9/19/2024 Fishing Report

This past week was absolute peak coho madness for our Gastineau Channel fisheries. Big bright coho were in abundance particularly in the Thane and Sheep Creek areas. The tide swings were huge and this brought a fresh batch of coho in. Many of these fish still had scales that were not set indicating they were very recent arrivals. The tides will continue to be large through this weekend and then start to moderate as we head into the last week of September.

The coho fishing has not shown signs of slowing yet so we are all hopeful of an extended season. Don't hang your gear up yet! It is still going on and there is plenty of good fishing to be had.

Aside from Thane and Sheep Creek, 5 Mile and 9 Mile had respectable numbers of fish around. The flooding tide was generally better, but with 20 feet of water moving in 6 hours the fish didn't linger for long and a safe escape route was mandatory.  Next week's smaller tide swings will lend themselves much better to fishing these spots.

For those who could break themselves away from the coho, Dolly fishing was very good. The Dollies were in full spawning colors and were grabbing beads that got in their zone. Cutthroat trout were actively feeding as well and some very healthy fish were landed.

As we enter full on fall rainy season, plan your outings around spots that don't muddy up too easily: Sheep Creek, Bayview, Windfall Lake, Auke Lake, etc. These spots all stay relatively clear in all but the most severe of conditions.

Good luck this week!

As always, we love featuring your photos for our fishing reports.  If you have a great fish, scenery, or action photo that has to do with fishing around town send it our way!  You can email photos or videos to cory@alaskaflyfishinggoods.com.  Please remember to handle fish with care, especially if you are practicing catch and release.  Consider getting a net with a rubber basket to help land fish quickly, pinch your barbs and keep them in the water until you are ready to snap a quick photo.

See you on the water!

The Crew at AFFG

Listed below are the hot patterns of the week.  Fisheries change here through-out the season and so do the best patterns to use.  Below are some of the recommended flies for the current fisheries.  Happy fishing!

Hot Flies - Coho

Hot Flies/Beads - Dolly Varden

Hot Flies - Cutthroat Trout