Its that time of year again, folks
. The time for the last fishing report. The coho fishing continues to putz along in the channel and creeks around Juneau, but is starting to wrap up for us in town and it was a good season to say the least. Lets take a look at the season
Spring came insanely early with sunny skies, cold breeze, and lots of great estuary Dolly Varden fishing. And, although the water was very low this spring, we had a couple great days chasing Southteast steelhead.
As June began, so did the King salmon fishing
slowly but surely. This year the run seemed to be small and sparse compared to last, with copious amounts of Jacks. The anglers that put in the rod hours however, saw reward with some mighty fine Kings on the fly! Both Auke Creek area and Fish Creek turned up fish. Considering the hatchery closed fishing in the area for the first time in years, those of you who did catch Kings should be happy anglers. Lets hope that next year, the returns are bigger and better!
In July, like clockwork, the masses of Chum salmon 
swarmed town. This translated into some fantastic Dolly fishing in creeks like Montana Creek and Sheep Creek. The Pink salmon return on the other hand, was one for the books
lowest on the books. According to the Auke Bay weir, this year the pink return was just barely above the record low in 2014 (609). This year the Auke Bay weir saw 649 Pink Salmon total, compared to the average 7537 on an even off year. All we can do is hope and assume that next year will be like last and the pinks will be everywhere!
As August began, so did the Silver run. This year, the size of
the hatchery silvers being picked up around town have been ridiculous, working people left and right. This season vs last, the fishing was a bit more of a slow roll as opposed to full steam ahead. If you put in the rod hours, it paid off in full. Switch rods really seemed to pay dividends to channel anglers this year at Sheep Creek, 5 Mile, and 9 Mile.
Silver fishing has slowed quite a bit this week as the bulk of the run has entered into the freshwater creeks anticipating finding just the right spot on their spawning grounds. Silvers will continue to enter areas like Montana Creek and
Cowee Creek over the next few weeks. When water levels allow, there will be some good stream fishing to be had. We expect the channel fishing to roll on but catches are more likely to be in ones or twos rather than limits. For creeks like Montana, dark colors can be more productive than the bright pinks and chartreuses. Try Egg Sucking Leeches, Hareball Leeches and variations of Dolly Llamas. Dont be afraid to throw small flies and dead drift them; late season fish can be sulky and often respond better to smaller, darker flies and dead drifts.
Dollies are getting ready for their annual spawn. Some Dollies and Cutthroats may still be found in the deep pools and in log jams, in places like Montana and Cowee Creek. In the next few weeks, they should be transitioning from their spawning grounds back to the lakes where they will spend their winter in a zombie-like trance state. Egg patterns or small streamers can be the ticket for fooling the last few hook ups for the season.
HEY LOCALS!
Here are a few dates and specials for you to remember:
- We truly appreciate your business and as a thank you we are putting ALL FLIES in the shop at 25% off October 1st-3rd!
- Tuesday, October 2nd we will be transitioning into fall hours, which will be:
Monday Friday 10:00 5:30
Saturday 10:00 5:00
Sunday Closed
- October 15th PROVIDENCE | Fly Fishing Film @ the Gold Town Nick
Happy Fishing,
Brad, Mike, Kayla & Gavin
