Bob,

I will try to stay away from the lining vs. biting debate. Tactics for each are similar.

If you want to target 'biters', use sparsely tied comets in orange or green. You will need to be on the bottom where the fish are so use plenty of weight.

If you are interested in catching alot of Reds and plan on fishing at the confluence or any of the popular up river sites, you will be a part of the 'lining' crowd. For this, a fast sink tip line with 2-4 feet of mono for the tippet, a sharp 2/0 hook with a little tuft of yarn tied on will work. Weight it all down so it will get to the bottom. Yarn flies in any color is all you'll need. The tactic is to sweep the line down river into the Reds holding in the current, and filter the line into their mouth. A downstream 'sweep' with the rod tip will pull the hook into the mouth.

In the Kenai, there is very little visibility with all the glacial silt, so I would imagine 99% of the fish caught there are lined. I've done both methods and have no problem with either one. If you need more info, shoot me an email.

Steve