Valley lakes +++

Trout, grayling, arctic char, pike

Fish are liking the turn to cooler weather. Grayling are available in Canoe, Florence and Lorraine lakes. Float-tubers are chasing big rainbows at Long Lake in the Kepler Bradley Complex.

Willow area lakes ++

Trout, grayling, pike

Could be a good time for hiking a few miles to Red Shirt Lake in the Nancy Lakes system for some pike fishing. Try a weedless mouse lure toward evening. Lynne Lake offers arctic char.

Willow Creek +++

Pink and silver salmon, trout

Both Willow and Little Willow are seeing nice numbers of silver salmon. Remember, rainbow trout caught downstream of Parks Highway must be released.

Sheep Creek +++

Pink and silver salmon, trout

Nice silver salmon run seems to be building. Still plenty of pinks.

Montana Creek ++

Pink, chum salmon, trout, grayling

Silver fishing picked up over the last week. Water may be high, though. It's catch and release only for grayling and rainbows.

Little Susitna River ++++

Silver, chum, red salmon, rainbows

Could be the place to be this weekend up north. Bait ban is lifted today, and even before that a Fish and Game poll of Little Su anglers showed they were averaging about one fish apiece -- a strong number.

Wasilla, Cottonwood creeks ++

Silver salmon, trout

Silvers are being caught in Wasilla Creek, open from its mouth upstream to the Alaska Railroad bridge. Both Wasilla and Cottonwood creeks are weekend-only fisheries open 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Cottonwood Creek goes from its mouth upstream one mile. Motorized watercraft banned from Wasilla Creek until Aug. 15.

Jim Creek ++

Silver and red salmon

Silver fishing has been hot and cold and getting here is a challenge in wet weather.

Eklutna Tailrace ++

Silver salmon

An early surge of decent silver fishing has slowed down.

Fish Creek ++

Silver and red salmon

Making a bid as perhaps Alaska's most densely regulated sport fisheries, Fish Creek is open 6 a.m.-11 p.m. through Friday night to dipnetters seeking red salmon. And just dipnetters for now. Beginning 6 a.m. Saturday, hook and line anglers may try their luck here. For them, the limit is three fish per day -- only two of which may be silvers. It's a weekend only fishery, 6 a.m.-6 p.m. And once you fill your bag limit here, go home and play checkers. You can't fish for salmon anywhere else that day. Through Tuesday, 451 silvers have passed the Fish Creek weir less than a mile upstream of Lewis Road near Knik. But the red run may be kaput. Nearly 14,000 reds were counted last Friday, down to zero on Tuesday.

REMOTE FISHERIES

Deshka River ++

Silver salmon, trout, grayling

Fish count past the weir is yo-yoing -- from an optimist 528 on July 29 to a discouraging 45 on Tuesday. Rainfall sometimes serves as a trigger for silvers moving upstream and this fishery can get hot well into August.

Lake Creek +++

Silver and red salmon, rainbows

Silvers are spread through the creek. Egg-hungry rainbows are roaming too.

Talkeetna River +++

Silver, chum salmon, rainbows, grayling

A nice surge of silvers has shown up at the mouth of Clear Creek.

ANCHORAGE AREA

Campbell Creek ++

Silver salmon

A few bright silvers are being landed early in the morning on flies and spinners. Open from Dimond Boulevard to a marker downstream of C Street for silvers. Closed to king and red salmon fishing. Artificial lures only.

Bird Creek +++

Pink salmon, silvers, chums

Big crowds of anglers haven't diminished the pink salmon run, though more fish are being foul hooked than are being caught legitimately. Silver fishing is picking up too. Vibrax and Pixee lures in pink, orange, chartreuse and blue are popular. So are Blue Fox spinners. For silvers, try cured fish roe drifted near the bottom below a bobber on a No. 2 hook.

Local lakes +++

Trout, graying, char, pike, salmon

Rainbow trout and char fishing has gotten better in the wet weather and there are pike in Sand Lake. The usual offerings -- spinners, night crawlers, shrimp and flies -- work. Remote Symphony Lake has grayling.

Ship Creek +++

Silver salmon, pink salmon

Silvers and pinks are both here in good numbers and the angling pressure has been much lighter than during the king run. Cured roe fished near or on the bottom ought to be effective. In slower, deeper waters, drift the roe below a bobber. Try a No. 2 hook and cinch your bait securely to the shank with an egg loop.

KENAI PENINSULA

Deep Creek ++

Pink and silver salmon, Dollies

Try small (size 3 or smaller) spinners and spoons for Dolly Varden. Flies or beads that imitate salmon eggs also work. Try the river mouth for silvers. Area upstream of the two-mile regulatory marker open to Dolly Varden and steelhead and rainbow trout fishing now; rainbows and steelhead can't be removed from water and must be released.

Ninilchik River ++

Pinks, Dollies, steelhead

Area upstream of the two-mile regulatory marker open to Dolly Varden and steelhead and rainbow trout fishing; rainbows and steelhead cannot be removed from water and must be released.

Russian River ++++

Red salmon, rainbows, Dollies

Arguably, this has been Southcentral's strongest and most consistent fishery this summer. The second red run continues to percolate, with 1,500 fish past the weir near Lower Russian Lake on Tuesday. After a strong first run, the second run has tracked ahead of the past two years; Fish and Game calls it "good to excellent." Move around, and look at the changes in current. Sight for bottlenecks, cutbanks, eddies, slack currents and holes. You may need a full ounce of weight to be down to the bottom where your fly does its best work. Good rainbow fishing upstream, too.

Homer Spit ++

Silver salmon, Dollies

Fair fishing for silvers at the Nick Dudiak Fishing Lagoon, which should last well into September. Try cured salmon eggs below a bobber. Snagging illegal.

Anchor River +++

Dollies, silver, pink salmon, steelhead

Poor silver fishing, but it should build into September. Treble hooks and bait allowed here. Area upstream of the two-mile regulatory marker open to Dolly Varden as well as steelhead and rainbow trout catch-and-release fishing; rainbows and steelhead can't be removed from water when being released.

Kasilof River ++++

Red salmon, Dollies

The red salmon bag limit has been doubled to six fish, 12 in possession , and fish continue to enter the river.

Uppers Kenai River ++

Red salmon, rainbows, Dollies

Fair prospects for rainbow trout but high water hinders anglers. Could turn good fast as water clarity improves. Another pulse of reds is moving through too.

Lower Kenai River ++

Pink, silver, red salmon

The second run of Kenai kings officially finished on Tuesday with 25,688 kings counted, lower than either of the last two years. High water levels are dropping and clarity is improving. The silver bag limit is two until Sept. 1, when it jumps up to three. Still lots of pinks around.

Clam Gulch ++

Razor clams

A modest minus tide through Friday affords diggers a chance to load up. Remember to buy a fishing license first. Limit is the first 60 clams you dig.

Kasilof dipnetting ++

Red salmon

Kasilof dipnetting ends 11:59 p.m. Friday. Call 267-2512 for the status of commercial openings that have a big impact on dipnetters.

MARINE FISHERIES

Outside Resurrection Bay ++++

Halibut, rockfish, silver salmon

Rough weather outside the bay has hampered anglers, with gale-force winds moving in late Tuesday. If anglers don't mind being tossed around, there's decent halibut fishing and some feisty silver and king fishing available too.

Resurrection Bay +++

Silver, king salmon, halibut, rockfish

The Seward Silver Salmon Derby opens Saturday. Fishing has been good when the weather cooperates, though silvers are notoriously unpredictable. Fish and Game suggests mooching herring. Bait a No. 2/0 hook with a chunk of herring and add a Hoochie Skirt. Try locating "bait balls" that draw hungry silvers. Trolling a cut-plug herring behind flashers is also popular, and some fly-fishers are tossing bucktail streamers when the winds and seas are calm. Lingcod fishing inside the bay is closed.

Deep Creek offshore +++

Silver salmon, halibut, ling cod

Halibut fishing in near-shore areas should be productive. Silvers are showing up in the Point Pogibshi and Flat Islands area. Lingcod should be available in the Chugach Islands area.

Prince William Sound +++

Silver, pink salmon, halibut, shrimp

Increasingly popular Women's Silver Salmon day-long derby is Saturday in Valdez. Pink and chum salmon are widespread throughout Prince William Sound, with silvers joining them. Halibut up to 200 pounds can be caught near ocean entrances.

Kachemak Bay +++

King salmon, halibut, rockfish

Halibut fishing using herring and squid continues to be strong with regular two-fish limits of fish up to 20 pounds. Bluff Point, Flat Island and Point Pogibshi have been productive. Daily limit is two halibut.