2010 Year in Review

With the final days of 2010 now behind us, it's once again time to circle down river and re-live some of the many memories of another season gone by. 2010 will likely be best remembered for less than stellar king salmon returns. After twenty seasons guiding the Kenai River, seeing the good and bad years has become just something to expect. They happen in cycles, much as the salmon have existed for centuries, even millenniums. While Kenai king runs have seen better seasons, they have also seen far worse. There were still a good number of days where the magical Kenai river revealed what it's most famous for: big, hard-fighting, king salmon!

While we spend the majority of our salmon season on the Kenai River, we typically begin our summer on the smaller Kasilof River. The Kasilof is south of the Kenai by about ten miles. It receives a mixed return of both hatchery and naturally produced king salmon. This run starts in mid May and builds into the third week of June.

Rules are more liberal on the Kasilof with a limit of two king salmon (one natural and one hatchery or two hatchery fish) and unlike the Kenai where you must hang up your rod once you keep a king salmon, you are allowed to keep fishing on the Kasilof. We are also allowed to use multiple hooks and bait (salmon eggs and sardines) and this helps solicit more action. This season on the Kasilof began much as it has in year's past with a few isolated pockets of fish here and there on the opening day of bait (May 16). After that, there were a handful of opportunities daily , but with the run just beginning, persistence and patience were definitely required.

With the end of May in sight and June just around the corner, fishing success ramped up dramatically and the first big push of Kasilof king salmon were arriving on just about every tide. The ratio of hatchery vs. natural fish seemed to be more equal than in the past. Typically we see more wild/natural fish in the first segment of the run, with the bulk of the hatchery fish arriving a week to ten days later. This year they seemed to be arriving in unison and this concert of king salmon was music to visiting anglers ears. Drags were screaming and water was splashing as many beautiful Kasilof kings came to the net.

Meanwhile, the early run on the Kenai was largely a no show. Sonar counts in the lower river were sputtering along at record low levels when unseasonably cool spring temperatures reversed course and it suddenly became unseasonably warm for several days. This caused the Kenai Mountains to shed the majority of their winter snow pack in a mere few days and the river turned the color of chocolate milk. It swelled from relative creek like conditions to a raging river. The cloudy water rendered the sonar essentially inoperable and with counts already super low, managers were forced to close the Kenai River to all king salmon fishing on June 5.

With nearly all of the king salmon pressure now focused on the Kasilof, many wondered if the run would be able to shoulder the additional participation. Fortunately, this all occurred as the Kasilof run was at full strength and with remarkable resilience, the Kasilof put meat in the freezer and smiles on the faces of many visiting anglers (not to mention guides).

As we fished the Kasilof daily into the second week of June, water conditions were subsiding and improving rapidly on the Kenai and counts were improving as well. By June 10, the daily numbers had more than tripled and on June 12 managers reopened the Kenai to catch and release. Fishing improved daily but was far from hot. Counts were improving as well and by June 19, managers felt enough fish had entered the river to reopen the fishery completely and also allow the use of bait. Fishing was noticeably better for a few days and then was just steady from there on. Needless to say, it was a roller coaster early run, highlighted by some decent king fishing in mid to late June.

Certainly the biggest star of June 2010 was the Kasilof. Day in and day out, it continued to reward persistent anglers with nice bright king salmon. The Kenai certainly had its moments and we did see a number of very nice June king salmon come to the net. That said, it was an up and down early run and many were looking forward to the late run in July with renewed excitement.

Early July started off slow but steady with a certain number of opportunities each day and enough action to keep you on your toes. The fishing was improving and new fish were arriving with each passing tide. As July continued, the river rose considerably with warmer weather and also rain. This made water clarity poor at times and slowed the bite, but as it cleared up mid month, the fish were moving fast and were very aggressive. We saw lots of very nice kings through mid July and it looked as though we were poised for a text book final week to ten days of the season. Alas, this was not to be. A very large sockeye salmon run and an overall average king return both coincided and the result was a disappointing end for the 2010 Kenai king season. Commercial mangers allowed back to back openers for both the drift and set gillnet fleets and along with the "excess" sockeye salmon they prevented from entering the river, so went the remaining late run king salmon that had yet to return. We worked hard for all of our fish in that last week of the season and extra effort did pay off on many days. On the neighboring Kasilof, July fishing was very productive, with many groups seeing limit catches in the final week to ten days of the season.

Looking back, the early and late runs of king salmon on the Kenai returned in unpredictable patterns. This was not a "normal" year by any means but nonetheless it yielded many great fishing memories and more action than one can truly recount.

August arrived with a welcome wind of change and we hung up all the king gear for another year and focused our angling attention on sockeye and newly arriving silvers. We also began pursuing trophy rainbows on a daily basis as well as taking a number of silver salmon trips via floatplane to the west side of Cook Inlet.

August is always a refreshing time as we transition from the more technical and competitive king salmon fishery and begin to explore Alaska's abundant fall fisheries. Silver runs this year were excellent. From mid August well into late September, good numbers of bright coho could be found throughout the river.

We did see the normal lull between early and late runs in late August and early September, but it was short-lived. Runs on the west side of Cook Inlet were earlier than those here on the Kenai, but equally strong. This was also a pink salmon year on the Kenai River. As usual they stormed into the lower river in the first week of August and by the end of the month, they numbered in the millions! On the lower Kenai we caught pinks by the hundreds daily but also intercepted some very nice limits of fresh silvers. Normally we like to pursue the silvers farther upriver where we can also trout fish in the same trip, but the silvers just took their time getting up river this season. For most of August, we found the most predictable silver action to be on the lower river. This changed later in the month as the fish filled the holes below Skilak Lake. We rounded out the month up there where we found good silver salmon and rainbow trout fishing into the first week of September.

By late August and early September, it was obvious the early run was all but complete and with each passing tide, more and more late run silvers were beginning to arrive. These fish are noticeably larger and thicker than their August cousins . They are also very aggressive and hard fighting, almost like mini king salmon. Normally we will head lower on the river to intercept these huge silvers as they first enter from the salt and this season we spent a good portion of mid September fishing the tides above Beaver Creek . Our success was excellent on most days an the bigger fish really provided a lot of action. With a limit of three silvers in September, this is definitely a great time to stock up the freezer with some very high quality salmon.

We wrapped up the season with a mix of both silver and trout season and the weather was very cooperative. We had a classic Indian summer and enjoyed some beautiful fall weather well into October. Of course that never lasts forever here in the Last Frontier and winter finally knocked on the door in early November.

The landscape has been a sea of white ever since and now with 2011 upon us, the river is all but completely frozen over. The contrast on the river between the busy summer season and the utter stillness of winter is startling. Most will never experience the Kenai in its winter slumber but it exists with the same unique and wild beauty that the river exhibits in the summer. It represents the perfect time to remember, respect and reflect upon the many great memories the Kenai has shared with so many. It's a perfect time to predict and look forward to another legendary season and we sincerely hope you will consider joining us.

A special note of gratitude to everyone that has contributed to our success through the years and we look forward to many more great seasons fishing the Kenai Peninsula and beyond!

Warm Regards,

Mark, Cindy, Faith, Caleigh and Emma

Alaska Fishing with Mark Glassmaker • 1-800-622-1177

2010 Year in Review