Flossing for Sockeye on the Kenai: Yeah, I guess we should talk about it!
What’s going on yinz? This is Mike, your super dope Kenai River fishing guide. Today I want to talk about the most ‘iconic’ Kenai river salmon fishing method. It’s going to be hard for me to get through this without a lot of sarcastic jabs at this crap but… sometimes ya gotta do it! It stacks fish on the banks when it’s happening. When the Kenai river sockeye salmon run heavy, there is no faster way to catch a limit. A true ‘wack ‘em and Stack ‘em’ method when the fish are flooding up the river.
An amazing family flexing their catch before myself and another guide fillet them!
What gear you need to Sockeye fish
Okay so check it out. There is a diagram down below that will show the basic set up. Here are some things to think about when you’re looking at your rig. Make sure you use a slightly lighter line on the section from your swivel clip, down to your hook. This way, when you break off you will get your lead weight back. Why do you think I’ll break off? Because you will. Because the sun rises in the morning and the sun sets at night. With the same certainty I know gravity exists. It’s gonna happen. Kenai River Sockeye salmon eat gear. They destroy rods and reels by the thousands each year. Rigged correctly and used appropriately, you can make your gear last. But if at the end of the day all you lost was a few feet of mono while catching your liming, then well done boy-o. You are a winner.
Rod wise, It doesn’t matter too much. You will see people using all kinds of stuff from bait casters, to Spey rods, even oversized tenkara rods. I’m gonna focus on what I as a professional Kenai river guide, use every day all season long without many issues.
Rod:
Top choice- Okuma Red (they stoppped making them but if you can find one on the secondary market, buy it. About 50$
Second- Eco Ion XL 9ft 9wt. $200ish
Reel:
Reddington Behemoth 9/10wt. $150ish
Everybody wants a salmon. So get in line!
Line:
I use my old trout fly lines. I cut the tapered head off, and just use the remaining running line. I tie a special braided loop on there using Cortland line 60lb braided mono. Then I run a 40lb butt section Maxima Ultra Green cause we are the everyman(8in), 30lb too my swivel again hit it with that Maxima ultra green here (4ft) then from my swivel to the hook varries depending on where we are fishing. Low water big gravel bar, might go nice and long (5-6 feet). Deep water like the boys on the high bank, might go a little shorter(3-4 feet). Use your eyes and look for them, a lot of times you will see some go by. They follow each other.
So form your weigths to your hook tie on some 25lb P-line monofliment, cause it stretches like a Mf’er and keeps them on. I swear by the stuff in the last section. Its super forgiving and helps get that landing percetnage up.
Lead:
Lead is a critical component in this entire equation. Lead can be deadly so pay attention to the warning below bout safety. Use enough lead to get your stuff down and ticking the bottom. If you have too much weight you will hang up on bottom. Not enough, and you will not be able to feel your weight rolling/ticking across the bottom.
Lead I use is linked HERE.
Hooks:
Jesus, I mean I have to say I find this hard to write. I have seen so many illegal rigs it’s obviously not enforced on the general public to the extent it should be. But in the Upper River from Skilak lake up to Kenai Lake its size 4 and smaller. 1 hook. It can have a barb. Your weight has to be at least 18 inches from your hook other wise you’d be snagging. Hook size goes up on the middle Kenai river but no need to ever fish bigger than an octopus 2/0.
Note: The hook also has to have something tied to it.. It cant be a “naked” hook. Most people tie some yarn into these knot securing the hook.
HAVE A HOMIE TO NET. Nothing pisses me off in the middle of an amazing Kenai River salmon fishing trip, then seeing some yokel, running one back on the bank when it’s foul hooked. Legally it’s gotta be hooked in the mouth to keep it. So make sure it’s in the face if you’re gonna drag it up. But also, get your 3 fish and get the f out of there. It ain’t pretty, but it’s pretty fun.
THE CAST
Now stand out in that water homie. Not too deep. Never past your knees. If you get there and there are other people. DO NOT GO OUT FURTHER THEN THEM. You’re pushing the fish out for everyone. You will quickly hear grumbling until someone, possibly me, kindly asks you to come back towards the bank in a polite and professional way. That’s the other guy that said, “Hey dickhead your f*ing the duck for the whole team here bud.” Again, thats the other guy, not me. but I was nodding in agreement with him to be fair.
If your the first one there, dont go far out at all. Just enough to get your line into the section of water that moves it. You will need to play with the weight and length to get it perfectly dialed. But sockeye swim right on the bank about 3-4ft of water ideally. So no need to STAND IN 4 FT. They see you. The ones behind them see you. Everyone up river for the next 100yards just got screwed because you pushed the fish out.
Face 90 degrees across the stream and stick your rod out pointed towards the far bank opposite you. Your rod should be at a perpendicular angle to the flow of the water. This is what we will call 12 o’clock. Remaining where you are turn your body down to face down stream. Set your feet so that the water is hitting you in the back of the calves, and not the side of ur shins. Your legs will thank you at the end of the day. This makes it easier to stand out there and gives people a firmer base to fight the fish from. Bend those knees and get comfy. Make sure you’re in a stable position.
Lift your rod carefully from 6 o’clock high over your head, letting the weight carry itself out and over your head, intending to land the weight, your line and leader all in a straight line directly towards 12. There is no need to put a lot of force in this. A day of sockeye fishing can be a long physically exhausting experience. One way to make it easier is to let the rod throw the weight with the minimal force needed to complete the cast. Good sockeye fisherman look pretty graceful. Which I know is an oxymoron. There is not a lot of grace in sockeye fishing. Notice the guys up and down the river who are violently beating the water with lead…. Stay away from those guys. They have issues. Real issues. Shoulder problems thru anger management.
Landing a Sockeye Salmon
The colors are always dazzling
Alright so now you got your line out there. Ideally everything has landed in a perfect line and your leader stretched out nice and long and it all came down kinda together. Boom. You feel your weight thud against the bottom. Deep breaths here. The secret to sockeye fishing, is learning your zone. People will make thousands of casts in a day. It’s repetitive in a way that makes watching paint dry exciting. But you’re casting and you’re casting. You are maintaining a good bottom bounce from 12-9. You can feel your weight almost rolling across the bottom. When the current has carried your line, which you’re pointing at with your rod tip down on the surface of the water; at 9 begin to sweep your rod tip low and towards the bank. Sweep until your rod is pointed back in at 6.
Notice I didn’t say yank. Tug. Pull. Snag. Here is the straight dope on this. I personally believe that if it’s foul hooked and you fight it in and land it, that fish is dead. It should count against your limit. Instead you MUST throw it back because it’s foul hooked. So again legally if it ain’t in the mouth it goes back. But if you yank and tug all you do is foul hook. And with 100 gossipy teenage girls, I mean grown adult fishing guides, looking to start crap, it’s ways best to just play it by the rules. Honestly there are so manny when they are in that it doesn’t really matter. You will get another chance. Or not. It’s fishing!
There are so many fish that are swimming up river, with mouths open, that eventually your line is going to go into the mouth of one of these fish.
So you get into your rhythm. You’re casting out at 12, your ticking, you’re sweeping low and in. Then you’re lifting and letting the gear do the work. Now you’re in the zone. All of a sudden your line is not ticking. It has stopped. It hasn’t stopped there before. Why is it stopping here now? Now is when it’s appropriate to give it a little pressure. Again seriously, no need to yank and snag. If you gently pressure it the fish almost always ends up hooked in the corner of the mouth and its a much higher landing percentage.
So you gently tug and then….hold on to your rod, get your hands away from the reel, DON’T TOUCH THE LINE. The reel spinning will smash up your hands. Touching the line will sometimes slice em up. If you are fishing anywhere near my group you will hear me yelling “LOW and downstream”. This refers to the rod tip and rod. Holding the rod low and away from you keeps the lead from flying back at you when the fish break off. So the line and thus the lead will follow the path of the rod. If you are holding the rod high and in front of you, the classic image people have of fishing; then the weight is going to come back and smash your teeth if your lucky, knock you out or tax you an eye if your unlucky. This is the biggest Saftey issue. Always have your rod low and away.
Good sockeye anglers land 1-3 that they hook. They come off. It happens. Again, like gravity. See it on the river every year. People back at the ramp bleeding and wounded from lead flying at them.
But you, you listened to me and your rods low and down stream. You’re letting the fish run while keeping the rod bent. When the fish comes back at you, you’re reeling. Making sure there is little to no slack line in the water. KEEP YOU ROD TIP low. If you’re doing it right this fish will slide right into the weighting net. You must be patient and survive the first 2 big runs. But if you do, you got it! Asses that its the correct species before removing it from the water. If it’s a sockeye, bonk it and rope it. One less fish to catch. Get back out there and do it again.
Beautiful days with a beautiful catch