On the Kasilof, king fishing was restricted to no bait and single hook only and the limit was reduced to only one hatchery fish per day. On June 11, the Kenai was limited to catch and release only and was eventually closed completely for king fishing on June 18 through June 30. The sonar counts coincided with fishing success and restrictions seemed inevitable. On the Kenai, the early run of king salmon mirrored rivers throughout Cook Inlet with overall low returns.
This trend persisted until the first signs of the late run began to arrive on the Kasilof in late June and early July. Overall numbers were only average and there was a noticeable abundance of smaller males (bucks) in the 10-12 lb. As the season progressed, fishing was steady on the Kasilof and there was definitely enough action to keep you on your toes. Despite a few fish being caught, it did seem somewhat slower than years past but again, it was early. While this is early in the run, one can usually expect a handful of bright kings to be caught on the opening day of bait and that was the case this year with a handful of boats enjoying their first success of the season. We started the season as we normally do, fishing the bait opener on the Kasilof. After a very strong return of kings in 2017, hopes were high for the trend to continue. Unlike recent seasons where we entered the early run on the Kenai and the Kasilof with pre-season restrictions, the 2018 season began according to normal regulations with retention of kings under 36 inches on the Kenai and bait on the Kasilof open May 16 and retention of two fish (only one can be wild Tues, Thur, Sat). Overall it was another amazing season and despite the up and downs we feel blessed to spend yet another summer basking in the midnight sun and chasing tails.
Unfortunately, the 2018 season will not be remembered for remarkable returns of either king salmon or sockeye but it will go down as one of the better early runs of silver and pink salmon as well as a very good late season for trophy trout and steelhead. Remarkably, each season has proved to be surprisingly unique and 2018 was definitely no exception. Alaska Fishing & Lodging Combo PackagesĪfter 28 seasons guiding on the Kenai River, you would think the summers would blur together.
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