For Southcentral Alaska anglers, Monday is one of the most anticipated days of the year.
The renown Russian River will open to fly fishermen seeking red salmon, and Kenai River rainbow trout anglers -- sidelined for the last month as spawning took place -- can cast once again.
On Monday, motorized boats aren't allowed on the Kenai River, so drift boat anglers may crowd the middle river in search of rainbows. Anglers have been taking red salmon in the main stem of the Kenai River for the past week or so, and the run should only build into June.
Russian River anglers are restricted to an unbaited, single hook with the shank three-eights inches or less. Most anglers add a weight 18 and 24 inches from the hook depending on water levels and conditions.
Remember, the sanctuary at the confluence of the Russian and Kenai rivers is closed and the area below the lower boundary of the sanctuary to the powerlines has the same fly-fishing-only rules as the Russian.
This is a crowded fishery, so beware of other anglers' lines and wear sunglasses.
Brian Richards, a local fly fisherman and owner of Wilderness Way, told the Peninsula Clarion: "If you were going to fish the confluence up there at the Russian River for trout that's one of the places where within a day or two you might want to start throwing some flesh flies. Guys are going to be slaying salmon and throwing the carcasses in the water and ... those trout will be kind of into the flesh mode."