Kenai King Salmon are Coming Back to the River Soon

As winter’s grip on the Kenai River still holds strong, King Salmon are on my mind; the one thing that we anglers can take heart in is the inevitable and undeniable reality that Spring is on the way.

As the days begin to get longer and old man winter begins to release its icy grasp on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula, fishermen from all walks of life begin to spend their idle moments daydreaming of chrome bright tackle busting Kenai King Salmon. And before you know it we will be dusting the cobwebs off the boats, putting fresh line on the reels and making our annual pilgrimage to the Mighty Kenai River.

Having spent my life on the river and being a Kenai fishing guide since 1987, I would guess that the list of living people on the planet that have landed more big King Salmon than myself is a very short list indeed. That being said every time one these incredible creatures takes the bait I get the same excitement I did as a boy.

However there is one king every year that’s even a little more exciting and that my friends is that first strike of the year. When I first splash the boat in the river each spring it’s always crazy early in the year and the chance of raising a king is slim at best. Ice still covers the shore line; temperatures are ridiculously cold, only the most diehard  anglers are willing to tag along. Sometimes the first trip out is not for days, but without a doubt it always happens. And when that first rod goes down and the line begins to peel off the reel, there’s just nothing like it.  You know that summer Kenai King Salmon fishing has once again begun and for the next three months I will eat, sleep and breathe the mighty Kenai River King.