The Best
Kenai River Guide in Print
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Fishing Alaska's Kenai River
by Gunnar Pedersen
Who must have this book: Anyone who is going
to fish the Kenai River.
Who should have this book: Anyone who is planning
or dreaming about fishing Alaska
ISBN: 1578332966
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Perhaps
this is the start of something very good. In Gunnar Pedersen’s
introduction he says this book is the first in a series of books covering
the major watersheds of Alaska. And if they all have the same level
of coverage as this book, we are in for a great string of books.
For those who are unfamiliar with Gunnar Pedersen, you should check
out his earlier Road Angler books and especially Alaska Fishing which
he co-wrote with Renee Limeres. These are fantastic books that I could
only find one piece of constructive criticism against. That is that
the scope of those books is so great that they lacked depth for any
particular location. This book, and hopefully, this series is the
solution.
This book’s focus on the Kenai River watershed is still ambitious
but it is limited enough to produce a book with great detail and usability.
If you are thinking about fishing the Kenai River, do yourself a favor
and pick up this book. It is well worth the investment.
If I had any constructive criticism for this book, it
would be to edit it much closer for the next edition. There are lots
of typos and inverted words (not that I should throw stones). But
despite a liberal sprinkling of editing snafus, the content is so
deep and valuable, This book is a must have.
Overview
The book is divided into three sections; Kenai’s sport fish,
angling strategies, and Kenai fishing locations. There is also a short
appendix with a collection of miscellaneous pieces that did not fit
into the other sections of the books.
The sport fishing section initially seemed to borrow heavily from
the Road Angler’s sport fishing section, but happily it is very
detailed and focused on the Kenai River. There are great descriptions
of the salmon runs of the watershed that greatly increase you understanding
of the timings for fishing the river. He gives you a very good sense
of expectations, for example, he spells out the success rates for
Kings very clearly. Read the section if you are thinking that King
Salmon fishing will be a hookup a minute. You definitely trade off
quality for quantity. Also he covers the gear and techniques you need
to know about.
The angling strategies section is by far the shortest, but it covers
all the Kenai standards well. If you are new to the Kenai, read it
well, it will tell you what to expect on your guided trips. And be
sure to heed his advice about guiding. If it’s a once in a life
time trip, don’t waste it trying to locate fish in the unknown.
The final section is a location guide that exhaustively covers all
the fishable tributaries and lakes in the Kenai River watershed. If
you live in Alaska, this alone has enough value to cover the price.
Again, his design seems borrowed from the Road Angler books but it
is fairly easily laid out.
Author
Gunnar Pedersen has been fishing the waters of Alaska
for over twenty years and has authored and co-authored several great
books on the topic. These include the first three editions of Fishing
Alaska's Kenai River, Highway Angler,
the Highway Angler: Ice Fishing, and Alaska
Fishing with Renee Limeres
- which has come to be the gold standard on the subject.
Other books by the Author
