Sportfishing for the king of salmon has become serious business in Alaska. On Southcentral's Kenai River, the state's most popular fishery, visitors are often shocked to find a scene more reminiscent of New Jersey than the Last Frontier. On a typical day in June or July, a mad army of anglers swarms the river, engaging in aggressive, no-holds-barred combat for the Kenai's world famous run of giant kings (up to 80 pounds or more). Farther west and north, the action is generally more subdued, but it's still a far cry from peaceful wilderness. Only in the far reaches of Southwest and in isolated bays of Southeast can one enjoy any measure of real solitude along with abundant fishing.
Southeast
In Southeast, nearly all chinook angling effort occurs as a saltwater intercept fishery, targeting returning salmon bound for Canada, the Pacific Northwest states, and parts of Alaska. Major spawning only occurs in a handful of large river systems in Southeast the Taku, Alsek, and Stikine, with a dozen or so lesser rivers supporting small runs of several thousand fish or less. Southeast's only significant freshwater king fishery is in the Situk River, near Yakutat, with more limited activity at Akwe River.Hatcheries and enhancement efforts have augmented the fishery considerably in some areas. Most chinook fishing is done by trolling or mooching from boats, with either bait or lures, with some jigging. Non-breeding, immature king salmon, called 'feeders,' can be caught year-round.
Yakutat: Yakutat Bay; Situk, Akwe Rivers
Haines: Chilkat, Chilkoot Inlets
Skagway: Taiya Inlet
Juneau: Lynn Canal, Favorite, Saginaw Channels; Stephens Passage; Cross Sound; Icy, Chatham Straits
Sitka: Whale Bay; Sitka, Salisbury Sounds
Petersburg: Frederick Sound, Wrangell Narrows, Duncan Canal
Wrangell: Eastern Passage; Stikine, Zimovia, Sumner Straits; Ernest Sound
Ketchikan: Behm Canal, Gravina Island, Clarence Strait, Revillagigedo Channel
Klawock (Prince of Wales): Bucareli Bay, Gulf of Esquibel
Southcentral
Farther north into Southcentral you'll find the state's most popular and intensively managed king salmon stream fisheries the fabulous Kenai and the clear-water tributaries of the Susitna and Copper Rivers. There, most effort is spent drift fishing or back trolling from boats, with a significant amount of bank fishing in some areas. Saltwater angling for kings occurs in lower Cook Inlet, Kachemak, and Resurrection Bays, and to a lesser extent, Kodiak Island and Prince William Sound. The remote, clear-flowing streams of Southwest's Bristol Bay and lower Kuskokwim River hold Alaska's most abundant opportunities for shore casting and stalking the mighty king on a fly rod, although a significant amount of boat fishing occurs on the larger rivers (Nushagak, Alagnak, Naknek, Togiak, and others).
Angling for chinook in Southcentral is predominantly freshwater fishing, and includes the state's most heavily targeted, world famous trophy fisheries of Kenai River and surrounding Cook Inlet. Ninety-nine percent of all Alaska trophy fish over 70 pounds come from these waters. Feeder kings are available year-round in lower Cook Inlet, Kachemak Bay, outer Resurrection Bay, Prince William Sound, and along most of the Gulf Coast (Kodiak to Cordova). Mature streambound fish are available from late April to late July. Some shoreline opportunities exist, primarily for hatchery fish. The run timing for freshwater king salmon fisheries is usually from late May to early August, peaking between early June and early July (later in some rivers).
Wrangell Mountains: Klutina, Gulkana, Tonsina, Tazlina River systems
Kenai: Lower Cook Inlet salt water (Whiskey Gulch, Deep Creek, etc.); Kachemak Bay (Homer Spit, Halibut Cove, etc.); Kenai, Moose Rivers; Anchor, Ninilchik, Kasilof, Deep Creeks
Lower Cook Inlet: Chakachatna, McArthur River systems
Susitna: Talachulitna, Talkeetna Rivers; Lake, Montana, Willow, Little Willow, Sheep, Peters, Alexander Creeks; clear-water sloughs and stream mouths along main stem Susitna
Upper Cook Inlet: Little Susitna, Chuitna, Lewis, Ivan, Theodore Rivers; Beluga River tributaries
Kodiak: Karluk, Red (Ayakulik) Rivers; Chiniak Bay salt water
Chugach: Resurrection Bay, Passage Canal, Valdez Arm, Orca Inlet
Southwest
Although Southwest has no saltwater fishing for chinook, it does have the state's most abundant, highest-quality stream fishing, with unmatched opportunities for fly-fishing. The run timing is from the beginning of June through July; the peaks are mid-June to early July.
Bristol Bay: Alagnak, Naknek, Wood, Togiak, Nushagak River systems
Alaska Peninsula: King Salmon (Ugashik), Chignik, Meshik, Sandy Rivers; Nelson Lagoon system
Kuskokwim: Goodnews, Arolik, Kanektok, Aniak, Holitna River systems
Lower Yukon: Andreafsky, Anvik Rivers
Northwest
Most drainages from Yukon to Kotzebue Sound support some spawning populations; only a few (in Norton Sound) are noteworthy. The run timing is mid-
June to mid-July, peaking in late June or early July.
Norton Sound: Unalakleet, Shaktoolik, Inglutalik, Tubutulik, Kwiniuk Rivers
Interior
Most fish have traveled extensively in freshwater to reach locations in Interior and are in less than prime condition, but good fishing can be found in and below nearly every clear-water confluence and slough of the Yukon River (for fish migrating to spawning sites on the upper Yukon and in Canada). The run timing is from late June to early August; the peak occurs in mid-July.
Tanana: Salcha, Chena, Chatanika Rivers; Nenana River clear-water tributaries
from Away.com
