Alaska Fishing

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Valley lakes ++++

Trout, grayling, arctic char, pike

Sizeable rainbows are available in Carpenter, Diamond, Honeybee, Ida and Lower Bonnie lakes. Get out of the state fair traffic and cast a line at Klaire or Victor lake.

Willow area lakes ++++

Trout, grayling, pike

Visnaw, Seymour, and Lalen lakes all have sizeable rainbows.

Willow Creek +++

Silver salmon, trout

Fish and Game says the silvers are running strong here. Remember, rainbow trout caught downstream of Parks Highway must be released.

Sheep Creek +++

Silver salmon, trout

Fresh silvers continue to move into the creek.

Montana Creek +++

Silver salmon, trout, grayling

Pretty Montana Creek Campground will be open two more weekends, and this is a good time for a family outing that includes feisty silver salmon. Remember, it's catch and release for grayling and rainbows.

Little Susitna River ++

Silver, chum salmon, rainbows

Silver fishing has been OK, but the return is still lagging far behind the average of nearly 16,000 silvers over the last four years. Through Tuesday -- when 144 made it upriver -- 1,472 have passed the weir this year. Everyone's praying the run is a late bloomer.

Wasilla, Cottonwood creeks +++

Silver salmon, trout

The weekend-only 6 a.m.-6 p.m. fishery has been extended to Monday. Wasilla (Rabbit Slough) Creek now open to motorized watercraft, and silvers are being caught from the creek's mouth to the Alaska Railroad bridge. Bag limit up to three fish.

Jim Creek +++

Silver, red salmon

Bag limit up to three fish, and silver fishing has been particularly good for early risers.

Eklutna Tailrace +++

Silver salmon

Strong bite early in the day usually fades by mid-morning, so set that alarm clock.

Fish Creek ++

Silver salmon

The weekend 6 a.m.-6 p.m. fishery has been extended to Monday, with a three-silver limit. Legal area extends from the mouth of Fish Creek to regulatory signs posted a quarter mile above Knik-Goose Bay Road. Run may be on downward slide; two fish passed the weir less than a mile upstream of Lewis Road on Tuesday, but the season total of 4,100 is far more than the Little Su thus far.

REMOTE FISHERIES

Deshka River ++

Silver salmon, trout, grayling

Good silver run of nearly 27,000 fish past the weir as of Tuesday seems to be slacking off sharply. Since Aug. 17, there hasn't been a day when more than 120 silvers passed the weir. Still, this year's healthy run is more than double what the Deshka saw the last two years.

Lake Creek +++

Silver salmon, rainbows

Good numbers of silver salmon still available and the rainbow trout are more active.

Talkeetna River ++++

Silver, chum salmon, rainbows, grayling

Excellent silver salmon fishing at Clear Creek and in slow-water spots on the main stem of the Talkeetna.

ANCHORAGE AREA

Campbell Creek ++

Silver salmon

Fair fishing for silvers using bright red corkies. Flies and spinners also can be effective, but get started early. Open from Dimond Boulevard to a marker downstream of C Street. Closed to king and red salmon fishing. Any rainbows caught must be released. No bait; artificial lures only.

Bird Creek ++

Pink, silver, chum salmon

Getting tougher to locate fresh silvers among dozens of ugly pinks. Either side of high tide works best. Vibrax and Pixee lures in pink, orange, chartreuse and blue are popular. So are Blue Fox spinners. Cured fish roe drifted near the bottom below a bobber on a No. 2 hook. If it's slow here, try prospecting down the highway for Ingram Creek pinks or Twentymile River silvers.

Local lakes +++

Trout, graying, char, pike, salmon

Fish are small, but it's fun to cast for them on in-town lakes where the yellowing trees make a gorgeous backdrop. Cheney Lake rainbows can be cooperative just after dawn.

Ship Creek ++

Silver, pink salmon

Silver salmon prospects no better than fair. Where schools of fish were entering the creek a week ago, two or three at a time are nosing into fresh water now. Eggs under a bobber can work. Try a No. 2 hook and cinch your bait securely to the shank with an egg loop. Pink and orange spinners are popular too.

KENAI PENINSULA

Deep Creek ++

Silver, pink salmon, Dollies

Single hook, no bait regulations go into effect Tuesday. Good fishing for silvers brought the crowds last weekend. Pinks and Dolly Varden are available too. Rainbows and steelhead can't be removed from water and must be released.

Ninilchik River ++

Pinks, Dollies, steelhead

Single hook, no bait regulations go into effect Tuesday. Willie Dixon with Alaska Adventure Lodge says large tides were sweeping silvers into the Ninilchik early in the week, but the run is just average and could improve in September. "You'll fish a couple of hours and land one or two," he said. Rainbows and steelhead cannot be removed from water and must be released.

Russian River ++

Rainbows, silver salmon, Dollies

Salmon fishing is all-but over with the end of the second red run, but the Russian gets a small silver run that may ease the sting for salmon junkies determined to fish here. Limit is one silver. Rainbows are available upriver and the scarcity of anglers makes this one of the prettiest times of the year to be on the river.

Homer Spit +

Silver salmon, Dollies

Silver fishing still slow at the Nick Dudiak Fishing Lagoon. Limit is six fish. Cured salmon eggs below a bobber sometimes works. Snagging is illegal.

Anchor River ++

Dollies, silver, pink salmon, steelhead

Single hook, no bait regulations go into effect Tuesday. Silvers should be available past Labor Day, but so far the anticipated surge hasn't happened. Only 1,111 silvers past the weir as of Monday on a river that's had an average return of more than 10,800 fish over the past four years. Your three-salmon limit can include two silvers. 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, which are starting to enter the river, can't be removed from water when being released.

Kasilof River ++

Silver, red salmon, Dollies

Silver fishing has been good and will continue well into September.

Upper Kenai River ++++

Rainbows, Dollies, silvers

Rapidly dropping water has cleared up dramatically, making rainbow fishing good to excellent. Silvers available too.

Lower Kenai River ++++

Silver, red salmon

Silver fishing can be excellent all the way up to Skilak Lake. Two per day is the bag and possession limit this month. Drift egg clusters near the bank, where the fish tend to congregate when the water is high and fast.

Clam Gulch +

Razor clams

No good clamming tides until mid-month. Limit is the first 60 clams you dig.

MARINE FISHERIES

Outside Resurrection Bay +++

Halibut, rockfish, silver salmon

A surge of big halibut have been landed the past week by Seward-based anglers east of the bay. Best halibut prospects from low slack tide two hours into flood tide. Anglers near Hive Island have fared well.

Resurrection Bay +++

Silver, king salmon, halibut, rockfish

Silvers are still available throughout the bay, even though they're widely dispersed. Shore-based anglers are casting from South Beach at Lowell Point with spotty results.

Deep Creek offshore +++

Silver salmon, halibut, lingcod

Two-fish halibut limits are common, with fish usually 15-25 pounds. Silver anglers having some success near Flat Island.

Prince William Sound +++

Silver, pink salmon, halibut, shrimp

Silver salmon are throughout the Sound and should be within reach of Whittier anglers within a week. The Valdez silver and halibut derbies end Sept. 6, and silver fishing has been hot. More than 50 silvers over 15 pounds have been turned in to derby officials, with a whopping 19.42-pounder leading the way. Pixees often are your best bet. Anglers at Allison Point had to wade through a sea of spawning pink salmon to reach silvers last week, but the pink salmon should start thinning out soon. Halibut fishing in the sound is starting to taper off.

Kachemak Bay +++

King, pink salmon, halibut, rockfish

Halibut anglers using herring and squid are bringing home fish to 20 pounds. California woman's 274-pounder has inside track to win the monthly prize at Homer Jackpot Halibut Derby, while a local angler holds the overall lead with a 355-pounder. Daily limit is two halibut.

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