Alaska Fishing

Mat-SU

Matanuska Valley lakes +++

Trout, grayling, arctic char, pike

Warm summer weather makes action best in early morning or late night -- if you can stand the mosquitoes. Finger, Diamond, Ida and Canoe lakes have grayling.

Willow area lakes +++

Trout, grayling, pike

Lynne and Honeybee lakes should serve up decent action for rainbow trout. Lynne also offers arctic char.

Sheep Creek +++

King salmon

Last weekend, this was the king salmon hot spot along the Parks Highway, particularly late at night. Fishing slowed as the weekend progressed, but a number of 25-pound-plus fish were landed. Open 12:01 a.m. Saturday through 11:59 p.m. Monday.

Montana Creek +++

Trout, grayling

Decent fishing early on dropped off as the weekend progressed. Good water conditions should help. Open 12:01 a.m. Saturday through 11:59 p.m. Monday.

Little Susitna River ++

King salmon, rainbows

King fishing fair but may be tailing off. Fish now being caught above Burma Landing.

Willow Creek ++

King salmon, trout, grayling

Water conditions are good, but fishing has been a little slow for kings so far. Should pick up this weekend.

Eklutna Tailrace +

King salmon

May be a lost cause this season. Fishing still slow.

REMOTE FISHERIES

Deshka River

Closed.

Can't fish, but the good news is that a small but steady run of kings continues. That bodes well for the future.

Lake Creek ++

King salmon, rainbows

Fish and Game calls king fishing here fair and suggests trying smaller tributaries and sloughs off the Yentna River such as Fish Lakes Creek, Moose Creek, Indian Creek, Fish Creek, and Hewitt Creek.

Talkeetna River +++

King salmon, rainbow trout, grayling

One of the last Southcentral spots to see king salmon could prove to be the ticket this weekend. On Monday, water conditions at the Clear Creek tributary were quite good and fish were being caught.

ANCHORAGE

Local lakes +++

Trout, graying, char, pike, salmon

Spinners, night crawlers, shrimp and flies will catch char and trout. Bag and possession limit on Cheney Lake is one rainbow. Adventurous anglers might try hiking into Rabbit Lake or Symphony Lake for high-elevation rainbows and grayling. It's a 4 1/2-mile trek through bear country to Rabbit Lake and a 6-mile jaunt to Symphony. But you can't beat the views.

Ship Creek ++

King salmon

The derby's over but nobody told the salmon. Fish still moving upstream, and the crowds are much lighter.

KENAI PENINSULA

Deep Creek +

King salmon, Dollies

Closed until Wednesday when it reopens to species other than king salmon.

Ninilchik River ++

King salmon, Dollies

Closed until Wednesday when it reopens to species other than wild king salmon.

Homer Spit +

King salmon

Nick Dudiak Fishing Lagoon king salmon fishing continues to be slow. No snagging.

Anchor River +

King salmon, Dollies

Closed until Wednesday -- and to king salmon afterward. King run is so weak that salt water two miles north and south of the Anchor also closed. Glimmer of hope? Sonar two miles upstream from river mouth counted 293 kings on Tuesday, the most for any single day this season.

Kasilof River ++

Red salmon, kings, Dollies

Start of red salmon run is tracking a little above last year, but it's early. More than 300,000 reds were counted by mid-August last year. King fishing was "mostly slow this past week," according to Fish and Game. Plugs wrapped with sardine and egg clusters sometimes work.

Russian River ++

Red salmon, rainbows

Who knows with this yo-yo fishery? Sizzling early run petered out to next-to-nothing. Now some reports show another surge of fish. Sanctuary is open and the daily-double limit is six fish, 12 in possession. Timing is everything with all fishing, but especially here.

Upper Kenai River ++++

Red salmon, rainbows, Dollies

Red salmon anglers picking the right spots have fared well, and the rainbow trout fishing has been good too.

Lower Kenai River ++

King salmon, red salmon

Early king salmon run is largely disappointing but still chugging along. Some 9,000 fish have made it past the sonar more than eight miles upstream, fewer than the past two years.

Clam Gulch ++++

Razor clams

Minus tides last until Saturday, but not as good as earlier this week. Diggers remember to buy a fishing licence first. Beware: you must keep any clam you've removed from the sand. Put them back and risk a $100 fine.

MARINE FISHERIES

Outside Resurrection Bay ++++

Halibut, rockfish, silvers

The season's first silver salmon has been caught at Pony Cove. Most boats bringing back two-fish limits of 20-30 pound halibut. A few 100-pounders have been landed and a big 257-pounder leads the Seward halibut derby. Ling cod fishing opens Wednesday.

Resurrection Bay +++

Salmon, halibut, rockfish, cod

A few kings have been caught off the beaches or trolling, but fishing is slow. Try halibut in the Eldorado Narrows area. Slack tide is best.

Deep Creek offshore ++++

King salmon, halibut

Halibut fishing in near-shore areas should be good to excellent this weekend. King salmon troll fishery has been fair in Lower Cook Inlet. Try flashers to attract attention.

Prince William Sound ++++

Red salmon, halibut, shrimp

Fish and Game says Eyak River "excellent" for red salmon and the Coghill River is ramping up. Nice pots of tasty shrimp have been hauled up from depths of more than 300 feet. Ling cod season opens Wednesday.

Kachemak Bay ++++

King salmon, halibut

Halibut up to 20 pounds are being caught in waters 60 feet deep and less. This is the time of year the Homer Jackpot Halibut Derby often sees big fish weighing more than 200 pounds; Jerry Sanders landed his Jackpot-winning 358-pounder on June 28 in 2007. Two $1,000 tagged fish have been caught. Fish and Game notes: "A school of kings was spotted coming into Halibut Cove Lagoon late last week with additional recent arrivals. Fishing eggs below a bobber from a stationary boat parked near fish schools works in Halibut Cove Lagoon."

ADVERTISEMENT