I am again heading to the Kenai chasing reds.
My question is this, how many river miles a day does your average red travel?

If the sonar is at river mile 19, and I am staying near river mile 8, how long does it take those guys to go from the ocean to mile 8, to 19, then to 21 (town), then how many miles/day after that?

I want to improve my odds by following the big ball upstream, but don't even have a guess.

Has anyone been successful chasing these upstream?

Thanks

Just Fish!

Went to the locks yesterday and the sockeye are swimming in fast circles. Fish ladder is high & dry due to maintenance activities. I saw at least 200 fish doing tight circles around the spillway, I should of clocked them and checked their speed

Those fish were so bright that they hurt my eyes when they jumped!

Bobber Down

"Keep your hooks sharp!"

Talked to my roommate on this one (runs sockeye trips exclusively the last two weeks of July). He estimates in the lower half of the river, they'll do between 12-16 miles daily and then slow up around Skilak before mozeying up from there. Hope this helps!

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!!!