Stein,
If you hit the run right you won't have to worry about chasing a "ball"of fish upriver. Every incoming tide will push more fish into the river for several weeks. Lots of guys will fish the mouth below the Kenai visitor's center when the fish are really pushing and bucking an ebb. When they get upriver past tidal influences they can boogie pretty fast, but like I stated earlier there should be a steady stream of them in the river...you'll know it when anywhere from 10-50 fish are "porpising" in front of where you are fishing. Don't need much for them. Glo-bug yarn on a single hook bounced on the bottom is enough...just don't get in the habit of what many do and start blatently snagging. Besides being illegal (unless otherwise posted by ADF&G) its not too sporting. Most true sockeye pickups, at least in my experience, are pretty subtle, just a pause of the line. Set the hook, and you'll see what kind of speed they possess. Leave any steelie in the dust. You'll get a sore arm (or a bruised sterum if using fly rods) and you hit the run right. Nothing like 16-20 hours of straight salmon hammering. You'll also see alot of people catch and releasing these great fish...no problem if care is taken when landing and releasing them. Too many idiots drag the fish up on the bank, yard the hook out and kick the fish back into the river. These fish deserve the same care and respect any wild fish in the lower 48 does. Nothing pisses me off more than seeing a resource like that blatently abused by lazy, ignorant "sportsmen".
Well, I'll get off my soapbox. Have fun!!!