More than 225,000 late-run sockeye have gone through the weir as of July 15, doubling last year’s run — which was at just above 100,000 fish at the same time — exciting dipnetters all along the shore of Kenai’s beaches.
The fish have been trickling into the nets since the personal use fishery opened on July 10. Sockeye salmon sport fishing on the Lower Kenai River is slow due to high waters.
Anglers have still seen success in the Upper Kenai River, Russian River and the sanctuary for sockeyes, although it has slowed significantly since the boom earlier this summer. The bag limits have returned to three fish per day with six in possession.
King salmon fishing on the Lower Kenai River remains slow, with high, turbid water conditions affecting angling. King salmon of any size can be retained if caught from the mouth of the Kenai River to a marker 300 yards downstream of Slikok Creek, but only king salmon less than 36 inches in length can be kept upstream to the outlet of Skilak Lake.
A little north, the pink salmon are beginning to show up at Resurrection Creek in Hope.
