ALASKA help wanted!

[Shane54]

So I'll be in Alaska in July for my graduation present! I'm wanting to know of some rivers that are a must to fish, I would like clear rivers where I can toss spinners and drift eggs! We will be taking our truck and trailer, so I'm mobile withing a few hours of anchorage!

[JimmyHoffa]

Ship creek in Anchorage and Russian River on the Kenai might be worth a look.  Susitna river a little north of Anchorage might be good if not too early.  Regs are a lot like WA for rivers.

[bowtech721]

Sounds like a lot of fun! Im not familiar with that area but if im not mistaken another member Cohoho used to live up that way. Maybe he will chime in.

[ribka]

Kenai and Anchor

[cohoho]

3rd week of July, Kenai all the way.  Reds will stacked like cord wood anywhere along the river.  Early July, 4th of July time frame - Kings and Reds = Road trip to the Klutina River south of Glennallen.  It is on the way to Valdez, plus Valdez will be smoking then with Pinks "for fun" by the hundreds- literally.  Klutina River is fantastic and my favorite.  Best place to bounce eggs in the state - IMO!  Same general area just north, is Gulkana River which can be awesome also at times. 

Hire a guide for the Klutina, you can get road access to the Gulkana at various spots along the river..

Jealous, I miss it so much......  Have a great time!  Order a copy of "Highway Angler" by Gunnar Pederson before your trip..

[Da stump]

Contact Teacherman on this forum with a pm Shane. Tell him Da Stump said to give you some good idea's. He is teaching out of Wasilla right now and owns a lodge up there.

[TeacherMan]

Coho said it pretty much how it is. Fist part of July I hit the Klutina a couple days a week. From the bridge hop on the old railroad grade and walk to the mouth 1/10th the people 100x the fish. I use a 8wt fly rod and Russian River fly with about 4' of 30' leader to a swivel and my main line is 30' mono. No spendy line, just gets ripped up lol. Same time period I love hiking into the upper Russian River on the Kenai. Lots of bears about 3 mi hike but can be amazing. There going to open the mouth of the river this season further up them normal for gill netting so expect the red run to be trashed but 7/12-20 is usually good combat fishing for reds. All these areas are flossing so far no spinners or bait. Brit starts usually 8/1 and hit the Little Sue for silvers. Or go to the mouth of Willow creek. I started hitting them heavy this the around the 7/20 getting my daily limit on vibrax. Good luck if you have any other questions feel free to PM me.

Pics are in order of rivers above all last yr. that particular day on the Russian I caught over 50 fish in 4 hrs, my arm was tired lol.

Don't forget about saltwater I spent 7/12-19 out of Seward

[Shane54]

Awesome thank you so much guys!

[tmike]

Are you talking about the Kenai being open for subsistence above the bridge now? How far up?

[TeacherMan]

Are you talking about the Kenai being open for subsistence above the bridge now? How far up?

It's in the Alaska Dispatch. Sum it up it says new federal law will allow them "Way up river" doesn't sound good. 

[tmike]

Nice! Dip netting by Eagle Rock  Still all the spots you and cohoho mentioned should be good bets.

[cohoho]

That will bring all the crazies out of the wood work and not be able to be controlled at all...

[Roosevelt]

If you are thinking of going to the Kenai the peak for the sockeye run is generally July 17th so a couple days before and a couple days after are usually a good bet to hit some great days. Don't count on fishing for the world class Kenai River Kings. They're basically gone. I've been going up there during that time for the last 20 years. Have fun!

[TeacherMan]

Nice! Dip netting by Eagle Rock  Still all the spots you and cohoho mentioned should be good bets.

Its not the general subsistance fisherman that they are allowing to do this, its the gill netters  It will be the demise of this river. The king run is all but gone. King fishing is so much better on the tributaries off the Big Su

[tmike]

From the article it's the Native Subsistence fisherman who will be allowed to do in river gillnetting. So besides the commercial fleet and set nets in Cook inlet, resident subsistence that can use a small gillnet, and sports fishing. Now you have an in river native subsistence gillnet fishery added to the fray. Ya I'd look elsewhere if your looking for kings.

[TommyH]

The gulkana is one of my favorite rivers! Floated it many times, last time I was there we fished our way down and found a camp site, Fished all night and all of the next day. Got a 30 lb king and many more abit smaller. Was a trip I'll never forget.

[JimmyHoffa]

If you end up fishing salt/river deltas.....the tides there can be somewhat unreal.  We can tell you about it, but not sure you'd believe us.    Had times when I casted out and I wasn't in the water, and by the time I had it reeled in the water was over my knees.  Some of the places you can walk out to the mouth across the mudflats to fish, but you might not want to.  The tide comes in so fast that you have to run across the mud to keep ahead of it.

[WAnoob]

I was born and raised up there for 24 years you'll have a blast. Check out "bings landing" on the Kenai just before Soldotna or Russian river. Wait your turn there will be crowds, most people quit after their limit and pay attention to how the locals are fishing because the water level changes daily and can affect the drift. Homer and Seward provide excellent deep sea fishing as well.

Cheers, Randy

Feel free to message me with any questions