The state held Kenai coho at two a day through November

Kenai River anglers stay capped at two coho a day this fall instead of the three the regular limit would have allowed starting Sept. 1. Fish and Game blocked that step-up by emergency order in late August, and the restriction holds through 11:59 pm Nov. 30 for coho 16 inches or longer.

The department pointed to below-average coho abundance across Cook Inlet and weak recent catch rates. It also acknowledged a gap in what it knows: "escapement monitoring for Kenai Peninsula coho salmon remains limited."

The fishing itself has been decent. The department's own Northern Kenai report Thursday says coho angling "is still producing limits early in the morning and late in the evening," with spoons, spinners, back-trolled plugs and marabou jigs working the water from Cunningham Park down through Soldotna Creek Park.

The Kasilof runs on different numbers — six sockeye a day and no more than two coho, through Dec. 31.

This isn't the first time. The department reduced Kenai coho limits by emergency order in 2024, and Kenai king salmon fishing has been closed all of 2026.