Kenai River King Salmon Fishing Counts
2024 Kenai River King Salmon Fish Counts
- Red Line is the 3-year average for the last 3 years of data
- 2024 data will show up each day in black, starting May 15
- Graph shows early-run king salmon and late-run Kenai River King Salmon Fish Counts
- Kenai River King Salmon Fish Counts – Early Run: 5/15 – 6/30
- Kenai River King Salmon Fish Counts – Late Run: 7/1 – 8/15
- Kenai River king salmon fishing ends by regulation at midnight on 7/31
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In Alaska, the Kenai River is a prime spot for King Salmon fishing, attracting anglers from around the world. However, the declining stocks of King Salmon have become a significant concern, affecting the river’s reputation and the fishing experience. The river, known for its record-breaking King Salmon, now highlights the importance of sustainable fishing practices.
Fish counts are critical for identifying the best times to fish, ensuring that efforts to catch King Salmon are informed by the current state of their population. Our guide on King Salmon fishing offers advice on sustainable practices.
The Kenai River offers accessible fishing for both experienced anglers and beginners, but the decline in King Salmon stocks requires anglers to fish more responsibly. This situation emphasizes the river’s importance to the local community, not just for its economic value but also for cultural and ecological conservation.
Fishing on the Kenai River now involves not only the pursuit of large King Salmon but also contributing to the effort to preserve these fish for future generations. The experience is shaped by the natural beauty of the river and the need for conservation.
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Kenai River King Salmon Fish Counts - Early Run
The Kenai River hosts two distinct King Salmon runs, categorized as the early and late runs, each managed independently. This distinction is useful for understanding the dynamics of the population, including the size and timing of each run. The overall King Salmon season in the Kenai River spans from May 15 to August 20.
The early run starts on May 15 and ends on June 30, with the average data from 2020 to 2023 depicted in red on accompanying graphs. This data indicates that the peak of the early run typically falls between June 3 and June 16.
King Salmon during the early run primarily head towards the Killey River and Funny River tributaries. On average, about 200 fish per day are recorded during the peak of this run, though numbers can fluctuate annually. A record was set on June 3, 2017, when 368 fish were counted in a single day. Furthermore, the early run made history on May 17, 1985, with the catch of a world-record King Salmon weighing over 97 pounds. Despite generally smaller and fewer fish, the early run has a reputation for yielding some notably large King Salmon.
Kenai River King Salmon Fish Counts - Late Run
The Kenai River’s late King salmon run commences on July 1st and lasts until August 15th. Data from 2020 to 2023 illustrates that the peak of this run, depicted in red on the accompanying graph, falls between July 11th and August 8th, marking the period with the highest influx of salmon.
Late-run King salmon in the Kenai River favor spawning in the river’s main channel, particularly between river mile 12 and river mile 32, stretching from the Eagle Rock boat launch to the Moose River confluence.
Compared to the early run, the late run sees significantly higher numbers, with peaks exceeding 600 fish per day, nearly tripling the early run’s daily average of 200 fish. Notably, the fish in the late run tend to be larger, although the early run still holds the record for the largest King salmon, caught in 1985.
Fishing regulations mandate that King salmon fishing in the Kenai River ceases on July 31st. Interestingly, by this cutoff date, only about 50% of the King salmon have passed the counting sonar, leaving the remaining half to ascend the river for spawning post-legal fishing period, thus enhancing their survival and reproductive success.
KENAI RIVER KING SALMON ESCAPEMENTS - EARLY & LATE RUN
The management of the Kenai River King salmon involves distinguishing between the early and late runs, each with its own conservation targets to ensure sustainability.
For the Kenai River’s late King salmon run, the conservation efforts aim for a minimum escapement goal of 15,000 fish, with an optimum target of 30,000, reflecting the larger scale of the late run compared to the early run.
The late run’s escapement goals, set at a minimum of 15,000 and an optimum of 30,000 King salmon, underscore the considerable size difference between the river’s late and early salmon runs.
Globally, King salmon populations are experiencing significant declines, a trend that has not spared the Kenai River. The escapement goals reveal that both runs have struggled to meet the minimum required for a sustainable fishery, with the last achievement of these goals recorded in 2018. The optimum escapement levels have not been met for several years prior to that.
In response to the declining returns of Kenai River King salmon in 2023, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game implemented emergency in-season orders. These orders significantly reduced King Salmon fishing activities in all tributaries flowing into Cook Inlet, including the Kenai River, and imposed restrictions in adjacent saltwater areas. Despite these conservation efforts, the early run just managed to meet its escapement goal, while the late run missed its target by approximately 1,100 fish.
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