5/25/2023 Fishing Report

The Dolly fishing has been hit or miss this week depending on where you were fishing.  DIPAC has released half of their chum smolt at Salmon Creek, Thane and Amalga.  The rest of the chum smolt are scheduled to be released on June 4th in the channel and June 7th out at Amalga.  When there are a lot of smolt in the water the fishing can be difficult for a couple reasons.  First off, coho smolt especially like to hammer flies before Dolly's have a chance to get to them.  The other reason the fishing can be tricky when there are a lot of smolt around is because your fly may look too similar to the food sources.  During these times of high food abundance try fishing bright pink flies.

Sheep Creek all the way up to AML has good access and lots of different tide rips.  This section of Gastineau Channel is worth exploring, you may find yourself a choice little spot that rarely gets fished. Bracketing the low tide is still your best bet for locations close to town.  If you don't want to drive out the road, try fishing on the beach below the whale statue.  This morning at low tide there was a lot of smolt, Dollies and birds working that section of the beach.

Echo Cove is fishing well.  In fact, it is fishing better and more consistently than anywhere else in town over the last week.  A couple weekends ago was ADF&G's becoming an outdoor woman workshop and the ladies who fly fished out there all said they caught fish.  It is worth walking out to the sand spit if you drive all the way out to the end of the road.  Boy Scout Beach is also picking up.  With the smolt released at Amalga a lot of those fish will migrate over towards the boy scout camp.  If you are seeing a bunch of smolt and Dollies hitting the surface that is a great time to try fishing a top water slider type fly.

Even though it is almost June there have still been a few bright steelhead caught on our local streams this last week.  If you want another shot at these fish don't wait to long, the end is near.  When the water is low and clear just walk slow and use your eyes.  If you can spot fish before they see you the chances to get them to eat will increase dramatically.

As always, we love featuring your photos for our fishing reports.  If you have a great fish, scenery, or action photo that has to do with fishing around town send it our way!  You can email photos or videos to cory@alaskaflyfishinggoods.com.  Please remember to handle fish with care, especially if you are practicing catch and release.  Consider getting a net with a rubber basket to help land fish quickly and keep them in the water until you are ready to snap a quick photo.

See you on the water!

The Crew at AFFG

Listed below are the hot patterns of the week.  Fisheries change here through-out the season and we do our best to get you the hot flies.  Listed below are our recommended patterns for the particular species available.  Happy fishing

Hot Flies- Steelhead

Hot Flies- Dolly Varden