Well, I've had hold on this secret for a long time. It's hallowed ground I'm treading here, I fill my freezer with a daily limit every year, and I've had just enough beer tonight to share it with the world. (I will admit that a lot of people catch daily limits. I just don't think they catch a limit as fast as me)
Many people come to the Kenai River looking to haul on Red's. It's not easy. Sockeye don't run for the color of yarn. They don't run bait or superstition. There is a skill to flipping for Red's. To give this article clout, here's my proof. I stopped counting rod caught reds at 160 for the year from july 2014 to july 2014. That's right, 1 month. That's when I stopped counting... we caught a lot more than that. My nephews come to fish every year. That's 3-6 Red's each day, between 6-8 people, depending on the limit. They are 12-16 years old. We also have family come from the lower 48 that have never fished. If they can figure it out, so can you.
When I moved to Kenai in 2000, I was introduced to dipping for food. It's big here for locals. Dipnetting involves a person standing chest deep in the surf, waiting... praying that a fish swims into your giant hoop shaped net. A lot of people do it from a boat now. Sometimes you get 'em, sometimes you don't. It's the white man's way. Don't get me wrong, you get a limit. Like 35 or more salmon in one sitting on the right day for a resident with a wife- more for a family with kids. It gets old fast if the Red's are in.
But if you come to the Kenai River looking to take a pile of Sockeye home on a rod there are a few tricks you I can tell you about, but first, I have to give credit where credit is due.
In 2000, I was hired as a Nurse in the local Emergency Department in Soldotna. I was clueless. Most people know Sockeye don't take a bait. They move like cow's, slowly but surely swimming up the river. It's a lot of dumb luck catching Red's. Where I was raised, we casted and reeled Pixie's. Not rocket science. In fact, you will eventually catch Red's if you throw a bare hook from a stick in the Kenai. When the run is in, it's in. I tried to catch Red's a bunch of times in the Kenai with no success. Not one fish, until...
I was lucky enough to meet a Doctor in the Emergency Department that had guided on the Kenai for years. Bob Ledda runs All Alaska Outdoors lodge. Ledda gave me advice and tips, but more importantly, he introduced me to Mikey. Mikey was as big a Jap you ever saw. He was 6' tall, and a very soft man. Soft spoken, and gentle in everything he did. He cleaned fish by the thousands of pounds for All Alaskan Outdoors. We once competed, he cleaned a sockeye perfectly with a leatherman in 30 seconds before I had half done with a filet knife. We steamed together (sauna w/ MJ- not weed but a friend), we shared firepit together hundreds of times, and he taught me nearly everything I know. I can't begin to share with you the things he has taught me about fishing, but I'll try.
The first time Mikey took me out, he limited before I caught one single Red. In fact, I caught none. He had a flip that made tourists drool. It was automatic. It was perfect. Mikey was a Red Whisperer, and he didn't even like eating them. He took me out on the Kenai many times, and before long I stopped trying and starting listening.
Mikey explained that there was a science to catching Red's. The length of your leader. The weight of your sinker. The feel of your weight bouncing along the bottom of the river. The vibration of your line in a Red's mouth. I took it from there to optimize my haul every time I go out.
I use a halibut rod with 80# line and a giant hook, because I don't enjoy fighting fish. I want to fill my freezer. The only fish that counts is the one lying dead on the bank. I will warn you, this takes "the fun" out of the entire catching process, unless to you, fun = meat in the freezer. Each section of the Kenai is different. Different length leader and different weight depending on the speed of the water. To start, tie a triple swivel to your line. The line from your rod to the proximal eye, and the leader to the distal eye. This leaves the mid-eye for the sinker. I start with a 6' leader. This is obviously painfully long, but it's much easier to take a bit off than add a bit on. I start with a 1oz weight on a snap swivel. It's usually much too heavy, but easy to change with this setup. I flip my hook out- if you can't picture what I mean by flip, it's easiest just to watch everyone else fishing. There is no casting for Red's. I use about 10' of line (Red's swim close to the bank oftentimes running into your legs if you're wading) to flip my hook at 11 o'clock, let it drift, bouncing to 2-4 o'clock and give a tiny yank at the end. Feel for your sinker. If it it's floating and isn't bouncing, it's too light. If it's dragging or snagging, it's too heavy. You want a steady bounce. At the end of your drift, give a tiny yank. Don't give a big yank, because a parks ranger or fish and game will likely be watching, and yanking big is illegal. Once you have your weight happily bouncing on the bottom of the river, focus on your leader. If I'm snagging them in the belly, I figure I'm long, throw it back. Long and low. Snagging in the back? I'm short. Short and high. I take off about 6" of line at a time, and usually end up with 4-5' of leader.
Now that you have your weight right, and your leader right, focus on feeling your line. When your line has crossed into the mouth of Red, it vibrates in a manner that isn't the same. Your weight still bounces, but it's different than the weight bouncing on the bottom of the river by itself. When you get use to what is normal, you'll understand. If you feel the vibration, give a little yank no matter where you are in your drift. This is usually at the end of the drift- around 2-4 o'clock, but it could be the instant your hook hits the water.
Once you get the rhythm of flipping and start hooking, everyone yells "Tip up!". I disagree. Tip down. Sockeye love to jump and spin and spit hooks, but rarely jump and spin and spit hooks when you keep the tip down. By tip down I mean, down below the water. If you're snagged, Red's would rather surf (be drug along the surface of the water) than jump, when you keep your tip down below the water. TIP UP! makes for a theatrical dramatic fight with leaping fish, and many a spit hook if you're into that. Remember, I'm using a halibut rod with 80# line. I don't want to fight a fish. I want to catch a fish.
Lastly, I don't use a net. Never, ever, ever. That would require dependence on another fisherman to stop fishing, and help me. He'll never catch a fish if his hook isn't wet. Instead, reel up to your sinker using your rod to fight the fish, and make a timely gentle haul right onto the bank. Now that the big Red is flopping, grab him by the head and rip his gills. He won't fight much once he's lost his lungs, and he will bleed out sufficiently. I don't use a stringer unless I have to. I throw each Sockeye on the bank above me where I know they won't work their way back into the river, then I get my hook wet as fast as I can. Because A DRY HOOK DOESN'T CATCH FISH! If you hook fish, but they pop out without reason, get a sharper hook. If you're flipping without a single fish on but everyone else is catching, check your setup. I have fished many a time without a hook on the line. The constant rubbing of rocks weaken the line, and it snaps. You are now attempting to catch fish with a floppy line and no hook. Also if you're using DEET to deter the skeeters, it will eat the line until it falls apart. (if I have rubbed DEET on my parts, I wash my hands in the river before working with my line)
Your lesson is finished. Now for stories. A Doc by the name of Zipperer (no kidding) came through the hospital, and he wanted to catch Reds for the first time. I offered to take him to a very popular spot in the middle of town after a nightshift. Once we were in the parking lot, he announced he had no tackle. No hooks. No sinker. Just one very expensive brand new rod with line. Lord help me... I saw a fellow fisherman parked alongside us and asked for a 1oz sinker, which he was happy to supply. "But where will we get a hook?" asked Zipperer. I walked him to the waters edge, found a discarded hook on the ground, and sharpened it on a stone. I tied this welfare hook to his line, and he had his first Red ever, after just a few flips!
My 16 year old nephews are fishing every night in july. They literally fish a limit in the dark, sleep all day and fish another limit the next night! The Red's wait for no one! You will find that fishing the Kenai during the day is crowded. We see between 100-200 hooked fisherman a year in the ER, usually in the neck or face, all because of the crowds fishing about 4-6' apart. A Red pops a hook mid air, that weight and barb are coming back at you about 100mph! I've seen people blinded. I once saw a sinker imbed itself inside a mans head!
My small group of friends (the fellowship) night fish a few times a years. It's enjoyable to fish without the crowds, drink beer, eat a snack and enjoy the company. Also, night fishing is an entirely different challenge. You can't see the Red even when he's in the water right next to you!
Last story, my wife catches more fish than everyone else on the river. Like Mikey, she doesn't even like to eat them! I have seen her limit many times when not another soul was catching. Some people just got it, and I married one!
