Trout, grayling, arctic char, pike

Soak in some of the first fall colors from the float tube while casting for rainbow trout at Long Lake in the Kepler Bradley Complex, or at Irene and Kepler lakes. Grayling are available in Canoe, Florence and Lorraine lakes. Lots of small grayling have been stocked in Finger Lake; try it next year.

Willow area lakes ++

Trout, grayling, pike

Early morning or late evening best for pike in Nancy Lakes system. Try a weedless mouse lure toward evening. Prator Lake has roadside access for pike.

Willow Creek ++++

Pink and silver salmon, trout

Nice return of silver salmon here. Remember, rainbow trout caught downstream of Parks Highway must be released.

Sheep Creek +++

Pink and silver salmon, trout

Fewer pinks and the silvers are holding up well.

Montana Creek ++

Pink, chum salmon, trout, grayling

Decent silver fishing. It's catch and release for grayling and rainbows.

Little Susitna River ++++

Silver, chum, red salmon, rainbows

As predicted here last week, fishing saw steady improvement. Now Fish and Game rates it good -- even excellent at times -- and bait is permitted too. "Anglers reported above-average harvest rates early this week," according to biologists.

Wasilla, Cottonwood creeks ++

Silver salmon, trout

Wasilla Creek opens to motorized watercraft Saturday. Silvers are being caught from the mouth to the Alaska Railroad bridge. Both Wasilla and Cottonwood creeks are weekend-only fisheries open 6 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. At Cottonwood Creek, expect silvers at the mouth.

Jim Creek +++

Silver and red salmon

Silver fishing has been consistently good. Remember, only two of your three-salmon limit here can be silvers.

Eklutna Tailrace ++++

Silver salmon

Early-in-the-day fishing is best here for what has been a surprisingly strong run of silvers.

Fish Creek ++

Silver and red salmon

Closed to dipnetting but open to sport fishing for all salmon except kings 6 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Legal area extends from the mouth of Fish Creek to regulatory signs posted a quarter mile above Knik-Goose Bay Road. Only two of your three-salmon limit here may be silvers. Relatively small run, with 843 fish upstream so far -- 53 on Tuesday.

REMOTE FISHERIES

Deshka River ++++

Silver salmon, trout, grayling

Fair to good fishing seems poised to take off. On Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, an average of more than 500 silvers moved past the upstream weir for a total of more than 4,200 this season. Last year saw about 12,000 silvers upstream to spawn. Watch for rain clouds that can trigger a burst upstream.

Lake Creek +++

Silver and red salmon, rainbows

Good silver salmon fishing reported throughout the creek. Egg-hungry rainbows are roaming too.

Talkeetna River ++++

Silver, chum, pink salmon, rainbows, grayling

Hot silver fishing at the mouth of Clear Creek, with pinks and chums available too. Lots of limits coming in.

ANCHORAGE AREA

Campbell Creek++

Silver salmon

Silver run seems to be tailing off. Best bet early in the morning using flies and spinners. Open from Dimond Boulevard to a marker downstream of C Street. Closed to king and red salmon fishing, including catch and release. No bait; artificial lures only.

Bird Creek +++

Pink salmon, silvers, chums

Lots of pinks with plenty of twitchy anglers foul-hooking them. Crowds can range for a couple dozen to many more. Either side of high tide tends to be best. Silver fishing is improving, 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

Cloudy, cool weather may make rainbow trout and char more prone to bite toward midday. Local lakes have been stocked, though some of the stocked fish have already been caught.

Ship Creek +++

Silver and pink salmon

Eggs under a bobber can be deadly for silvers here, and the angling pressure isn't as heavy as it was during the king run. 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

Silver fishing is fair to good and should build through end of August. Muddler minnows or small (size 3 or smaller) spinners work for Dolly Varden; limit is two per day. Flies or beads that imitate salmon eggs also work. 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

Strong second run of reds on the Russian is rocketing and, better yet, crowds are subdued. Consider this one of Southcentral's best fishing prospects. Whopping 4,200 reds swam past the weir on Tuesday, the most of any day this season. 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, if you're looking for variety.

Homer Spit ++

Silver salmon, Dollies

Portion of Nick Dudiak Fishing Lagoon reserved for anglers 15 and under Saturday. Silvers run should build into September, and the lagoon limit is six fish. Try cured salmon eggs below a bobber. Snagging is illegal.

Anchor River ++

Dollies, silver, pink salmon, steelhead

Silver fishing is building. Only 135 have made it past the weir -- 36 on Tuesday. Small run continues into September. Treble hooks and bait are allowed. Area upstream of the two-mile regulatory marker is 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. Total run about to pass 300,000 fish.

Uppers Kenai River +++

Red salmon, rainbows, Dollies

Good prospects for rainbow trout. Late pulse of reds is moving through too.

Lower Kenai River +++

Silver and red salmon

High water is causing fish to move upstream closer to shore. Try above Bing's Landing for red salmon. Silvers are in the lower river, with anglers reporting good to excellent catches last weekend. Two per day is the bag and possession limit in August.

Clam Gulch ++

Razor clams

A series of good clamming tides runs Tuesday to Aug. 24. Remember to buy a fishing license first. Limit is the first 60 clams you dig.

MARINE FISHERIES

Outside Resurrection Bay ++++

Halibut, rockfish, silver salmon

Much better halibut fishing east of the bay and some silvers remain too. Lingcod still available too.

Resurrection Bay +++

Silver, king salmon, halibut, rockfish

Seward Silver Salmon Derby ends Sunday, with an 18-pounder leading the way through Tuesday. Trolling a cut-plug herring behind flashers is popular inside the bay. Shore anglers are hooking up occasionally at Lowell Point. Waters surrounding Fox Island have been producing some kings.

Deep Creek offshore +++

Silver salmon, halibut, lingcod

Halibut fishing has been productive with lots of two-fish limits. Silvers are hitting well at the Point Pogibshi and Flat Islands areas. King salmon trollers in lower Cook Inlet are having sporadic success.

Prince William Sound +++

Silver, pink salmon, halibut, shrimp

Popular women's one-day silver derby in Valdez drew more than 600 anglers and put women atop the month-long Valdez Silver Salmon Derby. A man from Canada slipped into the No. 3 slot Tuesday. 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, pink 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. California woman's 273-pounder is the biggest flatfish of August in the Homer Jackpot Halibut Derby. Daily limit is two halibut. Lingcod fishing is good near the Chugach Islands with a minimum size limit of 35 inches and a bag limit of two per day. Any fish intended for release must not be gaffed. Plenty of pinks on the west side of the bay.