While this special Kenai issue was still just one of the many concepts among a year’s worth of ideas, we were also planning multiple trips to the river for the summer of 2005. The planning paid off, too, as I fished the Kenai more than any other river this year, more than I’d ever fished it in a single season before. I have to tell you that it makes for a pretty nice summer.

In sum, it wasn’t very different than experiencing the lineup of this issue, my Kenai trips mixing drifts on the middle and upper river for rainbow trout with back-bouncing near the mouth for kings.

As a year-round Anchorage resident, I’m often utilizing the Kenai Peninsula to fill my fishy needs, as the area’s angling versatility allows one to gain a variety of experiences over the course of a season. One of my favorite from this past year came in July, when I had the pleasure of fishing with a guide we’ve known almost as long as we’ve had Fish Alaska, Bryan Lowe, owner of Hi-Lo Charters and Riverside Lodge.

The main lodge is located on the lower Kenai on Angler Drive in Kenai, and the specialty of Hi-Lo Charters is back-bouncing for Kenai kings from May through July. They also fish for silvers, sockeye, and pinks, plus halibut and salmon out in the saltwater. Our first encounter was to be a day of back-bouncing.

For people who do not do well with motion sickness or who don’t care for long boat rides, this is a trip for you, because less than five minutes after we boarded we were baiting and dropping our lines. Then we were experiencing the fishing that makes the Kenai River famous. Looking around I saw dozens of boats maneuvering around each other in a dance the guides know well. It is certainly more crowded than some of the remote fishing I get to experience, but I can see what brings all these people. It’s the lure of the elusive 70- or 80-pound mighty king that brings the travelers in hordes, and makes every possible strike that much more thrilling.

Bryan has been part of the dance since 1986 and it shows as he steers the boat, re-rigs, and puffs on a cigarette all at once. He’s one of those year-round Alaskans making Soldotna his home. Some of the other guides greet Bryan out there, sharing kind words, jokes, and smiles. This is a competitive business but these guides are amicable as they share the same stomping grounds day-in and day-out; many are friends.

We begin back-bouncing by going to the top of each hole and slowly working our bait downriver. Bryan uses red and purple eggs they’ve cured set up on an 8-foot St. Croix rod that boasts heavy power and a fast action. The rod is equipped with an Ambassadeur 7000 C3 reel, 30-pound Ande mono, and a 7/0 Gamakatsu. There is a two-foot 60- to 80-pound leader and a 10-ounce sinker.

By 6:40 in the morning Marcus hooked and landed a nice sized king of about forty-five pounds. It was a fun fight for him and we decided to keep it, which put Marcus out of the running to fish for the rest of the day. So, he entertained himself by taking lots of photos. In the meantime we saw some other anglers hooking up around us. Bryan had another guide out with clients in one of their other v-hull Willie boats and they seemed to be successful. Fishing with the guide were two couples who had just met and each of the wives hooked and landed their kings first, then cheered on their husbands to do the same.

“An average day in peak season yields 3 out of 4 clients hooking up with kings, while a great day is 12 fish and an outstanding day is 20 salmon,” says Bryan. Keep in mind a day is about 5 or 5H hours, so that’s a lot of action for one morning or afternoon, especially when these fish get notoriously huge.

If the king crowds aren’t your thing, fishing a little earlier or a little later in the year, or on another part of the river, can help reduce the numbers of additional anglers you’ll encounter. The silver salmon season is a great time for folks to fish the Kenai. You often get extra action and delicious salmon to take home. Floating the upper or middle river for rainbows and Dollies can also be exciting, while still lending a wilderness quality to your outing.

On this trip, Marcus’ king was the only fish going home to our freezer, but that’s really of little importance, because for me any day spent on the Kenai River is a good one. Perhaps it’s because the world record king salmon was caught on my birthday, May 17, but I don’t think so because I loved fishing the river long before I knew that.

—Melissa Norris
Publisher