04 Aug July Fishing Report
Despite the current state of our world with Covid the Kenai River red salmon and rainbow trout seemed to carry on in a very normal and historically typical fashion. Our weather this summer has been terrific as well, several sunny and warm days would transition into a few cloudy days with some rain, then cycle back to sunny. Rain has been very welcomed this summer as last season was very hot and dry with most of the state on fire. Mother Nature delivering us a normal July has been met with much gratitude.
Red Salmon
Kenai reds were solid and consistent. The run started slow, but once it picked up momentum limits became a normal thing. As of 7/31 1.1 million fish had entered the river. The steady trickle of reds made for tougher bank fishing, but trolling for them was solid, we had a few days were it was on fire, but most days a little work was required to fill limits, which keeps the day exciting.
Rainbow Trout
The layout of the red salmon run plays a huge factor in how bows fish in July. Anglers line the bank on the Kenai to snag reds, then are required to fillet and deposit the remains back into the river. This action not only keeps bear problems down, but is an incredible source of food for rainbow trout. That being said, too many fish showing up at once will put too much food into the water and the trout will be full, not enough or a slow trickle of reds will keep bows spread out and hard to catch. This year was right in the middle, we were able to find nice concentrations of fish, but the lack of bank anglers due to Covid kept their food source not as consistent as normal years where the river sees more tourists.
Nonetheless we found solid fishing and tangled with a fair amount of fish in the 24” – 26” range. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, the end of July can be some of the best trout fishing of the season and is one of our favorite times to target big bows.
Fly Out Fishing
The fine folks of High Adventure as usual took great care of our guests and showed them a great time of fishing and bear view at Big River Lake. Solid fishing and big brown bears gave folks an experience not soon forgotten. Adding a fly out is a wonderful way to experience remote Alaska, see glaciers, view bears, and catch fish.
Halibut
Our crew of halibut captains put folks on limits everyday. Halibut is one of the best eating fish period. There is a ton of different ways they can be cooked and the amount of fish people bring back is substantial. Spending a day or two on the salt water is a staple trip that most of our guests do while spending time with us.
