Boat Rentals on the Kenai

[texxan1]

Does anyone have a list of some of the boat rental places on the Kenai.. I know there are only a few, but i have only been able to find one rental place and it was $50 an hour with an 8 Hour min... We are just wanting to find a place to take a rental boat and cruise on the river some...

Also... When we get to anchorage. We get in at like 5pm.. Will get the Rv and then head to do some shopping for supplies... Can anyone tell me the places i need to stop. Walmart/ Sportsmans wharehouse etc.... Is what i was figuring.. How late does Sportsmans stay open if anyone knows

Anything other advice will be greatly appreciated.. The plan is to fish mainly for silvers all along the road from AK to homer... We are planning a halibut charter out of homer.

Tight lines

Thomas and Kaylin

[texxan1]

I forgot.. This will be times from between sept 5 and 15th.... Hopefully the crowds will be down by then

Thomas

[Walleye1]

We just got back from our trip which was pretty similar to yours. Also, on my only previous visit I was there during a similar timeframe.

The biggest piece of advice I have is if you have the time and money do an overnight Halibut Charter. There is a recent related thread. There were four of us and we caught and released about 100 fish in addition to our two-day limit. The average wieght was around 60lbs.

And if you do this, you will need to be able to get all this fish home. We had the foresight to upgrade to first class, which on Northwest allowed us to bring 2 70lb boxes and 40lb box. I don't know if the other airlines have the same policies and/or what has now changed. If you have miles you can upgrade on just the return flight for a fairly low number of miles (about 10-15k?)

Use coolers for luggage on your way up and pack light or bring stuff you can leave up there or give away. That way you will have room for your fish. We failed to do this and ended up having to ship a bunch of stuff back, including our luggage.

You should have an awesome trip, but be ready for some possibly nasty weather at that time. When we went in September before it got very cold and rainy on our last few days.

[fishNphysician]

If you want to fish the Kenai, try Kenai Riverbend Resort.... they run nice Willie Predators with brand new Yamaha 35's.

The other reliable place is Smitty's... flat bottom Kenai Flyer style boats.

The key is EARLY reservation... both fleets of rental boats were spoken for during my recent two week stay.

[texxan1]

anyone have information on Smittys... I havent run across that one on the web

Thomas

[alaskanfishguides]

Boat Rental

Another option is Kenai Riverfront Boat Rentals http://www.kenairiverfront.com/content.asp?CAT_ID=2. I believe they are less per hour, have a lower minimum and have decent boats (though not Willie's). They are located at Poacher's Cove, just outside of Soldotna.

Good luck,

[texxan1]

Thanks for the link for riverbend.. Already talked to them though.. They want $50 an hour, with an 8 Hour min... Thats $400 bucks.. Thats CRAZY in my book..

What is the average price for a charter boat on the river for two people.

Thomas

[alaskanfishguides]

Boat Rental

This is not Riverbend, but Riverfront... sounds alike I suppose. Give them a call... or check their web site...

The typical price for a charter in September is around $175 per person... +/-

[yukon]

You could probably find one for $150/person without too much problem, it would be much easier and more successful than renting a boat, IMHO.
All you have to do is show up, they will have all the gear and will put you on fish, should be lots of silvers and rainbows.
Personally, I would look for a full day silver/rainbow combo that is fished above Bing's landing, it will cost a little more but well worth it.