In the four days since the Russian opened, some 17,000 fish have negotiated its falls and passed the weir near Lower Russian Lake. That's already more than the Alaska Department of Fish and Game's minimum escapement goal -- and a counterpoint to the depressing king salmon runs across much of Southcentral.

Never in the past decade has the Russian revved up so quickly.

Early Monday morning, state biologists opened the sanctuary area at the confluence of the Russian and Kenai rivers to anglers, and biologists were discussing whether it was too early to relax the three-fish limit.

Jampacked anglers cast elbow to elbow, fighting for their tiny patch of riverbank and trying to keep lines untangled. It had been that way for days.

"It's very, very busy," said Dianne Owen, general manager of Alaska Recreational Management, which runs campgrounds for the Forest Service along the Russian River as well as the Russian River ferry. She said 708 people paid to cross on the ferry Sunday.

"In the sanctuary early (Monday) morning, it seemed like almost everyone caught a fish on their first cast. There's still a lot coming up the river."

Finding a spot is tough, though.

"I ran into a buddy of mine, and he was just leaving," said angler Cory Ring of Anchorage, who fished early Saturday morning. "Otherwise, I don't know how I would have gotten in."

Ring said anglers were lined up side by side from the Grayling parking lot to the ferry crossing. He was also lucky in that he managed to avoid the often-inevitable line tangles.

"I'm pretty good at steering clear of that," he said.

Ring only fished an hour without landing a red, but he planned to make another 105-mile overnight run to the Russian this week. This rush of reds, he said, may be special.

In 2006, 81,000 reds made it upstream in the early run and, four years earlier, 86,000 did so. But neither of those runs started so quickly.

And perhaps the Russian was due for a big year.

Not since 1989-90 have there been two consecutive years in which fewer than 30,000 Russian reds made it past the fish-counting weir in the early run, which ends in mid-July. Last year barely avoided that distinction when 30,989 reds returned -- following a 27,300 return in 2007.

This year, Fish and Game biologist Jason Pawluk, assistant area management biologist out of Soldotna, was part of a crew that walked the river weekly since mid-May, counting rainbow trout.

No salmon appeared until the last survey on June 10, a day before the river opened. But there were encouraging signs:

• Good red salmon numbers from a netting project in the lower Kenai River.

• Strong red salmon catches from the lightly fished main stem of the Kenai, downriver from the Russian.

With another 20,000 fish, the Russian will exceed the top end of its escapement goal, 37,000 reds.

That many fish in an Alaska roadside fishery draws crowds. There's no foolproof way to avoid them, though fishing upstream from 1-4 a.m. may help.

Although the technique is simple, veteran anglers typically fare best. Flies are mandatory on the Russian, but don't be confused. Fly fishermen or women tend to be in the minority. Spinning rods and reels with heavy line, big chunks of lead and flies tend to be the tackle of choice.

Here's a basic battle plan:

• Spot the school of reds.

• Flip your weighted fly above the fish.

• Let the fly drift, thump-thump-thumping along the rocky bottom into the midst of the fish.

• Set the hook when one grabs it.

• Play the fish and try to land it on a gravel bar.

Beware, too, that Russian runs can fizzle as fast as they build.

"It can go either way, absolutely," Pawluk said. "I've seen runs come in early and full-bore and scale off quickly.

"But there's no question it's good to have a good fishery while other fisheries in the area have had a rough go of it."

---

Reach reporter Mike Campbell at mcampbell@adn.com or 257-4329.