This past January 2 friends and I booked a trip to fish for King salmon on the Kenai. I have since found some information at http://alaskaoutdoorjournal.com/References/lkingstats.html that has caused some concern. According to the sight above we are only allowed to fish on the river with a guide Tuesday through Saturday... We are booked to fish for 4 consecutive days beginning Saturday the 8th of July. If this information is correct(I have verified it through the dept. of fish and game) then as I understand it we will only be able to salmon fish for 2 of the 4 days,also, if the weather is not suitable for halibut fishing we may not be able to fish at all on Sunday or Monday, unless there is another river besides the Kenai that will be open. Is it normal for a guide to book salmon trips on the Kenai on days he knows the Kenai river is closed for guides with clients? Is he possibly counting on the weather to be good enough to take us out for halibut instead? Unfortunately I did not book the guide, that part of the trip is being handled by another member of our group, so my information is scarce and second hand at best. Are there other rivers in the area he could be planning on fishing on Sunday and Monday? If so do they produce Salmon as well as the Kenai River? Should I be concerned about loosing fishing days due to bad weather? Can anyone verify the regulations about Tuesday through Saturday fishing on the river or shed any light on what other options are available if the weather turns bad? What is the standard operating procedure in this situation? Is itpossible that our guide would allow us to take a boat out on the river without him on those days?

If not then specifically what tackle should I have in order to fish from the bank? Spinning or baitcasting? how big a rod and how much line should the reel hold? spoons,spinners or livebait, if bait what kind, and where is it found?

Am I just getting nervous about things as time to go is getting near or do I have a reason for concern? Sorry for asking so many questions in one post. Thanks in advance for your help. -John


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John G. Brown