On Monday, July 31st, Tino, Mike my chiropractor, and I hit the Kenai River in Mike's drift boat for the last day of king salmon season. Mondays are closed to guided anglers and powerboats on the Kenai River so few people were on the lower river. Shortly after pushing off, we missed a double, though it could have been a big school of red salmon working upriver. I headed out to the "power water" where you would rather motor instead of row and a few minutes later we got absolutely pounded by a 60lb plus king salmon.

If you have ever been in a drift boat salmon fishing, it can get a little crazy reeling up, stowing rods, and keeping the boat out of the trees with a big fish on. Mike deftly landed the big king and decided to keep it.

We put away Mike's rod, baited the other two, and marched down river. As we eased between a couple anchored boats, Tino's, rod got buried and a 15lb jack (small king) shot out of the water. And, so the day went: row hard, smashing bite, fresh king salmon. We put another 40 lb hen in the box, let a few more go, and missed a half dozen as well. All in all, it was a great end to a fine king salmon season.

Silver Salmon / Red Salmon
Previously, I'd separate the silvers and reds, but the August reds really provided some sizzling action. Of course there were silvers all season, but strikes were often pre-empted by the army of pink salmon that swarmed the river. Did I mention pink salmon? How does catching a 3-10 lb salmon on virtually every cast sound? Pinks will return again in July 2008.

Generally, silvers provided steady, but occasionally slow, days this summer on the Kenai River, though that can be expected over a 2-month season. Fortunately, we have the ocean and several coastal streams to hunt silvers and steelhead. That's where we could be found during the slow periods on the Kenai River.