The Kenai's coho limit stays at two through November

Kenai River anglers can keep two coho salmon of 16 inches or longer per day, and hold two, through Nov. 30. The limit normally steps up to three in the fall. This year Fish and Game blocked that.

The department called the move precautionary when it issued the order in late August, pointing to weak catch rates around Cook Inlet and to protecting the fish that reach the spawning grounds. It does not have a better measure to go on: Kenai coho are not counted for abundance during the season, and the run is managed through what anglers report and through conservative general rules.

The two-fish limit runs from the river mouth up to Bing's Landing. Above Bing's, coho fishing closes Oct. 31, and the Russian River closes Sept. 30.

The fishing itself has not fallen off. The department's final Northern Kenai report this week said coho are still producing limits early in the morning and late in the evening, on spoons, spinners, back-trolled plugs and marabou jigs under a slip bobber, with Cunningham Park, Swiftwater Park and Morgan's Landing among the places producing.

Gear rules tightened Sept. 16. Flowing waters on the Kenai Peninsula are now unbaited artificial lures or flies only. The Soldotna office takes questions at 907-262-9368.