Lower Kenai River King Salmon Fishing
Available: Early Run (Late May-June 30), Late Run (July 1-31)
Average Size: 35-40 lbs.
Limit: 1 per day, 2 per season
Fishing Techniques: Powerboat, Backtrolling, Back Bouncing

King salmon fishing on the Kenai River is world-famous, and for good reason -- it produces the largest king salmon in the world! The Kenai River is home to eight king salmon world records, including the impressive title of world's largest sport-caught king salmon weighing in at 97 lbs 4 ozs! With an average fish size at a whopping 35-40 lbs, fishing for these king salmon will undoubtedly thrill even the most accomplished anglers.

The Kenai River yields two distinct runs of king salmon each summer: the early run and the late run. Early run kings begin making their way into the river in May, peak toward mid-late June, and dwindle in numbers as they overlap with the start of the late run in July. The early run fishery sees far less fishing pressure than the late run due to the smaller overall size of the run as well as the no-bait-allowed restriction during this time. Regardless of run size and regulations, there's still plenty of great king salmon fishing (without the crowds).

The highly popular late run of Kenai kings officially begins on July 1st and runs through July 31st. The late run typically has three times the number of fish than the early run. This combined with the opening of bait use greatly improves the odds of hooking into one of these monsters. Although the entire month of July provides excellent king salmon fishing trips, the largest concentration of fish typically enters the river during the last two weeks of the month. If you are in search of a trophy king salmon, July is the month and the Kenai River is the place! July dates, especially the last two weeks of the month, are usually the first to fill; advance reservations are highly recommended.