Rainbow trout fishing the Kenai river is always something I look forward too, even on day 100 I still find the motivation to get gear together and make my way to the river. It is always helpful to see the river when the water is very low. At Cooper Landing the Flow was around 600 CFS and below Skilak lake it was flowing around 840 CFS. This gives me a lot of information for the following guide season on where rainbow trout might be holding.
We picked up a few rainbow trout around Princess rapids on the upper Kenai River. The temperature was in the low 20’s all morning and eventually came up to were we could fish without freezing up to bad. Thanks to the Jet-boil we were able to take a break and have some hot coffee.
Not removing the fish from the water on very cold days is a great idea, plus it’s much better for your hands!
I’m sure that leeches and flesh flies would have picked a few fish up but there were a lot of
silver salmon spawning. We knew that we would be fighting almost dead silvers all day were we were fishing if we used streamers. Egg patterns seemed to be the ticket and we didn’t pick up many silvers at all. Both dead egg patterns and fresh egg patterns picked up a few
rainbow trout and
dolly varden.
TIGHT LINES,
SCOTT SAGER
907-382-6808
Casting slightly up and across will give your fly time to sink a little before the swing. I find that on the when the fly just start to swing i get most of my takes. When fly fishing for salmon in stronger currents a heavy fly and or a sink tip is recommended but is not necessary in situations. I will choose which size of fly rod i will carry after I have chosen the size of flies that I will be using for the days fishing. All Salmon have strong mouths and some weight to them so when you set the hook make sure you set it like you mean it. For the most part you will have a strong enough leader for the fish you are pursuing and in glacier tinted waters you don’t have to worry so much about them being line shy. Beef it up and set it with authority.
Wading in glacial waters can be difficult because of visibility. A good rule is never wade more than knee deep while you are fishing. I find that this keeps me out of trouble with the deceiving currents and it also allows me to recover faster if I do go down. 
