We just finished speaking with Mission Lodge owner Dale Depriest.  He reports that fishing is picking up in the Dillingham area.  Sockeye and Kings have started entering a lot of the rivers, the trout are hungry and aggressive, and tons of Arctic Char are crashing Sockeye smolt at the mouth of most rivers.

The King season was off to a slow start, but has steadily been getting better.  ADF&G lowered the bag limit of kings on the Nushagak, from 4 per year down to 2 per year, in case the run did not materialize.  Dale says this looks to be changing as a bunch of fish have entered the river in the last couple days.  Farther west, fish are entering rivers like the Togiak, Goodnews and Kanektok. For those of you heading out to fish these awesome rivers, be ready to swing or drift some of our new King patterns.

The trout are literally starting to look up on rivers like the Agulawak, Brooks and the American.  When the sun pokes through the clouds, be sure to have a rod ready with an Elk Hair Caddis or Parachute Adams.  When the sun isn’t shining, try nymphing on the buggy rivers or swinging leeches.  Dolly Llama’s in black/white, olive white and all white can be deadly this time of year, but don’t count out some of the more classic streamers like the Woolhead Sculpin or Bunny Leeches as these are still very effective patterns.   If one of the more remote rivers is your destination, don’t forget about the mice!  Bringing a rodent-eating beast to the top is one of the ultimate Alaska treats for a fly angler.

Along with Kings, Sockeye and Chum salmon are entering the rivers, too.  Chum are a lot of fun and aggressive fly-eaters when they first come out of the ocean.  Try swinging or stripping pink streamers like Lead-Eyed Eggs Sucking Leeches in Pink or Hareball Leeches in Pink to connect with these toothy guys.  For Sockeye, try going with a smaller fly and slowing everything down a little.  Unlike their cousins, Sockeye can be very finicky and shy towards fast moving flies, so try dead drifting Sockeye Lightnings or Mercer’s sockeye fly.  Once you do hook up, hold on!

Thanks for checking in with us here at Alaska Fly Fishing Goods.  We hope that you have a great week of fishing!

Brad and Mike

Just when we think we can forget about last winter, it comes back and bites again.   Due to a lack of snow pack from a winter that saw less snowfall than usual, the Kenai River is running low and clear. The average river flow for this time of year is around 6,000 cubic feet per second (c.f.s.), but this year the Kenai is only running at 3,700 c.f.s.  What does this mean for the trout and salmon fishing? It means get ready to deploy different techniques if you want to get into the fish.

Due to the low, clear water, the trout have been keying in on dries and nymphs on the upper.  This is a good thing. If you keep an eye out for fish coming to the surface, you will have a shot at landing a Kenai slab on a dry.

With the relative lack of sockeye, flesh flies have not been as effective. There are still a few places where flesh is working readily, especially in the deeper troughs. But in general, more carcasses are going to have to hit the water before the flesh bite turns back on.

Swinging leeches is still producing some nice fish on the upper and in the middle.  Look for runs that have drop offs where trout can lie and ambush their prey. Due to the low water, try fishing smaller sculpins and leeches like #8 Sculpzillas in Olive or Black.

Sockeye numbers are below average so far.  Good numbers of fish are in the Russian, but the main stem Kenai run is still thin.  Some of the inside chatter suggests that the fish are in Skilak Lake and are waiting for the river to come up before they push up.  Those of you looking to take home some of these good eating reds need to be on the water early in the day, as that has been the best time for catching lately.

Have a great week of fishing,

Brad and Mike

Windfall Sockeye lead off our report this week. Check out the chromer that 10 year old Mikel beached last week. Nice going, Mikel! The fishing has been consistently good for sockeye this June. A very strong run of fish, decent water levels, and good chunks of time when the bite has been on. Along with the usual Green Lanterns and Red Hots, a few new flies have been kicking butt. Sockeye Lightnings in Chartreuse and Copper Swans in Red and Copper Swans in Silver have been getting the job done. Only two days left, this Saturday June 26 and next Wednesday June 29, and then Windfall Creek is closed to ALL fishing for the rest of June and all of July. Gotta let the rest of the sockeye get through so they can go make more!

King fishing is at its peak this week. Lots of bright fish coming in and quite a few jacks, too. Since Fish Creek and the Channel are in the terminal area, there is no size limit so feel free to keep those small kings, too. Last week Chartreuse was the hot color and this week it seems like Pink is back in the lead. Along with the usual steady strip retrieve, try swinging the fly in the current with no retrieve. They have been crushing the swing. Just have a good grip on your rod because the take is jolting.

Cowee Creek is starting to fish well for Dollies and will just keep getting better as we roll into July. The first pink salmon are out in Echo Cove off the beaches, too. Look for the rollers and have plenty of Humpy Hookers in your box.

See you out there. Brad

The Kenai trout opener started off with a bang, with many hungry fish falling victim to swung leeches and sculpin.  A fellow Juneauite was there for the action and had quite a time with some very nice fish!

Our friends at AK Troutfitters, report that the fishing is only getting better.  With good numbers of returning sockeye, the harvest has begun.  Now nice red chunks of fresh flesh and roe are tumbling down the river. Because of this, flesh and egg patterns are starting to kick in. Try these below the Russian and a few runs on the upper.

For the dry fly enthusiast, this weekend could be good with the nice weather.  Try some of the old standbys like Elk Hair Caddis and Parachute Adams or try some of the fun newer patterns like Never-Sink-Caddis or Parachute BWO’s.

Tight lines and have a great weekend of fishing!

Brad and Mike