Ask the Pros - Where to stay & fish on the Kenai Peninsula?

Hi Lawrence,

Sounds like a very nice trip you have planned and your dates are very good ones if fly fishing is the main goal. That is peak time for late run silver Salmon, a very good time for Trophy Rainbow Trout on the Kenai as well as dolly varden. That's also a great time to pursue steelhead on the smaller Kenai Peninsula rivers (Anchor, Deep Creek, Ninilchik) as well as the Kasilof. All lend themselves to fly fishing very well so you should have lots of opportunities at some really nice fish.

For lodging, I would suggest staying in the Soldotna / Sterling vicinity as this puts you much closer to handy services like restaurants, groceries, gas etc and it is also very central to most of the better fly fishing opportunities available at that time. While I wouldn't discount fishing the upper Kenai near Cooper Landing, you can always drive there with reasonable ease from Soldotna (45 minutes) and again, then you are closer to more services and choices for lodging. I have some really good lodging options for you to consider, many are right on the Kenai River where you will be able to go out and wet a line in the evenings, etc. and all of my lodging is within walking distance to private river access. These are all fully furnished and include all the comforts of home including Starlink WiFi and cooking facilities. There is no need to rough it in this area as for a very fair nightly rate ($200-$250 a night as of 2025) you can have a super comfortable home base to enjoy the many fishing options available: https://mgfalaska.com/alaska-fishing-lodge/

I definitely suggest a fishing guide for certain trips and there are others you will do just fine fishing on your own. It sounds like you have a bit of experience with the fly rod and if your son even has minimal experience he will do just fine. I would not consider any of the options overly technical as the fish are in their fall feeding frenzy in September and will readily take a well presented bead as well as swung flies. The trips you will definitely want to consider hiring a guide for are the middle Kenai as well as the upper Kasiof. Both of these locations are big waters and tough to access by foot. The best fishing on the middle Kenai will likely be in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge below Skilak Lake due to the peak sockeye spawn occurring there. The upper Kenai will have good numbers of steelhead arriving daily and you will need a drift boat to cover this water effectively.

For the most part, fly fishing single hand will be your best bet but there are definitely spey fishing opportunities if you want to get out of the boat and swing from shore. This can be particularly effective on the Kenai for silver salmon as well as trout and swinging flies for steelhead on the Kasilof River is also very productive as well. By far the best numbers will be indicator fishing with beads with the single hand so if you want to maximize your opportunities from both the boat and from shore concentrate on dead drifting single egg patterns.

It is definitely worth doing a day or two pursuing steelhead. Refer to my previous comments on this. Arctic Grayling do live here on the Kenai Peninsula but are mostly in the more alpine lakes and streams. I have only encountered two on the Kenai in 35 years of guiding. Crescent/Carter Lakes near Seward are good options for grayling and involve pretty good hikes to get to.

For fly gear, a 7wt. 10 foot single hand with floating line is ideal for almost everything you will fish for here in September including both trout, steelhead and silvers. An 8wt is too heavy IMO and the 6wt is a tad light. For spey a 6wt or 7wt is best and you'll want the appropriate skagit or scadi set up for the rod you are using and a variety of interchangeable tips such as the rio mow system for the different water depth and speeds you will encounter. Mostly t8 and t11.

Have a great trip and enjoy the time with your son. If I can assist in any way to make your trip a success please reach out anytime. I am happy to help with lodging as well as any guided fishing you wish to pursue.

Tight lines - Mark

Hi Lawrence,

As far as accommodations are concerned, there's more hotel/motel options in Soldotna. Cooper Landing offers mostly Airbnb options. The on foot, no boat, fishing opportunities are greater in the Copper Landing area especially as the water starts to drop with the colder temps.

When it comes to guided trips, there are more options and likely greater available dates on the lower Kenai out of Sterling or Soldotna. There is a limited number of guides in the refuge section of the Kenai River in the Cooper Landing area. I would call Hunter at 907-830-6171 or Dan at 907-230-6348. They both guide the lower river out of power boats. For a drift boat only trip in the refuge, you can try Josh Hayes at 907-598-1899 or Alaska Troutfitters at 907-595-1212.

The species you want to target depends greatly on where you end up fishing. If you want Silver Salmon and Steelhead, the southern part of the Kenai Peninsula is better. The Kenai Silver run has not shown up yet, but Deep Creek and the Anchor River are getting both Silvers and Steelhead. It's roughly a 2 hour drive South from Soldotna. Both are small streams offering walk and wade availability. Catching Arctic Grayling on the peninsula will be difficult. Crescent lake in Cooper Landing is the only place I know of. It s a bit of a hike to get to it, but it has Grayling. Bears are always around. Bear spray is a good option. Your best defense is awareness and situational awareness.

A 6 and 8wt rod is perfect. A floating line is more versatile, if you have the option of bring both sinking and floating that would be even better. The Kenai lends itself to spey casting, but with the different salmon spawning, egg imitations will be more productive than swung flies. Dry line and skating presentations wouldn’t be my first choice as everything will be sub surface this time of year. Occasionally, you can get a Coho to come up to a eat a surface fly in the right water conditions, but with the limited number of them in the river, it'd be really tough.

I hope this helps and we're available at Mossy's Fly Shop if you need anything else.

- Brian

Lawrence,

Congrats on your upcoming trip to Alaska!

Cooper Landing, Soldotna, and Sterling all have great lodging options and all locations have pluses and minuses to them. Cooper landing feels more like you are in Alaska while Sterling has more options for restaurants and such hence trade offs. There are many great guide options on the Kenai Peninsula but some will already be booked out. Alaska Drift Away, Kenai River Recon, and Explore Kenai are 3 outfitters that I am friends with but there are many more great guides that I am personally not aware of. Y ou will definitely be using a single hand rod to nymph beads that imitate the salmon eggs. There are options to swing a spey rod for both trout and salmon. Steelhead are possible on the middle sections of the Kenai River which is primarily accessed by boats. To catch Grayling check out Quartz Creek. especially at the outlet of the lake. Definitely come prepared for bears. Bear spray, air horn, or side arm are all good options. Floating line for the single hands is great and having some different sinking tips for the spey would be beneficial.

Good luck and enjoy your time in our beautiful state!

Cheers - Adam

Have a question of your own?

Ask The Pros