JD,
When is the best time to go fishing in AK. I want to fly into Anchorage and make my way to Homer.
Thanks,
Brian
Brian,
Well, that’s a bit of a broad question….depends on what type of fishing you want to do. Driving down from Anchorage, there’s not a ton of stuff to do off the bank (unless you count combat fisheries like Bird and Ship creeks) until you get down to Cooper Landing down on the Kenai River. Of course, you have Soldotna just past that.
In that area you are in the epicenter of the Kenai’s giant king salmon fishing (May-July), though you’ll need to get on a guide boat to have much of a chance. Also, the reds come in thick in the Kenai and Russian rivers in July and then there are the jumbo rainbows, dollies, silvers, chums and humpies (mainly on even years).
Heading towards Homer, you will encounter the Kasilof River, where you can catch some kings below the Crooked Creek Hatchery off the bank or try Deep Creek, Ninilchik River and Anchor River, which have a mix of salmon and trout.
Homer, of course, is the self-proclaimed “Halibut Capitol of the World” and you can find countless charters down on the Spit that will take you out into Kachemak Bay for flatties. There’s also a fish pond on the spit that salmon return to, though it’s not really the nicest place to fish…
Okay, so indulge me here…I just have to be a proud papa here for a minute. Coop, who’s coming up on his third birthday, got out fishing with dad the other morning on the American River and caught his very fish (non-handed off)…an American shad.
Though we had some break-off issues with the Snoopy outfit and its worthless pre-spooled line earlier, The Kid managed to land this fish…and then thoughtfully released it.
For dad, it just doesn’t get any better…
Our man Big Fred Contaoi had he best showing yet at a Wal Mart-FLW Tour stop this weekend, when he placed 26th out of a field of 155 pros at Arkansas’s Beaver Lake.
For his efforts, Big Boy earned a check for $13,000 — which comes out to be $1,300 per bass over the two days he fished! Contaoi weighed in 5 fish for 9 pounds, 2 ounces on Thursday and then followed that up with 5 that weighed 9 pounds, 13 ounces on Friday. He’s two day total was 18 pounds, 15 ounces and was a mere 4 pounds out of the top 10 — and making the cut.
Though the standings have yet to be released, the 26th place finish, along with placing 85, 58 and 71 at the first three FLW Tour events of the year, should keep Contaoi very much alive in the points race to qualify for the $1 Million Forrest Wood Cup in Pittsburgh in late July.
Nice work, Big Fred!
Our pal Roy Gray, all-around good guy and local Lamiglas rep, just got back from a trip to Alaska’s Situk River, where he (and other buds Chris “Wild Sports” O’Neil and Bill “Help me un-sink my driftboat” Wagner) found more sun shine than water.
Overall, the trip was pretty sweet says Roy, though the extremely low water and sunny days made fishing tougher than usual. Here’s his photo log…
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JD,
Well, I am probably one of the last guys to switch over to braided line but, I was wondering when running bait divers for Kings what size leader do you run?
Also I am running GLoomis HSR 982 rods do you think these rods are too fast for running divers and braid? Does braid work well for running Kwiks? I have always run mono but, I would like to switch I think.
Any opinions would be great!
I am a guide here on the Skagit and Sauk rivers in northern WA, and all info would be appreciated.
Nick P.
Hey Nick!
Don’t worry…you’re not alone in the late switch to braid…there’s plenty of die hard Old Skool salmon anglers out there like yourself. Once you do try braid, however, you’ll never go back. While you’re at it, you may want to look into updating that 8-track player in your truck too. Just messing with ya! :)
Anyway, the leader I run depends on the particular river I’m fishing. On small, clear streams, I may drop down to 20-lb. flouro and use a longer section — maybe 6 feet. In big water, you can bump that up to 30- or 40-pound and drop the length down to 3-4 feet. I run my divers off a slider rig attached to the braid and only use the clear stuff between the diver and the bait.
Yea, the HSR 982′s may be a bit fast. I’m a huge fan of the HSR 941′s for both diver & eggs and pulling plugs for both kings and steelies, which leads me to my next point:
Yes, braid is the ticket for pulling Kwikfish/Flatfish. It really is the way to go for both flat-lining plugs and back-bouncing ‘em. Again, just be sure to run a lighter drag and a softer rod…hence the GLoomis HSR 941s I mentioned above.
Look what turned up on Lake Shasta the other day…200+ pounds of dinosaur! Dan Frost was fishing in a bass tournament when he stumbled across this big ol’ slab of white meat. The crazy thing is, this fish probably lived in the Sacramento River before Shasta Dam was built!
Too bad it didn’t count in the tourney…now that’s a kicker fish!!
Read the entire story here: Redding Record Searchlight
JD,
Is there any knot at all that allows splicing braid to braid (Power Pro) ?
Thanks,
John B.
John, the Double Uni Knot is the ticket…as long as you’re under 80 lb. Above that, you’re getting into the more complicated Bimini Twist territory.
Double Uni Knot Video
RoboWorm’s new 5″ and 6″ Ocean Swimbait tails look to be just the ticket for anglers looking for a quality bait with which to tackle stripers, halibut, calicos and all sorts of other rough and tumble saltwater and inshore critters….without having to break the bank.
But that’s in the package, how do they fish?? We found out… [click to continue…]
