Whitewater in the Kenai River canyon

Fish counts · Kenai River

Kenai River King Salmon Fish Counts

The river that produced the world-record king: 97 lb 4 oz, caught in 1985. Today the Kenai's kings are in trouble, and the counts tell the story. We fish them when Fish and Game opens them.

See the countsCheck dates

The short version

Kenai kings at a glance

  • Jun 9–Jun 15early run peak week
  • Jul 28–Aug 3late run peak week
  • 3,532early run, average season (2016–2025)
  • 14,073late run, average season
  • 1,4992026 early run: 58% below average
  • 9,8032026 late run: 30% below average

Closed most recent years; we fish them when open. The early run finished below the bottom of its goal range in 9 of the last 14 seasons shown here, and the late run in 9 of the last 14. When the counts are low, Fish and Game can restrict the fishery by emergency order: no bait, catch-and-release only, or a full closure.

The 2026 season, day by dayKings counted each day at the Kenai sonar in 2026 (both runs), against an average day of the 2016–2025 seasons.
  • 2026: Kenai kings counted each day
  • An average day, 2016–2025 (7-day average)
0200400600Jun 1Jun 15Jul 1Jul 15Aug 1Aug 15Average day
0200400600Jun 1Jul 1Aug 1

Counts: ADF&G preliminary daily counts as published by Alaska FishTopia; timing from the 2016–2025 seasons.

Show the numbers
The 2026 season, day by day
Day2026 countAverage day
May 16-64
May 17—5
May 18—7
May 19—8
May 20—11
May 21613
May 22—15
May 23—18
May 24622
May 251228
May 26—35
May 272440
May 281247
May 29-1256
May 301863
May 313074
Jun 1—83
Jun 22492
Jun 330101
Jun 430109
Jun 536116
Jun 636119
Jun 760121
Jun 818123
Jun 960125
Jun 1030131
Jun 1154136
Jun 1296137
Jun 1385134
Jun 14114132
Jun 1518130
Jun 1630122
Jun 1760110
Jun 186699
Jun 194290
Jun 203689
Jun 214984
Jun 225479
Jun 231278
Jun 246977
Jun 253676
Jun 265478
Jun 274278
Jun 286067
Jun 297256
Jun 303645
Jul 14274
Jul 27896
Jul 378120
Jul 478146
Jul 584162
Jul 660176
Jul 748197
Jul 8108212
Jul 9174234
Jul 10228251
Jul 11102270
Jul 12168276
Jul 13303290
Jul 14193305
Jul 15241318
Jul 16157322
Jul 17122329
Jul 18111331
Jul 19150338
Jul 20151339
Jul 21186340
Jul 22211341
Jul 23306345
Jul 24518347
Jul 25308350
Jul 26216355
Jul 27193362
Jul 28331370
Jul 29217367
Jul 30168370
Jul 31204376
Aug 1289376
Aug 2151375
Aug 3322371
Aug 4313368
Aug 5259361
Aug 6205341
Aug 7271319
Aug 8271297
Aug 9199281
Aug 10217262
Aug 11259234
Aug 12283224
Aug 13295217
Aug 14175200
Aug 15193194
Aug 16103180
Aug 17175162
Aug 1866137
Aug 1997106
Aug 208479

Two runs

The early run and the late run

The Kenai has two runs of king salmon, divided at July 1. The early run peaks in mid-June; the late run is much larger and peaks in late July, alongside the sockeye. Kings never really stop entering the river between the two: the date is a management line, not a gap in the fish.

These counts are Fish and Game's main in-season tool for managing the fishery. They are for managing the fish, not for anglers, but we can use them too.

A guest holding a big Kenai River king salmon in the boat
A Kenai River king, in a year the river was open.
An average day of the Kenai king runsKings counted per day, averaged over the 2016–2025 seasons (7-day average).
  • Kenai kings (early + late run)
0100200300400Jun 1Jun 15Jul 1Jul 15Aug 1Aug 15Late run counted from Jul 1Kenai kings (early + late run)
0100200300400Jun 1Jul 1Aug 1

Counts: ADF&G preliminary daily counts as published by Alaska FishTopia; timing from the 2016–2025 seasons. Average fish counted per day (7-day average).

Show the numbers
An average day of the Kenai king runs
Week ofKenai kings (early + late run)
May 164
May 2318
May 3063
Jun 6119
Jun 13134
Jun 2089
Jun 2778
Jul 4146
Jul 11270
Jul 18331
Jul 25350
Aug 1376
Aug 8297
Aug 15194

Escapement

Each run against its goal

Early run, counted so far2026 against an average season and the goal range.
  • 2026: counted so far
  • An average season, 2016–2025
  • Fish and Game's goal range
02k4k6k8kJun 1Jun 15ADF&G goal 3.9k–6.6kAverage season2026
02k4k6k8kJun 1ADF&G goal 3.9k–6.6k

Counts: ADF&G preliminary daily counts as published by Alaska FishTopia; timing from the 2016–2025 seasons. Goal ranges as Alaska FishTopia prints them.

Show the numbers
Early run, counted so far
Through2026 so farAverage season so far
May 16-62
May 23079
May 3060362
Jun 62461,067
Jun 136491,986
Jun 201,0152,758
Jun 271,3313,297
Late run, counted so far2026 against an average season and the goal range.
  • 2026: counted so far
  • An average season, 2016–2025
  • Fish and Game's goal range
010k20k30kJul 1Jul 15Aug 1Aug 15ADF&G goal 15k–30kAverage season2026
010k20k30kJul 1Aug 1ADF&G goal 15k–30k

Counts: ADF&G preliminary daily counts as published by Alaska FishTopia; timing from the 2016–2025 seasons. Goal ranges as Alaska FishTopia prints them.

Show the numbers
Late run, counted so far
Through2026 so farAverage season so far
Jul 142120
Jul 85761,256
Jul 151,9853,189
Jul 223,0735,558
Jul 295,1628,046
Aug 56,86810,671
Aug 128,57312,636
Aug 199,67713,894
Aug 26—14,058

Every season

King counts over the years

Early runThe line is the 2016–2025 average; the band is the goal range.
02k4k6k8kADF&G goal10-season average 4k’13’15’177k’19’21’23’25’261k
Show the numbers
Early run
SeasonFish countedAgainst the ADF&G goal
20131,724Below
20142,391Below
20154,212Within
20166,391Within
20177,237Above
20183,000Below
20194,186Within
20202,444Below
20214,131Within
20222,051Below
20231,975Below
20241,365Below
20252,541Below
20261,499Below
Late runThe line is the 2016–2025 average; the band is the goal range.
010k20k30kADF&G goal10-season average 14k’13’15’1722k’19’21’23’25’2610k
Show the numbers
Late run
SeasonFish countedAgainst the ADF&G goal
201312,656Below
201410,871Below
201517,687Within
201617,447Within
201722,133Within
201816,957Within
201911,868Below
202011,499Below
202111,832Below
202213,425Below
202313,922Below
20246,630Below
202515,015Within
20269,803Below

How it is counted

The king salmon sonar

Kenai kings are counted by underwater sonar on the lower river, at a deep channel near river mile 14. The kings tend to travel right up that channel, and the shallower water around it makes the equipment easier to reach.

Close aerial view of the king salmon sonar site, showing the deep channel at low spring water
The deep channel at the sonar site, at low spring water.
Aerial view of the lower Kenai River with the river-mile-14 king salmon sonar site marked
The lower Kenai from the air, with the king salmon sonar site marked.

Questions

Kenai River king count questions

Can I fish for king salmon on the Kenai River?

King salmon are in trouble across Alaska, and the Kenai has been closed to kings most recent years. When Fish and Game opens a king season, we fish it; when it doesn't, we fish sockeye, silvers, trout and halibut.

When do king salmon run on the Kenai?

There are two runs, divided at July 1. The early run is usually counted from May 18 and peaks Jun 9–Jun 15; the late run peaks Jul 28–Aug 3 and is the bigger of the two.

How are Kenai kings counted?

By underwater sonar on the lower Kenai, at a deep channel near river mile 14 where the kings tend to travel.

What happens when the king count is low?

Fish and Game can restrict the fishery by emergency order: no bait, catch-and-release only, or a full closure. Low king counts can also limit the commercial sockeye nets, which lets more sockeye into the Kenai and Kasilof.

Counts are Fish and Game's preliminary in-season numbers and can be revised. Fish and Game can change seasons and limits by emergency order: check the current regulations before you fish.

More fish counts

Every run we watch

Counts: ADF&G preliminary daily counts as published by Alaska FishTopia; timing from the 2016–2025 seasons. All counts on these pages come from Alaska FishTopia, which posts them daily in season; the Alaska FishTopia app sends count alerts to your phone.