The Kenai's Silver Kings

Why Silver Salmon Are the Kenai River's Most Spectacular Show

If the Sockeye salmon are the Kenai River's main event, then the Silver salmon — known also by their scientific name, Coho — are the standing ovation. Fresh from the ocean and bristling with saltwater energy, Silver salmon hit lures and flies with a ferocity that leaves anglers breathless, and they fight with a wild, aerial abandon that no other Kenai species can match. Weighing between eight and fifteen pounds and arriving chrome-bright from the sea, the first run of Silvers enters the lower Kenai in mid-August, with the larger, more aggressive second run pushing in through September. That second run, fishing behind the brilliance of autumn-colored spruce, is considered by many veteran guides to be the single most exhilarating fishing experience the river offers.