Kasilof River Fishing

Fishing on the Kasilof River

The Kasilof River is often overlooked but seasonally boasts comparable or better salmon fishing than the Kenai River.  Overshadowed by the famous Kenai, the Kasilof River can be a sleeper and is a gem of the Kenai Peninsula.  Both the Kenai and Kasilof Rivers can be fished from a central location, Soldotna or Kenai.  The City of Soldotna encompasses the Lower Kenai River and is adjacent to the Kasilof River as well.  Kenai, AK is also a central point of adjacency to both rivers.  

King salmon, sockeye salmon and silver salmon all have prolific returns to the Kasilof River annually. Run timing is very tide dependent on the Kasilof River as it’s short and the fish are traveling quickly.  The importance of timing the tides often leads to incredibly early morning starts on the river usually +/- 4 a.m. for sockeye and kings.    

Kasilof River King Fishing

Our season starts every year on the Lower Kasilof River targeting king salmon.  Bait opens for use May 16 annually and provides the kickoff point to the Kasilof River hatchery king salmon fishery.  Kasilof River king salmon are supplemented by a hatchery program which allows us to target and keep hatchery fish when most other king fisheries are closed.  These kings are brood from the Kasilof River annually, raised in Anchorage and then later imprinted in Crooked Creek before being released into the Kasilof.  They return some years later and bask in the water of Crooked Creek as it mixes in with the Kasilof River.

All things constant, the daily bag limit on hatchery kings is two per person per day, the state often changes these regulations in accordance with abundance. 

Wild Kasilof king salmon are strictly catch and release only and may not be removed from the water in an effort to ensure their survival.   

Kasilof River Sockeye Salmon

The Kasilof gets its own incredible run of sockeye (red) salmon independent of the Kenai.  Between the first and second sockeye runs on the Kenai River, is the intense run of reds up the Kasilof.  A beautiful float down the river with stops at expansive gravel bars for sockeye fishing is what the Kasilof is all about.  The river receives huge pulses of salmon on the tides daily, July is sockeye season on the Kasilof River!

Kasilof River Silver Salmon

Kasilof River receives a major run of silver (coho) salmon each year, while the numbers aren’t comparable to the Kenai the fish per unit area is.  Typically targeted in the lower river, silvers prefer the slower water below the Sterling Highway bridge.  However, when its time to think about spawning most of the Kasilof River coho spawn in the upper river where they can get out of the serious current.