Fish of the WeekChris and a Salty Sheefish from Kotzebue
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Mission Statement
Established to promote sport fishing in Alaska by providing information and fishing reports. Share tactics & techniques, and do some bragging about living and fishing the Great Land, in the place we call home.
Current Fishing Report
5/5/12 The ice has melted and the mouths of most rivers and creeks are open. Unless your in Kotzebue. That is where Chris was able to hoist a 40 plus inch sheefish through the still frozen salt water, check out FOW. Spring fishing is in full swing for everyone else. Good reports of resident rainbow and dolly in the valley being caught, and lots of grayling in the Interior. The sun continues to stay out longer and it wont belong before the salmon start showing up. Looking forward to hearing stories of Yakutat next week when 2 of the slayers return from hunting for steelhead on the Situk. Current conditions has the river in blown out, however fish are still being caught with angler determination.
4/28/12 The ice is rotting on the lakes and the rivers are flooding in the Interior. Weather conditions have fishing almost at a stand still, except for the limited action for grayling in the sloughs. Ice fishing gear is being stored till next winter and the traditional tackle and fly rods are being prepared for summer adventures. Chris and Paul are the only ones headed to Situk this year, and the reports for fishing have been excellent. Looking forward to the pictures and stories.
4/21/12 Lots of sunshine has opened up the rivers and sloughs in the Interior, however the lake remain locked up tight. Badger Slough has been producing the first open water fishing of the new season with lots of arctic grayling entering the tributary. The normal hot spots are active with both fly fisherman and conventional spinning rod users. We experienced good success with catching grayling on bead prince nymphs and copper johns this last week. Even with the ice huts are coming off the lakes, the ice is solid and thick. So we gave Hard Luck another round and epic is the only way to describe the bite we had on Saturday. Check out fish of the week and the photo albums for some of the trophy fish that we pulled up from the deep. Probably only another week or so of safe ice, be careful and have fun. Wow fly fishing and ice fishing in the same week!
4/20/12-Parks Report:
Willow Creek-Locked up at the mouth, one small stretch of about 50yards of fishable water. The only thing seen was a river otter.
Sheep Creek-Completely Locked up, unfishable.
Goose Creek-Open at the highway, didn't fish it. Too much snow and not enough water.
Montana Creek-Open from the highway all the way to the mouth. Fished it pretty hard with no luck. Worked the water all the way from the Bridge to below the king holes in the Su. Nothing but Alevins and Smolts seen.
Wait another two weeks until the Su breaks open and you might find some fish in the creeks. Overall it was a bust.
4/6/12-4/7/12 Bigcox flew up from Anchorage to fish with the Hard Luck crew. Within 5 hours of leaving Anchorage, we were lucky enough to latch onto a huge beast from the deep. As one slayer was prepping a move to a new spot, the other slayer latched onto the Laker right off the bottom at 115feet. What a fight it was, definitely one for the memory bank, and it was right at 30inches! Check it out, it is this weeks FOW!
3/30/12 March is finally over and all we can say is bring out the sun. Harding produced some bites this last week but no one sealed the deal. Going out often this next couple of weeks as temps warm and the bite should increase. Ice fishing will continue through April for the Interior. King salmon are being caught in the salt water down by Homer at a good rate and the Kenai upper river is open for trout. The Valley is still locked up, but should be opening soon. Lots of updated orders by ADF&G for King Salmon fishing, make sure you check the new regulations before you cast a line.
3/23/12 The bite has falling way off at Harding Lake. We hit the lake again this last week and rolled more doughnuts. March has shown to be a cold tough month for us in the Interior. The bright spot this week comes from the South Central where the success during a recent fly in trip out of Anchorage for northern pike was shown to be very productive. Katherine Cox and her friends, Ben and Chuck made the flight to harvest some pike in a no-name lake, the largest went 28 inches. Additional reports from South-central tell of overflow in the valley lakes that may have access limited. Still receiving great photos of nice fish from Big Lake. For the most of us it looks like we still have good ice for a little while longer, however the open water is coming soon with temps rising and the sunlight out longer.
3/17/12 Harding Lake provide us with a big fat doughnut, although we did mark some fish, nothing taking. We are still using tube jigs and herring. The fishing has slowed however, should be picking up with spring on the horizon. All the lakes are still firm in the Interior.
3/15/ 12 Operation Ice Fishing for the US Army Warrior Transition Battalion out of Fort Wainwright took place at Birch Lake. We assisted in the event by coordinating equipment and prepping the site with holes and pop up huts. About 20 soldiers participated in the event and they were able to catch a few small fish from the lake. Posting a few pictures of the event in the 2012 winter photo section. Thanks to ADF&G for all the loaned equipment. I challenge others to do what they can to serve those that have served us. Mission Complete!
3/9-10/12 Harding Lake was again the target of choice for the Interior Slayers. Its hard to get away from a lake that can produce trophy size fish. Although not easy to do, Ron has been making a clinic out of all the trips and he did not disappoint again. The lakes continue to be firm and fish-able in the center of the state. Kenai River trout seem to be hiding from those down South that ventured out and most of the lakes had lots of overflow in the Valley. Tough conditions and a tough bite all around which makes catching anything right now very sweet.
3/3/12 Interior fishing is picking up at Harding Lake with multiple catches by more than one angler. Look for the warmer weather to start producing better fishing at all the the lakes along the Richardson Highway. South Central has lots of warmer weather already and some overflow conditions on most lakes in the Valley. Big Lake seems to be producing some nice Char. Stay safe and warm. Keep sending in those photos!
2/25/12 Two AlaskanSalmonSlayers hit Finger Lake this past weekend for the GettingJiggy Kids Ice Fishing Tournament. One of the great events for the winter season is this Ice Fishing tournament. Kids ages three to sixteen from all over the state come down for this special event. Paul Reed (TheMasterAngler) puts on this event for the kiddos, one the AlaskanSalmonSlayers look forward to each year. GettinJiggy is a sponsor for the Make A Wish Foundation and one special kid got his wish this year. This kid came all the way from Florida to get his wish granted, which was to go IceFishing. Another year, another great tournament put on by a great individual. Words cannot describe how greatful we are for Paul Reed and the work, time, and effort he put in for this great event for the kids. He is a True Hero!
2/25/12 Interior Slayers are still hitting Harding with limited success. Alcanron was the only one able to catch a nice arctic char during the 9 hour marathon of playing cat-n-mouse at 145 feet with the fishy. Other Anglers are reporting continued slow fishing at most of the Richardson Hwy lakes. The Spring time is hopefully coming and the warm temps will increase the bite.
2/18/12 The Slayers down south hit the upper Kenai in search of Rainbows/Dollies this past weekend. Water was pretty murky and the banks were surprisingly crowded with about a dozen other anglers trying the break the cabin fever. Saw one guy land a nice 24" Rainbow on a bead, our group managed to land a couple of feisty Silvers. One of them happened to be a chromer! No vids from this trip, check out the photos in the winter 2012 section.
2/17/12 Passed on going to work and opted to go fishing, back once again to Harding Lake. We had been fishing in depths of about 115 feet of recent trips without much success so we decided to try a deeper area. With the portable hut set up over 145 feet of water we turned on the electronics and began marking fish at about 130 feet. Proceeding to drop in on the fish with 3 inch single hook white tube jigs to entice a bite, the cat-n-mouse began with the fish not wanting to fully commit on the offerings. It took about 2 hours before Ron had the first bite and hooked a nice lake trout that was brought to the surface for a quick photo and released. I thought that was going to be the only fish of the day as most days either have us on a doughnut or only a single fish. I hung in jigging at deep depths at about 130 feet and what seemed like out of nowhere my tube got slammed. I couldn't believe how hard the lure was smashed. and after about a 3 minutes (seemed like an hour) the back and forth of my drag and the strong head shakes felt through the bent spine of my ice rod, the fish appeared just under the ice. Carefully turned and brought through the 10 inch hole of about 25 inches of ice to avoid the last second "early release" the beauty was landed. The fish was revived and in only a couple seconds tail thrust and swam off strong. Wow I am so glad I did not go to work!
2/10/12 Temperatures got warmer this last week with highs in the positive low 30's. We thought the action would pick up with the lakers and decided to hit Harding. More fish being marked for sure but we were unable to close the deal on the bitters. Another anglers reported Quartz lake is producing catches of land locked silvers using bait. The Valley area folks are getting ready for the "Gettin Jiggy Kids Derby" on 25 February and Chris will be there helping out with the event. Lots of ice, stay safe, and keep sending in those great pictures for FOW!
1/21 /12 Hunting for the Lake Trout in the Interior continues with fish starting to get into the cold weather pattern of not wanting to bite. Temperatures remain below -20 to -30 this week and fishing might have to be postponed until we have a rise in the temps and more active fish.
1/16/12 Harding lake continues to be the target for Interior ice fishing. The cold temps have slowed down the bite, bet when the strike its quality (check out FOW). It wont be long before extensions will be needed on the lakes if the cold temps continue. The Master Angler (Paul Reed) is gearing up for the annual "Gettin Jiggy Kids Ice Fishing Derby" for Make a Wish. You can read all about it on the Master Angler website or facebook page. The event is at Finger Lake this year, 25 February. Hope to see you there!
1/8/12 Happy New Year! Starting out Twenty-Twelve with lots of Ice fishing trips. Harding Lake has been our primary target in the Interior and we have had a few catches of some nice Lake Trout and Arctic Char. The Valley has been producing some Rainbow Trout and stocked salmon at various lakes in the South Central. Most ice is over twenty inches thick and solid on the lakes. This is a typical slow bite time of the year, try fishing on the low pressure days and on the lead edge of a weather front. Putting in the effort of ice fishing can yield a great catch during the winter, do let winter keep you off the water!
4/28/12 The ice is rotting on the lakes and the rivers are flooding in the Interior. Weather conditions have fishing almost at a stand still, except for the limited action for grayling in the sloughs. Ice fishing gear is being stored till next winter and the traditional tackle and fly rods are being prepared for summer adventures. Chris and Paul are the only ones headed to Situk this year, and the reports for fishing have been excellent. Looking forward to the pictures and stories.
4/21/12 Lots of sunshine has opened up the rivers and sloughs in the Interior, however the lake remain locked up tight. Badger Slough has been producing the first open water fishing of the new season with lots of arctic grayling entering the tributary. The normal hot spots are active with both fly fisherman and conventional spinning rod users. We experienced good success with catching grayling on bead prince nymphs and copper johns this last week. Even with the ice huts are coming off the lakes, the ice is solid and thick. So we gave Hard Luck another round and epic is the only way to describe the bite we had on Saturday. Check out fish of the week and the photo albums for some of the trophy fish that we pulled up from the deep. Probably only another week or so of safe ice, be careful and have fun. Wow fly fishing and ice fishing in the same week!
4/20/12-Parks Report:
Willow Creek-Locked up at the mouth, one small stretch of about 50yards of fishable water. The only thing seen was a river otter.
Sheep Creek-Completely Locked up, unfishable.
Goose Creek-Open at the highway, didn't fish it. Too much snow and not enough water.
Montana Creek-Open from the highway all the way to the mouth. Fished it pretty hard with no luck. Worked the water all the way from the Bridge to below the king holes in the Su. Nothing but Alevins and Smolts seen.
Wait another two weeks until the Su breaks open and you might find some fish in the creeks. Overall it was a bust.
4/6/12-4/7/12 Bigcox flew up from Anchorage to fish with the Hard Luck crew. Within 5 hours of leaving Anchorage, we were lucky enough to latch onto a huge beast from the deep. As one slayer was prepping a move to a new spot, the other slayer latched onto the Laker right off the bottom at 115feet. What a fight it was, definitely one for the memory bank, and it was right at 30inches! Check it out, it is this weeks FOW!
3/30/12 March is finally over and all we can say is bring out the sun. Harding produced some bites this last week but no one sealed the deal. Going out often this next couple of weeks as temps warm and the bite should increase. Ice fishing will continue through April for the Interior. King salmon are being caught in the salt water down by Homer at a good rate and the Kenai upper river is open for trout. The Valley is still locked up, but should be opening soon. Lots of updated orders by ADF&G for King Salmon fishing, make sure you check the new regulations before you cast a line.
3/23/12 The bite has falling way off at Harding Lake. We hit the lake again this last week and rolled more doughnuts. March has shown to be a cold tough month for us in the Interior. The bright spot this week comes from the South Central where the success during a recent fly in trip out of Anchorage for northern pike was shown to be very productive. Katherine Cox and her friends, Ben and Chuck made the flight to harvest some pike in a no-name lake, the largest went 28 inches. Additional reports from South-central tell of overflow in the valley lakes that may have access limited. Still receiving great photos of nice fish from Big Lake. For the most of us it looks like we still have good ice for a little while longer, however the open water is coming soon with temps rising and the sunlight out longer.
3/17/12 Harding Lake provide us with a big fat doughnut, although we did mark some fish, nothing taking. We are still using tube jigs and herring. The fishing has slowed however, should be picking up with spring on the horizon. All the lakes are still firm in the Interior.
3/15/ 12 Operation Ice Fishing for the US Army Warrior Transition Battalion out of Fort Wainwright took place at Birch Lake. We assisted in the event by coordinating equipment and prepping the site with holes and pop up huts. About 20 soldiers participated in the event and they were able to catch a few small fish from the lake. Posting a few pictures of the event in the 2012 winter photo section. Thanks to ADF&G for all the loaned equipment. I challenge others to do what they can to serve those that have served us. Mission Complete!
3/9-10/12 Harding Lake was again the target of choice for the Interior Slayers. Its hard to get away from a lake that can produce trophy size fish. Although not easy to do, Ron has been making a clinic out of all the trips and he did not disappoint again. The lakes continue to be firm and fish-able in the center of the state. Kenai River trout seem to be hiding from those down South that ventured out and most of the lakes had lots of overflow in the Valley. Tough conditions and a tough bite all around which makes catching anything right now very sweet.
3/3/12 Interior fishing is picking up at Harding Lake with multiple catches by more than one angler. Look for the warmer weather to start producing better fishing at all the the lakes along the Richardson Highway. South Central has lots of warmer weather already and some overflow conditions on most lakes in the Valley. Big Lake seems to be producing some nice Char. Stay safe and warm. Keep sending in those photos!
2/25/12 Two AlaskanSalmonSlayers hit Finger Lake this past weekend for the GettingJiggy Kids Ice Fishing Tournament. One of the great events for the winter season is this Ice Fishing tournament. Kids ages three to sixteen from all over the state come down for this special event. Paul Reed (TheMasterAngler) puts on this event for the kiddos, one the AlaskanSalmonSlayers look forward to each year. GettinJiggy is a sponsor for the Make A Wish Foundation and one special kid got his wish this year. This kid came all the way from Florida to get his wish granted, which was to go IceFishing. Another year, another great tournament put on by a great individual. Words cannot describe how greatful we are for Paul Reed and the work, time, and effort he put in for this great event for the kids. He is a True Hero!
2/25/12 Interior Slayers are still hitting Harding with limited success. Alcanron was the only one able to catch a nice arctic char during the 9 hour marathon of playing cat-n-mouse at 145 feet with the fishy. Other Anglers are reporting continued slow fishing at most of the Richardson Hwy lakes. The Spring time is hopefully coming and the warm temps will increase the bite.
2/18/12 The Slayers down south hit the upper Kenai in search of Rainbows/Dollies this past weekend. Water was pretty murky and the banks were surprisingly crowded with about a dozen other anglers trying the break the cabin fever. Saw one guy land a nice 24" Rainbow on a bead, our group managed to land a couple of feisty Silvers. One of them happened to be a chromer! No vids from this trip, check out the photos in the winter 2012 section.
2/17/12 Passed on going to work and opted to go fishing, back once again to Harding Lake. We had been fishing in depths of about 115 feet of recent trips without much success so we decided to try a deeper area. With the portable hut set up over 145 feet of water we turned on the electronics and began marking fish at about 130 feet. Proceeding to drop in on the fish with 3 inch single hook white tube jigs to entice a bite, the cat-n-mouse began with the fish not wanting to fully commit on the offerings. It took about 2 hours before Ron had the first bite and hooked a nice lake trout that was brought to the surface for a quick photo and released. I thought that was going to be the only fish of the day as most days either have us on a doughnut or only a single fish. I hung in jigging at deep depths at about 130 feet and what seemed like out of nowhere my tube got slammed. I couldn't believe how hard the lure was smashed. and after about a 3 minutes (seemed like an hour) the back and forth of my drag and the strong head shakes felt through the bent spine of my ice rod, the fish appeared just under the ice. Carefully turned and brought through the 10 inch hole of about 25 inches of ice to avoid the last second "early release" the beauty was landed. The fish was revived and in only a couple seconds tail thrust and swam off strong. Wow I am so glad I did not go to work!
2/10/12 Temperatures got warmer this last week with highs in the positive low 30's. We thought the action would pick up with the lakers and decided to hit Harding. More fish being marked for sure but we were unable to close the deal on the bitters. Another anglers reported Quartz lake is producing catches of land locked silvers using bait. The Valley area folks are getting ready for the "Gettin Jiggy Kids Derby" on 25 February and Chris will be there helping out with the event. Lots of ice, stay safe, and keep sending in those great pictures for FOW!
1/21 /12 Hunting for the Lake Trout in the Interior continues with fish starting to get into the cold weather pattern of not wanting to bite. Temperatures remain below -20 to -30 this week and fishing might have to be postponed until we have a rise in the temps and more active fish.
1/16/12 Harding lake continues to be the target for Interior ice fishing. The cold temps have slowed down the bite, bet when the strike its quality (check out FOW). It wont be long before extensions will be needed on the lakes if the cold temps continue. The Master Angler (Paul Reed) is gearing up for the annual "Gettin Jiggy Kids Ice Fishing Derby" for Make a Wish. You can read all about it on the Master Angler website or facebook page. The event is at Finger Lake this year, 25 February. Hope to see you there!
1/8/12 Happy New Year! Starting out Twenty-Twelve with lots of Ice fishing trips. Harding Lake has been our primary target in the Interior and we have had a few catches of some nice Lake Trout and Arctic Char. The Valley has been producing some Rainbow Trout and stocked salmon at various lakes in the South Central. Most ice is over twenty inches thick and solid on the lakes. This is a typical slow bite time of the year, try fishing on the low pressure days and on the lead edge of a weather front. Putting in the effort of ice fishing can yield a great catch during the winter, do let winter keep you off the water!