Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Fly rod for Kenai rainbows

My friend Paul manages the fly fishing department at Anchorage Bass Pro. He fishes the Kenai a lot and can help you out.

OooooKKKaaayyyyy.......

My fly rod is about 60' long, with about 6" - maybe less- mesh. works good. Fshing done in 1/2 to 2 tides, for the year, while I drink coffee and read. Concrete 1/2 block and 5' rebar driven into the mud for weight. Keeps it on the bottom, more or less.

I don't waste a bunch of time flaying the water either. Checking net in surf, in a canoe is right sporty, sometimes.

YMMV........

Get him a 6 or 7wt, the echo ion is a solid and durable rod. A great price performer for a reel is the Redington rise.

Anything heavier will be a lot to learn with. Good luck!

...but Sitka dear, it could work out well when the small mouth run is in full swing. As I recall, they generally run the last weekend of moose season. Please correct me if I am wrong. Thanks.
bhtr

No, you absolutely got it right!

Great intention that certainly is, a specific flyrod for a specific need. There are several gems of wisdom above (as to functionality via size of a rod) by those that have any amount of experience fishing the Russian River. Some posting have seemed to miss the above post quote as seen by their responses.

Fly fishing the Russian (and thus the upper Kenai) is not difficult, or does it demand a master's in "rocket science."
It is varied in water type and surroundings however. A "walk-in" fisherman does not need a 10 foot rod to ply the waters the OP mentioned, nor is a Spey rod required to roll cast here. Sight fishing is very possible on the Russian, and learning how to present what the fish want (or will hit) at anytime is far more important than the size of the line the rod is capable of handling. One needs simply understand what line weight is the optimum size for casting the flys in the size needed to ply the water. It helps to understand that the rod simply utilizes a certain weight of line to cast a given size of fly and leader. The "reel" is what fights the fish.

I am guessing that the OP has made a decision by now, and I applaud him for it. It is a great gift to a young man that has mentioned his desire to expand his enjoyment of fishing into the "fly fishing realm." The son's desire of choice of water is a very good one, having more than a small amount of fly fishing history.

The Russian was rated as one of the top ten Rainbow Trout fisheries in the world right after WWII. Affluent European fishers flocked to it's clear waters, as did many notable American and foreign writers of the era. Sitka' father, though more of a Hunting writer, may have even authored an article on this gem of a river in the 60' or 70's. Please correct me on this if I am incorrect, Sitka...

To Snowwolfe,

Well done sir...

Excellent post, pard.

I promise you if your son decides that he wants more out of the Kenai, that a 7wt is the minimum he should have. Fishing from shore is a different beast than when you’re in a boat. He won’t feel overgunned with a 7-8wt if he ties into a big fish, plus it’s better for the fish if releasing. My old Sage TCR 890 was not too much for these trout I caught from shore on walk-in trips to the middle river. If your son wants to know a few good walk-in places on the upper and middle, let me know.

Very nice!

That second one is sure pretty!

That is a nice offer Ptarmigan, make no mistake. That's the Alaska spirit.

Please don't take the lad after spawners though. Hard on the fishery...

Late February-early March is the latest I fish them. Then I like to head down with all the guys that refuse to fish the spawners and go catch steelhead! Go figure! LOL!

I use an 8 weight on the kenai. Once a big rainbow gets out in the fast current it can easily take out 50 yards of backing. Get a decent reel too like a lamson Good luck trying to stop its run and reel it in with a 6 weight.

Cystal meth in chartruse, orange and pink San Juan worm seem to produce well


You can jump in the boat and chase it if you have a buddy

ever fish the anchor for steelhead in September?

It sure is a generous and kind offer. I will forward it to my son.
Thank you very much

I used to, but the last time I did some guys pulled into the little parking spot while I was getting ready and then take off running to beat me to the hole. I'm not into that! There's other places to fish for steelhead that get less traffic.

The depth of the creek can be very important to "lessening" competition for Steelhead...

We will talk again this red season. Need to try different patterns I suspect. OTOH might have to have people that can fish them correctly too. And room to fish. LOL

Not sure the reason for that. Despite the name that particular store doesn't sell a lot of bass gear. Paul has lived in AK since about 1993, long before Bass Pro Shops built a store there, and knows what works on the Kenai, and also sells a bunch of stuff that will work. He doesn't mind pointing out items they don't carry but also work well. He's a helpful source of information in Anchorage. That's all, carry on.