Alaska Fishing

Mat-SU

Matanuska Valley lakes+++

Trout, grayling, landlocked salmon, pike

Fishing is good. Recently stocked lakes include Matanuska, Kepler/Bradley (10,300 rainbows), Meirs, Bruce, Memory, Rocky, Long and Ravine lakes. Seymour Lake has some big rainbows and Lake Lorraine has a good number of fish up to 18 inches. Fish most active in evening and morning.

Willow area lakes +++

Trout, grayling, pike

Lynne and Honeybee lakes should be serving up decent action for rainbow trout. Lynne also offers arctic char. Go crazy on pike -- no bag or possession limit.

Sheep Creek+

Trout, grayling, king salmon

A few early king salmon have reportedly begun to appear at the mouth. Hit-or-miss fishing at best.

Montana Creek +

Trout, grayling

Stream levels are dropping and trout are being caught. It's still early for kings.

Little Susitna River ++

King salmon, rainbows

Fish and Game calls fishing here fair. Anglers pulling large plugs and Spin-N-Glos are having some luck.

Willow Creek +

King salmon, trout, grayling

Slow king fishing for another week or two. Trout anglers might try fishing Wooly Buggers or Bunny Flies in purple, black or white. Smolt or Muddler patterns are also good bets.

Eklutna Tailrace +

King salmon

Lousy fishing, according to Fish and Game -- though soaking up some rays on the river bank is always relaxing.

REMOTE FISHERIES

Deshka River +

King salmon, trout, grayling

King fishing remains slow with Fish and Game warning it "may close at any time." Through Tuesday, 715 fish had been counted -- dismal but better than the 216 kings upstream by June 9 a year ago when 7,500 were counted by season's end. Fishing hours are 6 a.m.-11 p.m., and kings may only be kept on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays.

Lake Creek +

King salmon, rainbows

A few fish could trickle in this weekend, but don't expect much.

Talkeetna River ++

Rainbow trout, Dollies, grayling

Fishing for rainbows and red salmon can be profitable with the river levels dropping. Guides are hoping the kings will show up within a week or two.

ANCHORAGE AREA

Local lakes +++

Trout, grayling, char, pike, salmon

Area lakes have been stocked with rainbows and silver salmon, but check out pike-free Cheney Lake. Its reward: 650 rainbows averaging a whopping 12.2 inches stocked last month. Spinners, night crawlers, shrimp and flies will catch fish.

Ship Creek +++

King salmon, Dollies

Kings are being caught on the incoming tides and the water is warmer than last year. The Slam'n Salm'n Derby runs Friday through June 21, with first prize worth about $10,000. The money raised selling derby tickets goes to the Downtown Soup Kitchen.

KENAI PENINSULA

Deep Creek

Closed

Closed to sport fishing until July 1.

Ninilchik River

Closed

Closed to sport fishing until July 1.

Homer Spit +

King salmon

King fishing in the Nick Dudiak Fishing Lagoon has been slow. Try salmon eggs or blue Vibrax spinners on an incoming tide.

Anchor River

Closed

Closed to all sport fishing through July 1. Abysmal king salmon return is 535, according to the river's sonar counter. Two years ago, more than 9,000 kings returned.

Kasilof River +

King salmon, Dollies

King fishing remains slow with anglers fishing plugs wrapped with sardine or egg clusters doing best.

Russian River +++

Red salmon, rainbows

Could be hot by weekend if red salmon fishery opens with a bang today -- and there are indications that may happen. More than 330 reds swam past the weir at Lower Russian Lake on Tuesday.

Upper Kenai River +++

Rainbows, Dollies, red salmon

Rainbow trout anglers should be back on the river this morning as the upper river reopens for the first time since May 1. Red salmon are moving upstream, though the numbers should build later in the month.

Lower Kenai River ++

King salmon, red salmon

Kenai's first king run is hewing to the early runs of the past two years -- not strong but better than most in Southcentral. Tuesday had 533 fish pass the sonar at Mile 8.6 -- the most this year. Anglers between river Miles 10 and 19 are faring best.

Clam Gulch ++

Razor clams

Sandy beaches north of Anchor Point to Cohoe Loop Road will have clams on tides minus-2.0 feet or lower. Next good set of tides June 20-27. Don't return razor clams to the sand once you have removed them -- they'll likely die. Diggers need a fishing license.

MARINE FISHERIES

Outside Resurrection Bay +++

Halibut, rockfish

Some 100-pound heavyweights among the 20-30 pounders. Limit is two per day, four in possession. Ling cod fishery closed until July 1.

Resurrection Bay ++

Halibut, rockfish, kings

The Eldorado Narrows area during slack tide is your best bet for halibut. Rockfish angling gets better by the day, with the daily bag limit of four fish. Ling cod fishery closed until July 1.

Deep Creek offshore ++

King salmon, halibut

Halibut fishing in near-shore areas remains good, but the king salmon troll fishery seems to be petering out in Lower Cook Inlet. Halibut limit is two fish.

Prince William Sound +++

Halibut, shrimp, red salmon

Halibut fishing out of Whittier is improving, but the giants are coming out of Valdez. The derby leader there topped 275 pounds. Shrimping has been good, particularly pots set in at least 300 feet of water. Red salmon runs are building in the Eshamy, Main Bay, and Coghill areas.

Kachemak Bay +++

King salmon, halibut, rockfish

Bigger halibut are showing up in waters 15-25 miles west of Homer Spit, with many anglers taking their limit of two fish (four in possession). Most are less than 20 pounds, with the occasional 50-100 pounder mixed in. Salmon trollers report slow action; Seldovia is your best prospect.

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