May 10, when the first fish of the year, those tiny lovable hooligan, begin returning? Nah, too small.

May 17, when Les Anderson landed his world record king salmon on the Kenai? Nah, too historic.

June 20, when the Ship Creek Slam'n Salm'n Derby finishes in Alaska's biggest town? Nah, too crowded.

July 5, when the first silver salmon often nose into Pony Cove outside Resurrection Bay? Nah, too undependable.

Perhaps THE day is June 11. That's when the Upper Kenai River reopens after giving trout more than five weeks to procreate without annoying flies and lures dogging their every move. And that's the day red salmon fishing kicks off in the Russian River.

Of late, the Russian has often started fast.

• Last year, 4,139 reds were past the weir upstream at the outlet of Lower Russian Lake by the time anglers could start casting. Another wad of 5,000 -- the biggest of the season -- passed June 13, which means they were probably in the river by opening day.

• In 2007, an average of 1,468 reds a day passed the weir from June 12-18.

With king salmon fishing starting slowly across Southcentral, the anticipation of hard-fighting, great-tasting reds may be especially high.

"We'll have a handful of people show up the night of the 10th," predicted Bruce McCurtain, general manager of Alaska Recreation Management, which runs campgrounds along the Russian River for the U.S. Forest Service and operates the Russian River Ferry across the Kenai River. "The hard-cores will show up. Some people have been waiting all year to have that line in the water when the clock strikes 12."

The season begins 12:01 a.m., and the ferry will run 6 a.m.-11 p.m. daily.

Many years, fishing starts slowly -- and other areas such as the Copper River are reporting red salmon are running up to a week late.

"Anglers have gotten very good at social networking, and they know when the fish are in," said McCurtain, whose crews were testing the ferry this week. "It doesn't take much of a smell of blood in the water to get people started."

On the Kenai River, anticipation of the opening will build all week, fueled by the fact June 11 falls on a Friday. The upper river has been closed since May 1.

"In terms of a day people are anticipating fishing, there's probably not a bigger one," said guide Fred Telleen of Mystic Waters Fly Fishing in Cooper Landing. "It's stimulating, and there's a lot of talk leading up to the season."

Much of that talk has centered on the how high and murky the Kenai is -- a stark contrast to last year when Telleen said the river was "as clear as I'd ever seen it -- and it stayed that way all summer."

"It's a normal color this year, and it's going to be a little more challenging," he said.

Ben Collier of Trophy Drifters in Sterling will miss this year's opener because of his commercial fishing obligations, though he's fished plenty of others.

"It can be spectacular, just phenomenal," he said. "It's like any opener where you got guys with cabin fever ready to get out there.

"A lot of rainbows move down into the middle river, where kings will be starting to spawn. You have other areas down below the Soldotna Bridge where people clean their fish and you'll have carcasses from the kings and even some eggs thrown in the river. The rainbows go where the food is."

But it isn't always easy -- and the fact that the king run has started so poorly won't help.

Sometimes, the best thing to do is simply get away from the maddening crowd. That's what McCurtain does, often walking a couple of miles down the Kenai from its confluence with the Russian River to find a place to himself.

"A lot of times, the best thing to do is walk ... a little farther than most people are willing to walk," he said.

Hey, the walking is a decent aerobic workout and if you're successful, you'll get a little weightlifting work in too.

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

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Avoiding bears

Agencies managing the Russian River area are asking anglers to remove fish whole or use filet tables at the Kenai-Russian rivers confluence and where the Kenai River ferry crosses the river. Waste should be chopped into small pieces and tossed into the fast-moving current.

Anglers must keep fish within 12 feet, and bear attractants in bear-resistant containers within three feet of the angler.

Chitina dipnetting

With the Copper River red salmon return running more than 40 percent below preseason predictions, the popular dip-net fishery will open 8 a.m. Saturday for 16 hours and then reopen 12:01 a.m. Monday for a week.

Just 78,287 reds had passed the Miles Lake sonar by May 30.

"At this time," said area management biologist Mark Somerville in a press release, "the sockeye salmon return to the Copper River appears to be running three to four days late."

Netters can take 15 salmon, including one king, for a household of one. Larger households have a 30-salmon limit, including one king. Participants must be Alaska residents with a Chitina Personal User permit and a sport fishing license.

Details are at www.sf.adfg.state.ak.us