I spoken with a couple of old timers and they said that even though it was a record year for sockeye at Kenai River, its generally pretty easy to catch sockeye. They called it flossing but it essentially snagging fish.  We fished the day before the charter at the Visitor Center, the gentlemen fishing next to us, walked us through the basics.  Its a pretty simple rig and technique.  We bank fished a few other spots after the charter, wherever you wet a line, you catch a fish.  We paid north of 1k including tip for a eight hour charter that lasted a couple of hours.  We had a short boat ride and fished one spot next to another boat.  I would not recommend booking a charter for sockeye salmon fishing on the Kenai River, unless it happens to be excessively crowded along the public accessible fishing spots or you missed the main run.  Its daylight from 4-5 to 10-11, chances are you will be able to find a spot to bank fish.  You can get decent inexpensive gear from Amazon.  Fly rod, waders, club, collapsible 5 gallon bucket, stringer, floor mat to clean fish, fillet knife, club, and a packable net.  20-30 lb leader, 3/4 weight, and #2-3 hook.  Everybody is catching their limit.  I booked the charter six months in advance, I did not catch the email where they changed the river location until the day before.  When I called, they promptly said it was not an issue and we fished the river we booked.  Captain was nice and he shared some good stories and offered advice.  He netted and cleaned the fish.  He was on time and professional. The drift boat and equipment was good!  Good experience!

This was our first Alaska fishing trip and it was a blast! Our guide, Trevin, was super knowledgeable and made sure that our first Alaska salmon fishing experience was one to remember. I’ll for sure be booking another trip with Alaskan Widespread in the future.

Got a limit very fast. Very much enjoyed the trip. Highly recommend those guys!

Kacey was awesome, we caught a lot of fish and had great time. Would definitely recommend!