John Kumiski, Anchorage, Alaska

Pre-Season Alagnak River Fishing Report

Thank you for reading this Alagnak River Fishing Report! And I don’t mean we’re fishing before the legal fishing season. We’re fishing before our Katmai Lodge guests begin arriving.

For those of you not up-to-date on your Alaska geography, the Alagnak River is about 200 miles southeast of Anchorage, and is part of the Bristol Bay drainage. The nearest town is King Salmon. Katmai Lodge is our base on the river.

Ken caught this jack king on a Vibrax spinner.

Speaking of king salmon, some effort has been expended fishing for them. All we’ve caught so far are jacks, precocious males that have not spent much time at sea. We’ve yet to hit a full-grown adult. Back-trolling, spin-casting, and fly fishing have all been tried, with varying degrees of success. The big ones should be arriving any day now.

One of the Lodge’s boats passing us on the river.

Another anadromous fish that has begun showing in the river are sockeye salmon. Hundreds of thousands of these fish will run up the river to spawn, then die. Many people consider them the finest eating salmon species.

Tom got this rainbow on a leech pattern.

Tom Van Horn and I ran up the river last week looking for rainbow trout. We found them, and grayling too. Trout were caught on articulated black leech patterns and egg-sucking leeches. Grayling were taken on dry flies.

Fishing around lumber is a tried and true way to catch trout.

I went up the river yesterday with Luke and Dan, Michigan natives both. Those Michigan fellows know their trout fishing! We did well on leech and mouse patterns.

Luke fooled this nice ‘bow with a mouse pattern.

The weather all week has been spectacular, cool in the morning and bright, sunny, and almost Florida hot in the afternoon. Our biggest weather-related problem has been sunburn.

Tammy used a nymph to catch this Indian Love Stone.

That’s this week’s Pre-Season Alagnak River Fishing Report! Thanks for reading!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com