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Kasilof River Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

The Kenai’s quieter neighbor: the Kasilof runs kings and sockeye without the combat crowds.

4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Water temp
~55 F est.
Air / High
33 / 38 F
Wind
NE 5 mph

Sources: Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

4/5Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Kasilof River is in transition: bait on the move and predators following. Today brings cloud cover, wind NE around 5 mph, falling pressure near 1028 hPa and a high of 38. Water sits around 55 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 11:08 PM-1:08 AM and 10:44 AM-12:44 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Rainbow troutExcellent

This band overlaps Vermont's 54-66°F stream preference: fish feed across riffles, runs and pocket water, and in lakes WDFW says spring and fall bring them near the surface.

SteelheadExcellent

Main tributary season: fish seams, pool heads and tails and structure with drifted eggs, beads, nymphs or streamers, and plan trips around rising or falling water.

Chinook salmonFair

Runs enter the rivers: drift roe or sand shrimp through travel lanes, plunk a wrapped plug, or float eggs in eddies and tidewater.

Tomorrow: Similar at 40 F with likely rain: fish ahead of the front. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings.

No live gauge on this water

Conditions here are modeled from weather, season and the nearest stations. Water readings appear when a USGS gauge is available.

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~55 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp33 F
High / Low38 / 27 F
WindNE 5-12 mph
Pressure1028.1 hPa, falling
Sky / Rain98% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset09:06 / 18:31
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~55 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Kasilof River this week

Today is the pick of the week on Kasilof River, at 4 out of 5.

Best day this week: today, Oct 23 — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 — Good

Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Solunar majors
11:08 PM-1:08 AM and 10:44 AM-12:44 PM
Minor period
5:19 AM-6:19 AM
Sun
09:06 to 18:31
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 6 mph
Rain chance
0%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Kasilof River: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Chinook salmon illustration

Chinook salmon

Seasons follow the runs: spring, summer and fall runs on the West Coast, and late summer into fall in Great Lakes rivers

The largest Pacific salmon, caught by trolling and mooching at sea and by drifting and plunking in rivers as adults return to spawn; also stocked in the Great Lakes. Runs enter the rivers: drift roe or sand shrimp through travel lanes, plunk a wrapped plug, or float eggs in eddies and tidewater.

Rainbow trout illustration

Rainbow trout

Spring and fall in most lakes; rivers fish year-round while the water stays cool

A cold-water trout native to Pacific drainages from Alaska to Baja California, now stocked in most states and fished in rivers, tailwaters and lakes. This band overlaps Vermont's 54-66°F stream preference: fish feed across riffles, runs and pocket water, and in lakes WDFW says spring and fall bring them near the surface.

Steelhead illustration

Steelhead

Great Lakes tributaries from fall through spring; West Coast rivers have both summer and winter runs

Steelhead are rainbow trout that migrate to the Pacific or the Great Lakes to grow, then return up rivers to spawn; unlike most Pacific salmon they can survive spawning and spawn again. Main tributary season: fish seams, pool heads and tails and structure with drifted eggs, beads, nymphs or streamers, and plan trips around rising or falling water.

When to come: the Kasilof River calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Chinook salmon
Rainbow trout
Steelhead
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 55 F (estimated, not a reading).

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~55 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Kasilof River today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 38 F, wind to 7 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 41 F, wind to 10 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 46 F, wind to 11 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

Alaska requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Alaska license plus king salmon stamp where applicable. Kasilof rules differ from the Kenai and change in season: read current ADFG regulations carefully.

Access

Sterling Highway bridge area, Crooked Creek State Recreation Site and river launches; drift floats from Tustumena Lake outlet.

About this water

A 17-mile glacial river from Tustumena Lake to Cook Inlet, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska.

Fishing Kasilof River: the full guide

A glacial river with runs

The Kasilof River flows about 17 miles from Tustumena Lake to Cook Inlet on the Kenai Peninsula, glacially fed and running gray-green through most of the season. It carries strong runs of king and sockeye salmon plus steelhead and Dolly Varden, and it draws a fraction of the crowds the Kenai River pulls a few miles north.

Kings and sockeye

The Kasilof hosts both early hatchery and later wild king salmon runs, fished from drift boats back-trolling plugs and from the bank where access allows. Sockeye arrive in force in July, fished with the flip-and-drift technique standard on the peninsula. Regulations differ from the Kenai and change in season: check them carefully.

Steelhead and Dollies

A modest fall steelhead run enters the river, and Dolly Varden follow the salmon through the season feeding on eggs. The glacial color limits visibility, so presentations that work in clear water often do not: fish tight to structure and let the fish find the offering.

Kenai Peninsula logistics

Access is via the Sterling Highway bridge area, Crooked Creek State Recreation Site and the Kasilof River launches, with drift-boat floats from the lake outlet the standard trip. Kasilof and Soldotna provide services. Bears are present throughout: follow the fish-cleaning rules.

Common questions

How does it compare with the Kenai?

Similar species, far fewer people: the Kasilof draws a fraction of the crowds a few miles north.

Is the water clear?

No: glacial silt colors it most of the season, which changes presentation. Fish tight to structure.

When are the runs?

Kings from late spring into summer with hatchery and wild components; sockeye in force through July.

Is fishing good at Kasilof River right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Nearby waters

Kenai River15 miSkilak Lake32 miRussian River45 miKenai Lake62 miSeward65 miLittle Susitna River85 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 60.3300, -151.2700 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written guide was drafted with AI assistance. Unlike our newer pages, it does not yet list the official pages its facts were checked against: that audit is under way, and anything it cannot verify will be taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.