Visiting the Refuge

Fishing

What is "Combat Fishing"?
"Combat Fishing" Tips
Where should I fish?
Lakes Without Sportfish
Catch and Release Fishing
Life Cycle of the Salmon
Salmon Run Chart
Russian River Ferry Schedule
Learn More about Fishing on the Kenai Peninsula

The Kenai and Russian Rivers

Waters on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge contain salmon, trout, grayling, and char. A fishing license is required to fish in Alaska and these are sold at most tackle shops, grocery, and convenience stores. Along with your license, pick up a copy of the Alaska Sportfishing Regulations and be familiar with rules pertaining to the body of water where you plan to fish and the fish species that you are catching. Be aware of any emergency closures issued by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The fishing hotline: (907) 262-2737 gives information on the status of the fish runs and emergency closures.

What is "Combat Fishing"?

If you want a true fishing challenge, the junction of the Kenai and Russian Rivers offers a memorable experience. Visitors, as well as residents, migrate to these waters June through August hoping to land red salmon. In mid-June, the first run of red salmon average a weight of 5-8 pounds. During the second run in mid-July, red salmon weigh from 9-12 pounds. However, be prepared for crowded conditions including waiting in line for parking and for spaces on the Russian River Ferry which crosses the Kenai River to access "hot" fishing spots.

Bring along hip or chest waders and plenty of coho flies on your fishing expedition. If you're not catching any fish and your neighbors are, watch them to learn successful techniques. Are you casting too far, over the fish, or too shallow? Remember, the fish are swimming upstream and your fly must drift to lure red salmon to bite.

"Combat Fishing" Tips:

Since you are at the junction of the Russian & Kenai Rivers, fishing regulations are complex. Double check that you are fishing legally.

Keep the area clean. Pack out all of your trash, including scraps of fishing line. Fishing line recycling boxes are available in the ferry parking lot.

Get out of the crowd. To escape congested fishing, walk down a mile from the ferry along the south bank of the Kenai River or hike the U.S. Forest Service Russian River Trail.

Watch where you are casting and what's behind you. Don't cast over other peoples lines.

If someone lands a fish on the bank, don't take his spot in the water.

Due to the large concentration of fishermen, open fires and camping outside of designated campsites is prohibited at the Russian River Ferry.

On the south bank adjacent to the ferry, a small portion of the bank is reserved for wheelchair users and those fishers with mobility challenges. Your cooperation in reserving these areas for those with special needs is appreciated.

Bank fishing from the lake shores takes time and patience. Wetlands surround these waters, so wear hip waders. You can help save banks and wetlands by walking and fishing in the water on gravel areas, thereby decreasing bank erosion.

Hiking to remote lakes can provide a peaceful wilderness experience as well as some great fishing. Air taxi services fly into a limited number of refuge lakes. A list of guides and air taxis is available at the Visitor Center and Visitor Contact Station.

Lakes Without Sportfish:

• Antler
• Arrow
• Berry
• Big Mink
• Birch
• Birch Tree
• Bottenintnin
• Campsite
• Dabbler
• Headquarters
• Lili
• Mallard
• Marsh
• Otter
• Raven
• Redpoll
• Teal
• Twig
• Upper Jean
• Wonder

Catch and Release Fishing

If you are catch and release fishing, use flies or single hook lures and pinch down the barbs. Handle the fish with wet hands and keep it in the water off the abrasive banks. Too much handling can wipe away the "slime" on the fish which protects it from bacteria. Remove the hook as quickly and carefully as possible. When releasing the fish, face it upstream. If the fish seems sluggish, gently pull the fish back and forth through the water to filter oxygen through its gills until it is strong enough to swim away.

Life Cycle of the Salmon

The salmon life cycle begins when eggs are hatched in the gravel beds of freshwater streams and rivers. After hatching, the fry remain in freshwater anywhere from several days to a few years before migrating to the sea. Salmon fry experience many physical changes before leaving fresh-water to enter saltwater. This process, called smolting, usually lasts several weeks or months. During this time, depending upon the species, salmon may stay in river estuaries, where freshwater mixes with saltwater producing a rich nutrient soup that, in turn, supports the plankton and invertebrates salmon smolt need to grow and develop.

Salmon travel to the ocean because of the limited food supply and living space in freshwater. Once in the open sea, salmon feed on invertebrates and other fish such as herring and anchovies.

After several years in the ocean, salmon return to the place of their birth to spawn. Amazingly, after traveling thousands of miles, the fish are able to locate the exact stream in which they were born. Several theories attempt to explain this. One is that salmon have an internal magnetic map and sense of day length which enables the fish to know where it is in relation to its home stream. When they are sexually mature, the fish swim from the ocean in schools entering their nursery river and then use their sense of smell to find the exact stream of their birth.

Once in the river, salmon again go through physical changes. The fish change shape and color. Males develop hooked snouts to compete with each other for the females. When they reach their home stream, females look for a suitable spot in the gravel to construct their nest, called a redd. Males fertilize the eggs in the redd, and a new generation of salmon will hatch in the spring, starting the cycle all over again. All Pacific salmon die shortly after spawning. Their carcasses don't pollute the stream, but instead are recycled providing nutrients for aquatic insects and zooplankton that the young fry need to start their lives.

Last updated: September 11, 2008