Fishing trip: Chinook salmon and red salmon (June–July)

The Chinook salmon

Salmon are fished using a fly, spinner or bright spoon lure but always with a single hook (barbs are OK). Over the last 10 years, the best fly for catching Chinook salmon has been the Dalai Llama (a.k.a. Dolly Lama). Some years, the catch has been smaller than expected. Then, we have followed the C&R principle. The Chinook salmon is every experienced fisher’s dream. That feeling of a giant bite and catching on your hook, the confirmation that the fish is well and truly hooked, following its movement – and moving yourself – on the shore or in the water to a shared rhythm and, first and foremost, being rewarded by landing an enormous salmon on the riverbed, beats all of your previous fishing experiences hands down. Rivers and riverbeds are made for salmon fishing. Relatively shallow, rivers have a slow or medium flow and either sand or rock bars. Even though we are allowed to catch a couple of salmon per fisher each day, we usually only take what we can eat and let the rest go. Sometimes, our guests want to vacuum pack and freeze the fish and bring it back to Finland, which is also possible. We carefully observe the instructions and rules of the Alaskan fishing authorities, and if the numbers of fish swimming upriver are lower than usual, we comply with the C&R regulations or, if necessary, try to avoid catching Chinook salmon altogether, which in itself can sometimes be hard. In the last case, we use class #8 or smaller rods, whereas we normally use class #10+ rods for Chinook salmon fishing.

 

Red salmon/Sockeye salmon

The red salmon start their journey upriver in June and continue until mid-August. A red salmon can grow up to 6–8 kg in weight, but it usually averages 2.5–5.5 kg. The same rule applies to red salmon as to other salmon that swim upriver, that is, the shinier silver the colour of the fish, the less time it has spent in the river and the brighter red the colour of its flesh. The longer the salmon has spent in the river looking for a partner to mate with, the redder its skin. Ultimately, the shade may turn into a Ferrari red, at which point the meat is no longer that tasty. The best way to tell a red salmon from other salmon is the green tint of its head. In the sea, the red salmon’s diet comprises mainly shrimp, other crayfish and plankton, but the fish is attracted to various flies and lures. Sometimes, the red salmon is too picky to eat almost anything, which is a good time to surprise it with a small fly or spinner. The red salmon also puts up a good fight at the end of your line, and it may perform several stunning leaps in the air and yank out a hefty amount of line before it surrenders. There are shoals of red salmon right next to our lodges, and they like to swim up Fish Creek. Naturally, you can also find them in Clear Creek and the Talkeetna River.

 

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Included in the price

• Overland and river travel in Alaska (from the airport to the destination and back). If necessary, one night in Anchorage or Talkeetna. 1–2 boat trips up Clear Creek.
• Accommodation in 4-person lodges (includes linen, heating and electricity). A dining tent (everyone contributes to cooking), outdoor toilet, campfire site and sauna (including firewood), as well as pepper spray for everyone. Basic kitchen equipment.
• Basic introduction to the local nature and fishing on the site. Includes a person familiar with the pools, hiking trails and nature.

 

Good to know…

The price does not include flights. For up-to-date fishing regulations, go to: https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/ Each customer books their own flights. We are happy to help with regard to information about the various available options. We switch on Thursdays, so it is good if you can make your way to Anchorage already on Wednesday. Each customer books their own flights.

 

Money back principle

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