Run timing · verified against ADF&G
Kenai Peninsula salmon run timing
Every species, every river, with the windows Alaska Department of Fish and Game actually publishes — and the one distinction almost every other site gets wrong.
Verified against ADF&G on 1 August 2026. Alaska fisheries change by emergency order, sometimes mid-week. Always confirm before you fish — ADF&G Soldotna on (907) 262-9368.
| Water | Species | Window | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenai River | King (Chinook) — early run | Mid-May to late June | Closed for 2026 |
| Kenai River | King (Chinook) — late run | Early July to end of July | Closed for 2026 |
| Kenai River | Sockeye (red) | Mid-July to mid-August | The main event |
| Kenai River | Coho (silver) | Late July to mid-October | Long, forgiving season |
| Kenai River | Pink (humpy) | Mid-July through August | Even-numbered years are the big ones |
| Russian River | Sockeye — early run | Mid-June to mid-July | This is the run people mean by “early Kenai reds” |
| Russian River | Sockeye — late run | Mid-July to mid-August | |
| Russian River | Coho | Early August to end of September | |
| Kasilof River | King (Chinook) | Late May to late July | Open in 2026 — hatchery fish only |
| Kasilof River | Sockeye | June through August | |
| Kasilof River | Coho | Late July through September | |
| Kasilof River | Steelhead (catch & release) | Late March to mid-May; late August to mid-November | |
| Anchor River | King (Chinook) | Late May to mid-June | |
| Anchor River | Steelhead (catch & release) | Mid-August to early November | |
| Deep Creek | King — early / late | Early May to late June / late June to early August | |
| Deep Creek | Coho | Early August to mid-September | |
| Homer Spit | King (Chinook) | Mid-May to early July | Nick Dudiak Fishing Lagoon |
| Homer Spit | Coho — early / late | Mid-July to early August / early August to mid-September | |
| Homer Spit | Dolly Varden | Mid-May to mid-July |
Source: ADF&G Kenai / Soldotna / Homer run timing. Windows are typical, not guaranteed.
The correction worth knowing
There is no “early Kenai sockeye run”
This trips up more visitors than anything else on the peninsula. Anglers book mid-June for “early reds on the Kenai” and arrive to find the mainstem run has not started.
What is actually happening in mid-June is the Russian River early run moving up through the lower Kenai to the confluence at Cooper Landing. Those fish are countable, catchable and managed separately. The Kenai's own sockeye arrive from about mid-July.
Both are worth fishing. They are just not the same run, they are not in the same place, and they do not fish the same way. If a trip is being sold to you as early Kenai reds in June, ask which river you will actually be standing in.
2026 in particular
What is closed this year
Kenai River king salmon are closed for the entire 2026 season, both runs, including catch and release. Here is the detail and what to fish instead.
East Cook Inlet razor clams remain closed — Clam Gulch since 2014, Ninilchik with one brief exception. Where you can still legally dig.
Charter halibut has closed days in 2026 — every Wednesday, plus Tuesdays through the summer. The dates and limits.
Straight answers
Run timing questions
When do sockeye run on the Kenai River?
Alaska Department of Fish and Game gives one window for the Kenai mainstem sockeye run: mid-July through mid-August. The fish people call the "early Kenai reds" in mid-June are really Russian River sockeye passing through the lower river on their way upstream, and they are managed as a separate run.
What is the difference between the early and late Kenai sockeye runs?
Strictly, there isn't an early Kenai mainstem run. The mid-June to mid-July fish are the Russian River early run, which enters the Kenai and turns off at the confluence near Cooper Landing. The Kenai's own sockeye arrive mid-July. Most guide websites blur these together, which is why visitors turn up in June expecting a Kenai run that has not started.
When is the best time to fish the Kenai River?
It depends entirely on what you want to catch. Mid-July to mid-August is peak sockeye. Silvers run late July into October and are the most forgiving fish for a first trip. Rainbow trout fishing is best after the salmon runs, in September and October. Kings are closed for the whole of 2026.
What is running the week I visit?
Use the table on this page as your baseline, then check the live ADF&G fish counts before you commit. Runs shift by a week or more year to year with water temperature and weather.
Who can take you
Guides who fish these runs
Every business in our directory is listed free and lists its own phone, email and website. We take no commission and no booking — you deal with the operator directly.