The Cook Inlet and the rivers that feed it are notorious for having HUGE tides. Twice each day the water rises and falls with the tides, and sometimes there can be up to 30 feet or more of a difference between the high and low. The anadromous salmon that are transitioning from the ocean to the rivers take full advantage of the tides as the last several miles of the rivers slow down and even flow backwards. Because of the massive tidal influence that takes place each day, it’s imperative to be in tune with them as a fishing guide.  Below are a few of the things our expert guides consider when approaching each trip that takes place on the lower Kenai or Kasilof Rivers.

King Salmon

The vast majority of our freshwater king salmon fishing occurs on the Kasilof River these days. This is a drift boat only river, so a guide must be very strategic when planning out their trip each day as mobility is somewhat limited. When playing the tide you want to be nearly as low in the river as possible while still keeping enough current for your baits or lures to work. The size of the tide that particular day determines where on the river that may be, so it’s important to have an intimate knowledge of the tides so that your boat is positioned in the lanes that king salmon will be traveling. If you position too low, you may not have current and very unlikely to get bites. If you position too high, you may have to wait too long for the salmon to reach your location, wasting valuable time. It’s all about being the most efficient with your time as possible, fishing holding water outside of the high-tide influence, and positioning your boat in likely zones to target aggressive kings during the incoming tide.

Silver Salmon

Both the Kenai and Kasilof Rivers contain great runs of silver salmon, and for parts of the season we are targeting the tidewater sections of these rivers.  Silver salmon are sometimes less predictable than the other salmon species in regards to tide-timing, sometimes arriving 2-3 hours prior to the tidal influence and other times arriving on the back-side of the tide, well after the high tide has receded.  With that being said, fishing around the high tide is a very high-odds situation, and things can escalate quickly when your timing and positioning is good. In the tidewater area, Coho often run in packs, and so when you start getting bites it can often mean multiple fish in a short period of time.  A seasoned guide will learn to be patient when fishing tidewater areas of the river because a period of inactivity can turn into chaos in a heartbeat.

Sockeye Salmon

The sheer number of sockeye salmon that run the Kenai and Kasilof Rivers often means that you don’t have to be perfect with your timing in order to encounter fish when fishing tidewater sections of these rivers. But similar to the other salmon species, sockeye definitely take advantage of the high tide when making their run upstream and so positioning yourself accordingly can make the difference between scratchy fishing and easy limits.  Rapid current is necessary in order to effectively fish for sockeye, so you have to avoid the extreme lower sections of the river around the high tide, however, once the tide drops out and the water begins to flow again, these same areas can be sockeye hot-spots!  Without getting too detailed, our guides are very good at getting in tune with the daily rhythm of the river and pay close attention to the trends of when & where sockeye are present. For example, a hole/gravel bar that is 7.5 miles from the ocean may be seeing big pushes of sockeye 1-2 hours after the peak high tide in recent days, and knowing that info is invaluable to our daily sockeye strategy, drastically increasing your odds at encountering fish on your guided trips!

We love sharing these tidewater fisheries with our guests… If you’re looking to get on some tidewater salmon, get in touch with us right away to reserve your spots!

 

 

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 907-394-8378