The total in river return of early-run chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha as estimated through hydroacoustic techniques was 18,403. Angler effort and harvest as estimated by a creel survey during the early (May and June) chinook salmon run were 173,842 angler hours and 5,634 chinook salmon, respectively, approximately 7% greater than the 1974-1993 mean. Release mortality was estimated at 128 fish. Spawning escapement, estimated by subtracting total fishing mortality from total inriver return, was 12,641. This escapement was 3,641 (40%) greater than stipulated by the Kenai River Early King Salmon Management Plan. The predominant age class of both the inriver return and the recreational harvest of early-run chinook salmon was age-1.4 fish. Migratory timing models were used to project spawning escapement during the 1994 fishery. No restrictions of the recreational fishery were required to achieve the escapement. A model based on sibling ratios was used to forecast the 1995 return at 16,020 (SE = 5,170) chinook salmon.