The Best Alaska Fly Fishing For Steelhead, Silvers and Chinooks
Kodiak Fly Fishing is a special treat because of the sheer numbers of different species you can target
Chinook (King) Salmon
The King of Salmon, Alaska's Chinook, has been drawing anglers from around the world to experience the thrill of landing one of these majestic fish. Known for its dramatic runs and astounding strength, the Chinook Salmon is Alaska's premier sport fish.
Hooking into a Chinook is sure to be an experience that you'll never forget! As soon as a one strikes, you had better hold on and get ready for the fight of a lifetime. In fact, one person fought a King Salmon for over 24 hours, until the lucky fish finally got away when the line snapped while trying to net it. The Chinook is Alaska's largest salmon, with the sport caught World Record at 97 lbs 4 oz, though commercially the largest is 126 lbs. We primarily target King Salmon on the Karluk River, though anglers can also catch feeder Kings year round in the Saltwater, which often grow up to 30+ pounds. Anglers wanting the thrill of hooking into a King Salmon should plan on coming towards mid- June to mid-July as this is the peak of the run on the Karluk River.
Coho (Silver) Salmon
Widely considered Alaska's greatest sportfish, the Silver Salmon is known for its acrobatic jumps and long glamorous runs. The peak of the Silver Salmon run is in September, though Alaska saltwater fishing is excellent mid-August. After one day of fishing Silvers you will understand why they are called the 'Predator Salmon' . . . they will strike almost anything and grab it with tremendous voracity!
We target the Silver Salmon either in the Saltwater, or in the Karluk or Zachar Rivers. These fisheries produce trophy Silvers, with 20+ pounders not uncommon. The World Record Silver Salmon is 33lb 7oz.
Sockeye (Red) Salmon
Pound-for-pound, Sockeye Salmon are widely considered to be the best fighters and the most aerial of all the salmon species. They are a blast to catch and are the best tasting of Alaska's Salmon, with rich, bright red flesh emblematic of wild Alaskan salmon.
When the Sockeye are piled up in the Karluk River, they are super fun to catch. As you stand on the bank of the Karluk lagoon, you can watch thousands of fish stacked up in the channel and “jumpers” fling through the air as they move upstream. Throwing a fly or spinner across and hooking into one of these beautiful fish is sure to bring an enjoyable fight.
The Karluk River is not only famous for Chinooks, Silvers, and Steelhead, but also its legendary Sockeye runs. In fact, the first cannery on Kodiak was built 1882 on the Karluk River in order to process the enormous sockeye runs totaling millions of fish pushing through the river. The Sockeye have two runs on the Karluk each year, with one peaking in June and another in September.
Chum (Dog) Salmon
Chums are known as Dog salmon because Inuit and Eskimos used to feed them to their sled dogs in the winter and because they develop large dog-like fangs. Chums are fun to catch because they hold in large groups in August and are tremendous fighters with long, strong runs and aerial acrobatics.
Pink (Humpy) Salmon
Averaging 3-5 pounds, the Pink salmon is the smallest of the Pacific salmon species, but they can be fun to catch due to sheer numbers – 100 fish in a day isn’t uncommon. Pink salmon have a two year life cycle and have much larger runs in even years…the Karluk experiences an average of 800k fish in even years and 100k in odd years. A shiny, chrome pink salmon becomes an ugly, mottled, green humpy with canine teeth after being the fresh water for awhile.
Dolly Varden
Dolly Varden are curiously named after a character in the Charles Dickens novel Barnaby Rudge – both share the qualities of being flirtatious, wearing flashy attire and green dresses with pink polka dots.
The colorful Dolly Varden trout is a subspecies of anadromous (lives in the ocean, breeds in freshwater) fish in the salmon family, although many Dollies live their entire lives in freshwater lakes or rivers.
Our Dollies range in size from 12-27 inches and in the 2-6 lb range. When salmon are thick in the rivers, Dollies are frequently found in massive numbers, munching on salmon eggs. They are a joy to catch on light tackle and many of our clients have had 100-fish days!
Steelhead
Aerial acrobatics, line-burning runs and, when the battle is over, a sleek, silver-sheened beauty with a fly hanging from the corner of its mouth cradled in appreciative hands. The fight of a steelhead is legendary and they are known as fresh-water’s greatest game fish.
The Karluk River has the second largest steelhead run in all of Alaska. The peak run on the Karluk usually occurs in mid to late October, which is a quiet time to be on the river, since by then, the salmon anglers have left the Karluk. When the bite is on, the legendary, shallow and highly wade-able Karluk River makes for truly spectacular steelhead fishing with 10 or more steelhead per day being the norm rather than exception.
Rainbow Trout
Resident Rainbows are found in several of our rivers, including the Karluk. These beauties have thick red stripes, green bodies and tons of black spots.
Unlike their counterparts in the lower 48, these rainbows aren’t feasting on little hatches – our Alaskan Rainbows make a living by snatching up salmon egg and flesh and munching on unsuspecting mice. Their diet makes them big, strong and powerful.
NEWS AND EVENTS
