A creel survey was conducted on the Kenai River between the Soldotna Bridge and Cook Inlet from 22 May through 4 August 1993. The recreational fishery in this section of the Kenai River primarily targets chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha. The estimated angler-effort and harvest during the early (May and June) chinook salmon run were 153,899 angler-hours and 7,727 chinook salmon, respectively. The estimated angler-effort and harvest during the late (July) chinook salmon run were 293,908 angler-hours and 15,279 chinook salmon, respectively. During the early run, the recreational fishery was liberalized allowing the use of bait, and during the late run the fishery was extended until 4 August in response to a large return. Unguided anglers exerted 66.7% of the total effort and took 46.1% of the chinook salmon harvest while guided anglers exerted 33.3% of the effort and harvested 53.9% of the chinook salmon. Age and sex compositions of the recreational harvest and the inriver return as estimated by sonar are also presented.