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 In Georgia I used to think a 12-inch trout was a nice catch. It was there. Up here in Alaska everything seems to come in supersize, and that includes the Kenai River Rainbow Trout. Just look at the pictures on this webpage to get an idea of what I mean when I say the Kenai Rainbows are big trout!
These are resident Rainbows. No Steelhead (sea-run Rainbows) runs occur in the Kenai River.
How do these resident Rainbows get so big in such a short growing season? The answer lies in the abundance of trout feed that comes from the huge runs of Kings, Sockeye, and Silver Salmon. All winter long the Rainbows feed on decaying salmon flesh, dislodged salmon eggs, and overwintering salmon fry. Come spring, they gorge on outmigrating salmon smolt. During the summer they gorge on newly deposited salmon eggs. Salmon are the key to such big Rainbows.
 Unlike the million fish per year Sockeye Salmon runs up the Kenai River, the resident Rainbow Trout number a few hundred per river mile, and they could very easily be overfished. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has wisely made the trout fishery mostly catch and release. You are allowed to keep one Rainbow per day, but it must be smaller than 18 inches in overall length. Most of the trout fishermen here are after much larger fish that this, and have little interest in keeping such a small fish. Thus the fishery is mostly catch and release. I hope you will concur with this wise choice, so that one of the greatest Rainbow Trout fisheries in the world will remain so for your children and grandchildren.
Lets keep the Kenai River Rainbows a "photos only" trophy fishery. If you are really hankering for a great Rainbow Trout meal, go to one of the nearby Kenai Peninsula lakes, catch your limit, and have a great fish fry. (Just remember to invite me; I like fried trout too.)
 These big Rainbows are quite easy to catch if you know a few secrets. The biggest one is that a boat greatly enhances your chances. If you start fishing for Rainbows early in the Spring, you can readily catch them from every boardwalk. But, these fish get smart really quickly. Remember it is a catch and release fishery, and every caught and released fish is an educated one. They don't usually make the same mistake twice. So, by mid-June, you will have a much harder time catching Rainbows from the shoreline. But, there are miles and miles and miles of river accessable only by boat. And the Rainbows of these areas are mostly uneducated, and remain quite easy to catch all season.
If you are fishing from a boat, a 5 wt. fly rod or light spinning gear is sufficient. A 10-pound leader is enough for the biggest Rainbow--provided you can follow a big one in your boat. In the springtime, fly patterns that resemble salmon fry work very well, as do small, heavy spoons, such as the Little Cleo. Once the salmon runs get well underway, salmon-egg imitations are the best flies to use. Later in the runs, when you start to see occassional dead salmon floating downstream, you can switch to fly patterns that imitate decaying salmon-flesh. Use a single hook (as required by law) and pinch the barb down to make it barbless, so release of these trophies is easy and least damaging.
 Of course, all Rainbows here are absolute suckers for salmon roe. Each year many Rainbow inhale the big gobs of salmon roe and the huge hooks used to catch King Salmon. It is a real tragedy that many of the Rainbows so caught die from the wounds they receive. Most of these fish would survive if the person catching them would quickly determine that they are hooked deeply, and snip the leader off near the hook, releasing the Rainbow without taking it out of the water. But no, they want to save the Gamagatsu hook, worth all of $0.35, and they kill the Rainbow retrieving their hook. How sad that a 35 cent hook is more valuable to them than a wild Rainbow. I certainly hope you will snip off your hook to save a Rainbow's life. The hook will soon dissolve, and the Rainbow will have a much greater chance of living. May the fish gods smile upon you if you follow this practice. Oh, by the way, it may be an easy way to catch Rainbows here, but it is no more sportsmanlike than dynamiting fish to intentionally fish here for Rainbows with salmon roe. They swallow the roe too deeply, and big hooks enter internal organs. They are not hard to catch with flies and lures, so give these gorgeous fish a break.
 As for the actual fishing, keep your presentation right on the bottom. If you are not fishing the lowest six inches of water, you are wasting your time. Currents are swift, and these big trout are lazy. They hug the bottom, and won't move up into the stronger currents for a tiny morsel. Get it down where they live, and they will readily take it.
With flies, try to achieve a dead drift with no drag. In the swift current of the Lower Kenai, it is easy from a moving boat, and very tough from the shoreline. A foam strike indicator is very helpful for all but the most accomplished fly fishermen.
The turquoise coloration of the Kenai River limits visibility to between one and three feet throughout most of the summertime, so polaroid eyeglasses won't help you spot fish. They will help prevent eyestrain from the glare of bright sunlight off the water. Don't forget to take a hat and sunscreen on sunny days. You can get horribly burned even this far North. Raingear is always advisable, because even on sunny days an afternoon shower is common.
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