Spring Fishing?

Frontiersman Valley Life editor

It's called spring fishing, simply because the calendar indicates that it is officially spring. In reality, it is winter fishing, but for many Alaskans, fishing season starts as soon as open water can be found -- regardless of the season.

In March and April, the Upper Kenai River provides anglers a chance to get their lines wet for the first time of the year -- ice fishing not included. Just a few hours south of the Valley, the river is a haven in the summer -- and inversely, that's the reason many people try their luck when snow is falling.

"There's just way too many people on this river come May, so, like a bunch of idiots, we are down here in the snow and rain in March," said Bob Roste of Anchorage, who was testing his luck the Saturday before St. Patrick's Day. "I'd rather be down here alone than fighting everyone for a spot in the river, even if it is warmer. You just dress for the weather, and you're fine."

The Saturday before St. Patrick's Day brought driving winds and snow flurries. Casting, especially with a fly rod, was nearly impossible, yet people could be found hiking into the canyon, just south of Jim's Landing, a popular spot for fishing on the Upper Kenai River.

"You catching anything?" a passing angler could be heard asking a fly fisher standing knee-deep in the river, with ice covering the quarter-mile stretch above the hole.

"Not really," was the response.

"Yeah, we're probably way too early, but what the hell. It's fishing, isn't it?" came the reply.

People fishing on the Upper Kenai River are targeting rainbow trout. This early season is open through April 15, but then it closes for the spawning season for trout. Because the season is so unpredictable, not many guides operate charter services.

"We usually start taking out clients more toward June, but if we have people who want to go, we'll try to accommodate them," said Curt Trout, owner of Alaska Troutfitters in Cooper Landing. "Last year, we were going out with Fish and Game around the first of April and I think they each caught one fish, and they were using bait for a tagging study. None of the fish were actively spawning yet, either. It seems like they are starting to spawn around the first of May."

Trout said that recent ADF&G studies indicate there are the same number of rainbows in the Kenai River throughout the summer as there are in the "hot and heavy" season of August and September, but they aren't being caught because of one big reason.

"They are wise to what we are using," Trout said. "It used to be you could float a flesh fly in September and the fish would go out of its way to take it. Now, they are educated."

At this time of the year, however, September fishing is still only a passing thought. Snow and ice force anglers to be determined if they want to catch fish.

"Most of the lower river is frozen or there isn't enough water to get the boats up it," Trout said. "The Upper Kenai is really the only thing that is open."

Trout said most of the people who have caught fish were fishing near the bridge at the head of the Upper Kenai River, where it spills out of Kenai Lake.

"That's about it this early," Trout said.