Kasilof River Guided Fishing
The Kasilof River is often considered the little brother of the Kenai, sometimes even affectionately called “The Ditch” by the locals. This river enjoys many of the same king salmon, sockeye salmon, and silver salmon runs as the Kenai River. And also, like the Kenai, it has great trout fishing and a steelhead fishery. The Kasilof River is 18 miles long, fed by Tustamena Lake which is the 8th largest lake in Alaska and comes in at 25 miles long, 6 miles wide, and 1000 feet deep!
We guide on all 18 miles of the Kasilof River in both sections known as the Upper Kasilof River and The Lower Kasilof River and we have an entire page dedicated to learning more about The Kasilof River – the little gem just south of the Kenai River
Kasilof River King Salmon Fishing
May 15 - July 31
Our guided Kasilof River king salmon fishing trips can begin each year as early as May 15 and continue through July 31st. Kasilof River king salmon fishing ends by state regulation July 31st each year as does the King Salmon fishing throughout the entire Kenai Peninsula
Just like the Kenai River, The Kasilof River king salmon run is two distinct runs. The early Kenai River king salmon run starts May 15 and continues until June 30. The late Kenai River king salmon run starts July 1st and continues until August 15th when the last few remaining king salmon make their way into the Kasilof River. But, as mentioned above, fishing for Kenai River king salmon ends annually on July 31st.
Kasilof River Silver Salmon Fishing
Aug 1 - Sept 30
Kasilof River silver salmon fishing is probably one of the most overlooked fishing opportunities in the state. In the early August time frame the river is running at full capacity as the Kasilof River silver salmon start to make their way into the river.
The Kasilof River couldn’t be more opposite from the power boat traffic constantly running up and down the Kenai River. A large part of the Kasilof River flows through the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge creating great opportunities to see an abundance of wildlife. All after the same thing we are, Kasilof River salmon.
Kasilof River Sockeye Salmon Fishing
June 15 - August 15
The Kasilof River has a fantastic run of sockeye salmon and we fish it a lot. It’s often a toss up, in the early season prior to July 10, whether we prefer to fish the Russian River or The Kasilof River. The win probably goes to the Kasilof. Due to it’s limited road access points and equally limited walk-in points it leaves the Kasilof rugged and beautiful compared to the crowds that form on the famed Russian River. Tackling it in one of our drift boats is the best way to go.
We love the Kasilof because it bring such a wide variety of fishing opportunities – wild run king salmon, hatchery king salmon, sockeye salmon, silver salmon, and a great fall steelhead fishery. And because the fish arrive here at slightly different times.
This river changes pretty quickly. Once the longer and warmer days of June arrive, the glacier melt off will increase, and the river will rise quickly. The changing river definitely changes how we fish it. Luckily we’re fishing it nearly every single day so we always have a pulse on how it’s trending.
Kasilof River Combo King/Sockeye Salmon Fishing
June 15 - July 31
For just a few days or weeks each year combination trips, where we target multiple species of salmon on the same day, are possible. One of the most popular combination trips we are able to offer are our Kasilof River king salmon and Kasilof River sockeye salmon combo trips.
On these trips we’ll be focused on Kasilof River sockeye salmon for part of the day and at other parts of the day we’ll be focused on Kasilof River king salmon.
We’ll use a variety of lures as we target Kasilof River king salmon, but the two primary ones we use will be Luhr-Jensen Kwikfish and Spin-n-Glo lures. All our Kasilof River king salmon fishing will done from the comfort of our drift boat.
Throughout the day we’ll switch to Kasilof River sockeye salmon fishing where we’ll find the perfect spot on the river bank to park the boat and we’ll all jump out, wade out about knee deep in the water and floss for Kenai River sockeye salmon.
Kenai River Combo Silver/Sockeye Salmon Fishing
Aug 1 - Aug 20
For just a few days or weeks each year combination trips, where we target multiple species of salmon on the same day, are possible. One of the most popular combination trips we are able to offer are our Kasilof River silver salmon and Kasilof River sockeye salmon combo trips.
These trips are possible because of the overlap between the first arriving Kasilof River silver salmon for the year and the last of the arriving Kasilof River sockeye salmon. How late into August we can do these trips differs every year. We stop doing these trips around August 20th or so when it no longer makes sense to target the Kasilof River sockeye salmon. When this happens we switch to fishing for Kasilof River silvers salmon only.
We’ll use a variety of lures as we target Kasilof River king salmon, but the two primary ones we use will be Luhr-Jensen Kwikfish and Spin-n-Glo lures. All our Kasilof River king salmon fishing will done from the comfort of our drift boat.