreuse, size 12-14 larvae or pupae can get it done. I’ve watched them come up from a lie and take it. Its pretty rad but I wouldn’t count on it happening very often. Again, the key is when they are fresh and haven’t been beaten on yet. Example 2. Flesh flies and beads. For whatever reason, sockeye will eat their own flesh…. Again, while trout fishing, I’ve had several clients hook into what we thought was a trophy trout, only to get it to the net and realize its a chrome sockeye. Some fish even inhaled it so there is no denying it. Again, it doesn’t happen that often but it is a possibility. If you plan on doing some trout fishing in June or July, which is during the flesh bite, there is a chance at a sockeye if you are fishing the right bank. Example 3. Wait till mid August when they are bright red and fish streamers. At this stage in their life cycle they will eat just about anything that gets in their way. They poor bastards get hooked constantly during the bead bite. Fishing for silvers? Better watch your fly close before big red comes a chargin. I like to get one a year for a cool picture, beyond that I’d recommend let them be unless it’s a by-catch.

So in conclusion, if you reeeeally want to try and get a fresh sockeye to eat a fly, think flesh, beads, and caddis. Also, the fact that you will want to target super fresh fish. Fish the “sockeye water” and slow moving holding water. Otherwise, grab you an ugly stick and start flipping. Good luck on your mission, hope this gave a little clarity on fly fishing for sockeye on the Kenai.

Kenai River 2018 - Year of the Silver

The summer of 2018 on the Kenai River will go down for me as the year of the Silvers. With the closing of sport fishing for sockeye back in mid July, the commercial fishermen were shut down for the year, opening the flood gates for an epic run of silver salmon.

These monsters started showing up at the end of July, and by the first week in August it was shaping up to be an incredible month. Needless to say, it was exactly that. Many of the fish being caught were over 15lbs with several in the 20lb range. Swinging large weighted pink flies was the ticket for us. Certain stretches of water would call for a light sink tip, but a standard 9’ leader with a weighted fly worked just fine. I did notice a significant difference in fresh fish hooked swinging as opposed to stripping. A swung fly out fished a stripped fly on the lower river day in and day out. As the fish worked their way up river, the slower stripping motion was the ticket.

With the Kenai River being so competitive, it was good to see everyone playing nice for a change. Probably because the fishing was soo damn good!

All and all, I can’t say enough about the run of big coho this year. Definitely a year to remember. With the big run, we are already booking for 2019 silver salmon on the Kenai and Kasilof rivers. A bunch of folks are coming back to fish with us, hoping to duplicate this years success. If you are interested in fishing with us, give me a call at 219-381-9001. Tight lines!