Mike's Hooked For Life

Guide Service

"Kasilof Fishing"

1st Run  May-June: 

     The Kasilof River is often an overlooked fishery.  It produces an excellent King Salmon run and is located only 12 miles south of the Kenai.  It is a smaller, shallower river that requires the use of drift boats.  It makes for a quiet, relaxing trip.  The Kasilof has a very strong 1st run of Kings that begins in early May.  The use of bait is permitted from May 16th on.  This is one of our best fisheries.  It produces very high catch rates and is fun for the whole family.  The average size of these fish are 15-25 lbs and there are both hatchery and native fish present.  This is an excellent time to fish as the crowds haven't arrived yet and is possibly our favorite time of the season.  There are no hour restrictions on the Kasilof, so some of our trips start pretty early to take advantage of our 24 hours of daylight.

     The Kasilof has an annual bag limit of 5 King Salmon.  You may only keep native fish on Tuesday's, Thursday's, and Saturday's, the rest of the week is hatchery fish only.  You may retain 2 Kings per day, one of which must to be a hatchery fish.  You may also continue to fish after keeping your limit, but must release all additional fish.  It is also open to guided fishing 7 days a week so it allows you to fish even if the Kenai is closed.

2nd Run  July:

     The 2nd run of Kings officially begins on July 1.  This run is smaller in numbers than the 1st run, however it produces larger fish.  Average weights are now 20-40 lbs while a few break the 60 lb mark each season.  Once again this is an often overlooked fishery as most people are concentrating on the Kenai River. 

     The Kasilof is closed to guide fishing on Sunday's in July.  The limit is also dropped to 1 per day, however, you may still continue fishing after you retain a fish.  You may also keep either hatchery or native fish regardless of the day.  King Salmon season closes on July 31.

August and September:

     Both the Kenai and Kasilof Rivers host a strong run of Silver Salmon (Coho's).  They begin entering the rivers in July and reach catchable numbers by the end of King season (July 31).  We begin fishing Silvers on August 1 and continue through mid-September.  Silvers are a fun, acrobatic fish that can be caught with a number of methods.  Some of these include: back-bouncing, back-trolling, casting spinners, and bobber and eggs.  We typically go back and forth between these two rivers at this time of year following the best action.

We also get a record run of Pink Salmon on every other year (even years).  Pinks come in the same time as the Silvers and are very aggressive, making this an excellent time for families with children.  There is no end to the action while Pinks are in the river.

The limit of Silvers is 2 per day, while the limit of Pinks is 6.  The Kenai River is still closed on Monday's for guided fishing, however the Kasilof is open 7 days a week again.  Bait is allowed on both rivers.