We booked three nights at the Russian River Campground on the Kenai Peninsula months ago. I was supposed to go on a backpacking trip starting August 5 in that same area, so I booked this campground hoping that we would be there at prime Sockeye salmon time.
The Sockeye salmon make two runs up the Kenai River from the ocean (Cook Inlet) to spawn each year. There is an "early" or "first" run in late May to early June, and then a "late" or "second" run the last half of July into early August.
The confluence of the Russian River and the Kenai River is one of the most famous "walk-in" salmon fishing destinations in the world, and the Russian (a much smaller stream than the Kenai) is itself known for excellent fly-fishing for trout, Dolly Varden, and salmon.
Of course, we nailed a prime time of the late Sockeye run while we were in Soldotna for three days before we went to Kodiak Island. We were hoping for the same success on this section of the Upper Kenai which is about seven miles below Kenai Lake where the Kenai River terminates.
It was a 120-mile trip from Mariner Park on the Homer Spit to the Russian River Campground. We got a late start, and then we made a stop at Fred Meyer in Soldotna on the way. Steve & Esther took a little detour and went to the town of Kenai to the Home Depot where they purchased a 5 cubic foot chest freezer to put in their RV to hold their fish.
Since they can't ship fish to Canada, their best option was to just take it with them. Of course, their rig is smaller than ours, so where they are going to put the freezer should be interesting.
We checked in at the entrance station at the Russian River Recreation Area, and drove back the terrible road to the campground. The campground has no hook-ups, but it does have a dump station and potable water. We filled up and dumped tanks on the way in.
The camping fee is $18/night or $28/night for a double site, and there are a lot of double sites. In fact, Steve & Esther ended up booking a double site since they booked several weeks after we did.
There are five different camping loops that sit on a bluff above the Russian River. All the roads and the sites are paved.
You can walk down to the river from the campground using a series of stairs and walkways along the river. We were in Site 57 near the river, but there is no view of the river, so being closer to it doesn't provide much benefit other than a shorter walk.
We had a nice site.
Steve & Esther were in a different loop in Site 32. They hadn't arrived yet, so I walked down to scout out a good fishing spot. A few people were catching Sockeyes and some had their limit of three. I returned to the campsite, rigged up my rod, put on my waders, and headed down to the river. I just wanted to catch a salmon for dinner.
There were lots of salmon carcasses and heads floating in the river from people cleaning them and, by the time I returned, nobody seemed to be catching any fish. It looked like I might have missed a nice little run.
I fished for a couple of hours and got nothing. I could see fish, but the river was really rocky and it wasn't easy to get a fly down to the fish without getting snagged. Also, in the Russian River, you have to use a smaller hook that has a specified distance between the barb and the shank. That makes flossing a bit more difficult as well.
Anyway, I failed to catch a fish and walked back to the rig empty-handed. So Linda whipped up some chicken salad.
Tomorrow, Steve and I are going to drive to Seward in their motorhome to get our Jeeps. He'll hitch his up to the motorhome and tow it back and I'll drive ours back. Then, we'll fish the confluence when we get back. Maybe we'll have better luck there.
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