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Kings of the Kenai, Part One Gearing Up

© Louis Bignami

Alaska's Kenai River must, in its 85 miles of glacial silt- clouded water, be the most popular trophy chinook salmon fishery in the world. No place else fin so many kings, the Alaskan term for chinook salmon that anglers in other areas respectfully call "spring salmon or tyee." No place else concentrates so many huge fish such a small area so convenient to transportation, lodging and guide services As a result Alaskan locals and "lower 40" visitors invest over 125,000 man-days of fishing. This means plenty of competition for biggest salmon that, in 1993 increased the size limits you can keep to over 52 inches, or about 70 pounds to sustain the trophy fishery and, it sould be added, the main industry of the towns of Kenai and Soldotna.

Locals, like Lester Anderson, and guided fishermen do have an advantage. In 1985, Anderson used his knowledge of the special demands of the Kenai kings to take a 97-pound, 4-ounce mon-ster. Had Anderson weighted it immediately, might have topped 100-pound mark. Visitors who want to better his feat are well- advised to book guided trips, for the Kenai River bites. The heavy flows that evolved monster-size salmon also upset boats and can drown fishermen unfamiliar with Alaskan rivers. GEARING UP WITH LESTER ANDERSON

Anderson, then the owner of the Ford dealership in nearby Soldotna, had worked out the special problems fishermen face when trying to lure salmon in big rivers with poor visibility due to glacial silt, and the bigger problems trying to land huge fish in heavy water

According to Anderson, "Visitors who don't go with guides generally don't have the right gear. I used a big Garcia spinning reel with top-quality 25 pound test line and a special rod my buddy Clarence Wait made. Most 'lower 48' rods don't have enough backbone for Kenai kings."

Most experts would argue that a level-wind reel with a quality drag and the capacity to hold at least 25 yards of 20 to 30-pound line is the choice. But Anderson caught the record his way. Like many river regulars, Anderson used Spin-N-Glos, a strange-looking cork body lure with rubber wings often used in combination with a plastic, hootchie skirt and a big single hook. Add a few beads and the extremely ugly result is ready to go. The art here is the proper selection from the hundreds of combi-nations in Spin-N-Glo and hootchie colors and sizes -- locally called Kenai Specials. There is one basic truth to these permutations. Whatever the hot combination or size, you'll be missing a vital component even it you tote 50 pounds of parts in a confusion of sizes and a rainbow of colors.