KENAI -- Anglers may wonder this year where the famed Kenai kings are.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has closed the river from the mouth upstream to Skilak Lake to king salmon fishing beginning Friday. The closure will be in place during the early run of kings through the end of June.

The Peninsula Clarion reports that Fish and Game says the early king run on the Kenai looks to be perhaps the lowest on record.

The department says it can't even justify catch-and-release fishing because of the additional mortality given the low number of kings in the river.

When the king salmon late run begins July 1, bait and scent will be prohibited.