With all the discussion concerning the Kenai River King salmon I am surprised that the issue of excessive guide pressure has not been brought up. The” commercial” guide industry impacts the Kenai on two fronts. One being the sheer number of kings that this commercial fishery kills and the second is the adverse affects this industry has on the quality of life on this river.
One does not have to speak to many sport fishermen from south central Alaska to realize that many if not most have stopped fishing the Kenai for kings because of the overcrowding on the lower river. Between being squeezed out of the traditional holes and the excessive wakes generated as these”commercial” boats transfer clients from one hole to another the river takes on the picture of true “combat fishing”.
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