Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Alaska fishing in August?

I am heading to the Ninilchik area on the Kenai mid August. Can anyone give me any info whether the reds or silvers will be running say 2nd-3rd week in August in Valdez and near Soldotna? Planning to spend at least 7-10 days in these areas and perhaps Hyder late August. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. MTGunner

Mid-August now.

Are you visiting next year?

When I was there, that was a good time to do some trout fishing as well. Use an egg or flesh pattern and find the right spot and you will catch some nice trout. (catch and release for the most part though).

Ironbender, I am leaving this coming Thursday the 18th of August. I plan to drive up thru BC thru the Yukon and on to AK. Will be there thru early Sept. MTG

2nd the bow fishing, can be really good Aug-Oct. Ninilchik and Deep Creek are Okay, but I'd head for the Kenai for Silvers. If you just want to catch a lot of fish, try Hope Creek.

I would try the Anchor and Kasilof river for steelhead too

You can get them on beads or bring a fly rod and try green and blue stone files or crystal meth patterns. Nice bright strong fish.

I usually rent a canoe and hit the Kenai for rainbows and big dollies

I would get a guide for silvers one day on the kenai too

Silvers ought to be in strong in Seward. They were just starting on our halibut trip out of there 2 weeks ago. I believe the Seward Silver Salmon Derby is in full swing right now.

One of my party had one on, caught while we were after rockfish, but lost it at the net. He didn't have any better luck with the dolphin..... but it sure made him bug-eyed! (Dolphin likely got the line wrapped around its tail - it was an exciting minute or two before it broke the line!)

By the way "Hope Creek" is Resurrection Creek - it just exits at Hope.

I just got back on the 9th from fishing the kenai in the saldotna area. The river is really high. It rained the whole week I was there. Lots of pinks running. There were days I would catch 10 pinks to every sockeye. I talked to a fish/wildlife ranger and he said if the river continues to rise that they may shut down the Kenai for fishing. The silvers are late. We didn't catch any. I did catch a small King (jack). Make sure you check the status of the kenai.

We've caught the biggest silvers around Soldotna after labor day. Few and far between but IIRC they have all been at or over 20 pounds. Thats been a few years though....

Just got home from Seward nobody's catching any Silvers 6 hrs trolling near Fox Island 30 boats never saw anyone even net one. Caught 3 baby Kings trout sized near Twin Rocks. No boats near Pony Cove. Charters are not even going out?

Fish cleaning table MT usually you have quite a wait.

Yeah,memory is a fallible thing... I doubt you have ever seen a 20# silver.

Statewide they average 8. Only two years was the Seward Silver Derby won by fish over 20. Kodiak has a few streams with ridiculous silvers that will literally average 15, but a 20 there is still very rare. Kenai silvers will not average 12.

Of the literally thousands of silvers I've caught the biggest was 17.8 and it was a toad. If a guy can go to a place and average 20# silvers I'm in. 50 years ago perhaps but I don't think I've ever laid eyes on a 20# silver...

Well all three would have won the derby had it not been over at the time we fished. That was circa 86 IIRC. They seemed huge to us at the time. Thats all I can recall that all 3 we caugth on that one trip were heavier than what won whatever contest was on at that time.

But I'm not at all arguing, hell I wear a work shirt with my name on it so I remember who I am when I get up each morning...

There might be photos somewhere up in Moms house, but Id' not have a clue where anymore....

The ones we caught at valdez in 95 probably did not average 5 pounds...

Duh, I should add, it was by guides scales... who knows how far off they would be... I"m sure a 15-18 pound fish looks plenty big even to a Texan. LOL

I still remember catching my first fish in Alaska one spring back in the early 80s. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven catching char, none of which was over 18". I really wish they'd stay off the hooks most of the time anymore.

Selective fishing with commercial nets has probably reduced the sizes of the respective salmon stocks in the larger species, the bigger fish garnering a bigger check.

Kodiak Silvers are bigger and the run is about a month later than on the Kenai! On Kodiak Caught one huge buck Silver which we weighed on a postal scale that was just over 20 # in 1985.

A very big silver back then there would be 15 to 17 # later runs they put on more weight.

Caught a big silver last year at Seward at this time
when they were there to catch and it weighed right over 12 #.

Used to fish for them in the salt on Kodiak with a fly pole and egg patterns had to wait for a off shore wind. Lots of fun surfing them in! Running line was not stiff enough back then with home made shooting heads.

If I recall, Kodiak derby winners were usually just over 20 lbs. the biggest I ever caught was 16, but many around 10 to 12.... Man!! I miss September in Alaska!!