Well, fellow Juneau anglers, I believe the end is in sight. Last week the coho fishing was still fairly reliable at Sheep Creek if you put in your time. Some tides fished better than others, but the fishing was still pretty decent. Then last Sunday we got a good storm, a couple inches of rain and that was like pushing the reset button. Sheep Creek has been very quiet since then and we have to assume the majority of the coho moved up the channel to DIPAC.

There may be some stragglers that come in to the channel during October and if you still have the stoke to go look it is definitely worthwhile. The wild fish will continue to come in this next month, too. Montana Creek and Cowee Creek will see fish push up during rain events and if you can pick your days the fall fishing can be very uncrowded and enjoyable.

A chunk of a Dolly in full spawning colors.

If you've had your fill of salmon fishing, break out the trout rod and go look for Dollies or cutthroat trout. The Dollies will be in their brilliant spawning colors and fat from a season of feeding. The cutthroat will be on the prowl until conditions get too cold and they head back to the lakes to over winter. Cowee, Montana, Peterson, Fish Creek as well as the lakes are all prime targets for some fall trout fishing. If you've ever wanted to fish Windfall Lake, October is the month to do it.

A gorgeous September cutthroat!

As the fishing slows down, the shop hours will be shortened for late October & November. We'll keep the hours updated on Facebook, Google, and our shop voicemail. And you can always call ahead if you need something and we'll make arrangements to meet you.

As we push into winter, we will look for ways to keep you supplied with fly tying materials while keeping everyone healthy. One key we've learned is that good air flow exchange is important in enclosed areas. You may have noticed we had the windows open and ran a Hepa Filter all summer to keep refreshing the air in the shop. Now that it is getting colder, keeping the windows open is harder. So we've invested in two additional Hepa Filters to circulate and clean air in the shop. If you'd prefer to do curbside pickup, we'll offer that option all fall and winter. Just order online, select In Store Pick Up during checkout and we'll give you a call when your order is ready.

Fly tying is a great way to pass the dark evenings especially with all of us more or less at home. We have some pretty fun plans for fly tiers including more videos on how to tie specific fly patterns, more Tie-A-Dozen Kits to make ordering the right materials easier, and possibly doing our Tuesday Night Tying events via Facebook Live or some similar format.

If you have suggestions or ideas for what you'd like to see this winter from the shop we'd love to hear from you! Anything from flies you'd like to see tied, the most convenient hours to pick up your orders, or how we can best communicate with you (Facebook, email newsletter, etc.) we'd appreciate hearing it. You can email comments to brad@alaskaflyfishinggoods.com.

Thanks for reading the report this season, thank you for all your support this past summer, and stay healthy and keep in touch this winter.