Lower Kenai River Section

While the Lower Kenai River officially begins at the outflow of Skilak Lake, 50 miles up from Cook Inlet, most people consider the lower reach of the Kenai River to be below the Soldotna Bridge.  This reach then encompasses 21 river miles, 15 miles of which are intensively sport fished, excluding only the last 6 miles of the tidal zone above the inlet.

View Lower Kenai River in a larger map

The Lower River is where the most concentrated fishing activity takes place.  When the Kings are running, the river is typically very crowded with boats and eager anglers.  I liken it to the “Super Bowl” of King Salmon fishing.  The standing world record King was taken from Honeymoon Cove in 1985.  It was finally weighed in on a certified scale at over 97lbs, hours after being landed.

The Lower Kenai also draws a crowd when the sockeye salmon run is strong in mid to late July.  Bank access above and below the Soldotna Bridge is at a premium as concentrated masses of sockeye fin upstream. Home owners along the river are quick to fill their freezers with tasty sockeye fillets.  Rainbow Trout and Dolly Varden feast on the many carcasses that pile up behind rocks and in eddies and structure along the river’s edges.

Silver Salmon begin to return in late July, with runs building through mid August and again in mid September.  Silvers arrive chrome and move upstream at a steady rate, though they rest more frequently than the sockeye.

I view the Lower Kenai as more of a suburban fishing experience, but the quality of the fish and the fishing make it worth some effort throughout the season.