Lorenky1

I'm starting preliminary planning for a trip to Alaska in 2011. One of our priorities to to see the salmon run and fish it. I read alot of conflicting information about what the best timing is, and I realize the timing of the run differs from area to area . So I thought I should get some input on where we should focus our efforts, and that can guide the timing of our visit. We are planning on spending about 10 days, flying in to Anchorage and visiting Denali(bus tour in Denali and helicopter/Glacier landing from Talkeetna), possibily train to Whittier for the glacier cruise, driving down to Kenai and Seward and seeing the glacier and taking the sealife cruise, going over to Soldotna for the the Talon Air bear viewing/ fishing guided tour. Or the more expensive bear viewing tours like Brooks falls if we can afford them, unsure if we can. Also wanted to take a guided fishing day or half day, perhaps on one of the rivers. So the fishing focus would be on the Talon Air trip and a guided fishing trip on a river. We also really want to SEE the salmon run, all the salmon crowded in the water and fighting/jumping upstream. Still planning so we are open to other suggestions on things to do, we love dramatic mountain scenery and wildlife viewing, and hubby definitely wants to hit the salmon run. So given that information and our general itinerary, any suggestions on which particular areas/rivers to focus on the Salmon run and what timing is best for the peak runs in those areas? . Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

dfrostnh

Here's a link:
http://www.alaskasportsden.com/Fishing_Calendar.htm

In addition to river runs, we walked a beach in or near Kenai on the river to watch net fishermen. They gutted and fileted the fish as they were caught. One guy said he promised his wife not to come home with more than 200 lbs. I think they had freezers in their motor homes. This was a mid/late June trip.
Our first trip to AK was in 2001 in late July/early August. We stopped to watch salmon fishing in Bird Creek
http://www.alaskanoutfitting.com/fis...irdcreek.shtml

When a run starts there is a huge increase in traffic headed to a river. The Russian River was quiet one week, combat fishing the next. Hope you have a great trip.

spirobulldog

It depends on what kind of Salmon you are wanting to see and catch. I like to eat Sockey the best, so that is what we fished for.

We were there on June 30. Did a half day flyout/bearviewing/fishing all at the same time with
www.highadventureair.com

Flew from Soldotna over Cook Inlet to Wolverine Creek located at the edge of Lake Clark National Park. Flight is scenic in a floatplane- takeoff and landing in water is cool. Plane was a 1950's model that had a radio, 3 guages and that was about as techinical as it was. You land on the water and take a 10 minute boat ride to the creek. There were several other boats there. The fish don't bite until you get right at the place where the creek enters the inlet. Hundreds of thousands of Salmon. They didn't really jump into the creek though. Bears were there the entire time we were there. You get as close as 30 feet or so to them. The bears never pay any attention to you. It isn't like on tv at all to me. I didn't see a single bear having to practice their catching skills. They would get a fish, take a few bites, then get another. We saw black bears only up close. We saw brown bears from a long distance. There is 2 or 3 places in Soldotna that will freeze your fish and send ship it to your house. We caught our limit (3 fish each) and had 120 lbs sent back. They cold smoke, hot smoke, fillet, whole-just however you want it. We had it done in a variety of ways.

We saw 20+ bears, 10 Bald Eagles. These are present for the 3 or 4 hours that you are there. I asked them what the odds were for catching fish and seeing bears before we went. She said that they don't guarantee it, but they never go without catching fish, and they rarely miss seeing bears.


Take the train all the way to Seward.

Alyeska is pretty neat place also. We did dogsledding from there.

Link to our photos
http://www.photoworks.com/slideshow/...7?source=pw980

spirobulldog

It looks Talon offers the same package. Why not go ahead and fish there too, it is the same price as bear viewing. Do Both for the same price!!! I think Talon of High Adventure would be fine. We had a great guide. Any excursion in Alaska with air travel is expensive, but it is very much worth it, and the views from the air were spectacular on the helicopter and the plane that we experienced. We did a half day, but I would do a full day next time.

spirobulldog

Talon or High***

Lorenky1

Thanks for the info, and great pictures! I like the idea of a combo bear/fishing trip because bear viewing is another priority, but I notice that your trip pictures had all black bears. I really want to see some grizzlies, or brown bears., but in a fairly safe situation(guided or group). Is that relative to time of year or is the Lake Clark trip mostly black bears? I think I will post a separate post on bear questions. In terms of fishing, I got more details from hubby about what he wants to do. He says he would prefer to fish from the shore or water rather than a boat, and wanted to know if there were any guides that could take him to great fishing holes where he is not shoulder to shoulder with dozens of fishermen? We're a little confused about kings vs reds, we thought the salmon here in Northern California were chinooks but they are 20 lbs here, and sound more like your description of the kings. So he's not sure which fish he wants to fish, but would like a good chance of catching one and wants to avoid feeling like he's completely crowded in. Does that help at all?

spirobulldog

The Talon website says they see Brown or Black, but not both at the same time. I think it kinda depends on which is in the area, they don't fish together. If you are fishing from the shore and want to see bears, you want to be in a boat. I think the remote fishing is usually done over several day period and isn't just a half day trip. You wouldn't be shoulder to shoulder there. A lot of people fish in the Kenai River and you wouldn't even need a guide to do that. We nearly hit a bear in our rental car near a place along the river where there were hundreds of people. Fish=bears and lots of people. You'll just have to do some more research. I would call several guide services and ask them about exactly what you want to do and when is the best time to go. Sockeye Salmon are "reds". there are pinks, silvers, coho, chinook, and king. The King Salmon, you are only allowed one per day and you need a permit(tag or special license) for that. I don't really know that much about it, I just went the one time, but since we saw a lot of bears, eagles, and fish-thought it might fit into your plans. It was about $350 a piece for half day trip, which is a lot of bang for you buck in Alaska with an air excursion included.

enzian

>>>

A "King" is a chinook salmon, and in Alaska they reach 70 pounds or so. A "Red" is a Sockeye, and a "Silver" is Coho. You'll hear the terms used interchangeably, but those are the 3 main kinds of salmon. The Pinks, or Humpies, only run every other year---I can't remember if it is even or odd years.

"Combat fishing" pretty much describes the scene on the Kenai, at least anywhere near a road. If you husband doesn't want to be shoulder to shoulder with lthers, he should make sure the guide guarantees a more solitary experience.

When we lived up there (years ago) we could get a permit for dip-netting on the Copper River. (Definitely not sport fishing, just for food). It was pretty amazing to see someone try to bring in a King that way. I can't imagine landing one with a hook and line.

BigJerry

We have used Talon Air on 2 AK trips. Once for Sockeye and the other for silvers. Both times we went up to a small waterfall where black bears were catching fish until the browns would come down. The blacks scattered until the browns left the came back. Fish limit & grilled fish before flying back to Soldotna.