Combined with a later summer and fall Silver salmon run the Kenai River is simply in a league of it's own. The primary reason is that it is incredibly difficult to get this salmon to strike a lure. The bad is that you might be here in an odd numbered year. Beads are usually added to protect the knots to the swivel (and they add a little color and flare!) At a minimum you should have 2-3 spools of leader material, 100 hooks in assorted sizes, ball bearing swivels, several sizes and colors of flashers, a half-dozen each of plugs, spinners and spoons in various sizes and colors and an assortment of banana (trolling) weights with bead chain swivels attached. If you're using a Spin-n-Glo, slide a small bead onto your leader before you slide the lure on; the bead allows the Spin-n-Glo to rotate properly in the current, against the hook eye. Don't waste your time fishing where there are no fish! If you don't have a fish finder, you will have to prospect by running your down riggers at a couple of different depths, and possibly a couple of flat lines with different amounts of weight. Things to keep in mind is that the Kwikfish will not work in water that is not moving at a sufficient speed and the lure must run true and straight. These fish are sought after because they are really considered the supreme table fare because the meat is an attractive deep red, high in Omega-3's, and presents a wonderfully firm texture compared to the other species of salmon. Find your fishing hole, anchor up fairly close to the shorline, and ideally using a salmon rod and casting reel set the Kwikfish 60 feet behind the boat into the current. We provide guided fishing trips for multiple species including King Salmon, Silver Salmon, Red Salmon, and Rainbow Trout. Finally, they dominate the salmon market and the dinner table, being rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Why good and bad? Kings are known to “bite” and will be aggressive toward artificial lures, yarn, streamer flies and our favorite freshly cured king salmon roe. The Wiggle Wart is a popular diving plug used in Alaska for river king salmon fishing. Don't forget to toss in a half-dozen packages of hoochies in various sizes and colors. Large pools or eddies can be ideal, but don't overlook runs where fish might hold at or near the bottom for a bit as they move upstream. King Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha ), also known as Chinook Salmon , are the monsters of the Salmon Family. In cases where bait is not allowed, go with the attractors alone. Common sizes and colors of spoons and spinners used to catch king salmon in Alaska's rivers. When allowed an additional favorite technique is to use bait on the lure as well. You need a stout rod and heavy line, especially if you're fishing from shore. Catching kings in the river system can get very exciting in a hurry, as the fish have the current to work with, often spooling an angler before they can get the fish under control. Keep in mind though, every experienced angler has their own special way of doing things so don't be afraid to experiment. The idea behind this technique is that as the salmon are swimming upriver the fishing line finds its way into their mouth. Because kings often run at the same time as other salmon species, it's important to target them. Chum (Dog) & Pink (Humpy) Salmon Lures, Attractors, Plugs, Bait Vibrax spinners, sizes 2-5; Mepps spinners, sizes 2-5; Pixee spoons, 1/4 -1/2 oz. A herring or sardine wrap is a common addition to add scent to improve the chances of a strike. Rig up the same way as #1, but the leader can be between 4' and 6'. Like many fish, the king salmon migrate throughout the world. These rivers all involve flying out of Anchorage, as there is no road access. Unlike the pink salmon which seem to strike at anything the sockeye salmon seem to strike at nothing - no matter how many times you try. The lure does not need to diver down far as most silvers are caught near the shoreline in 6 to 10 feet of water. Our rivers feature King Salmon, Red Salmon, Silver Salmon, Pink, and Chum Salmon, world-class rare and exotic Sheefish, Arctic Char, Grayling, Dolly Varden, and some of the best Northern Pike fishing in Alaska. Deep holes form where eddies exist, and by walking out to the end of the point, your can run your plug along the seam between the eddy and the main current where fish position themselves prior to making the run upstream. Until then single hook artificial lures. ; Krocodile spoons, sizes 5/8 - 1 1/2 oz. The Holitna River and its tributaries are highly rated and listed in the state’s top 10 Alaskan Rivers for fly-fishing or lures. Get in the zone! The closest you’ll ever get to the results of real bait is Brads Super Bait. This guide will discuss some of the tackle and techniques to target each individual species of salmon. The average King Salmon size is approximately 24 to 36 in (61 to 91 cm) and 10 to 50 lbs (4.5 to 22.7 kg). There are several methods to rig up for trolling. If you're planning to release your fish, go with single hooks even if trebles are legal. The simplest is to use the same rig you use for mooching, but troll it as a flat line off the stern of the boat. The first is a net either in the ocean or through the dipnet fishery which is only open to Alaska residents. Terminal gear for back-trolling includes Spin-N-Glo lures, Corkies or yarn fished behind a diver, or diving plugs that are capable of getting into the depths where the fish are. Note that some rivers carry a single-hook restriction. Some lures, such as the Flatfish or the Kwikfish, allow the use of scent as an attractant. That's how good it can get. The preferred lures for Kenai River king salmon are size 14 to 16 Luhr-Jensen Kwikfish and Spin-N-Glo's each with bait if allowed. Also if weeds are a problem in the river, clamp a splitshot on your main line about five feet from the plug. Kenai River king salmon sport fishing general regulations for January 1 through June 30, 2021, in Kenai River waters downstream of Skilak Lake are as follows: Bait is prohibited, and only one single-hook, artificial lure may be used. Another way to rig your flat lines is to use a diver instead of a trolling weight. Alaska Boat Rental - 241 N Aspen Drive, Soldotna, AK 99669  This prevents nicks in your line from the sharp edge of the lead where it was cut. Rod – Ugly Stik elite salmon series usesca 8628 (10-20lb lure 1/2 – 1 1/2) This is another rod we run for light kings. One of the most popular plugs for salmon fishing is made by Luhr-Jensen which was recently purchased by Rapala called the Kwikfish K-15 and K-16. This is made fairly simple, as kings usually run deeper than silvers, chums or pinks, the other species that can be encountered while you're trolling for kings. For bait, you can use herring (near salt water) or salmon roe (all situations). Color choices are driven by angler preference to a large degree, but generally, muted colors are used on bright days and clear water, and brighter colors are used in murky water or on cloudy days. There are not many shore-based saltwater king salmon opportunities in Alaska, but the few that exist can be quite good. Herring is the usual bait, and can be rigged either whole or plug-cut. Popular colors of Spin-N-Glo lures and Corkies used for king salmon fishing. Most saltwater charter fishing takes place in Southeast, Prince William Sound, lower Cook Inlet and the Kodiak Island area. Toss in two or three floats, the hooks, swivels and sinkers into your river king tackle box and you're set. Average Size: 20 – 25lbs Alaska state record: 96.4lbs Tackle used: Everyone has heard the statement, “to catch big fish you have to fish with big lures”, when fishing for the large Alaskan King’s this is definitely a true statement. It has a rattle inside that drives kings crazy! Use a locking swivel instead. The concept is to float your offering just off the bottom, and it can be used in either moving or still water. Kodiak Custom Fishing Tackle is the home team favorite and #1 local brand of Alaska Fishing Lures. The elusive king salmon is caught using pretty much the exact same lures and technique as the silver salmon. Other lures use sound as an attractant / irritant. Damond likes to run the same rod in the 9′ length. Common sizes and colors of spoons and spinners used to catch king salmon in Alaska's rivers. Also known as Chinook, Tyee, Blackmouth, Tule, Quinnat, or Spring salmon. Leader length can vary, but should be between three and six feet in length. Herring. Note that some plugs don't run straight when they're new, and it may be necessary to bend the eye on the plug so it runs true. In general, the range of the king salmon is from California to Alaska. Fly fishing for king salmon is serious business, requiring beefy rods, reels with solid drags and a strong back to muscle fish out of deep holes. Popular spoons include the Blue Fox Pixee, an old Alaska Standby, and the Krocodile. Stick with the hot colors and sizes. This drift rig can be used with or without bait, or with any combination of bait, yarn, Corkies or Spin-n-Glo lures. Use the right amount of weight. 2021 Mat-Su King Salmon Regulations Announced. From 25-pound kings on the Nushagak, to 15-pound Tsiu River coho, 5-pound Arolik rainbows to 2-pound Dolly Varden char on Kodiak, this venerable lure has a permanent home in our tackle boxes. King Salmon in Alaska are world-renowned and for good reason.The Kenai River has the impressive distinction of producing the world’s largest sport-caught king salmon at 97 lbs.! The genetics of both the king salmon and the sockeye salmon found in the Kenai River make them the largest of both of those species. Your best bet is to identify four or five primary "go-to" setups that work for you, and gear up for those. Alternatively you can crimp a section of hollow lead to the dropper, which allows you to adjust the quantity of weight without re-tying. Additionally, if your weight hangs up on the bottom, it will slide down the line to the hooks as you pull on it, and will often come free. In its simplest form, bait is secured to a single or double-hook rig and lowered to a predetermined depth, where it is left to drift along with the boat, in the current. Trying to catch a Coho Salmon on the Kenai river in June for example is going to be pretty tough as they really don't run until late August and September. Sockeye salmon are typically caught in one of two methods. With the world record king salmon being caught here in May of 1985, millions of king, sockeye, and silver salmon making their yearly migrations, and easy access from Anchorage, the Kenai River is one of the most popular fishing destinations in the state. A fisherman with a tackle box full of different sizes and colors of attractors will tend to use them all. This staggers your offerings at different depths, increasing your chances of finding fish. Spinners such as the Blue Fox Vibrax and spoons like the Blue Fox Pixee can be deadly for river kings. The "Fishing Hole" on the Homer Spit, offers a shot at planted kings that return to the lagoon there in the summer months. If you’re fishing from the bottom up, … The lure actually needs to be tuned in order to travel in a straight fashion and not veering left or right. When the line is about 45 degrees downstream you pull swiftly pull the weight towards the shoreline. Flashtrap Spinners: Salmon Catching Lures. Southcentral Alaska has historically had excellent runs of kings, however in recent years numbers have dwindled. Tie a short section of leader to the dropper end of the swivel, and secure a teardrop sinker to the dropper. Choose deep divers such as the Wiggle Wart or Tadpolly for the best results. So in odd years, the fishing is still great, you just won’t be catching a lot of Pink Salmon. Setup used for larger kings on the Kenai River. Popular fly patterns run the gamut from attractors to muted patterns and egg imitations. The only tackle required for mooching for kings is a supply of 4/0-5/0 Siwash hooks, a spool of 40# test leader material, and an assortment of banana weights with bead chain to secure the leader. Farther west, kings can be found in Talarik Creek, Chuitna River, Beluga River, Theodore River, Lewis River, McArthur River and the Kustatan River. The Ketchikan road system has some options, as do the Kenai Peninsula (Deep Creek / Ninilchik area) and Kodiak Island. Pink Salmon are the most abundant species of Alaska's salmon. These fish typically run in the shallows and are most easily targeted from a boat with a plug. From boats, mountain bikes and RV rentals to full service guided adventures, lodging and customized trips, Alaska Boat Rental & Guide Service does it all. At Alaska King Salmon Adventures, we’re big advocates of using quality scents in order to catch more salmon. There are 3 main ways that we use biology & natural selection to target king salmon are annoyance, hunting instinct, & natural selection instinct. Rig up a leader with two single hooks. In Alaska, when in doubt, tie on an ESL (egg sucking leech). In some cases you might opt to hold in one spot for a while. Be geared up for all possibilities and don't be afraid to change tactics if one method doesn't produce after an hour or so. Spinning/Casting: Use large, bright lures (Vibrax size 5-6, Pixies, in pink, orange, chartreuse, blue, etc). Control your depth by reducing or increasing the amount of weight used, and by adjusting the distance from the stern. Kings are found from the California coast all the way to the Chukchi Sea, however sport anglers commonly encounter them in Southeast Alaska north to the Bristol Bay area. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) announced today that king salmon fishing on the Little Susitna River and Susitna River drainage (including Deshka River) will start the season as catch and release fishing with single hook artificial lures. Anglers experienced in back-trolling can work every inch of a hole by adjusting their speed and direction. This translates to lots of time wasted re-rigging. The third week of June 2000, I traveled to Alaska intent of piercing the heart of the chinook salmon run on Bristol Bay. These areas often have tree branches on the bottom and a drift rig would become snagged. Chinook (aka King) Salmon is the ultimate catch in Alaska – the bigger, the better. Popular colors of Spin-N-Glo lures and Corkies used for king salmon fishing. Though distributed nearly state-wide, they particularly dominate the saltwater sport fishing roster as the most sought-after species available from Southeast Alaska into Prince William Sound, out to the Kodiak-Afognak island group and into the Bristol Bay area. Alaska Boat Rental - 241 N Aspen Drive, Soldotna, AK 99669. Some areas lend themselves very well to shore-based river fishing. Start off with a little more lead than you think you need, and trim it back if you find that the rig is not bouncing along the bottom as it should. The king salmon run Alaska is in process, and, as a result, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) may set higher limits for sport fishing Chinook, king salmon during June and into early July. Slide your Corkie or Spin-n-Glo onto the leader, so it rests against the hook eye, and secure the other end of the leader to the snap swivel at the end of your main line. For this reason, back trolling is required. The one that has the largest kings is the Kenai River located just South of Anchorage on the west side of the Kenai Peninsula. If you're fishing with cured roe as bait, you can wrap a quarter-sized chunk in a small square of mesh roe cloth and slip that through the egg loop on your upper hook. The swivel allows you to change rigs without re-tying everything, and the surgical tubing holds a section of lead of whatever length you need in place on your line. Southcentral Region Department of Fish and Game Division of Sport fish Anchorage, Alaska Terminal Tackle for Alaskan waters Best For: Easy Access Least Expensive Largest Kings. Secure the leader to the swivel on the flasher, and secure your main line to the swivel at the other end of the flasher. However, for the inexperienced angler catching these fish can be a challenge. Know where the holes and runs are. Float rigs are used mostly for fishing with roe (Corkies and Spin-n-Glos float, so they don't work too well with float setups). A plug is the generic name for any kind of lure that has a built in action to it. The three keys to effective drifting are: This method is very similar to trolling in saltwater, with one critical exception: you use the speed of the current to keep your lure in the strike zone, and use the boat's motor to slow your drift. Typically the 2nd largest of th salmon species they can reach approximately 20 pounds and make for excellent table fare. The technique of lining for sockeye is pretty straightforward but does require a little practice for it to become comfortable. Perfected in the Pacific Northwest, mooching is a simple technique that will catch kings, other salmon species, along with rockfish, lingcod and even halibut. The bag and possession limit for king salmon 20 inches or greater in length is one king salmon. We invite to you explore what we do and give us a call to learn more. After you've checked out this overview make sure to check out the pages going into great detail on how we specifically target king salmon, silver salmon, and how we fish the Kenai River in general. This deadly lure comes rigged and ready to fish. We'll discuss the general techniques you will definitely see on the river. Kodiak Custom Fishing Tackle 3.25″ hexagonal scale patterned and 5.5″ smooth finished trolling spoons are hand painted on both sides, specifically designed to catch winter king salmon, feeder coho salmon and monster lake trout in Alaska, The Great Lakes region and Canada, but it doesn’t end there! As the weight is being pulled to the shoreline, bringing the hook with it, the hook is then set in the mouth and it's "fish on!". The Kenai River. Bring an assortment of each. Certainly a good part of this is their sheer numbers but another reason is these fish pretty much strike at anything put in front of them. Bait fishermen often pick up other species while fishing for kings; it's not uncommon to catch starry flounder, rockfish and even halibut. In this case one of the most common pieces of tackle is the "Jet Diver". Sometimes called "back bouncing", drifting for kings involves drifting with the current, while your bait or lure skims along the bottom. With the proper amount of weight you should feel the weight bouncing along the bottom of the river. Mepps Aglia mepps.com This lure has helped us land a wide variety of fish in the Great Land. The guides of Alaska Drift Away Fishing made the decision to stop guiding native run king salmon on the Kenai and Kasilof rivers in 2013 as a way for our business to have zero impact on this special Alaskan salmon. Popular rivers in Southcentral are Anchorage's Ship Creek (hosting a planted run of kings), the Valley streams (Willow Creek, Little Willow Creek, the Little Susitna River, Montana Creek, Sheep Creek, Caswell Creek, Goose Creek, the Kashwitna River, and Sunshine Creek. The river current will catch the Kwikfish and begin to make it "wobble" in the river as well as dive down. Some of the most popular patterns include Glo-Bugs, Popsicles, Teeny Nymphs, Wooly Buggers, Wiggle Tails, Flash Flies, Everglo Flies and some of the brighter patterns used for tarpon fishing. Whether you're fishing from a drift boat / raft or from a powerboat, there are two basic methods for catching river kings; drifting and back-trolling. They are also the easiest to catch. Fishtale River Guides assembles Flashtraps in Alaska, and they are available locally through 3 Rivers Fly and Tackle in Wasilla (907) 373-5434. The Wiggle Wart is a great example that has produced many king catches. Brads Superbait. You can find a great deal more about salmon migration timings from our website or the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Every year these mammoth salmon tip the scales at 70, 80, and even 90 pounds. Bobbers are generally more effective than weights in avoiding snags on the bottom, so they are often used for fishing outside corners, where the water is deeper and the current has scoured out tree roots and such. Primitive Nushagak Story and Photos by Don Roberts Western Outdoors Magazine – February 2001 Right from the outset I am forced to admit failure.
Fresco Y Mas Application, Masterbuilt Slow Smoker, Cat Shark Tank Size, Rent A Mansion For A Night London, Lion Brand Pound Of Love Bubble Gum, Inkscape For Iphone,