A young angler gets plenty of fight out of a pink salmon at Resurrection River in Hope. (BOB HALLINEN / Anchorage Daily News)

Want abundance? Think pink
What the little salmon lacks in majesty it makes up in numbers

By ANTHONY J. ROUTE
Daily News correspondent

Pink salmon epitomize the greatness of the fishing prospects available in southcentral Alaska.

Lots of anglers, especially those who specialize in doing battle with enormous king salmon or pursuing hallowed rainbow trout, may find this to be a very strange notion. Their reactions may range from subdued giggles to looks of bewildered astonishment. And rightly so, because pink salmon are no match for the majestic size and strength of king salmon and, barring a complete reversal in angler attitudes, will never be held in the same esteem as rainbow trout.

Therein lies the beauty of pink salmon. We have so many places to fish in Alaska and so many other species to pursue that pink salmon are largely overlooked and underfished.

One of the few places that they are pursued with any fervor at all is right on Anchorage’s doorstep at Bird Creek. This is largely because of the creek’s nearness to where lots of people live.

Too often when we travel great distances we bypass pink salmon for other species. Taking the opportunity to reacquaint yourself with them because of a close to home opportunity will show you just how great they are.

You can count on tons of 2 to 4-pounders with occasional bruisers double that size. And despite their less than stellar reputation, they are fine sport when approached with ultralight spinning gear or light fly outfits.

Best of all, they are the most numerous of all Alaska’s salmon.

In many other parts of the world any angler’s arm would twitch just at the thought of encountering massive schools of two to four-pound fish that eagerly strike a myriad of different lures and flies. Adopt a little of this Outside enthusiasm and pursue some pinks this season. Even compared with Alaska’s other more celebrated species of fish, approached with the right attitude, pinks won’t disappoint.