Our man Nate reports good things this last week. Despite slow salmon fishing in much of Alaska, the mighty Nushagak River continues to produce kings. As an added bonus, silvers and pinks are starting to stream in, making for a mixed bag of species to catch. King fishing should start to slow as the season officially closes July 31st. But those wanting salmon should be happy with the early return of silvers and pinks this year.  Check out our silver , chum and pink flies for an idea of patterns to try.

Trout fishing is good. Nate reports good hatches of Green and Gray Drakes coming off on both the Agulawak and Agulapak rivers. This adds some excitement to the later parts of the day. Try fishing nymphs in the morning and dries in the afternoon. Nate also reports some spawning in the smaller tributaries of the Wood River Lake system. These are sockeye that are spawning so try smaller egg patterns and 6 mm beads like Mottled Clear Orange or Tangerine .

There are also chums and kings starting to spawn in the upper reaches of the Nushagak and its tributaries like the King Salmon. For those of you who have float trips planned, bring a variety of larger egg patterns and beads up to 10mm. Also bring flesh and mice. The Nushagak is a great river for drifting, stripping and swinging large flashy flesh patterns and pounding the banks and snags with mice can produce some hogs.

The sockeye have started to show up in creeks like the Moraine. Until the spawn starts, try fishing articulated mice and lemmings on top and swinging big leeches and sculpins in black, olive and tan. And even though the sockeye spawn hasn't started yet, beads can be a good bet. Fish tend to remember the good things in life!

George Riddle of Blueberry Island Lodge , located on the Kvichak River, reports that trout fishing has slowed down from June. This is typical for this time of year as the trout transition from eating sockeye smolt to eggs. A good number of sockeye have returned and they should start spawning in mid August, just after the chum spawn. George is expecting silvers to be returning soon as August is just around the corner.

All in all it has been a cold, wet year here in Alaska. If you are coming up be prepared with warm clothes and good Gore-Tex rain gear. Even though the weather has been unpredictable, the fishing is good. So come prepared and enjoy! Until next time,

Tight Lines