Kenai River Drift Boat Nonguided King Salmon Fishery Is Nothing But Net!

Alaska Outdoor Journal's Photo of the Day!

Nothing But Net For Kenai Drifters!

JULY 16 - In 1999 the Alaska Department of Fish & Game Board of Fisheries committee approved an "experimental" king salmon fishing day on the Kenai River for the month of July.

In the past, as the river became more popular, and more promoted, drawing visitors to the area with exaggerations of the river's productivity & reputation, and the number of fishing "guides" on the river swelled to over 400, it became necessary to adopt fishery's regulations which would help protect the run from over fishing/harvest and also allow the private, nonguided sport angler a better opportunity to harvest a king salmon. Due to fishing guides' aggressive nature on the river to "produce" for their one day clients, their success ratio was 2 to 4 times better than the nonguided angler. So the BOF adopted Kenai River regulations which restrict guides and guided anglers on the Kenai to Tuesday through Saturday, from 6am to 6pm. Nonguided anglers can fish any of these days. Sundays were designated as a nonguided fishing day which allowed individual anglers an opportunity to fish the river without the huge crowds of commercial boats and competition; a chance to take the family out on a casual fishing trip. MONDAY was closed to all boat fishing in the Kenai River during July. Last year that regulation was expanded to include May and June for the early run.

For many years the regulations remained the same, using Mondays as a day to allow fish to rest up without the constant harrassment of 500-750 outboard motors over their heads and 2000 hooks in their face. But then the 1999 BOF public hearing process shocked the community with the adoption of a new regulation to allow non-guided anglers in non-motorized boats to sport fish for kings from their rafts or drift boats on each of those sacred Mondays in July to see what sort of interest there was...and perhaps even extend this regulation some day to include the early May/June run as well if the participation warranted it.

The Alaska Outdoor Journal is a major proponent for and supporter of more Drift Boat Only fishing days on the Kenai River. If you have ever fished the river from a power boat, and then experienced a "family" Sunday or the new drift only Monday fishing, its a very lasting memory. The river on a July Monday is nearly dead quiet, interspersed with only the whoop and holler of sockeye anglers along the bank fighting reds. And the traditional king holes are full of fish in a calm and relaxed mood, willing to bite any gob of eggs an angler is likely to dangle in front of them. Drift boat anglers can frequently land and release a dozen kings per boat (usually 3-4 anglers) in a half day of fishing - perhaps only keeping a single fish, one of the rare Kenai HAWGS...or perhaps only taking the memories of an incredible day home with them. The river truly needs more of this type of fishing experience, and THAT would contribute to a true world-class reputation that can be validated, unlike some of the insane claims some guide services advertise on their websites to lure the unknowing and unsuspecting. Yes Dorothy, there is a wicked witch out there willing to tell you anything to sell you a seat. But in fairness, I know a handful that are on the up and up in what they promote and what they tell their clients in advance, and who don't use 15 year old pictures on their websites.

A couple of acquaintances who each own a drift boat make the trek to the Kenai for these Monday King Fishing Extravaganzas and this past weekend and Monday was no exception. Andy Krieger (not pictured but that's his boat) just got his boat this spring while Jon Arend has a few more seasons of drift boat fishing under his belt. Between the early run kings of the Kasilof River and the July Monday fishery for Kenai Hawgs, these guys and their spouses (a group of 4 couples) have successfully landed and released more kings in a single season than many of us experience in a decade. You can see some of their Kasilof action in the Photo Gallery pic Three Lucky Charms.

This past Sunday's water conditions were on the challenging side but still quite fishable compared to what it turned to on Monday. So both boats were on the water Sunday when this photo was taken. Earl Chauvin naturally was the angler that sent the photo since his fish was the Hawg of the Day. It was taken just above the Soldotna Bridge and weighed 65 lbs. with a 52" length (which BTW is the minimum keeper length during Catch and Release Trophy regulations like we had in the early run). Jon's fish (at left) was taken at College Hole a few miles down river and pegged the 45 lb. mark on the scales. A K-16 silver/chartreuse took the big fish, glows/eggs took the other. Their day was also filled with many takedowns and misses, a broken rod on a hookset, and a couple of hook shakers and a break off. With that kind of action on Sunday, they opted for the same thing with the gals on Monday, but due to 15" visibility from the rain, fishing was extremely tough - yet Jon's wife managed to bag a nice king and the other boat lost one fish.

Still TWO more Mondays in July remaining....and it is only getting better through the month!

Photo Courtesy of: Earl Chauvin Š2000

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