Kenai dipnetting goes 24 hours as sockeye run hits 3 million

The sockeye are pouring into the Kenai, and the state's answer is simple: come get them. The Kenai River personal use dipnet fishery goes around the clock for the final three days of the season — 11 p.m. Tuesday through 11:59 p.m. Friday, July 31 — the Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced Monday.

The trigger is abundance. The department now projects the late run at 3 million sockeye, well past the 2.3 million that lets managers extend dipnetting to 24 hours a day. The preseason forecast of 4.45 million ran about 12% above the historical average, and the department made the same around-the-clock call last summer.

The rules don't loosen with the hours: Alaska residents only, with a 2026 Upper Cook Inlet Personal Use permit — one per household — and a resident sport fishing license carried on the beach. Kings go back in the water immediately; the Kenai king fishery is closed for all of 2026.

The City of Kenai, which absorbs the crowds at the river's mouth, asks dipnetters to respect private property and city land rules — it ties litter, fish waste and safety problems to heavy participation. Questions go to Fish and Game's Soldotna office at 907-262-3968.