Fishing in Alaska

I would like to go fishing in Alaska. Both river fishing and ocean fishing.Somebody please tell me where to start. I am old but still somewhat mobile. I can get around but I sure ain't much on a lot of hiking. Where do I start looking?

PM Drasselt

Geeesh, I'd love to help you out but that's a pretty vague question. What would you like to fish for? The opportunities are literally endless in Alaska. Try starting with species. What species are you primarily interested in? How do you like to fish? Fly fishing? Spincasting? Baitcasting? Ice fishing?

Freshwater game fish include the following - Salmon (5 different species), rainbow trout, northern pike, grayling, lake trout, arctic char, dolly varden, sheefish, burbot, steelhead

Saltwater game fish include the following - Salmon (both fresh and salt), halibut, rockfish, lingcod, salmon shark

I probably forgot a few, but that should get you started. Narrow down the selection and you might have better luck getting people to help you.

I've just started thinking about this so the question has to be vague because I know nothing at all about about Alaskan fishing. I like to fish for fish, I'm not particular. So far all I have ever done is spin casting. I don't know anything about fly fishing. I guess what I picture, in my mind, is fishing in a river and catching whatever is in the river, or going out on the ocean and catching what ever is biting. The only river fishing I have done has been the Maumee river in Ohio. The closet I have come to ocean fishing is fishing on Lake Erie. So, I really can't be more precise because I don't know anything about it. I posted this over on Trapper talk. James gave me a couple of things to think about and that is what I need to get started looking into this. I appreciate your suggestions, also. Thanks

Think about the Kenai Peninsula in May. Kings coming into the rivers and decent halibut fishing (and king fishing for that matter....) in salt water.

Plenty of charter outfits out of Soldotna, Ninilchik, Homer. Get ahold of "drasselt" and "keyo" from here on the forum.

Pete

You can do lots of boat fishing in Seward in July and pair that with river fishing for reds on the kenai or any where else you would like at that time.

I wish I knew where to start. The possibilities are limitless. Personally, I wouldn't recommend a Kenai river trip or Seward fishing trip unless you are into the crowds and combat fishing. But that's just me. There's just too many places to visit in Alaska that are beautiful and pristine and you don't have to fight the crowds to enjoy nature and catching fish. Now if you want to go ocean fishing, then there are lots of good places to go fishing out of Resurrection bay out of Seward, but spin fishing for salmon, I would not choose those locations as my first choice. But that's just me. I know lots of guys who love rippin lips (essentially snagging) for reds on the Russian river/Kenai river confluence. To me, that's just a way to fill the freezer, and I'd rather dipnet to fill my freezer, but to each his own. If you are primarily a spin fisherman, and assuming you will have access to a highway vehicle, I would head North out of Anchorage and try fishing the parks Highway streams for salmon, trout and grayling. Then from there I would head east along the Denali highway and make a stop at the Tangle lakes to tangle with some Arctic grayling. If you have a flyrod you will have a blast, but if not, you can catch grayling with spinners also. Try to remove your treble hooks, because I believe it's single hook only but even if it's not, it would be smart to cut the treble hooks off anyhow to minimize the mortality rate of your catch and release fish. Then after this continue to head north to the Dalton highway (aka Haul road) to fish for some more Arctic grayling, pike, and depending on the time of year, you can even get into some world class fishing for sea-run Dolly varden. Some people call them Arctic char, but technically they are sea-run Dollies. Arctic char are lake-dwelling. The sea-run Dollies spend their summers in the ocean and come up into the rivers to spawn in the fall (Late August is the best time). Some of these sea-run beauties can reach gigantic proportions 10-15 pounds. They are blast to catch and they are beautiful. This is just a small handful of ideas for you. But it's really hard to give you advice because you are not giving us a lot of information about your likes, expectations, and personal preferences.

I agree, 100% with bushwhack.

Tangle Lakes area is a pleasant distraction but in my experience the fishing is lousy !

I fished with Drasselt on the Kenai. An 8 hour drift of the canyon produced many 24" rainbows , Dollies, and reds. I never saw another human the entire day.

Just gotta know how to fish it (the tangles lakes). Last spring I ran up there for some lake trout on Paxson Lake, and then a quick run over to tangle for couple hours. I caught and released 30-40 grayling in those 2 hours. Brought few home from the frying pan. Yes, I agree fishing the Kenai Canyon would not be combat fishing. But assuming he is an out-of-state non-resident without a boat, the Canyon would be off limits to him unless he hired a guide.

Like Bushwack said, there are tons of options. The road trip he described would be wonderful IF you have the equipment, time and know-how. If you have the knowledge and equipment to take yourself fishing for Alaska species, then there are endless opportunities to fish off the beaten path. If you’d like a guided experience then there are also lots of opportunities, but mostly along the coast. The Kenai Peninsula has many outfitters that offer both salt and freshwater trips, and will make you a package deal. If you’re unfamiliar with the species and methods, it can be very helpful to go with a guide at least once to gain some professional knowledge. Then you can go DIY the rest of the time. If you’d like references you can pm me. I’m not a guide but I know a few.