The Kenai River and its tributaries are home to several other game species besides the main game fish described in the beginning of this section. Some of them occur in lakes and are seldom encountered in the mainstem Kenai, while others are caught to one degree or another in the river. Chum salmon, steelhead trout, lake trout, arctic grayling, and whitefish are present but not readily available due to small numbers of fish, different feeding habits, or habitat not conducive to the particular species. Fishing for them varies, generally from very slow to mediocre, depending largely if they are targeted or not. However, for all practical purposes, they are incidental catches.
Three species that anglers are very unlikely to see on the Kenai River are arctic char, northern pike, and burbot. The char are confined to a couple of lakes in the Moose River system and not believed to be present anywhere else. Even though pike are infiltrating the drainage, specifically tributary lakes, it is a rare occurrence to find them in the mainstem Kenai. Burbot are only present in two lakes on the peninsula and have never been documented in the river.
Chum Salmon
Chums are a relatively rare species in the Kenai River drainage but a few fish are taken every season, usually between July and September.
Roughly the same size as a red or silver salmon (6 to 12 pounds), they are often mistaken as such when in the bright silvery ocean phase. Dusting of black specks may be visible on back but no obvious spots as with other salmon species; flesh is light orange.
Fish in the spawning phase, however, are easily identified by their colorful crimson markings or stripes in red, green, and yellow. Chum salmon are known to breed in clearwater tributaries of the Kenai, such as Funny River and Quartz, Ptarmigan, and Grant creeks.
Anglers report incidental catches when targeting other species using spoons, spinners, plugs, attractors, and bait.
Steelhead Trout
The sea-run version of rainbow trout – steelhead – is present in small numbers in the Kenai River and sometimes encountered by anglers from August up into May.
Fresh in on the tide, these 5- to 15-pound trout are silvery in color and still lack the bright pink band on the sides. Small black spots cover back, top of head, and sides (but only above the lateral line), and both lobes of the tail fin. In this phase, steelhead can easily be confused with silver salmon. Color of meat is orange.
After a few weeks in the river, the sea-run trout begin to look like its resident cousin, the rainbow, complete with pink stripes and obvious spotting; in this stage, they can be difficult to tell apart by the untrained eye. Steelhead, however, are more elongated and do not have spots below the lateral line like rainbows. Little is known of the life history of steelhead in the Kenai but spawning populations have been documented in Funny River and Slikok Creek and may be present in other clearwater tributaries as well.
Anglers targeting steelhead report mixed success ranging from poor to very good using attractor and egg imitation flies in certain locations along the lower and middle river.
Lake Trout
This char is most common in lakes and infrequently stray into rivers and streams where they are caught incidentally by anglers fishing for other species. In the mainstem Kenai, smaller specimens may be encountered on rare occasions in slack water sections of the upper and middle river. However, good numbers of lake trout are available in several of the deeper lakes of the Kenai drainage, most notably Skilak, Kenai, Hidden, and Trail lakes.
Unlike trout, these lake-bound char have distinct forked tails, the sides and back are dark grey or brown with whitish or yellowish marking scattered throughout the body. Spawning fish display a dark lateral band on sides, the fins a slight orange or reddish hue. Flesh color is light orange. Average size is 3 to 5 pounds with some fish to 15 pounds. Known to reach 25 pounds or more in the Kenai drainage.
Anglers do well in summer casting bait (herring or salmon roe), spoons, and attractor flies at the mouths of salmon spawning streams, especially late in evening or early morning. Productive fishing also in fall and early winter at lake outlets. Ice fishing is popular on Hidden Lake using jigs and bait. Lake trout generally thrive in deep water.
Arctic Grayling
The grayling is not native to the Kenai Peninsula and its presence the result of state stocking programs in various lakes of the Kenai River drainage many years ago. Today, however, grayling may be found sparingly throughout the mainstem Kenai and some of its tributaries, particularly those connected to the upper river and Kenai Lake.
Smallish in size, averaging only 8 to 15 inches, this fish is easily identified from other species by the large, sail-like dorsal fin. Color is silvery grey to light brown. Several large black spots are visible on the front part of the body. Scales are relatively large. Flesh is white. May attain 20 inches and 3 pounds.
The best locations to go for grayling include Crescent, Paradise, and Lower Fuller lakes. Expect excellent action during July and August using insect imitation flies and small spinners. Anglers also report catching fish in Upper and Middle Kenai River, Quartz Creek, and Russian River, primarily on beads and egg pattern flies.
Whitefish
Whitefish is a family consisting of several distinct species of fish, including sheefish, and are widespread throughout Alaska. The only representative member that anglers encounter in the Kenai River drainage, however, is the round whitefish.
Long and tubular in shape, this smallish silvery-grey fish seldom exceeds 16 inches in length and is somewhat reminiscent of another closely related species – the arctic grayling. Whitefish have large scales, a very small mouth, and no spots or markings. Its meat is white and flaky.
Most catches of whitefish occur in the mainstem sections of the middle and upper Kenai during the summer and fall months (July to November) by anglers drifting beads for trout and char. A small spawning run of these fish may be targeted in Quartz Creek.