fdbfm

TRBO is correct about your timing and your options on the KP. If river salmon is your target, the Kasilof is your best bet. You have the option of a guided driftboat trip or fishing from the bank. I would agree that 95% of the bank harvest is lined, but your timing leaves you with a very good opportunity for chrome bright, aggressive, bonafide "biters". The throngs of liners have yet to arrive "en masse" until about the Memorial weekend. A Spin-N-Glo with yarn +/- scent or cured eggs, fished with conventional drift techniques is VERY effective. Most of the kings you encounter will probably have to be released as the bulk of the hatchery return is still a week or two away. You may well encounter a steelhead as well, but those must be released too.

Your other river salmon option is the famous Kenai River. Here is your chance to experience her at her best. The river will be free of the crowded madness typically seen in July. The king run is considerably smaller, your timing is premature for "peak-of-the-run", and you will have to let all the big ones go (44-55" nonretention slot).... but... you will have piece and quiet, low clear water conditions that make the fish easier to catch, less competition from other anglers, and every fish will be absolutely chrome bright.

Your other salmon option (esp if keeping meat is a major consideration) is trolling for kings in Cook Inlet, which can be linked to a combo trip for halibut. This fishery is a little more dependent on cooperative weather, however.

The KP stocked lakes are the most under-utilized fishery in the area. If trout fishing from a canoe in pristine solitude appeals to you, then this is an ideal choice.

If you are not firm on the KP as a destination, your other roadside option is the Parks Hwy streams north of Anchorage for trout and grayling. This is strictly C&R for rainbows. Here's a link to a thread from another guy with similar timing to yours:

spring trout

Hope this helps!
_________________________
"Let every angler who loves to fish think what it would mean to him to find the fish were gone." (Zane Grey)

"If you don't kill them, they will spawn." (Carcassman)


The Keen Eye MD
Long Live the Kings!